1. National songs are an important symbol of national pride, and in recent years freedom to sing them has been a major issue in independence movements, notably those of Latvia and Lithuania. Explore what happened to traditional Vietnamese folk music after 1975 at the hands of the Communist government.

2. What happened to the boat people who were saved from the sea? Explore the experiences of Vietnamese refugees who found asylum in Thailand.

3. What was daily life like in the lower Mekong Delta before 1950? What is it like today? Explore possible reasons—geographical, historical, and social—for the differences.

4. What kind of education did Thay Van Chi probably have? What kind would Kien, Mai, and Loc probably have had if they had stayed? Explore the differences between pre- and postwar Vietnamese systems of education.

5. Vietnam was a country with many religious...