"They call us a Third World Country."

Thu and I talked a lot about the development and growth of Viet Nam in general but specifically Saigon. It is so busy and so loud and so active that it can be overwhelming. She reminded me that there is nothing that cannot be purchased here these days: everything is available to most everyone. She added, "I read in the newspaper that they call us a Third World Country. That is demeaning and negative. I hate that. Why do they do that?" I agreed and said I had done some research on the term and that it is quite passe to use that term nowadays rather people use terms like 'developing country' or 'industrialized country' to describe an area. Thu said, "Developing country!? We are already developed!" It's her opinion and I found it interesting. It is true that 'Third World' refers to a country that is generally poor and has a high birthrate but I'm not sure Vietnam still qualifies under those terms. It is definitely a developing country and it is definitely seeking industrialization from an agrarian society. See for yourself, see the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World. While there are remnants of an ancient society here and there is poverty there is a lot of money, a ton of development, and technology! I need to come to terms with how to describe this place because it's not easy. I think unless you have travelled aborad to non-English speaking countries it's difficult to understand this kind of place.