Trip to Hanoi & the use of journals

In the reading, Trip to Hanoi, I found it most interesting how the journal entries were very clear and honest and showed such a contrast of emotions from the rest of the piece. While reading the journal entries I thought the writer was being ethnocentric, which was annoying to me and it seemed to be annoying to him- almost like he could not help it, and I found it interesting how he continually referred to the Vietnamese as childish and how he felt as if he was being treated like a child. The entries reveal a lot of frustration. This frustration is later explained throughout the piece, by telling us the ways in which he is beginning to understand the Vietnamese. I think this is an important rhetorical skill because when I was reading I felt as if, by reading his personal journal, I knew exactly what he was going through which held my interest through the rest of the piece. I felt like I was there in Hanoi as well, experiencing how this trip has made the author grow; if I thought it was interesting and beneficial to him then this piece should be beneficial to all Americans...if it helped him- it will help us. I like to think I have read something that has made me better.