Local Group Set for a Surfin’ Safari--to Vietnam : Cultural Tour: Contingent that includes San Clemente teen Josh Vesque will teach surfing and lifesaving to kids.

Most people remember Vietnam the way it was in the early 1970s, a war-torn country with napalmed jungles and burning villages.

But Josh Vesque will see a different Vietnam next week, one with vast, undeveloped, white-sand beaches--and wave after wave lapping against the shore, untouched by surfers.

Paradise? Hardly.

But for him, Vietnam is a land of opportunity--and potential.

Vesque is only 16, but he already has learned that there’s more to studying a foreign country than just what he reads or hears in a history class at San Clemente High.

There’s a great big world out there, one beyond the San Diego Freeway and beyond the San Clemente Pier and T-street beach, where he surfs each day.

After all, how many kids have a chance to become part of a Zulu tribe in Africa? Or to compete against the best young surfers in the world?

But his most challenging expedition might come next week. Vesque will leave Monday for Hanoi for a two-week USA Surfing Cultural Exchange in Vietnam.

He’s part of a six-person contingent that will instruct Vietnamese children in surfing, lifesaving and beach-management techniques.

They will spend 12 days visiting cities and beaches from Hanoi to Saigon, meeting with local politicians, educators, sports administrators and children. Most of the time will be spent instructing kids on surfing techniques.

“Surfers are the only ones who would do something like this,” said Jim Hogan, a pro on the U.S. tour who will teach surfing with Vesque.

“The average person would never do this. We’re going over there on a mission, not just for the surf. We’ll be living with families, learning their language and how they live.”

Besides Vesque, a junior at San Clemente, and Hogan, a coach with the National Scholastic Surfing Assn., the contingent includes:

--Lifeguards Scott Diederich of Laguna Beach and Sheridan Byerly of San Clemente.

--Guy Motil, a San Clemente photojournalist who will chronicle the trip.

--Bruce Hopping of Laguna Beach, the trip’s organizer who is chairman of the children’s charitable organization Kalos Kagathos Foundation.

Hopping has been organizing surfing expeditions such as these for the better part of 14 years.

Vesque, who began surfing five years ago, has joined Hopping on trips to the Cook Islands, the French West Indies, South Africa and St. Barthelemy in the Caribbean.

He returned last month from his second trip to Bali, where he and several other age-group surfers competed at the Junior World championships against teams from Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Japan, the French Islands and Bali. Vesque was fifth in the juniors division and the team was second overall to Australia.

“We picked Josh to go with us to Vietnam because he distinguished himself in the Cook Islands as someone who can work quickly and effectively with kids,” Hopping said. “He’s an outstanding surfer and instructor.”

Teaching the kids to surf won’t be easy. Some fear the water--the ocean is taboo for some of the children, Hopping said.

But Vesque and Hogan are confident.

They’re taking instructional videos and extra boards, and Hogan is arranging for more boards to be sent after they leave. Interpreters will help them with instruction.

“These kids have no skills,” Hogan said. “We’re working with the bare bones. Getting them on the boards, and getting their balance, will be the hardest part.

“You get a lot of rewards out of watching a kid learn to surf. You see them smiling when they learn something, and you realize you did something in their life.”

Hopping plans to return to Vietnam with a team of U.S. surfers and lifeguards in December. They will take the instruction a step further--through competition.

“We’ll divide our teams up, integrate the students from each country together,” Hopping said. “We want to demonstrate how a high school (competitive) program can work.”

Hogan said surfing has the potential to grow quickly in Vietnam. The sport is relatively inexpensive, and the waves are sizable and plentiful.

“A couple of years from now, they’ll have a national team,” Hogan said. “We just want to get the ball rolling. Pretty soon, Vietnam will be sending surfers over here and they’ll be beating us. Then we’ll say, ‘What did we do?’ ”

Hopping said the costs for the trips are reasonable. Surfers and lifeguards stay with host families during the trips. Members pay for their air fare, although the foundation will donate money in case of financial hardship, Hopping said.

Vesque helps pay for his trips by working as a busboy at a local restaurant.

He doesn’t seem to mind investing the money and time in his travels. He usually comes home with a bag full of mementos . . . and memories.

On one shelf in his parents’ living room is the Tree of Life, a statue he bought in South Africa. On the mantel is a wooden spear, given to him by a Zulu tribe in South Africa. He and other members of that trip were made honorary members of the tribe.

Then there are the oil paintings, the splashes of orange, blue and yellow landscapes that he bartered for in Bali.

What did he trade?

“T-shirts,” he said. “They really like the T-shirts there, so we take some extras with us. We’ve traded them for boat rides, paintings, all kinds of stuff.”