October 2005 Archives

First, let me say that you must take the last entry about the French with a grain of salt. I like France and French people. Parisians still annoy me though. In fact, I'm reading a French book called "les États- Unis aujourd'hui; les maîtres du monde?" (The United States Today; The masters of the world?) by Jacques Portes. I really thought it was going to be a trashing of the US but actually it is extremely interesting to see how this author perceives the US (especially because he is French).It's not negative at all and basically pretty accurate about the rise of American power, the influence of US culture and so on. For the American, I think it would be a good idea in culture class for students to read books about the US so we can get a better picture about how other nations perceive us. If you don't speak another language, even a book written in Britian would offer some great insight.

As for my observations this week, I've discovered that some white people become spoiled here. As you may know, I work at a very nice country club and we just had our Halloween Party. Many people were surprised to learn that they had to pay extra for their nannies since we had to limit the amount of people we let in to prevent overcrowding. This made a lot of the caucasions mad since they become so stingy here. Also, we told them they had to make reservations and those that showed up without one were turned away. This really pissed them off since they are used to getting their own way. I swear it's like a disease among white people here. Their salaries are so high compared to the rest of the population, but they still hate to pay for anything. You would not believe how many ask for some special "deal" to join the club which we cannot do.

In other observations, I'm starting to understand that it takes Vietnamese people about 5 seconds to realize the light has turned green. They aren't very used to traffic lights here (in fact they don't pay much attention to them) and their thoughts begin to wander when they actually do stop at a red light. But when the light turns green I want to go! Perhaps, I just need to stop being such an uptight American.

Another glorious day here in Saigon. I just got back from Parkson (best department store in Saigon) where I go to get Gatoraide for only 85 cents per bottle. Those other damn stores charge up to 4 dollars a bottle and so I make it a habit to get to Parksons at least once a week. Their grocery store is actually like something you would find in the USA. All the fruit is ripe, vegetables not decaying and the staff is actually working! However, one typical Vietnamese custom still pervades there and that is the habit of not wanting to wait in line if you only have one item. I had 8 items and therefore could be in the fast lane if I was in the USA but unfortunately an older woman of about 50 years old only had one ice cream box and did the old "Ditch everyone in line at the grocery store routine cause it's tradition in Nam." I'm a pretty laid back guy but sometimes this tradition would peeve me just the slightest bit but being in an entire culture of line ditchers I guess I would just have to adapt.

I used to believe it was communism that made people forget how to wait in line and cause massive amounts of people to simply push and shove each other to be first. But today in the store it hit me like a bolt of lightning.

- THE FRENCH COLONIZED THIS PLACE AND THE FRENCH DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL A QUEUE IS EITHER!-------------

And there we have it! The French influenced Vietnam quite a bit and must have taught them how to not stand in line and that pushing and shoving is a much better solution than the queue. I know! Let's do a compare France and Vietnam.. Wouldn't that be fun!

1. Sometimes Vietnamese don't like to work very hard. The French petition the government and change the damn law to make sure they don't have to work hard.

2. Vietnamese people are friendly and smile. Parisians are a pain in the ass, sourpusses who might be a little nicer if you speak to them in French first, but if not they will be downright unpleasant because maybe they cannot understand English so well. Many Vietnamese cannot understand English very well either but they always smile and will talk to you for as long as you want in Vietnamese even though you don't understand a damn word. Our maids talk to me almost daily and I've never understood a single thing!

3. French people usually only go out with other French people. In this case they are like the Japanese who stick to their own group. Vietnamese aren't afraid of foreigners as history has shown and will engage in conversation with anyone even if no understanding between the two parties is taking place.

4. Here most French can speak English. I can speak French ok, but when I try with French people they insist to speak English. Yet, they still insist their language is better. Therefore, it makes no damn sense that they want the world to use French, but never speak to non-french people in French! I wonder if I can push some of this useless language out of my brain and replace it with Chinese?

5. It is harder to rent an apartment in France than in Saigon and they have even more paperwork in Paris than the Communist Bureaucracy here in Saigon!!!! hahahahahahaha.

Ok, I'm done picking on the French for today. I feel the urge for some Freedom Fries for dinner.

-------Pictures in the "Photo Gallery" -----------
Just got back from a three day trip to Cambodia. Ended up going with my Vietnamese friend Phuong, buddy Axel and friend of a friend Michael from Denmark. It was nothing like I expected and reminds me a lot of Vietnam except a little bit more "earthy." My first impression was of course of the airport which is brand new and a beautiful, small building. When we walked out the front door I kind of expected to see a hoard of people like at the Saigon airport but instead walked out to a very peaceful, clean environment with a nice food court and Dairy Queen. Yes Dairy Queen!!! Phuong's friend was going to pick us up so we sat down and I treated myself to a chocolate dipped vinella ice cream cone that only Dairy Queen knows how to do.

It was while eating my ice cream that I found out exactly who Phuong's friend was and it turned out he was the chief of police for Phnom Penh (Mr. U for this story) as well as owned his own computer stores. So it was a bit surreal to be picked up in a Lexus SUV in one of the poorest countries on earth. We first drove to his shop to say hello to his parents and see what kind of store he had. It was a very nice shop, just like you would find in the USA except smaller. After that was done we found our hotel on Sisowath Quay which is a nice little strip full of foreigner friendly restaurants, bars and hotels. We didn't have reservations but had done our research and went to California Hotel. Axel had tried to make reservations ..........

As I mentioned in the previous post, I'm studying Japanese here in Ho Chi Minh city. All the other students are Vietnamese and it's really interesting to study along side them. The foreigners here in Saigon usually only interact with the Vietnamese at work, or with those who work in the bars, but rarely get to see the other side of them. By studying Japanese with them, I'm able to communicate in a language other than English and understand that they are going through the same hardships trying to learn another language. They really are a wonderful people and the way they pronounce Japanese words is really cute. Instead of a crisp "Irrashaimase" as the Japanese do, it comes out "Irrasaimase" They cannot pronounce the "shhhhhhhhh" as the sound we make in English when we want someone to be quiet. Instead it comes out as "Sai" or the sound we make when we say "Site" without the "te" at the end.

I spoke about irritations when one needs a break in the last post. One more irritation today would have been the looks I get going into a school that is all Vietnamese students. Instead of a "hello" and then wondering if I will respond like a monkey to a bananna, it would be a "konbanwa" and astonishment that a white man can speak a language usually reserved for Asians. Again, life usually isn't like this, it's just that I'm way overdue for a vacation.

Ok, one last irritation and then I'm done I promise. Sometimes foreigners get tired of the mistakes other cultures can make when trying to be polite. Really they mean well but it's just a stupid irritation my stupid brain reacts to negatively. For example, I went into a major international company today and had to wait for the person I was supposed to meet. The receptionist said "I'm sorry, may I have your name?" "I'm sorry, can you please wait?" "I'm sorry, can you take a seat?" I didn't want to sit down so just acknowledged what she said and remained standing. Then thirty seconds later she repeated "I'm sorry, can you take a seat?" At that point I just wanted to say "Stop being sorry, and no I don't want to take a seat!" Sounds stupid huh. It is, and is just proof I need a vacation. The other one is the overuse of "Please" When they want you to do something they will gesture and say "Please, please." After hearing "Please, please" over and over every single day, it can make you want to bang your head against the wall. Maybe it's difficult to understand for people who have not experienced a long term overseas stay.

Oh my god!!! At the moment I'm writing this, I'm watching "Everyone loves Raymond" and his mother just went berzerk about Raymonds overuse of "at" as an end of a sentence. She just said "Is this the end of civilization!!!" and then went on to scold Raymond about his education. I guess anyone can get upset about these things and proves that there is a higher power up there who makes these coincidences happen. Weird huh.

Living in another country can be and usually is one of the greatest experiences a person can have. But from time to time it is absolutely necessary to take a break when you find yourself being negative and complaining about too many things in the host country. I have reached that point since I haven't escaped since last Christmas. After a very frustrating day at work today I couldn't bring myself to go to Japanese class since I have already skipped a week and know that all the students and teachers will inquire about my absence. The Japanese teachers will always comment on the absence and say in sort of a pouty way (which is normal for female Japanese teachers) "Matto san wa issogashi ne," "daijoubu?" Which means "You are very busy aren't you" "Is everything ok?" And I know I just won't be able to take it today since my batteries are completely drained and I won't be able to smile back and will probably be bitter.

Concerning the culture, one gets tired of always being the foreigner and having everyone look at you like some strange creature. I cringe on the ride home when I keep hearing constant "hello," when they just want to see if you will respond. I always muster out a "hello" back to the children though since it will make them smile and I might be their only experience with a foreigner. With the adults however, it can sometimes be trying since their "hello's" are more of a "hey, you are a foreigner and if I say hello it's kind of like you are a monkey who should respond to a bananna." I know it's terrible to say that but it's how you can feel sometimes when you haven't had a break for a while.

So this is the state I am in and prefer to skip class yet again and just order a pizza and watch a DVD at home to forget my frustrations for a while.

Finally I have something to write about. As you may know, I find my life here in Saigon quite boring. Between going out to the local bars, entertaining clients from the big international companies entering Vietnam and playing darts, there just isn't much to do.

But last week was the most interesting I've had in a while. On Tuesday, we had our darts tournament at Ice Blue (Across from the Underground) and this was the first knock out round which means we were playing for the championship for the year. We all got our beers and started to throw the darts. About three hours and five beers later, we had won the match and decided to celebrate. One of the guys parting with us I had not recognized before and introduced myself. He was a furnature buyer from Australia and had business with one of our team members also in the furnature business. I started telling him about the nightlife here and offered to show him around. So we left the bar together and went over to the 17 Saloon. That place is pretty popular with older people on business trips and it's not that easy to meet people since the live band plays really loud. So we had one drink there and then went to Allez Boo in Pham Ngu Lao. I was a little disappointed at first because there were not that many female tourists around but after an hour a group of 4 beautiful Indian/British girls walked in and I couldn't help but introduce myself.

They invited us to sit with them and got a real kick out of the fact that the only thing I know about Indian people now living in England comes from the television show "The Kumars at No. 42." They were also interested in other bars in the area but as it was pretty late everything was closing except for the infamous "Lost in Saigon....."

Almost every ex-pat here in Saigon knows that there is a government dossier with their name on it from the moment they went through immigration. When I first heard of it, I was a bit taken aback and remember being taught that some governments in the world do this sort of thing. I also remember that living in America ment privacy from unnecessary government intrusion.

But I guess I was wrong. I stumbled (Mozilla browser "stumble" feature") upon the ACLU's website and found an interesting story about the "Matrix" formerly known as the "Total Information Awareness" which was then changed to "Terrorism Information Awareness" to deflect criticism. This system accumulates information about ordinary citizens including who they live with, their purchases, friends telephone number ecetera ecetera. The US government says it's a tool to combat terrorism yet they are collecting unnecessary information on everyone. Many states have shut the program down, but my state Ohio is one that still actively uses it. It is going to seem strange going back to my home country knowing that I could be spied upon by my own government like the Communist countries do. It makes my skin crawl that my own government is collecting such information on me, and although I have nothing to hide, it's the principal of the matter that really gets my blood boiling.

The Bush administration as well as previous ones are behaving just like North Korea but hiding behind the fallacy that it is used only for terrorists. North Korea is just as paranoid about it's own citizens and it looks like the United States is following the same path. At least in the Communist countries it's common knowledge but the USA by doing the exact same things the other governments do except try to lie about it to assuage peoples concerns.

I'm sure most Americans disapprove of this new system but it is sad that others will defend the practice of their own privacy being invaded. These are the people who will later on wonder how in the hell they gave away their own privacy by not speaking up and trying to do something about it. Thank God for the ACLU which seems to be one of only a few agencies that still cares about the rights of the people.

Last week while searching the many many pirated DVD's around our house for something interesting, I came across Michael Moore's movie where he sticks it to the man yet again. While I generally like his movies and agree with him that many corporations are greedy, evil institutions, there is one point that I would like to raise.

Michael Moore only concentrates on the good of America. This came to me when I saw some pictures of "welfare" housing and the occupants complaining that they lived in run down housing and somebody should do something about it. For the first time in my life I looked at them as greedy bastards. The people in question were extremely fat, sitting on nice carpet and it seemed they had plenty of furniture. I also do not doubt that they have air conditioning and cable television.

The problem with rich countries is that the "poor" are always thinking about what they do not have instead of what they do. In other words, people by nature always tend to look up, instead of down. I came to see them as greedy since I now live in Vietnam and "poverty" has taken on a whole new meaning for me. The poorest I've seen are people with no housing that sleep in the street and are emancipated as a pole. One step up is a shack made of wood out in the middle of terribly dusty countryside which has no running water at all and the people drink rain water.

So when Michael Moore talks about these evil corporations leaving America and going to another country, it's something I actually support. Many people in Vietnam have absolutely nothing and if they were lucky enough to get a job in a sweat shop, it is better than the alternative which would be nothing at all. At least in the sweat shop they can earn a living. It's true these sweat shops don't pay much, but if they paid too much, then doctors, lawyers and such would leave their professions to go work in the sweat shop and it would create havoc. (Well, maybe no one would miss the lawyers as much.)

But seriously, it upset me to see the "poor" in America complaining so much about their three story "run down" apartments, when most people in the world can barely afford even a shack.....