2005年05月31日
The meanings of words - What is Colonialism, Communism
Understanding words.
What exactly happens when we learn a word? The most basic explanation is that a verbal sound is applied to an object or idea which represents the object or idea in question. Therefore, as children when we are first learning language, we must first visually see a chair and then we learn how to call this object in question by making a vocal sound. As time progresses we learn which words we should apply to emotions and feelings which we cannot see or touch, but have a presence none the less. As we grow even older, we string together or vocabulary and are eventually able to comprehend abstract ideas to which we must also apply a vocal sound or "word." These ideas can be Democracy, Socialism and so on.
Now it is relatively easy to see a chair and call it a chair. Not much brain activity is needed. However, for the more abstract and that which is not so easily understood as a chair, the comprehension of the idea may be misunderstood or not understood enough, even though we know which vocal sound 'word' to apply to it.
The two words I'm thinking of at the moment are Colony and Communism. As many of you know I have lived abroad for four years and what really keeps me motivated is the amount of learning I acquire.
Now, sticking with our focus of these two words I'd like to explain a little about the progression of my understanding of these ideas.........
1. Colony
Ask anyone what a colony is and they will most likely be able to define it in loose terms. If I think back to my previous understanding I would have said "Host Country sends nationals to a foreign land with the hopes of obtaining settlement there under governance of the host country." The dictionary defines colony as:
"A body of people who settle far from home but maintain ties with their homeland; inhabitants remain nationals of their home state but are not literally under the home state's system of government."
Wow I was close!
Before, when thinking of this word, I would have conjured up images of the English Pilgrims in their blue hats settling in America and sharing food with the Native Americans even though it is now popular to understand that they shared more bullets (in firing them at the Natives) than food.
This is the same naive concept of colony when people are asked to describe it.
However, living in Vietnam I've come to understand the much darker side of this word or concept called "Colony."
Now let's take the dictionary definition of "Colonialism," a derivative of Colony.
"Exploitation by a stronger country of weaker one; the use of the weaker country's resources to strengthen and enrich the stronger country."
If you ask people about France and Vietnam most will say Vietnam was a colony of the French and leave it at that. Some French nationals comprehension of the word is that it was basically good since it tried to make Vietnam "Civilized." Yet, through my reading of history and I have learned the facts. One good site is the Ho Chi Minh Archives which offers amazing insight.
A colony is more often than not a barbaric subjugation of the native people where the wealth and resources are exploited for the economic gain of the host country. Therefore, there is a drastic difference between the concept most people hold when hearing the world colony and what it really is. The colonialism of the old European superpowers was one full of murder, greed and power grabbing. However, I'm sure nationals of those countries were not taught about the horrors of what actually happend. Therefore, if I read about Colonialism in France, Spain, England (and the USA) I will hear about how these colonies benefited their respective host countries and enslaved their people.
Yet, one cannot only read one side and know the truth. There are always too sides to every story and one must also read the literature of those that have been colonzied. And every major country has ventured into colonalism at one point or another.
Examples:
1. Britian - Subjugated the Indians with terror and torture.
2. USA - Wiped out the Native Americans under "Manifest Destiny" - Like "Colony" the definition of "Manifest Destiny" also changes depending on who you ask.
3. France - Exploited the Vietnamese along with countless other nationals of other countries.
4. Japan - Korean sex slaves, Vietnam famine.
Thus, we have to ask ourselves how well we understand our own language. Do we have a full and complete concept of what words actually mean and everything they entail or do are we content with a simple dictionary definition?
2. Communism
I learned this word in the United States of America. When I asked what Communism was, every single definition I received was that communism was basically a bad idea and something to be feared.
If I asked the reason for the Vietnam war, it was simply "To stop communism" as though communism was some 10000 pound Godzilla that was coming to enslave us all and should be feared. If you ask most of the population of America they will have a negative image of this form of government.
It wasn't until I began to read for myself about Communism that I understood exactly what it was. I started to read Marx and was shocked that his manifesto wasn't about enslaving people and depriving freedoms but was a dry and boring as any old economic textbook. It spoke about markets, money, and a way where everyone could have a chance to make something of themselves.
I then read history and about the Industrial Revolution. I was shocked to learn that most workers were treated much like slaves and could not save a shilling while the barons horded all the wealth. I was also appalled that this lasted much into the 1920's America with the Strike Breakers who would put down worker protests while on horses and smashing in people's skulls. I read about the horrible working conditions and how the people really did not have a chance to better their lives.
I also read an article stating that Capitalism was bad way back in the 1920's but Communism underestimated Capitalism's ability to evolve, gain better working conditions and labor laws etc. Yet, it seems to me that the author of this statment has engrained in his skull the very same naive concept of communism that most of the American public hold. That it is bad and something to be feared. How is it that only Capitalism has the capacity to change and adapt but Communism does not?
Marx defined Communism as simply the path to socialism and not a permanent form of government. Therefore, it evolves and can evolve for the better. Yet, this argument is wasted on those who have suffered years of propoganda and even the word "Communism" puts them on the defensive and in fear.
They will cite examples of Stalin and his atrocities and of Communist China who do not have a very good human rights record. Yet, what the Americans have not been taught is that the USA has engaged in unimaginable atrocities in foreign lands to fight this concept called Communism.
And here it is. The American public have been so brainwashed into believing that Communism is some monster that will come upon it's shores if not stopped that they look the other way when horrible atrocities have been committed like in Vietnam. Communism is not a horrible monster but one that would come from the people if they are suffering economically and have no chance to better their condition. They equate an economic concept "Capitalism" with freedom and "Communism" with slavery which is completely absurd. They are simply two economic models that would be better debated in terms of markets and currency movements by certified Economists. Yet, the super elite know that if communism were to take hold then they would lose all or most of their wealth. Therefore, they strike at it anywhere in the world in hopes of preventing it while brainwashing the populace to believe it is simply a horrible monster. Millions of poor peasants in Vietnam were slaughtered who do not know the difference between Capitalim and Potatoes. The Vietnamese have really had it rough for the past century. They had to deal with the Colonalist French who exploited the country and enslaved many for their own economic benefit. Then this guy named Ho Chi Minh comes along and says "Hey, this is not right!" He tried to free his people from these oppressive French in many ways but do you think he got support from other western countries? Nothing! The only support he could get was from the Communists (Even in France) and therefore, by adopting communism it was his only way to free himself from the French. Then the USA comes along and fights Communism because as most Americans would put it "Communism is Bad, or now Evil." So the USA supports an extremely repressive and awful "Diem" regieme which carries out an untold number of political assissinations. Meanwhile the Americans spray chemicals on the peasants villages since they cannot control them from the Communists. So these poor peasants just got out from under the yoke of the French to then have Chemical warfare sprayed upon them. Now ask yourself, if you were born in a peasant village and had been exploited by the French and then driven from your village by the Americans, whos side would you be on? Actually these poor people got caught in the middle of an ideological war and could give a damn for whatever side wins, but just want to live in peace!
If we look at the political side of things, it is easy to denounce the Soviet Union and China for their form of Communism. You say the wrong thing, you get put in jail. However, why do we have to look at these countries models of communism as the only ones? In many democratic countries there are things that cannot be said and if you cross the wrong leader landing in Jail is easy. Communism has one political party and the United States has two which is simply a difference of one! Also, Communism picks their next leader in a way that many Americans would feel "undemocratic." Yet in the USA we now have a son of a former president! We say that he was picked by the people when the truth is that the people could not have been taken further out of the political process. Both parties are funded by the same powerful interest groups and it really doesn't matter who wins. Americans say that the people in Communist societies live in a state of fear. What is going on in America right now? They have scared the wits out of the population with this terrorist nonsense and then wage war without trying to fix the underlying problems which promote terrorism in the first place!
Do we honestly think that a "terrorist" wakes up one day and says "Hey, I want to be a bad guy, so I think I'll become a terrorist!" Now the word "Terrorist" has taken the same level of fear that the word "Communist" used to instill. Perhaps we think that "terrorists" are just not right in the head and want to strap bombs to themselves and them blow themselves up?? What could possibly drive a person to kill themselves like that? Perhaps if we look at the injustice some of the USA policies have created we will understand that these destitue, poverty-stricken people have no other choice!
But again, this argument is wasted on most Americans since the simple utterance of the words "Terrorist or Communist" have instilled such fear.
For them they will have this reaction
1. Terrorist - Bad man, must be killed or stopped in any way possible.
2. Communism - Slavery, Fear
The images they conjure up when hearing these words are as naive as a two year old.
Finally if Americans do read this post, they will not like me one bit. So much for being able to say what you want in America even today. Their defensive stance is that I have just railed against everything they have ever been taught and most Americans have been taught in America as far as I know. Therefore, most of the information they have will paint America in a good light.
It is as simple as one child being taught potatoes are poison then add volumes of information and details supporting this position that no one could possibly read in a lifetime. Then another being taught that potatoes are healthy with another library full of materials supporting this stance. If I say potatoes are healthy to one who has been taught they are posion, the child who believes they are poision will empty all their knowledge is defending the stance that potatoes are poison.
Another aspect is the concept of team. Americans are on one team and define themselves as such in international affairs. Better not say anything bad about the team. So this post is like going into a New York Yankee stadium wearing a Red Socks Jersey. The Red Socks fan could have piles of information about how the Red Socks are better but it will simply fall on deaf ears.
Finally back to my original theme about our understanding of the meanings of words. What images do we conjure up when we hear them and are they correct? I guess it just depends on which school you've been attending and the information you've received. Steven Hawking says that humans are capable of understanding only a tiny fraction of all the information out there and therefore, one should not choose all their books from the same library.
Posted by Mateo at 12:44 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
2005年05月29日
外人と日本人の関係
私は三年間東京住んでいました。その時に日本の文化、言葉と生き方についてたくさんならって、日本の生活たいしてすごく住み心地の良いになりました。でも外人に対して日本で住むことをあまり住みやすくないんです。
日本で住むことを始まる時に外人が日本の文化と言葉、についてなにも分からない。そして日本人とあまり連絡をできません。色々日本人は英語をしゃべれる、だけどまだ日本の文化についてよく分からないで誤解がたくさんがあります。
例えば：
１．日本人にはじめてと日本人よくLets go to the Izakaya sometimeを言っています。外人はこの文を聞くと本との招待だと思っています。そして、外人の答えは、”いつですか”をいっています。でも本との招待ではないね。
２．日本人と外人は一緒にご飯を食べて日本人のコメントは ”箸がよく使いますね。”を言ます。でも外人にとってこのコメントはちょっと侮言です。なぜかな。日本人の子供は箸を使いやすいで多分そのコメントを聞くと外人と子供は同じ感じがあります。日本人にとってこのコメントはすごく無実だけど外人にとって、変なコメントです。
３．知らない日本人を初めて、私は外人だからその日本人はちょっと気後れです。私の先生はこの問題についてを聞くと先生の答えは”多分、普通日本人は英語をよくできないので気後れだ。”今はちょっと日本語をしゃべれるでもいつも間違っています。私は日本人としらべてとまだ気後れがあります。
４．内外の問題。日本の文化と言葉をならって、でもまだ外人です。日本の文化対して100%統合ができません。
５．本音と建前問題。外人はこの観念についてぜんぜん分かりません。例えば、"Lets have dinner sometime"を聞くと本当にお召しの招待だと思うっています。そして日本人の言うことと本当の意志は度やって違う外人は分かりません。
私にとって、日本が大好き、その問題は以外。でももし日本に住んでいる外人の問題についてをもと習いたい、このペジを見てください。
Posted by Mateo at 13:43 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
2005年05月28日
Last Night
Last night the we held the middle eastern carpet auction at the club. Some of the best carpets from the middle east where there and I actually learned something about them. I also saw some members dropping major cash like never before. The highest carpet went for $10,000!!!!
I would have gone home but I promised some friends I would meet them at the Underground for a drink and supposedly a party. It turned out to be a party celebrating five years since it's been open. I had a good time but about 11:00pm was beat and when I want to go I just go. It's too difficult to say goodbye to everyone so I just left. I then got a call saying I "ditched" them and they wouldn't forgive me unless I went out to Pham Ngu Lao which is near my house. So I did and didn't get to sleep until 4am. I'm getting too old for those kinds of nights and the only thing that comes out of it is that I'm tired the next day!!!
At the moment it is pouring buckets of rain which is my favorite weather. I love a good storm. Since it is now the rainy season in Saigon we get storms like this almost everyday which is great! They don't last too long unlike the drizzle that lasts for weeks back in Ohio.
Finally, question of the day.
Is "intrical" a word? I've checked every dictionary but this word is not included just yet. However a check on google turned up a lot of usage. We think it's a combination of "integral" and "intricate" but I think we will soon see "intrical" in the dictionary. Language is fluid and changes over time. I am firmly against the grammar nazis who refuse to accept new words. If you look back and see how English has changed over time it is amazing. The only caveat it to continue some structure of language that promotes brain activity and not dumb it down too much. The English language is full of "descriptives" which the normal population is only able to use a fraction of. Speaking of which this post isn't too descriptive and my word choice poor. But I'm just going to blame that on last night and my brain not working properly at the moment.
Posted by Mateo at 14:48 | Comments (1) | TrackBack
2005年05月27日
Reply to Comment on Tokyo Metblogs
--- This post (albeit very long) is in reply to a comment left on my post (Life in Tokyo vs. Life in Saigon) on Tokyo Metblogs.
Reply to Carl's Jr.
Your reply sounds suspiciously like something my dad would say. I'm half tempted to try and trace the post and see if it doesn't originate from the Buckeye State. You're suspect!! :)
And like many of my dad's statements yours also gave me something to think about. You are right in that sometimes there is no comparison. But I think that would be a better answer if we were having a chat and comparing cities over coffee with no plans of actually moving to these places. For me, a comparison is necessary (even though my original post was extremely simplififed) since it ultimately determines where I will live
Concerning the "rut." It is possible to fall into this situation in any city, in any profession. However, I think it is important to ask yourself which location is it easiest to get out of. For example if I was in a town where the industry collapsed due to intl. trade should I stay there and try to get out of the rut or go to where there is work? The older generation was only able to look as far as neighboring towns. Slightly younger to other states. But it is just begining that people are now able to look across the world for adventageous locations,, a concept which the older generations cannot comprehend....
The markets of Europe and America are already established and the competition is extremely difficult. The rich have made their wealth and this structure of wealthy vs. others is for the most part set in place. The business environment is simply booming here (look at China in the past 10 years) and Vietnam, once they join the WTO, will grow dramatically. The country is starting completely over and the market as well as who will grow wealthy and who will not is now being created.
Since this is on tokyo metroblogs lets use Japan as an example of the wealthy retaining their riches and keeping the middle class "middle class." The group that now control the wealth of Japan have done so for centuries. Names like Mitsubishi, Asahi, Sumitomo, Fujiwara, ect. are actually families who's names can be found far back in the history books. Mitsubishi for one built much of the war machinery for Imperial Japan and what happened after American occupation? They simply switched to other industries and continue their huge influence over affairs in Japan. The same goes with America although through new industries and opportunity many more have made mountains of wealth. But the majority of the population simply work for these oligarchs. It's true that many can become wealthy if they reach the top posts especially in corporations but for the most part, the old families or "old money" still hold incredible sway especially in Japan.
So I asked myself, where in the world is it most probable that I could start my own business if I choose and make contacts with the leaders of tomorrow while still young and not have to scratch and claw my way up until I'm around 45 - 50 years old? The answer lies in which countries have shaken the system and are starting anew. In Vietnam everything is new and if you ask most investment strategists, Vietnam holds very little risk when starting new businesses because there simply isn't much competition. Also, which economy is most likely to grow by leaps and bounds? Also Vietnam.
I did think much about your comment "the fire to compete." Well, I asked myself which arena would be the most likely in which I would win and win quickly. So I don't like to think of it as big pond or small pond but simply in which pond I can catch the most fish. And the Vietnam pond is going to grow tremendously so I'm catching fish while it's still small in the form of contacts with the future leaders of this place. And if we continue with this metaphor, the fishermen in the States and Japan have huge nets on trawlers while I, still being young, have to make do with a paddleboat and one fishing pole. Much better to compete with others in paddle boats in small pond with a lot of fish and wait until this pond joins all the others through the canal of WTO by which time I will know all the other fishermen in the Vietnam pond. Ok, this has gotten ridiculous.
Further, living here has exposed me to so much I would otherwise not have experienced. Since HCMC is small and I work in an esteemed club I can meet very easily the top heads of many international companies, diplomats and so on. In the west it would just be a hello and then goodbye. Here, I drink beers and dance with these people's wives. During happy hour or at business events, I learn how these companies actually work, what is going on behind the scenes, and how companies actually do business. I can now answer questions about politics concerning oil reserves in remote islands that affect international affairs. What is ment by treaties concerning "joint exploration" of an oil rich area and what is most likely to happen. I learn how they bend rules and what they actually tell the public. If I decide I want to move to Europe, I can speak directly with Counsel generals and sometimes Ambassadors of various European countries on how to best obtain a visa or passport. Also, if I'm drinking with these people they get to know me and we become like friends since we are all ex-pats in a very tight ex-pat community. Also, the generation gap is not as pronounced as it is in the west so I do not feel it odd to be partying with a 60 year old and look at them just as I would any other peer.
Further, this experience works for me in other ways such as giving me a sense of freedom. I know know how to live, work and adapt (or how to get the info) in any country I choose. Most people are stuck in one location, or country since they simply do not know how to leave if the environment happened to be better somewhere else. It is best not to be bound by national borders, nationality, culture and language. Here I learn how to make contacts, who to talk with to get what I want, and how to navigate bureaucracy. This information is gold.
To illustrate this point, after graduation when I wanted to work abroad I asked three people.
1. The head of a large company.
- I asked how soon could I possibly sent abroad if I worked for them. He said it's most likely not possible until I learned the business and then maybe after 5 years or so they might send me somewhere.
2. My university study abroad coordinator.
- She said I could apply for a teaching program in another country but it is very competitive.
3. Various contacts
- They simply said it was too difficult.
Yet, I did it by myself without the support of some institution. The knowledge is there and anything can be done, it's simply finding the door that is key. So if I want to work in some appealing company, I can simply meet the head of the organization here, make friends and find out the shortest path to a possible position.
What really appeals to me here is the contacts I'm making for the future. These people will be the next leaders of Vietnam and have their own business. So in the future if I'm in some other country in a trade related business, I already will have constructed a way in. Also, the experience of having lived here, and having a contact list will be extremely valuable in the very near future. Most people around the world have the wrong image of Vietnam but just give them 5 short years and they will be amazed at what happens to this country and how is grows economically. There already is much hype about China and for good reason. One would also be wise to consider China's neighbors and most savvy investors adopt the China plus one strategy which is simply to not put all one's eggs in the China basket.
Posted by Mateo at 08:41 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
2005年05月26日
Today
Today was a pretty productive day. It also happens to be my birthday which means I'm getting old. I'm now 28 and have spent almost 4 years abroad. Where does the time go?
Today we had a meeting with the Singapore health group who are really driving into the Vietnamese market. They are trying to drum up business for the excellent public hospitals in Singapore since they can do procedures that Vietnam is still incapable of. They would like to cooperate with us since the membership at the club is of very high quality and also use our facilites for some of their seminars.
Tonight was also golf night and it was good to get out of the city and get some fresh air. I used to be a pretty good golfer but really haven't played in 4 years. I can still hit the long ball but my accuracy and putting are suffering.
Posted by Mateo at 22:40 | Comments (1) | TrackBack
2005年05月23日
The Saga of the Vietnam Work Visa
In most foreign countries, obtaining a work visa is like embarking upon a long quest fraught with peril and pitfalls. Unless of course you work for a huge multinational who has a very highly paid Human Resources staff. I do not work for a huge multinational at the moment and I also have another big setback in the case of the work visa. Most of the world sees a US passport like one sees a winning lottery ticket. But I have had this ticket my whole life and have taken for granted this literal Pass (port) which grants me entry to most places in the world. However, at the moment the US has been making it very difficult for foreign workers to obtain the proper documents to work. Guess who pays the price for this! American ex-pat workers do! The more the US makes it, the more difficult foreign governments make it for us. So I would like to tell you a tale of my journey in obtaining the proper documents from entry visa (easy) to work visa (mission impossible)
Entry Visa for Vietnam.
1. Go to the consulate, pay money and pick up a tourist visa. Easy as pie.
2. Business Visa - Get an invitation from a Vietnamese company that wishes to do business with you. Go to the consulate, pay money and pick up business visa. Easy as pie with ice cream.
Work Permit.
I. Necessary documents.
1. Original Diploma from University. Transcripts are not valid, must be original diploma.
2. Obtain home country government documents (explanation below)
II. How to obtain home country government documents
1. Show that no other Vietnamese national can do the work you are doing. The company should take care of this so just find the right company.
2. Obtain a criminal background check from your local sherrif's office.
3. Have this document notorized.
4. Have this document confirmed and stamped by the clerk of courts. (1) This document is stamped and proved as valid by the higher authority.
4. Repeat the previous step (1) by the State Department of your state.
5. Repeat step (1) by the Department of the State of the U.S.A. (yes this means Colin Powell or now Condi Rice) and pay money. Not so easy to do.
6. Repeat step (1) by the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington and pay money.
These steps take many months and you it takes contacts to finally get it done.
III. Show proof of Vietnamese Residence.
1. Obtain document from H.R.
2. Take to City hall.
This is the step I'm currently on. I had to go with my landlord to City Hall but again ran into trouble. It seems that my landlord's residents in actually in her home provence and not where she is living now (In HCMC). Therefore, she has to transfer her register (proof of residence) to HCMC and then I can get my papers to confirm I am actually living in her extra house.
So far it has taken me 6 months to come this far and I'm still not done!!!!
Posted by Mateo at 09:20 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
2005年05月22日
Life in Tokyo vs. Life in Saigon
I'm baaack!! Long time without a post here but I felt a little like an outsider since as most of you know I'm taking a hiatus from Tokyo life and living here in Saigon, Vietnam. But I have often had to explain why I moved to Vietnam if I loved Tokyo so much. Therefore, I thought I would put my explanation here for all of you who are curious about life in other Asian countries and considering leaving Tokyo for a bit.
The MAIN reason I am taking a break from Tokyo is I was afraid of Corporate Japan. I spent three years teaching English and two learning the Japanese langauge and culture and then I up and left! Why did I do this? The answer lies in the quality of life....
I had just finished my Japanese studies and was offered a job in a Japanese company where I would have been the only foreigner. I had established my relationship with this company by teaching the employees English at night. When they heard I graduated from the language program they offered me a job as translator / foreign liasion since they dealt with Spanish/English speakers very often.
However, I began thinking about what my life would be should I take it. I would have continued to pay my rent of $770 a month and worked 9am to 7pm everyday. I could just see myself getting on the crowded trains day in and day out and my main source of entertainment would have been drinking with my co-workers. Granted this would have been more fun than in the USA because I could practice Japanese and further integrate myself. I could see the years slipping away and moving up in the company would have been difficult due to my foreigner status , limited Japanese and the hierarchy of the Japanese system. This still appealed to me more than life in the USA which would have been buying a house, car, being in debt until 50 and joining the rat race. Also, the business environment is so much better in Asia and America better brace itself for a loss of even more jobs as Asian countries continue to join the WTO.
BUT, I took a vacation to Vietnam and found the country to be so much more relaxed and much different from what I had imagined. To me, Vietnam was not a war-torn country but rather a country starting anew with the excitement of a brand new economy and new businesses. I could see myself networking much easier and obtaining jobs that I choose instead of hoping employers would choose me. But without further delay, let's do a compare and contrast:
Tokyo Life vs. Ho Chi Minh City Life
1. Working Environment
Winner: Vietnam
Vietnam has a relatively new economy and everyday new business are opening up. The elite of the city consist of young rich Vietnamese and ex-pats from MAJOR international companies such as BP, Nike, Unilever, etc. The ex-pat community is also very small so meeting the expats is not hard to do since most of them are very colorful and can be found at the local bars pounding beers just like the backpackers. If you want to meet the elite Vietnamese they will be at the local trendy bars which are wayyy too expensive for most of the population. They are starting businesses are out to have fun.
One can network at all the business / diplomatic events and secure themselves a job by attending said events. In Tokyo a membership to the American Chamber of Commerce costed around $650 and every event was about $150 and up. Here, to join most chambers costs less than $100 and events are rarely more than $20. Also, non-members can often attend said events for a cheap price. In Tokyo, the elite are definately in the stratus-sphere and it is very difficult for normal folk to come in contact with them.
If a young person has a business idea here it can be done much easier than in the developed countries and simply takes a little capital or connections with the young elite.
2. Social Life
Winner: Tie
One can explore one single block of Tokyo for three weeks. The sheer immensity of Tokyo cannot be beat and it has an excitement to it with all the blinking lights, beautiful people and fabulous clubs. For high-culture and Metropolitans, Tokyo is the winner. But, the price of this entertainment is horrible and a good night out can set you back $200 easily. For the top clubs it will top $400. But then again one can come in contact with the cream of society and simply watching the bar patrons is excitement enough.
Saigon on the otherhand is very small and the best you can do for the club scene will be at the Sheraton bar which is mostly old fat westerners with young beautiful Vietnamese girls. However, since it is small you will get to know literally everyone and every bar you enter will seem like a "Cheers" episode. I cannot walk more than one minute between entertainment spots without seeing at least 5 people I know. For some, Tokyo is just overwhelming and this community atmosphere appeals to them.
So if I want to be out for an amazing night and am on the hunt, Tokyo wins because everyone I meet will be a stranger and what happens that night will disappear into the immense annals of Tokyo nightlife. But in HCMC everyone knows you and your history. Must not go crazy at night because everyone will talk about you forever and the history never dies.
So to recap, which is more important for you? Having a small group of friends that you take on a huge megaopolis with, or having a small city of friends / acquaintances that you take on around 60 entertainment establishments with?
3. Quality of Life
Winner: Vietnam
Life in Tokyo unfortunately is not going out everynight and being able to explore city blocks every week. Your wallet will be empty before you can bat an eye. Life is characterized by long working hours, long train rides and spending your hard earned dough on about 3 vacations a year.
In Vietnam you can take a trip to the beach or Spa every week. A round trip plane ticket to Nha Trang costs $70. Hotel; between $10-$400 but a nice room can be had for $20. Perhaps it is the warm weather that makes everyone so relaxed here. A smile will get you anywhere and is practically essential. Salaries for ex-pats are very high and I can actually save more money here than in Tokyo. Here I am among the rich but in Tokyo I am a pauper.
4. Personal Development
Winner: Tokyo
To integrate into Japanese society can be very difficult at first. The language is really tough and not many people can speak English well. So to simply integrate into society will change a person so radically that upon returning home they will find themselves bowing to everyone they meet automatically even if they try not to. Also, the langauge is seen as so difficult that if you can speak even a little bit, you will command respect and be perceived as smart.
In Saigon most people can speak English and it's very easy to become part of the community here. It is a little difficult to integrate into Vietnamese community since the language is also difficult but there are so many English speakers that you will feel more included than in Japan. Also, Vietnamese are not timid about approaching foreigners and will come up to you unlike in Japan.
So is there a better place to live? I think the answer that it's all relative and based on perspectives. However, it is important to break out of our comfort zones and get out into the world. Unfortunately, not a lot of people do this and therefore it is no surprise that people hold the ideas of the community around them. It is much better to live in as many places with differing ideas as possible. It just depends on finding out what is really important in life and which location these goals can be achieved. Perspective is also an issue since everything is realtive or based in perspectives. There is no inherently better place to live if you follow me.
Posted by Mateo at 19:17 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
15 of May School Fundraiser.
Today I went to the 15th of May School Fundraiser. Pictures here. The school is a grassroots charity, which helps disadvantaged children in District 1, HCMC. The kids put on an excellent show of Hip Hop dancing and diversions such as juggling and acrobatics. There were also silent and live auctions plus an excellent buffet provided by the Caravelle Hotel.
Posted by Mateo at 15:14 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
2005年05月21日
Last Night
Last night was an interesting one. I attended a "Software Solutions" companies opening party at the Sofitel and met a few guys in the computer industry. It was only Japanese and Vietnamese except for me and one other guy. The presentation was also only in these two languages and it reminded me of my extremely poor vocabulary and how hard it is to maintain said vocabulary.
I had to duck out at 8:00pm to go meet two friends who were in town from America at the Saigon Saigon bar. One is a Phd. candidate at Yale and her boyfriend who is a civil rights lawyer also from Yale. We had a really great conversation drawing parallels between the "Communist" system here and the Capitalist system in the United States. It was interesting to find that as they can search houses here and we think of it as "Communism" the same thing happens in the USA, especially in minority neighborhoods. I guess the pretext is finding "illegal aliens" but they could say that here as well since some foreigners have not registered their guests/residents in their house properly. So we foreigners tend to think of this as "Communism" but it's not really that different from what goes on in the USA. Another is corruption. Here if you are connected your life will be easier on all fronts. It's the same in the USA is it not? My lawyer friend informed me of much of the rampant corruption going on with the police especially in Chicago. We also discussed free speech. There are some things better off left unsaid here but I heard that some right wing companies in the USA refused to do business with the "lefties" and in certain parts of America it is Taboo to speak about certain things. I don't want to get more specific on this. Finally, there was the idea about workers rights. Here the government has laws to protect the worker. In the US back and England during the Industrial Revolution things were not so good for the common worker. Also, in the 1920's (not so long ago) there were also teams of police called "Strike Breakers" on the payroll of the big companies. I read an article once that Capitalism was able to adapt and get labor laws in place. However, the author was unable to see that Communism was also able to adapt as it is doing now with opening the economy and relaxing many laws. My own conclusion is simply that any system can work so long as you take out human greed which at this stage in our development is impossible. There will always be greed and therefore every system is a bit flawed.
After the Saigon Saigon bar my friends had to go since they had to catch a flight in 8 hours. On the way out I met some more friends who were going to a different bar. But on the way there I saw some other friends drinking at the Qing wine bar and sat with them for about 2 hours. Now I'm up at 10:40am and gotta be at the conditioning class at the gym. Hope I have the energy for it!
Posted by Mateo at 10:22 | Comments (1) | TrackBack
2005年05月20日
Old Entries
I had so many problems with my last MT configuration that I had to reinstall everything. So I lost some of my old rants, but have pasted them in the excerpt....
I spent all day working on the website. For some reason there is an internal server error for the archive and recent entry links. Also, if I add an extended entry the link doesn't work either. I spent three hours looking for the answer but no luck. But I like the challenge of finding the answers and when I set my mind to something I can usually solve the problem even if it takes a long time like getting this movabletype software to work.
I then gave up for today with that and worked on getting some pictures up. I found that there are very easy ways now to share pictures online but I don't want to do it that way since it would mean giving up control. I once shared my pictures online five years ago with the MSN program. I forgot the name of the program but it looked like a colored butterfly and integrated e-mail, browser and had goodies like picture sharing. However, one day they decided to delete all my pictures and I lost all my e-mails. I forget if they were upgrading or asking me to pay but ever since that time I don't trust the free services because one day they will ask for money or go out of business. That is why I take a long time to optomize the pictures myself in Fireworks, and then put them into a table in Dreamweaver. It takes forever and I hate doing it but unless anyone has found software that makes this easy and I maintain control I'll have to continue doing it this way.
I also spoke with the family today and one thing about being an ex-pat is you have to sacrifice a lot like spending time with family and friends, missing weddings and funerals etc. I'm missing one of my good friends weddings today and it just sucks. I really wish I could have gone. But this is the price to pay for living abroad I suppose.
This Weekend
This weekend is an important one here in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). It marks the 30th anniversary of the end of the American (Vietnam) war and there are celebrations throughout the city. I've heard that Vietnam will have it's first lazer light show to commemorate the event and the streets are packed with people.
I was recently asked if it is an Anti-American event but that is completely untrue. I too would have surmised before I came to Vietnam that it would be anti-american but I do not feel this setiment at all. As I had guessed from my vacation here, I have confirmed that the Vietnamese are the best in the world at forgiving and forgetting. In fact the Vietnamese are very engaged with America and the rest of the world and the govenrment has done a very good job at opening up the economy to foreign investment which has been improving the lives of the people here.
Vietnam really wants to join the WTO and it seems that they will do so in the near future. I went to an American Chamber of Commerce event a while back to learn about when Vietnam could join and it seemed that the community here did not get the answers from "the powers that be" that they wanted. First we heard from the director of the STAR group which is the liason which works out the technical details that the world says Vietnam must complete before joining. This means passing laws on intellectual property rights, lowering tariffs and so on. It took about an hour for the head of this organization to complete his speech.
However, the issue was brought up that Cambodia has already been accepted and Vietnam is much more advanced and has more stable set of laws already in place. Therefore why couldn't they join by the end of the year? That is when the American government official hit the podium and was extremely evasive in my opinion. He said that there is a "working party of parties which have concerns about Vietnam joining the WTO." It is this "working group" who will decide when Vietnam can join the WTO. So what I gathered from the speech was that it is not about technical details at all and simply about when "the powers that be" decide Vietnam can join the WTO. It all comes down to politics and I'm guessing the main "working party" comprises the U.S.A., China, and most likely France.
Therefore, I found it a bit comical that we spent so much time talking about the technical economic details when the true answer lies in politics, and the politicians are being evasive. I have concluded that they will say Vietnam can join when it is most favorable for them and they can get the most from Vietnam. It amazed me that we have courses in University on International Trade and how the WTO works when the true answers lie behind the curtain and are basically politicans making deals.
I've done it!
Hello Everyone. As you can see my website has changed dramatically. It has taken me over a year to do this due to getting frustrated and quitting. Here I would like to tell you the abridged version of my quest to get MovableType to work on my website.
I started playing with Movabletype in Japan over a year ago. At first the instructions seemed very complicated for me since I knew nothing of databases. However, I wanted to learn so I tried to get it to work. After failing I gave up and went back to using Dreamweaver and Macromedia products which I am very comfortable with. I tried starting a blog with simple html and did that for a while. However, MT remained in my mind and I was determined to make it work. However, I could not get the database to load and it took a lot of letters to my server. It still didn't work and I gave up for half a year.
When I came to Vietnam, there were so many things I wanted to write about that I tried again. It took me a week to get it loaded on my server, but there were problems. After a week of research I discovered that MT doesn't like Windows servers and everytime it created a new page I had to manually go in and configure the permissions for each new page which was a pain!!!!
So I decided to change my web hosting provider. However, this was very difficult from Vietnam because my IP address was coming from here but my credit card is based in the USA so I could not change it automatically online. This was very frustrating and finally I broke down and paid for the international call to get my new web hosting provider set up. It's taken me two days to get MT to work but with this new provider things are much simpler and there are no problems like there were with the other provider. I could go into a million details of all the problems I've had but frankly they are complicated and I've forgotten most of them. So from here on I'm going to continue setting up this blog and making it really cool.
I will have more pictures and plenty of stories shortly.
Posted by Mateo at 17:41 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
2005年05月19日
En français
oui, je peux parler français un petit peux aussi. Mais aunque j´aime parler le langue français bcp, tout les français ici peux parler l´anglais trés bien. Donc j´ai pas bcp de fois oú je peux practiquer ce langue. Donc je voudrias utiliser ce blog pour écrire en français des temps en temps. Je sais que mon français c´est un catastrophe comme mon professeur souvant dit, mais c´est dommage parce que je vais practiquer ce langue jusqu´a je parle bien.
Posted by Mateo at 21:34 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
ベトナムについて
今まで７ヶ月ベトナムに住むと東京がたくさん懐かしいんでいる。私にとって東京は一番いい町です。でも私の東京から出発の理由は普通サラマンになりたくなかった。東京の生活はすごく楽しいでも働いて生活はあまらいよくないね。ベトナムの仕事はもともといいと思う。毎日新しいあどべんチャがあります。
ベトナムにもたくさん日本人が住んでいます。色々日本のレストランがあって、日本の会社があります。でもここに住んでいる日本人の英語は私の日本語よりしゃべる。ずるいですね！だけどその人とコミュニケーションすることは安い。
Posted by Mateo at 21:19 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
日本語で
日本語は２年間勉強をしましただけど今はあまらい練習ができません。そいして時々日本語で書きたい。多分皆さんは私の日本語がよくわかりません、、でもしょうがないね。
Posted by Mateo at 21:13 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
En Español
El razón que tengo este catagoria es solamente que a veces quiero practicar mi español. Es una pena para mi porque me gusta estudiar idiomas pero todo el mundo habla íngles bastante bien. Entonces tengo este catagoria para no olvidar este idioma y tambien a veces quiero hablar sobre gente que no entiende Español!
Posted by Mateo at 21:07 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Today's Adventure
Today was actually not so adventuresome. However, today the Buddhist funeral infront of my house ended. The old lady who spoke to me in French not 6 months before and told me to "Firmez le porte doucemont" passed away. They then erected a shrine and had chants, prayers and visitors for three days. It was really something to experience and I had never seen anything like that before.
Also, two days ago I went to the Norwegian "Constitution Day" reception hosted by the Ambassador of Norway. It was very nice but in a town like this it's not uncommon to be able to go to these things if your an expat. This town is pretty small and if you can network and get a job in a foreign company it's not difficult to be invited like in other cities. I really never thought I would be able to attend events like that though at age 27.
Yesterday however I had a catastrophy. I have an 8 foot long fishtank yesterday and one of the supports for the light fell into the water. This means the light also fell into the water and electrocuted all my goldfish. When I got home I had one morbid fishtank that was milky white and full of dead fish. It was horrible. So now I have to start over but attach those tricky supports better.
Today after work I went bowling with two of my co-workers. I got the high score of 178 and was definately in the zone. We were playing next to about 6 Vietnamese and my Vietnamese co-worker informed us that one of the guys was a famous dj from T.V. Again, in this town if you have a decent job, it's not uncommon to come in contact with the elite of this town. My friend who brought me to Vietnam is also pretty famous and I would have never thought I would be hanging out with famous people but in Vietnam everything is possible.
I still can't believe I got Movabletype working. It only took a year of frustration and giving up, only to try again. It actually became an obsession and I refused to go to Wordpress because I feel I don't have control like I do in Movabletype since it's difficult to write the HTML in Wordpress.
Ok, I've rambled on enough for this entry. Back to formatting my webpage.
Posted by Mateo at 18:35 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
2005年05月18日
Movabletype finally works
Today I decided to try and tackle my movabletype problems one more time. Before, I had trouble with the comments, archives and basically any link that Movabletype was supposed to take care of. So I deleted the whole thing, downloaded the new 3.6 version and reinstalled everything. This time I made sure everything was uploaded in ASCII mode that was supposed to be and lo and behold, everything works now!!!!! I can't believe it! So now here I am at 11:00pm trying to replace all my old links and add more content. I'm pooped.
Posted by Mateo at 22:45 | Comments (0) | TrackBack