Vietnam and The 'Other' Me
Ok, this may come as a shock to some but I appreciate art, I adore history and I am easily enamoured by the culture of a place.
Let's take it one by one.
Art. During my holidays to Europe, I'd spend my days like this. I'd wake up in the mornings and have a leisurely breakfast. Take the train to any art gallery I fancy and spend my time there looking at paintings, sculptures and what have you. I'd adjourn for lunch and spend my afternoons at a cafe reading a book before meeting a friend for dinner. I'm particularly into impressionist art because it creates the illusion of vagueness. Ephemerality if there's such a word. As if we live in a world that's fleeting and devoid of definitions. I like that kinda feeling. I think in Mandarin they call it "yin3 yin3 yue4 yue4". (Mental note: next think I must learn is how to type chinese characters on blogger.)
History. I am not so much interested in the theories per se but more about dynasties, wars and enigmatic rulers. American history to me is very interesting because each generation of Americans were shaped by their leaders. Ronald Reagan and his famous 'good morning america!' slogan ushered in an era of hope. Jimmy Carter, though not exactly renowned for his competence, is my personal favourite because he strikes me as a man of peace (not just because he won the noble peace prize). Richard Nixon was the scummiest of them all, but that's probably cos of the Watergate Scandal. I could go on and on and expound on all the American presidents, Chinese emperors, the Napoleon wars and all that I can recall from my education but I think you get the drift.
Finally culture. I am quite intrigued by the Vietnamese culture. By how humble, resilient and peace-loving the people are. To come up with the very idea of tunnels and executing the plan in order to defeat the Americans in the Vietnam war, to me is ingenuity in real life and in real time. Yet 20 years after the war ended the Vietnamese are able to embrace American tourists as a way to boost their economy and as a way of life. I did not detect any resentment or ill feeling on their part. Maybe I hung around the wrong side of town. Maybe I have bad radar when it comes to detecting such things. But maybe I am right. I feel that the Vietnamese do not nurse a deep grudge against the Americans, unlike the Japanese. I think the key difference is pride. It is also amazing to me how the Vietnamese are not in a hurry but yet are all socially and economically productive.
These are random things I picked up during my week long trip to Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh just. Of course things may change in due course. When more and more capitalist reforms set in. When the economy starts to soar and skyscrappers start to dot the Vietnamese sky. Things will change.
I guess what inspired this post was a conversation with a friend who was shell-shocked when I unveiled the above facets of me.
I do appreciate the allegedly 'finer' things in life sometimes.
Let's take it one by one.
Art. During my holidays to Europe, I'd spend my days like this. I'd wake up in the mornings and have a leisurely breakfast. Take the train to any art gallery I fancy and spend my time there looking at paintings, sculptures and what have you. I'd adjourn for lunch and spend my afternoons at a cafe reading a book before meeting a friend for dinner. I'm particularly into impressionist art because it creates the illusion of vagueness. Ephemerality if there's such a word. As if we live in a world that's fleeting and devoid of definitions. I like that kinda feeling. I think in Mandarin they call it "yin3 yin3 yue4 yue4". (Mental note: next think I must learn is how to type chinese characters on blogger.)
History. I am not so much interested in the theories per se but more about dynasties, wars and enigmatic rulers. American history to me is very interesting because each generation of Americans were shaped by their leaders. Ronald Reagan and his famous 'good morning america!' slogan ushered in an era of hope. Jimmy Carter, though not exactly renowned for his competence, is my personal favourite because he strikes me as a man of peace (not just because he won the noble peace prize). Richard Nixon was the scummiest of them all, but that's probably cos of the Watergate Scandal. I could go on and on and expound on all the American presidents, Chinese emperors, the Napoleon wars and all that I can recall from my education but I think you get the drift.
Finally culture. I am quite intrigued by the Vietnamese culture. By how humble, resilient and peace-loving the people are. To come up with the very idea of tunnels and executing the plan in order to defeat the Americans in the Vietnam war, to me is ingenuity in real life and in real time. Yet 20 years after the war ended the Vietnamese are able to embrace American tourists as a way to boost their economy and as a way of life. I did not detect any resentment or ill feeling on their part. Maybe I hung around the wrong side of town. Maybe I have bad radar when it comes to detecting such things. But maybe I am right. I feel that the Vietnamese do not nurse a deep grudge against the Americans, unlike the Japanese. I think the key difference is pride. It is also amazing to me how the Vietnamese are not in a hurry but yet are all socially and economically productive.
These are random things I picked up during my week long trip to Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh just. Of course things may change in due course. When more and more capitalist reforms set in. When the economy starts to soar and skyscrappers start to dot the Vietnamese sky. Things will change.
I guess what inspired this post was a conversation with a friend who was shell-shocked when I unveiled the above facets of me.
I do appreciate the allegedly 'finer' things in life sometimes.
posted by staplerholepuncher at 12:17 AM
|
0 comments
