Final blog assignment: Take-away or dine-in? Peace out

Poverty sucks. Income disparities in Vietnam are huge, and the rich-poor gap widens more and more each day. Vietnam is the 3rd most populous ASEAN country, and the 13th most populated country in the world.

I never realized how brutal development was until I witnessed it for 3 months straight. I’m talking about hours and hours of construction and loud drilling noises, for HOURS on end. I never experienced this constant hammering in my head before, but when you think about it, this is how development started. This is how Western countries got their metropolises going and their dollars rolling. And it just really fucks with my head. I grew up in quiet, already modern places with minimal construction. Being in Vietnam has helped me visualize how we all started from scratch somewhere in this world. I envision Toronto like this 60 years ago.

Every day I think about the impact of this development on Vietnam. As I mentioned before, a lot of it is “building stuff for the sake of building” but the problem I have is that it’s pretty likely that none of it is beneficial to the environment. A country like Vietnam could really learn from the mistakes that Western countries have made in regards to unsustainable buildings and standards, which is why you see more architecture plans incorporating recycled material, organic cotton or ecological wood in the West (but still, not enough). It’s all about sustainability, and when I’m in Vietnam, I feel nothing but instability. I don’t believe this country is sustainable at all, and it freaks me out.

So. Living in Asia! It was great, and I want to come back here over and over again, but after getting sick three weeks in a row, I’m not sure I could live in a developing country for an extended period of time again. I value my health too much, and I value free healthcare. However, I’m not afraid to try new places and things, so I’ll continue on that route. I crave Cambodia, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, and most importantly, Japan. I will make my way back here.

The fact that several ex-pats relocate to Vietnam is a special thing. It’s one of the things that made me curious about coming to Vietnam. I expected awesome dance parties, cheap food, cheap accommodation, and using taxis instead of public transport. It lived to my expectations (except for Apocalypse Now – the only club open after 12am with the exact. same. playlist. every week.) But why do so many freaking foreigners live here?! Well, simply put, it’s cheap. And if you’re a guy, a Western guy, then chances are you will be flocked by women.

There are opportunities in Vietnam where you can be anyone you want, without the paperwork and the cost in comparison to the West. But I think this cheap living can sometimes do more harm than good. AsiaLife had an article about it – what kind of impact are foreigners really making in Vietnam? They have more services catered to them and Vietnam thus becomes further westernized. The impacts also come from international business and the rising middle-class.

I don’t want to type too much about self-realizations because it’s personal and deals a lot with comfort zones. Basically I need to open up more. I do not consider myself a very shy person but being here has made me feel more shy than usual. Afraid to talk and ask for things. I think this happens when I go to live in new places – I completely shut down, but I open up at the same time. I just don’t like attention and it’s all I seemed to get in Vietnam, which was expected.

However, I have made awesome friends that I won’t forget, even though I am just another temporary person in their lives. It’s worth coming back here to see how it will change in 10 years, 5 years or even 1 year. I think being here has given me a clearer idea about what I want to do with my life. It sounds cheesy but it happens!

Crucial life lessons learned: be yourself always, be a bit more confrontational (it’s ok to ask!), be more open about talking, take initiative in starting conversations, realize that life is a struggle for a loooot of people, relax, be creative when the need arises, and forgive.

Forgiveness. Think of all the war that Vietnam has been through. But Vietnamese people don’t seem to hold grudges against the French or Americans. I like this about Vietnamese people. It’s about moving into the future and accepting that the past is now gone.

I’ve learned a lot about my values..again. I have pretty high standards for the cities I will choose as living spaces in the future. Wherever I choose to settle down must have amazing public transportation and bike lanes. I value this in a city very, very much, which is why I am so attached to Scandinavia. The things I value about life are policies in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and other European countries like Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany. I value public space and artistic freedom. I value the environment and environmental technological innovation so very much. Living in Vietnam was a total challenge because it is the opposite of everything I seem to want in life, but I think it’s a good thing to be here. This is life for a lot of people.

Vietnam has inspired me. It has made me feel like many things are possible in this life. From the DJ nights to the budding art galleries, HCMC appeals to me a lot. In some ways, it’s a place to look out for new talent and cutting edge innovation. I was happy in Vietnam because I had a very comfortable living standard, but at the expense of others. I’m sad to go, but I’m glad to go. I need a change already. I need my cat. I need my boyfriend. I need my bicycle. I need fresh air.

Notes/things I like that I don’t want to forget about:
-Vasco’s
-Lunches and dinners with newfangled, quite random Vietnamese friends
-Cake cravings with Nita
-Watching countless hours of teley with Adam
-San Art Gallery
-The Vietnamese fortune teller
-$3 massage at the Blind Institute
-A lot of sweet restaurants, especially French ones. I’m definitely coming back to eat!

Overall, I am so stoked to go back to Toronto – a city that is easy to hate, but comfortable for now.

Northern Vietnam

Oh man, I don’t have much to say about Northern Vietnam except that it is stunning. My mom arrived last Wednesday (?) night and we went to Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sa Pa and Lao Cai which is at the border of China. Sa Pa is easily one of the best places I have ever seen with my own eyes. I was just speechless the entire time. I could spend weeks up there in the mountains. Seriously one of the most beautiful, epic, Lord-of-the-Rings-esque moments of my life. If you asked me to write an article about Sa Pa, I would have major difficulty.

Sa Pa/Lao Chai Village

Lao Chai village of Sa Pa, where the ethnic minorities Black Hmong live. The girls were super-nice and they learned English from tourists. Amazing! Their English was really, really good, and super-conversational. They showed us around Sa Pa town and followed us on our trek to their village. At the end they asked for some money for handicrafts, but we had already bought some. Still, the Black Hmong people were generally very nice, sweet and helpful.

Halong Bay

Halong Bay is another amazing sight. We booked a cruise trip, slept on the boat, and in the morning, we awoke to the most beautiful scenery ever surrounding us. We swam in the water. My mom got bit by a jellyfish…haha…so it goes in Vietnam. Halong Bay is a contender for the new seventh wonder of the world.

Hanoi, capital of Vietnam

Hanoi city was quite beautiful, although we stayed in the backpackers area which was brutal after a while. I don’t like the Saigon backpackers area really, and the Hanoi one was even more confusing. The city is more French-influenced, but luckily it has a lot of open historical space, and a sweet Museum of Ethnology. I love tribes so I got to learn about all 56 of them in Vietnam in this beautiful & modern French-built space.

Lao Cai, border between Vietnam and China

Lao Cai is the train station closest to Sa Pa. It’s RIGHT on the border of China. Omg, so exciting. I totally saw China across the river! Chinese script and all! So tempted to jump in, swim to the other side, and get caught by the cops. I mean…

Oh wow…

So, since my last hospital adventure I wasn’t sure how well I had progressed but I’d say I was doing pretty well. Until yesterday. I went out for lunch with two of my roomies and started feeling sick after, like terrible awful sour cramps in my stomach. It hurt so much that tears were rolling down my pale face whether I wanted them or not.

It was perfect timing because we were having a house party that night! And I was supposed to DJ. But instead? I went to the hospital with an IV stuck in my arm and got poked with a needle 3 times for a blood test. My veins were feeling shy? Apparently I had a fever (ray) too. Luckily my roommate Adam came with me and chilled with me for about 45 minutes which was super nice of him. I sat in the hospital until all the IV liquid dripped into me, then I was prescribed buscopan for cramps, and then I bounced. I got home, put my black dress on and pretended like nothing happened in the midst of Bob Marley and a bunch of people I didn’t know. My arms were all bandaged up – it was hot.

Well, the night was pretty fun and I didn’t feel a lot of pain when I joined the party. I got to DJ and even dance a little, pain-free! The next morning I had issues and went to the doctors for a few hours again for an ultrasound, blood test and a urine test. YAY. At the end of the day, I was diagnosed with a UTI, which makes nooooooooooooooo sense because it sure as hell didn’t feel like a UTI. I showed no symptoms but my bladder was going all crazy according to the ultrasound and urine test. I’ve had a UTI before so I definitely know what it feels like, and it doesn’t feel like this.

Now I’m chilling at home with some antibiotics. I still ache when I move. This must be my lucky year for health issues! Last year it was financial issues. What will 2010 bring for me?

Other than that, my weekend was really great. I met two Vietnamese friends for dinner. Tina was one of them (I wrote about her before). We did our usual pagoda run except we went to a pagoda we’ve never visited before in district 10, which was huge. I really like Tina and I hope I can meet up with her in Finland/Europe next year which is where she studies. I met with Phuc who works at the Canadian consulate too. She’s coming to Toronto and/or Ottawa in February!

I didn’t mention it before but we have a new roommate from Poland. Her name is Maria. So now it’s a Filipino, Polish, Vietnamese, Swedish and Canadian household…until I move, then an Aussie Viet Kieu (“Vietnamese overseas”) will come. I’m gonna miss everyone. Three weeks until I come home. My dad has the same flight time as me from Chicago to Toronto (he lives in Texas) so we will meet in the O’Hare airport, which will be seriously jokes.

AND my mom is visiting on Wednesday. We are going up North next weekend.

Well, those are all my health problems for now! Ciao.

Seriously? Seriously?!?!

If this doesn’t feel like death and dying, then I don’t know what does.

I have officially been diagnosed with gastroenteritis. Thanks Vietnam!!!! It’s basically a bacteria/toxic/parasitic overgrowth in my intestines.

It all started last night after my swimming session when I started shivering on the inside but felt hot on the outside. I felt little punches in my stomach. The next morning I woke up and I started to feel teeth and claws. I rushed to Family Medical Practice and the best part is, the taxi tried to take the wrong way. What a jerk. People like this ruin Vietnam, I’m sorry. If I had a very serious emergency and some asshole decided to take a wrong turn, I would seriously punch him in the face (ok, maybe not, cos you don’t wanna get into fights with Vietnamese people. Ever). I started SCREAMING at him to turn the proper direction because *every single* taxi driver in Saigon knows where this place is – it’s attached to the gigantic Diamond Plaza Korean shopping mall. I asked for a receipt and he scurried fearfully. Good, he should be afraid of my intense yelling skills. I didn’t listen to Saetia for five years for nothing.

I get into the doctor’s office and I am just bawling my face off because the stomach pains are brutal beyond belief. Imagine something clawing inside of your stomach and sucking up your juices. That’s an understatement. I stayed at the doctor’s office for a few hours, not knowing that each hour would cost me money. Better to be safe than sorry, though.

Am I the only one who finds it *incredibly weird* paying for medical services? As a Canadian, it is the most foreign thing ever. Last week when I had a cold, I went to the doctor’s office. Thanks for insurance because to see the doctor for 15 minutes was $56 USD. Pardon me? God, I love Canada (and Scandinavia). I guess you have to pay for private treatment and naturopaths and stuff, but to see a doctor – it should be free. No questions asked!

Anyways, I have to take the next 1-2 days off work again. Being in an underdeveloped country past the 2-month mark is leading to some (fairly common) health problems. I guess it is expected. I am gonna go get ripped on Cipro now.