Power & Privilege

The concepts of power and privilege have been on my back of my mind since arriving here, but they've come to the forefront since getting paid last week. I made a little over 3 million dong, or $150 USD for three half-days of substitute teaching. As the school's accountant handed me a collection of 500,000 dong notes, I blurted out (like a complete ass) something along the lines of "Wow, I'm rich, this saves me a trip to the ATM!" I was later discreetly and politely informed by a colleague that my wages for three half-days of subbing could equal or surpass the monthly income of a typical Vietnamese family. So, in a roomful of Vietnamese teaching aides, all of whom are hardworking and completely indispensable to their Western colleagues (yet earn a fraction of their salary), I had carelessly showcased my ignorance, borne of a lifetime of privilege.

What strikes me is this: despite the fact that I am an immigrant to this country, part of an ethnic minority, unable to speak the native language, and barely able to navigate the city in which I now reside, I still enjoy a privileged status. My teaching skills and experience are in high demand, I will be paid an exceptionally competitive wage, and I will enjoy a cost of living in which the sum of my rent, utilities, food, transportation, and entertainment could easily amount to less than $500/month.

Now reverse the situation: A non-white immigrant arrives in the US. They have limited English skills. Unless they possess a specialized skill-set or unique trade, they will have difficulty finding high-paying work. Making ends meet on minimum wage in the US is a joke. They will struggle. Despite the promise of opportunities afforded through education and a "pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps" mentality, their children will likely struggle. Because of... skin color? Socio-economics? Institutionalized racism? What?

So I ponder the absurdity of my situation. I am an immigrant, I am an ethnic minority, I do not speak Vietnamese - yet I am privileged. There weren't any jobs at home, so I hopped on a plane and decided to find work in a foreign country. How many Vietnamese could do the same? How do I reconcile my capitalist tendencies (Need to make money! Need to get the best paying job! Financial security is the key to happiness!) with my social conscience?

Sure, I have degrees that attest to the amount of money, time, and effort I've invested in becoming a teacher. Certainly they prove that I am deserving of a competitive wage. Or you could boil it down to supply and demand: I speak English; everyone wants to learn how to speak English.

Yet having money and time to invest in education is a privilege. And yes, I speak English; but I often feel like the monolingual outcast in a community of bi- and trilingual peers. I'm privileged to speak English and only English; I don't need to learn another language unless I want to.

I'll leave it at that. I don't pretend to actually know the answers to these questions, or to be an expert in the nuances of power and privilege. I realize that my comparisons are very black and white, and that actual life is full of myriad shades of grey. I'm not presuming to solve an unsolvable riddle here; but I do hope that this gets you thinking. Thoughts?

"The Father of All Buns"

Alright, I must have radar for this kind of thing. Within my first week of living in a brand new country I have located several locations of a bakery chain which sells toasty hot, deliciously sweet (but not too sweet), buttery, aaamaaazing "buns." That's it. They just sell one thing. And it's bomb. I'll let their website do the talking:

"PappaRoti is a type of bread very popular in Malaysia, which is considered heaven cakes of the region. Cake made with raw materials mainly of flour, butter, milk, cheese and coffee will certainly be appealing at first you smell the aroma of crispy hot cakes at the new oven. Prior to the oven, on the cake will be coated with a special cream, cream in the oven will melt and penetrate into the crust to create a distinctive scent swirled in the air , the passion of Coffee shops interspersed faint flavor of the cheese layer is golden melted butter inside of a cake will satisfy any customers whether it is most difficult when the taste of this cake."

I'll be honest, I don't recall any cheese in the buns I've had so far, but melted butter in the middle? Yes please. Fresh out of the oven for less than a dollar? I'll take two. I'm hoping I get tired of these eventually, because otherwise I will be packing on some serious poundage in my time here.

I stole their flickr photostream so you all at home can drool over my new favorite snack.

4th Time Around

I made it past 3 posts! Yeah! Been a little busy the past few days with searching for work and a place to live (minor details), so apologies for the lull in posting.

Monday and Tuesday I had the chance to work with the most delightful 3 year olds because a teacher was sick and needed someone to cover. Since I'm already approved to sub for the 5-6 year olds for the next two weeks, they asked if I would like to cover the younger class for a couple days. It was hilarious - mostly because the thought of me being in charge of young children cracks me up. I was able to dig into my bag of tricks to find ways to keep the children engaged. Lots of funny voices while reading books and nursery rhymes with hand motions going on. Did I mention that there are only 6 students in the class being taught by myself and an aide? They do things a little differently at schools here in Vietnam...

Lately I've been lamenting the fact that my camera doesn't have video, because there is so much happening here that can't be captured in still images. A few days ago I sat on the balcony of a bar overlooking a large roundabout intersection, and was absolutely hypnotized by the rhythm of the traffic. There's an ebb and flow that emerges as clumps of motorbikes jockey for position. Cars become islands surrounded by swirls of smaller vehicles. In a sea of black, red, and silver motorbikes, every once in a while a yellow or green one will capture your attention. Now add pedestrians to the mix. Freshly arrived tourists venture timidly into the fray, their lack of confidence betrayed by their awkward stop-and-go attempts to cross the river of traffic. Meanwhile, locals nonchalantly walk through the chaos, not looking left or right, but calmly straight ahead.

The Western inclination is to cringe while watching this drama unfold - each "near-miss" elicits a sharp intake of breath, a slight quickening of the heart. Yet as I continued to watch the traffic, I started to realize that my definition of a near-miss is the Vietnamese equivalent of business as usual. There's a certain amount of letting go that needs to happen in order to exist comfortably in the daily rhythms of Hanoi. It's starting to remind me of a game of pool; a study in trajectory, angle, and velocity, though the goal of this game is to avoid contact with other objects. Let go of the fear of possible impact, and instead believe that against all logic, you will make it across the street. So far, so good.

Wanderings, a set on Flickr.

Hindsight is 20/20

Walked through the city for 6 hours today. About 4 of those were intentional - then I realized I had no idea how to get home. I made it back eventually, with extremely dirty feet (boo) and lots of photos (yay!). Here are some lessons I learned from today's wanderings:

1. Get an f-ing map of the city. Study it. Carry it with you.

2. Wear actual shoes (not flip-flops) if you plan on walking for more than 15 minutes.

3. Establish visual landmarks so you know which obscure, easily-missed side-street/alley will lead you home.

4. Carry people's phone numbers with you in case your phone dies (which mine did just as I was about to text someone for directions home).

5. Carry people's addresses with you so you can show it to the cab driver to take you home.

Needless to say, I'll be much better prepared the next time I decide to explore. On the bright side, I ate some great food, crossed several busy streets like a pro, and snapped tons of photos. Take a look!

Hindsight, a set on Flickr.

Camera in Hand

Did some exploring on foot today with my new best friend: a Nikon DSLR that I got before leaving the States. I kind of feel like I'm cheating on the film cameras I left at home... but this one is so shiny and new! The digital images are so instantly gratifying! So much easier to share with everyone at home!

Completely sweat through my clothing within 5 minutes of leaving the house. Walked down a street filled with meat vendors - raw beef, plucked chickens, possibly a dog or two. Eventually found my way to a flower market, where the women shouted "Mademoiselle, you buy!" as I walked past their booths. Successfully crossed my first busy street all by myself. Eventually found a shopping mall with AC - joy! Met Nadia for a delicious lunch of yet more noodles + broth + meat (bun cha), then accompanied her back to her school to visit the Kindergarten classroom where I will be subbing for two weeks. Yes, Kindergarten. The students are ADORABLE. Stay tuned for stories of their antics and my desperate attempts to relate to 5-6 year olds when I am used to working with 14-18 year olds.

Made our way home from school during a short break in the pouring rain. Taking a rest now before heading out for some music, beers, socializing, etc. Enjoy the following slideshow, which I now realize is pathetically short considering I walked around with my camera for at least 2 hours today. I'll have to break my habit of conserving pictures (aka film) and start snapping up a storm on my future photo excursions.

24 Hours in Hanoi

Technically, I guess I've only been here about 22.5 hours, but who's counting? All of my senses are on total overload. My first thought as I stepped off the airplane: MUGGY. The cardigan I've been wearing since I boarded the plane in Seattle is now completely obsolete. The cab ride from the airport was a quick introduction in Vietnamese driving etiquette. Blinkers are optional, lane lines are a mere suggestion, and honking is essential for letting other drivers know where you are. Exciting! Nearly 24 hours awake on the trip from Seattle to Seoul, then Seoul to Hanoi = a solid night's sleep when I finally fell into bed.

Killed my first cockroach in the shower this morning (actually, it was already half dead, and all I did was pick it up with toilet paper and put it in the garbage, but I was still pretty proud of myself). After a tiny cup of extremely strong Turkish coffee, I was off for a tour of Hanoi via motorbike, courtesy of my host Manu. Equal parts terrifying and exhilarating. Met his sister Nadia for a delicious lunch of something they ordered for me (noodles + broth + meat). Ran various errands, then enjoyed afternoon beers (bia hoi) on a bustling corner that Manu has been visiting for years. More errands, then more beers and food at a bar owned by a friend of Nadia and Manu (side note: these two know EVERYONE in Hanoi). Home now for a quick break before going out tonight with a few of their friends (I've been advised to stay up as late as possible to power through my jet lag).

Haven't taken too many pictures yet, but here are a couple I snapped from the balcony of Manu and Joelle's place. They show the Red River, the main river that winds through Hanoi.

Hoping for a chance to explore the neighborhood on foot tomorrow with camera in hand. Will also begin my job search in earnest; already have some good leads courtesy of Nadia and her friend Kayla. To sum up my first 24 hours in Hanoi: tired, sweaty, overwhelming, delicious, incredible.