-^-for posterity-^-

“eat more!” vs. “eat more equitably!”

this is a wonderful city. every corner is full of life. the streets flow and the sun shines. oh, it just makes you want to smile.

well, today i ambled around and looked at everything i could. i saw small ladies selling food from portable stoves on the sidewalk. i was accosted many times by petite girls selling postcards. there were many tiny coffee shops where people were sitting and chatting. i stared at the armed guards outside of the american embassy. they were vietnamese soldiers. i felt the sun all over me and could feel sweat slowly forming under my clothes. i heard motorcycle after motorcycle scream by me and weave around each other like fish swimming upstream. i smelled the must.

today, i visited the ho chi minh city mall. at home, while shopping for shoes, i told my father that i would not, thankfully, have to deal with the commercialization that unnerves me so. he said "no, there's a mall in ho chi minh city". i didn't believe him but should have. this mall is placed in the middle of town right under a large glass skyscraper. one walks in and is greeted by many well dressed koreans and japanese tourists. we all know what a mall looks like so i won't go into a description, the only thing i could observe was that it seemed more squat. everything seemed closer, tighter and shorter.

i took escalator after escalator up to the top floor admiring all of the overpriced goodies. on the top floor i was surprised to find a life-size statue of colonel sanders. his face was plastered with a smile and his white facial hair glistened on his porcelain body. his hand was outstretched and his cane was neatly tucked under his other arm. maybe he wanted me to shake his hand. i almost did but people were watching. the red and white kfc sign that i knew so well hung above his head and advertised the "mới!" (new) popcorn chicken. i didn't venture into the store. just being that close to a life-sized statue of the colonel brought back the strangest combination of feelings and thoughts. i had wished i had a pen right there.

i couldn't believe it and at the same time had expected it all along. the icy grip of western culture has crept into socialist vietnam. i won't make any judgments one way or another though there are many to me made.

i left the mall and breathed the fresh air of the street. it felt like i was leaving home again and there was something refreshing about the way the sun struck my face and made me sweat. i decided to walk to a nearby park to think about what i had seen. all the trees in this park were numbered. it was incredible. some of them were, in my estimation, 60 feet high and about as around as five fat men. they were all planted in neat rows and there was not one out of place.

i sat down and looked straight ahead. there was a billboard with uncle ho chi minh on it. there are many billboards with his face on it and his bust can be found on everything from t-shirts to watches. he led an incredible life. normally, you only see a sketch of his face but this time, you saw him walking and waving. it was incredible. his face was plastered with a smile and his white facial hair glistened on his 30 foot high body. he had on a clean white suit and looked as if he wanted me to wave to him. i would have, but didn't. he looked remarkably like the colonel. i mean, he looked so remarkably like the colonel that i wondered why i had never seen it before.

they both wore clean white pressed suits. they both has wispy facial hair, a silly grin and white, greased back hair. one said “eat more!” and the other said “eat more equitably!” if you can’t picture the similarity, just do a quick search in google. it’s incredible.

this brought a whole new range of thoughts. these men both symbolized different ideologies, drastically different ideologies yet they are similar in so many ways. i think i was struck by how someone's life can be so impacting on the world and how, upon death, people can do what they wish with your legacy. ho chi minh asked that his body be cremated upon death and scattered about vietnam. his body was embalmed and can now be seen in a huge mausoleum in hanoi. colonel sanders opened a bunch of restaurants and created a special chicken recipe. upon death, his body was made into a cartoon character that said things like "this is a slam-dunk of a deal!".

now, people either love or hate them. i think that ho chi minh was a wonderful person (uh oh). he traveled all around the world and he only wanted to see vietnam freed from colonizers. he was well read and, for his time, did what he thought was best for the people of his country. ho chi minh has become a poster boy for this country. he has a city named after him for crying out loud. now, i also hate the colonel (uh oh). i think exemplifies cultural imperialism. he has become a poster boy for globalization and i think that some aspects of globalization need to be reigned in.

there will be many people who will whole-heartedly disagree with me. some people will look at ho chi minh and see the communism that america fought. they may also look at the colonel and say, "hey, he's just trying to feed people" and, "globalization's not such a bad thing".

maybe i’m full of hooey. this whole comparison might be pointless. maybe i just need more time to think about it. there is something striking about the whole thing though. something i can’t quite put my finger on.

the day is winding down and, of course, no one has the answer. just a bunch of questions really. just a bunch of silly observations made overly important by a lonely american in ho chi minh city. maybe i look into things too much. maybe i spend too much time furrowing my brow and cocking my head this way and that. maybe you don't. who knows.