January 1st, New Year with new friends and new understandings.
This morning time to reflect on how talking to Hank and seeing her with her extended family has opened my eyes to Vietnamese society and culture.
First, she put me straight about the profuse devote nature that I see all around me here-it’s not so much religion, as superstition and a belief in good luck and good fortune if you pray at every opportunity for everything!
Apparently most Vietnamese will put no religion on documents, very few are actually Buddhists, most follow the teachings of Confucius, which is, as I understand it, essentially ancestor worship/a strong moral code, and is half science, half philosophy-or something like that (that’s the confusion in the heading!)
There is a difference between the temples-for heroes, generals and the like, and pagodas, which are essentially Buddhist, so that at least makes sense, although the dress code is the same for both (no knees, no shoulders out) and its hard to tell until the inner sanctum icon is revealed-and some seem to hedge their bets and have both Buddhist and ancestors to my eyes……..incense burning is to honour ancestors, food must be offered at the family home as well as temples, the incense must burn down to allow the spirit to eat first before the living can partake.
Another surprise is that despite the ever present communist flags it seems that politics here is as distant from the ordinary daily lives as it is in the west-the only difference is that there is no election for the president or the council-being in the party is not the norm, and can take many years to be accepted anyway.
There is, though, a true sense of pride in the country and its history-this is a new country in historic terms, and the legacy of Ho Chi Minh defines the ideology of the patriotism, if not the reality.
Ultimately the reality seems to me the economy, much as everywhere else in the world. There is no free education, no benefits, so getting a good education and then a good job is the only goal for young people here. The gap between the poor, especially in the rural areas, and the emerging middle classes is massive, but even with a foot on the ladder, i.e. a town based life, is not the lifestyle we would have in the west.
Young people mainly live at home until they marry, when the girl will go to her in laws family home, even if they have a well paid job. The norm is much gendered-the women cook and clean as well as the childcare and the daily market shopping, as well as working, and the men never help.
Saigon is deemed more cosmopolitan than Hanoi; I sense a real confusion in the young here between wanting independence, especially the girls, and yet also a genuine love for tradition, family and the communal way of life. I have had to justify the English love of family too-many believe we abandon our old people and find it hard to believe belonging together still exists without living together.
This afternoon Hank’s high school buddies arrived to escort me around the town.
Watching street life from the back of a scooter is great (see pic of fast food!) and together we joined the throngs in the Temple of Literature here, in the restored buildings of the original educational institute many centuries ago. Vietnamese come here to worship the venerable teachers, to pray for good results, to touch the turtle statues (the turtle is the symbol of wisdom) and especially at auspicious times such as the Tet holiday, as to be observed paying one’s respects is equally important here.
These two lovely kind young people made me see how much we do take our opportunities and way of life for granted in England, how little we value our way of life-no wonder Vietnamese people see tourists as rich; to live the way we do must equal wealth in their mind.
This morning time to reflect on how talking to Hank and seeing her with her extended family has opened my eyes to Vietnamese society and culture.
First, she put me straight about the profuse devote nature that I see all around me here-it’s not so much religion, as superstition and a belief in good luck and good fortune if you pray at every opportunity for everything!
Apparently most Vietnamese will put no religion on documents, very few are actually Buddhists, most follow the teachings of Confucius, which is, as I understand it, essentially ancestor worship/a strong moral code, and is half science, half philosophy-or something like that (that’s the confusion in the heading!)
There is a difference between the temples-for heroes, generals and the like, and pagodas, which are essentially Buddhist, so that at least makes sense, although the dress code is the same for both (no knees, no shoulders out) and its hard to tell until the inner sanctum icon is revealed-and some seem to hedge their bets and have both Buddhist and ancestors to my eyes……..incense burning is to honour ancestors, food must be offered at the family home as well as temples, the incense must burn down to allow the spirit to eat first before the living can partake.
Another surprise is that despite the ever present communist flags it seems that politics here is as distant from the ordinary daily lives as it is in the west-the only difference is that there is no election for the president or the council-being in the party is not the norm, and can take many years to be accepted anyway.
There is, though, a true sense of pride in the country and its history-this is a new country in historic terms, and the legacy of Ho Chi Minh defines the ideology of the patriotism, if not the reality.
Ultimately the reality seems to me the economy, much as everywhere else in the world. There is no free education, no benefits, so getting a good education and then a good job is the only goal for young people here. The gap between the poor, especially in the rural areas, and the emerging middle classes is massive, but even with a foot on the ladder, i.e. a town based life, is not the lifestyle we would have in the west.
Young people mainly live at home until they marry, when the girl will go to her in laws family home, even if they have a well paid job. The norm is much gendered-the women cook and clean as well as the childcare and the daily market shopping, as well as working, and the men never help.
Saigon is deemed more cosmopolitan than Hanoi; I sense a real confusion in the young here between wanting independence, especially the girls, and yet also a genuine love for tradition, family and the communal way of life. I have had to justify the English love of family too-many believe we abandon our old people and find it hard to believe belonging together still exists without living together.
This afternoon Hank’s high school buddies arrived to escort me around the town.
 |
| Guides for the day |
 |
| Fast Food |
No comments:
Post a Comment