Last week, we got to visit the Hanoisimex Factory, which is a textile industry, and Yamaha, the motorbike factory. It was pretty interesting. For me, it was a really conflicting experience. First, we only got to visit two of factories, and they happen to both be above-average. Therefore, we didn't get to see factories who probably do not follow many of the state regulations. But at the same time, we could see how mundane and possibly dangerous these jobs are. For example, at the Yamaha factory, the smell of paint was very clear. At the textile factory, there were some really nice places with music and bright lighting while other environments seemed much more dull.
Throughout the my whole life, I've had ideas about what a "sweat shop" is or what the factory line looks and feels like. It wasn't till I actually visited one that I had to reevaluate my assumptions. I mean, who am I to place my Western assumptions onto others? Would it be wrong to feel sorry for them? Because, when we talked to many of the women, they didn't seem like they HATED the job. Some actually enjoyed it because of the stable working environment. Therefore, who am I to say what constitutes a good or bad job? Therefore, the whole time I was walking through, I tried to humble myself as a person and try to understand what it means to them. But at the same time, I was thinking that these women could might as well be my cousins, sisters, nieces, and aunts. Would I want that for them? I don't know. Overall, it was an interesting experience. It made me rethink about my own viewpoints and how I push my agenda onto others.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Service Learning - Tolerance and Acceptance
It's always interesting to hear the word "tolerance and acceptance" because who does the "tolerating" and the "accepting" of others? To say that you "tolerate" someone has a negative connotation. And who are we to "accept" someone else? Words I prefer to use instead, although still problematic, would be "inclusion". It inherently makes us think of the word "exclusion" and therefore, to look at who is included and excluded from whatever we are talking about.
Ever since starting service learning here, I've been thinking a lot about the different attitudes the U.S. and Vietnam have towards disabled folks. Service learning is the first time that I've ever worked with disabled children and so it was definitely eye opening. The way I see it, in the U.S., we have so many laws to make sure we accomodate and prevent discrimination against disabled folks (although it still exists). For example, we make sure that many of our buildings can accomodate disabled people. We have scholarships, opportunities for education (although not always a lot), and many organizations to help disabled folks. In a way, it says a lot about our attitudes toward disabled people in the U.S. While still really messed up, there are at least some laws to protect disabled people.
I wonder if there are any similarities or differences when it comes to Vietnam and its treatment of disabled folks. For example, when Anh Thai said that, traditionally, disabled people are seen as the manifestation of bad people in another live, or as a bad spirit reincarnated, I wonder how that changes people's attitudes. I know that theres a bunch of organizations helping disabled folks but how are they generally treated? Are they seen as capable of still gaining a higher education? A job? It seems like in Thanh Xuan, some of them are pursuing a higher education while some are stuck doing the same chores everyday. I wonder if they have plans of moving on and finding a job later. The only kids we see are the ones that stay here. What about those in the past? Did they eventually leave and find a job? I don't really know. There's definitely no "success stories" written on the bulletin boards. No follow-ups. Nothing. Or at least I can tell. It would be really interesting to see if they have any reports on the students after they left Thanh Xuan Peace Village.
Ever since starting service learning here, I've been thinking a lot about the different attitudes the U.S. and Vietnam have towards disabled folks. Service learning is the first time that I've ever worked with disabled children and so it was definitely eye opening. The way I see it, in the U.S., we have so many laws to make sure we accomodate and prevent discrimination against disabled folks (although it still exists). For example, we make sure that many of our buildings can accomodate disabled people. We have scholarships, opportunities for education (although not always a lot), and many organizations to help disabled folks. In a way, it says a lot about our attitudes toward disabled people in the U.S. While still really messed up, there are at least some laws to protect disabled people.
I wonder if there are any similarities or differences when it comes to Vietnam and its treatment of disabled folks. For example, when Anh Thai said that, traditionally, disabled people are seen as the manifestation of bad people in another live, or as a bad spirit reincarnated, I wonder how that changes people's attitudes. I know that theres a bunch of organizations helping disabled folks but how are they generally treated? Are they seen as capable of still gaining a higher education? A job? It seems like in Thanh Xuan, some of them are pursuing a higher education while some are stuck doing the same chores everyday. I wonder if they have plans of moving on and finding a job later. The only kids we see are the ones that stay here. What about those in the past? Did they eventually leave and find a job? I don't really know. There's definitely no "success stories" written on the bulletin boards. No follow-ups. Nothing. Or at least I can tell. It would be really interesting to see if they have any reports on the students after they left Thanh Xuan Peace Village.
Sidewalks and Cars
You know something is wrong when you start seeing cars on the roads and all the motorbikes pushed to our supposed "sidewalk". While Miki, Peter, Mai, and I were taxi-ing over to service learning, we couldn't help but notice that all the motorbikes were pushing their way through the traffic by short-cutting it on the sidewalk. And I mean, almost EVERY single motorbike too. If you were gonna try to ride your motorbike on the actual road, you were gonna lose it in the race to work. It made me really wonder about the increase in cars and how it effects the streets.
To me, it seems like the cars are taking over the streets and the little motorbikes are being pushed aside. As rich car riders begin making their name, the lives of the little motorbikers are becoming more dangerous. One tiny bump from a car and you are done. And furthermore, the way I've seen it, the attitudes of car drivers are different as well. They know they can push through and everyone would just have to get out of the way.
In a freak accident once, our taxi driver and another car driver began a crazy car chase with one another because of a tiny bump into each other. The car driver honestly didn't even give a crap about the 10 million motorbikers that were out that night for the last day of the 1000 year anniversary. It was speeding, breaking quickly, swerving in and out of people without caring about the safety of others on the road. It made me really think about what sort of position do car drivers have to be able to honestly not give a fuck.
So in conclusion, I guess I hate cars here but at the same time, I'm the one with a car back home and riding taxis here all the time. Who am I to write a blog about this when I am being extremely hypocritical? And who am I to say that maybe, in a couple years, when more people are writing cars and less riding motorbikes, that the streets won't get safer? in the long run? Who knows. But as of now, I'm tired of seeing motorbikers pushed to the margins of the streets.
To me, it seems like the cars are taking over the streets and the little motorbikes are being pushed aside. As rich car riders begin making their name, the lives of the little motorbikers are becoming more dangerous. One tiny bump from a car and you are done. And furthermore, the way I've seen it, the attitudes of car drivers are different as well. They know they can push through and everyone would just have to get out of the way.
In a freak accident once, our taxi driver and another car driver began a crazy car chase with one another because of a tiny bump into each other. The car driver honestly didn't even give a crap about the 10 million motorbikers that were out that night for the last day of the 1000 year anniversary. It was speeding, breaking quickly, swerving in and out of people without caring about the safety of others on the road. It made me really think about what sort of position do car drivers have to be able to honestly not give a fuck.
So in conclusion, I guess I hate cars here but at the same time, I'm the one with a car back home and riding taxis here all the time. Who am I to write a blog about this when I am being extremely hypocritical? And who am I to say that maybe, in a couple years, when more people are writing cars and less riding motorbikes, that the streets won't get safer? in the long run? Who knows. But as of now, I'm tired of seeing motorbikers pushed to the margins of the streets.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Service Learning: Inclusion and Exclusion
Throughout my service learning experience so far, we've encountered many issues in terms of finding the right activities that fit for everybody. While we make many efforts to include every person in our activities, some still feel excluded because of their age or ability.
For instance, in the physical therapy room, the children range from the age of 5 to the age of 20. They all have different disabilities as well. When we play charades, for example, one student just did not have the ability to learn new games. The moment we have him the gesture he was supposed to act out, he would say it out loud right away, ruining the game. Or in the beginning of the year, when we played "duck, duck, goose", only one kid could play. One of the students who couldn't run as fast because of her walking disabilities did not want to participate.
What makes it more difficult in our efforts at including everyone is the way the room is set up. While one half of the room is dedicated to younger children who need to practice walking, the other side is dedicated to students who are there supposedly for exercise on the exercise equipment. We can only play with the exercising students. Today, however, the physical therapists weren't in the room for a long period of time and a bunch of volunteers came in to play. It was really interesting to see what ended up happening when we brought out the game of Bingo. The volunteers grabbed the students who couldn't walk yet and brought them over to play with us at the game of bingo. They were finally allowed to play with us but towards the end of the game, they were forced to practice walking again. But because they had sat down for so long and had been held and nurtured by the volunteers, the little girl did not want to practice walking anymore. It was as if all the progress that the physical therapists had worked hard to do was now being reversed in our efforts to include them in our games. Meanwhile, I could tell that one of our students, Tuan Anh, played Bingo not because they enjoyed it but because they just wanted to make US feel better about bringing in games. Tuan Anh, one of the older kids of the group, was the active agent in making us feel included, not the other way around.
Thus, these are games we are trying to work out. Because the students come from such a different range of backgrounds, its hard to truly make everyone feel included. But I guess its a process. And I guess its also a matter of realizing that the students are also trying to make us feel welcome as well.
For instance, in the physical therapy room, the children range from the age of 5 to the age of 20. They all have different disabilities as well. When we play charades, for example, one student just did not have the ability to learn new games. The moment we have him the gesture he was supposed to act out, he would say it out loud right away, ruining the game. Or in the beginning of the year, when we played "duck, duck, goose", only one kid could play. One of the students who couldn't run as fast because of her walking disabilities did not want to participate.
What makes it more difficult in our efforts at including everyone is the way the room is set up. While one half of the room is dedicated to younger children who need to practice walking, the other side is dedicated to students who are there supposedly for exercise on the exercise equipment. We can only play with the exercising students. Today, however, the physical therapists weren't in the room for a long period of time and a bunch of volunteers came in to play. It was really interesting to see what ended up happening when we brought out the game of Bingo. The volunteers grabbed the students who couldn't walk yet and brought them over to play with us at the game of bingo. They were finally allowed to play with us but towards the end of the game, they were forced to practice walking again. But because they had sat down for so long and had been held and nurtured by the volunteers, the little girl did not want to practice walking anymore. It was as if all the progress that the physical therapists had worked hard to do was now being reversed in our efforts to include them in our games. Meanwhile, I could tell that one of our students, Tuan Anh, played Bingo not because they enjoyed it but because they just wanted to make US feel better about bringing in games. Tuan Anh, one of the older kids of the group, was the active agent in making us feel included, not the other way around.
Thus, these are games we are trying to work out. Because the students come from such a different range of backgrounds, its hard to truly make everyone feel included. But I guess its a process. And I guess its also a matter of realizing that the students are also trying to make us feel welcome as well.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Conflicting Histories - Playing Telephone
In my poor attempt to uncover my family's history for my history project and for personal reasons, I was really shocked to hear that there was some really conflicting stories. Chatting over dinner with my cousin, we started talking about my Ba Ngoai. Apparently, she was the most bad ass woman in her village. She was notorious for being horribly mean and extremely beautiful. What an interesting combination, yeah? When she moved back from the states to Vietnam for her final years, she even got in a full-on fist fight with another old lady at a senior home. Who does that??? She's also extremely vain. When I visited her 5 years ago, I remember looking at her as she watched T.V. and commented on how the news reporter was straight up ugly in her eyes. I mean, really Ba Ngoai? haha.
I never had much appreciation for her growing up because she always started a lot of arguments in my house. It wasn't until my mom told me a story about my grandma did I feel like she was a straight up warrior woman. From what my mom told me, my Ba Ngoai was married to a wealthy man in the North but he was pro-Communist. On the other hand, my grandma was not. Before 1954, my grandma took her kids with her and fled down to the South. However, one day at the market, her two kids fled back to the North to be with their dad. They later accused her of "kidnapping" them. This story really made me think about the family pain that can arise from war and how much both sides really had to endure.
When I was sitting with my cousin (my Ba Ngoai's granddaughter), she told me a different story. Her mom is my Ba Ngoai's daughter who supposedly escaped from her at the market. My cousin told me that, in actuality, my Ba Ngoai never even took them. She just straight up left them. Didn't even bother to take them. When I heard that, my mind was blown away. Who was really telling me the right story? Is it possible that the two kids thought that she didn't try hard enough? Is there something lost in the story? I felt like, in this game of telephone, something was not coming through. It kinda bothered me throughout the night because I really wanted to know what was true.
But I guess its a lesson learned for when I try to uncover my history. I'll need to take everything with a grain of salt, even though the experience of sitting down and listening to their stories will be enjoyable.
I never had much appreciation for her growing up because she always started a lot of arguments in my house. It wasn't until my mom told me a story about my grandma did I feel like she was a straight up warrior woman. From what my mom told me, my Ba Ngoai was married to a wealthy man in the North but he was pro-Communist. On the other hand, my grandma was not. Before 1954, my grandma took her kids with her and fled down to the South. However, one day at the market, her two kids fled back to the North to be with their dad. They later accused her of "kidnapping" them. This story really made me think about the family pain that can arise from war and how much both sides really had to endure.
When I was sitting with my cousin (my Ba Ngoai's granddaughter), she told me a different story. Her mom is my Ba Ngoai's daughter who supposedly escaped from her at the market. My cousin told me that, in actuality, my Ba Ngoai never even took them. She just straight up left them. Didn't even bother to take them. When I heard that, my mind was blown away. Who was really telling me the right story? Is it possible that the two kids thought that she didn't try hard enough? Is there something lost in the story? I felt like, in this game of telephone, something was not coming through. It kinda bothered me throughout the night because I really wanted to know what was true.
But I guess its a lesson learned for when I try to uncover my history. I'll need to take everything with a grain of salt, even though the experience of sitting down and listening to their stories will be enjoyable.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Service Learning: Organizational Structure
Even after being at Thanh Xuan Peace Village for about 2 months, I don't really understand the organizational structure here. In my very first blog, I described a moment when Co Phuong started yelling at Chi Hoa for not placing us in our spots. It was at that moment that I realized that there was a strict hierarchical structure that the nurses have to follow. You KNEW that Co Phuong was the boss at that moment. And for her to have an office with a full on dining table and everything was really interesting. You knew that Co Phuong was getting paid well. But it makes me wonder about nonprofit organizations like this. How much money do they receive? How much money do they get for themselves? I remember Gerard speaking about how many NGO workers would have nice cars, which is almost in complete contrast to the NGO workers in other places. Is there any sort of corruption going on here? There's a lot of questions that I still have but have not had the knowledge to help me figure out.
Furthermore, it's really interesting to see what the schedule of the students are like each day. For some, they go to the physical therapy room for one part of the day and then they go to class for the other part. But it makes me wonder how effective this is because it seems like there is quite a lot of dead time. For instance, the students are basically sitting in the physical therapy room for about 3 hours. I mean, most people don't even exercise for that long. As Anh Thai was saying once, maybe its because they do not have enough funding to put on any other programs. Or is it that there's a certain mentality here about the students so that they are not treated like other "normally functioning" kids? Is it because they don't believe that they need to be tended to as any other kids? I'm not too sure. It would be really interesting to see how Vietnamese society understands disabled children and how that plays out in the way these children are treated in everyday life or within organizations such as Thanh Xuan Peace Village.
Furthermore, it's really interesting to see what the schedule of the students are like each day. For some, they go to the physical therapy room for one part of the day and then they go to class for the other part. But it makes me wonder how effective this is because it seems like there is quite a lot of dead time. For instance, the students are basically sitting in the physical therapy room for about 3 hours. I mean, most people don't even exercise for that long. As Anh Thai was saying once, maybe its because they do not have enough funding to put on any other programs. Or is it that there's a certain mentality here about the students so that they are not treated like other "normally functioning" kids? Is it because they don't believe that they need to be tended to as any other kids? I'm not too sure. It would be really interesting to see how Vietnamese society understands disabled children and how that plays out in the way these children are treated in everyday life or within organizations such as Thanh Xuan Peace Village.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Nguoi Nong Dan
After only getting 3 hours of sleep, I was still really excited to pick rice. When we got to the village, we realized that it would be a lot tougher than last year's EAP group. Last year, the dirt was completely dry but this time, it was straight up muddy. I didn't mind it too much though. It was like when you play with mud when you're little. When we first started, it was slightly difficult because a lot of the rice fields had fallen down due to a windy day. I also didn't understand what was the most efficient way to do it. But after doing it a couple of times, it wasn't so bad. It made me really think about all the god damn work that goes into making all the food that we ate. It reaffirmed my belief in needing to eat all the food on my plate because somewhere, someone made it for us and someone would gladly take our meal.
At the same time, it felt really problematic to be there. Once again, who are we to step into the lives of another and say when we want to leave it? Its such a privilege to step in and step out of something that people consider a life choice, a decision that they cannot always get out of. While I was cutting rice, I kept thinking to myself, "Oh, I could totally do this for the rest of my life" but could I really say that after only 2 hours of doing the job? I really am only saying that because I cannot understand the hardships of harvesting rice. I don't understand what it means to be them. I could only get a small glimpse of it. And for me, that's enough to appreciate and sit down, drink ruou, and enjoy life. But not enough to truly understand what it means to be a rice farmer.
Nonetheless, it was a great learning experience. I wouldn't be able to say that I have finally experienced "authentic" Vietnamese-ness (because, what is is "authentic" to begin with?) but I can say that I got to experience a PART of Vietnam. I got a chance to do something that even many Hanoians have not had the chance to do. So I'm thankful for that.
At the same time, it felt really problematic to be there. Once again, who are we to step into the lives of another and say when we want to leave it? Its such a privilege to step in and step out of something that people consider a life choice, a decision that they cannot always get out of. While I was cutting rice, I kept thinking to myself, "Oh, I could totally do this for the rest of my life" but could I really say that after only 2 hours of doing the job? I really am only saying that because I cannot understand the hardships of harvesting rice. I don't understand what it means to be them. I could only get a small glimpse of it. And for me, that's enough to appreciate and sit down, drink ruou, and enjoy life. But not enough to truly understand what it means to be a rice farmer.
Nonetheless, it was a great learning experience. I wouldn't be able to say that I have finally experienced "authentic" Vietnamese-ness (because, what is is "authentic" to begin with?) but I can say that I got to experience a PART of Vietnam. I got a chance to do something that even many Hanoians have not had the chance to do. So I'm thankful for that.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
RIce Fields
After only getting 3 hours of sleep, I was still really excited to pick rice. When we got to the village, we realized that it would be a lot tougher than last year's EAP group. Last year, the dirt was completely dry but this time, it was straight up muddy. I didn't mind it too much though. It was like when you play with mud when you're little. When we first started, it was slightly difficult because a lot of the rice fields had fallen down due to a windy day. I also didn't understand what was the most efficient way to do it. But after doing it a couple of times, it wasn't so bad. It made me really think about all the god damn work that goes into making all the food that we ate. It reaffirmed my belief in needing to eat all the food on my plate because somewhere, someone made it for us and someone would gladly take our meal.
At the same time, it felt really problematic to be there. Once again, who are we to step into the lives of another and say when we want to leave it? Its such a privilege to step in and step out of something that people consider a life choice, a decision that they cannot always get out of. While I was cutting rice, I kept thinking to myself, "Oh, I could totally do this for the rest of my life" but could I really say that after only 2 hours of doing the job? I really am only saying that because I cannot understand the hardships of harvesting rice. I don't understand what it means to be them. I could only get a small glimpse of it. And for me, that's enough to appreciate and sit down, drink ruou, and enjoy life. But not enough to truly understand what it means to be a rice farmer.
Nonetheless, it was a great learning experience. I wouldn't be able to say that I have finally experienced "authentic" Vietnamese-ness (because, what is is "authentic" to begin with?) but I can say that I got to experience a PART of Vietnam. I got a chance to do something that even many Hanoians have not had the chance to do. So I'm thankful for that.
At the same time, it felt really problematic to be there. Once again, who are we to step into the lives of another and say when we want to leave it? Its such a privilege to step in and step out of something that people consider a life choice, a decision that they cannot always get out of. While I was cutting rice, I kept thinking to myself, "Oh, I could totally do this for the rest of my life" but could I really say that after only 2 hours of doing the job? I really am only saying that because I cannot understand the hardships of harvesting rice. I don't understand what it means to be them. I could only get a small glimpse of it. And for me, that's enough to appreciate and sit down, drink ruou, and enjoy life. But not enough to truly understand what it means to be a rice farmer.
Nonetheless, it was a great learning experience. I wouldn't be able to say that I have finally experienced "authentic" Vietnamese-ness (because, what is is "authentic" to begin with?) but I can say that I got to experience a PART of Vietnam. I got a chance to do something that even many Hanoians have not had the chance to do. So I'm thankful for that.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Service Learning: Public, Private, and Physical Space
Similar to Gerard's readings on public and private space, I can see how the notions of public and private are not only visible through the streets of Vietnam but also through the interactions of the children and the staff of Thanh Xuan Peace Village. For example, while this is really embarrassing, I totally walked by the boy's bathroom and saw more than I wanted to see. As in any place, I was so freakin shocked. haha. I know this happens a lot but it bothered me for two things. One, I was the only one that freaked out when me and that kid made eye contact. Whether its because people don't care here as much (hence, people peeing randomly out on the streets) or if these kids don't understand social cues such as that, I'm not too sure. But what bothers me the most is that the only reason why I did see that student was because one of the bathrooms is literally wide open for all to see. There's no real door to allow the students to do their business. And it makes me wonder if its because there's a lack of funding or whether they would even prioritize such matters. I mean, a bathroom is just a place to pee right? Not a whole private room for you to chill? There's definitely something about the way we prioritize a nice closed space for peeing in the U.S. while may possibly don't. Or is it because they expect the students at Thanh Xuan to not care that much. Not too sure but I might be taking this example really far.
Secondly, there's definitely some interesting interactions that I typically would not consider appropriate in front of others but occur all the time in the exercise room. For instance, during the therapists' dead time, the male therapist begins massaging the female therapist. It was really interesting because he started massaging her butt cheeks as she would kind of start squealing in pain because he was being too aggressive. The students didn't notice anything while me and Peter were slightly weirded out. This instance was really telling of what sort of environment we were in. First off, to do that in front of Peter and I says a lot about our presence. Maybe it means they barely notice us around or it means that they really don't think a massage like this should be a private matter. Secondly, it could mean that they are taking advantage of the children's disabilities by realizing that these students would never really say anything because they don't have the cues to see it as abnormal. But then again, who am I to say that its abnormal? The ideas that I have about what is "normal" and "abnormal" is completely different and I can not project my own ideas onto Thanh Xuan.
In many ways, I am trying to humble myself and remain critical of my own views and the views of others. However, the bathroom and massage incident teeter on the line of straight up awkwardness and being culturally sensitive. I will definitely have to see.
Secondly, there's definitely some interesting interactions that I typically would not consider appropriate in front of others but occur all the time in the exercise room. For instance, during the therapists' dead time, the male therapist begins massaging the female therapist. It was really interesting because he started massaging her butt cheeks as she would kind of start squealing in pain because he was being too aggressive. The students didn't notice anything while me and Peter were slightly weirded out. This instance was really telling of what sort of environment we were in. First off, to do that in front of Peter and I says a lot about our presence. Maybe it means they barely notice us around or it means that they really don't think a massage like this should be a private matter. Secondly, it could mean that they are taking advantage of the children's disabilities by realizing that these students would never really say anything because they don't have the cues to see it as abnormal. But then again, who am I to say that its abnormal? The ideas that I have about what is "normal" and "abnormal" is completely different and I can not project my own ideas onto Thanh Xuan.
In many ways, I am trying to humble myself and remain critical of my own views and the views of others. However, the bathroom and massage incident teeter on the line of straight up awkwardness and being culturally sensitive. I will definitely have to see.
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