Capitalism: A Taste Story

My first order of business after clearing immigration/customs upon returning from Vietnam was to get McDonald's. I wasn't in the mood for McDonald's. I wasn't even hungry. I was yearning for the flavor of America. The taste of capitalistic efficiency, equality, peace of mind and comfort. For around $6, I got all of that and a little more. And yes, when you are tired and jet lagged from 27 hours of travel, these abstract notions were tangible in the warmth of a cheeseburger and a medium order of fries. Who knew that mass produced food can be so enlightening to a foodie like me? There I was, in Terminal 2 of Chicago O'Hare, happy as a clam.

1. Capitalistic efficiency - It took me approximately 100 seconds to get my food after a swift swipe of my debit card. The line was more than 15 people deep with more lining up still. The team of about 11-12 employees behind the counter was working at a frantic speed, cranking out white paper bags of fast food and delivering them with smiles. Time is money and cash registers were cha-chinging with every passing second. This was a far cry from the incompetence I observed while overseas. Lines were long. Workers were unorganized and unfriendly. When you are used to a certain expectation for years, enduring countless repeated inefficiencies was frustrating to say the least. It also got me wondering about the economic growth of Vietnam...but that's a different story.

2. Equality - In America, we like to think everyone deserves to be treated equally. If Barack Obama ordered a cheeseburger from McDonald's, he would get the exact same thing as me or the guy next to me. His order may be served up with a bigger smile, but you get the point. The prices for the food were listed brightly and clearly. You knew exactly how much you're going to pay and exactly what you're going to get. Sounds simple enough, but don't take it for granted. While I was with my friend abroad, we were ripped off many times. He was often being overcharged because he was a white man in a suit on the streets of Hanoi. I was often being overcharged because I was not a local. Sometimes there were no price tags and when there were price tags, you couldn't trust them.

Social Experiment: For some reason Vietnamese people thought I was either Japanese or Korean (I've actually been mistaken for Japanese since I was a child). I decided to walk into a clothing store and pretend I did not speak Vietnamese. I asked for the price of a wool coat in my accent-free English and the saleswomen actually talked amongst themselves, mumbling about how much more to charge me because I was a foreigner. I shook my head in disgust and walked straight out. I was overwhelmed. I felt like I was suffocating from the injustice. I understand this is a poor country and everyone needs to make a buck, but at what cost of morality? Of course, these things happen in America all the time, but not as blatantly and with such disregard.

3. Peace of mind and comfort - I knew the food I ate was safe and that the McDonald's has been inspected by a government official who was not bribed (99% sure). I knew there was some sort of quality control in this place. This was the country of voluntary recalls. Where the desire for safety and quality is driven by capitalism. Money talks and it told me that any scandal over unsafe anything meant less cha-chinging at the cash registers.

It pains me to think about how the things I witnessed and experienced were the product of years of war and civil unrest. I am no expert in history or politics, but maybe the lack of development is due to the constant occupation by so many forces over the past few centuries - from the Chinese, French and Japanese to the Americans. I wish for improvement in my former home country and hope that my experience will be a bit different upon my next trip back. But for now, I am glad to call America my home. I missed the simple things I took for granted. I missed the familiarity of everything. I missed home! I was grateful to come home and more grateful that my parents made the bold decision to move to America 18 years ago. America is not perfect, but it is a country with more basic luxuries than a lot of other places.

Footnote:
Hours later, my stomach didn't feel all that great. I had been eating fairly healthy and a big dose of saturated fat did not do me good. The taste of capitalism may be delicious at times, but it doesn't come without consequence.

Super Woman Sunday

Entrance to the Temple of Literature- Hanoi, Vietnam

Calling my Sunday jammed packed with activities is an understatement. I woke up on a boat in Halong Bay, Vietnam and had a small breakfast on board. I was scheduled to take a smaller boat into the harbour, but was delayed due to some mechanical malfunctions. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, I finally set foot on land and took a bumpy, 3 hour long ride in a rickety old van back to Hanoi. After we got to Hanoi, I had to hustle to make a graduation ceremony my friend, a law professor at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Vietnam, was in. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to pack dress shoes - all I had were neon green flip flops and tennis shoes. The ceremony was held in the Temple of Literature, a 1,000 year old building home to the oldest school in Vietnam. I had to be seated at at 5:30PM and all I had on were jogging pants, an athletic top and sneakers.

Do I abandon my friend and wait outside? Do I attend the ceremony in my pathetic clothing and bring shame upon myself sitting amongst the elite and inside a building of such high honor?  At 5:15PM I decided to go for it. I had on sprinting flats, might as well put them to good use! I ran around the Temple, across the busy street (narrowly getting ran over my mopeds and cars), down the crowded avenue and into a shoe store. I was feeling like The Flash, but a more sweaty version. "I need at pair of black pumps, this size (as I held up my sprinting flats)! I need this now, please!" The shoe store owner and her daughter looked at me with wide eyes for 2 seconds and quickly sprung into action. Within 60 seconds, I had tried on a pair of patented leather pumps that was a Cinderella-worthy fit. I paid for the shoes, ran back to Temple, snaked my away around to the back where the professors in the procession were gowing (and where my friend had stored our suitcase) and changed right then and there. I put my dress over my tank top and removed my pants from underneath. I felt very, very wrong for changing in a place of worship with a few men lurking around. By U.S. standards, no biggie. But my traditional Vietnamese standards, what I was doing could be considered appalling! Thank goodness everyone was too busy to notice me. By this time, it was 5:29PM and I was fully dressed. I even had pretty pearls around my neck to look a little more formal. I was seated by 5:33PM by a volunteer and more guests were still being ushered in.

The Flash!!

The ceromony lasted a little after 7PM and after the waiting for my friend to finish his photo-ops with graduates and other faculty members, it was time to catch a cab and hustle back to my friend's apartment to pack. After that, I had to hail another cab to the airport to catch my flight back to the United States. I also had to write some last minute postcards! After bidding my best friend a sad goodbye, I made it the airport with exactly 1 hour to get my plane tickets, make it through customs and find my gate.

When my butt hit the airplane seat, I sighed one of the biggest sighs of relief. No more running. No more huslting. I felt like Super Woman. I kicked of my shoes, wrapped my purple airplane-issued blanket around me and sunk into my seat. I put on my headphones and started to watch the movie Eat, Pray, Love.

So within the span of 12 hours, I had traveled by sea, by land and by air. I am exhausted, but a little proud of myself for getting so much squeezed into those 12 hours.

I'm currently blogging from Icheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea. Yet another flight to catch in about half an hour. Good thing I can see my gate from here! Tune in for my review of Incheon! This has got to be the best airport in the world! For very little money, I was able to eat, drink, nap AND shower in a private lounge! Gotta down this cappucino and grab my luggage...until next time!