This morning I planned to wake up early and go for a short run before a meeting with the towns youth committee regarding programs that we will run. My alarm went off at 5:30, I hit snooze once and before it went off 10 minutes later, rain had started that sounded like a helicopter was about to touch down. Since then the rain has been off and on all morning, our meeting was cancelled and I’ve decided to take advantage of the down time and read a little and check email.
As Canh was checking his email this morning he went to a Vietnamese news site that showed the new Iphone being sold for 14 million Vietnamese Dong. That is the equivalent of many months salary for most Vietnamese, yet I have seen many of these or similarly priced phones around. While there are fake Chinese versions in many shops I know that many people choose the real ones. The price for gadgets and garments in branded shops is even more expensive than in Canada despite the fact that some of the items are produced here. I understand that they are status symbols but with salaries much lower than in North America to spend so much on something like this seems bizarre. I am definitely reflecting my own values on Vietnamese people when it comes to this. In part this is because it is embarrassing for me to admit to the prices I pay for some items that are very trivial in the grand scheme of things. My favorite pair of sunglasses cost the equivalent of two and a half months salary for my counterpart. This makes me feel guilty. I also see people thriving on much less and am beginning to think about the material excess I am so used to.
As many differences there are, some things remain the same; getting a soccer ball in the nuts is still the height of comedy to 10-year-old boys. This evening in one of our many Football matches we were playing with a group of boys, when I got a ball in the junk, the boys and the 20 or so onlookers were in stitches.
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