Filial Piety

So, as we were waiting at the Laotian Consulate today for our Laos visas (heck, already here, why not see yet another country?), I was reading the Viet Nam News (there's an English version), and it fit in so well with yesterday's blog that I thought I'd share it.

Apparently, the Vietnamese government is afraid that, with all the western influences going on, their children will also absorb the western "selfish" attitude of kids. I have to say I think it's a valid fear. I adore my kids and I think they are wonderful, but in general I think American kids are selfish, snotty brats who have no idea what hard work is like and who expect to be waited on and entertained every waking second. Baseball teams, karate lessons, piano, dancing, girl scouts, mom take me here, dad pay for this. It's ridiculous.

Anyway, this article was focusing on one particular Viet girl who has retained her "filial piety" even in the face of westernization. She is 15 years old, gets up at 3:30 am every day to help her mother make soup, sells the soup on her way to school, then goes to school all day, comes home and does housework, helps her younger sister with her homework, and still maintains a near-perfect grade average. She and a host of other teens were being honored by the government for still holding their families in high regard and being good kids; in fact, they were being given scholarships. This girl only goes to a good school because she earns this scholarship year after year.

What a concept! Give kids money for schooling only if they do well in school AND honor their parents and extended families.

In other news, I've learned that metered cabs are NOT the way to go. I caught a guy today going way out of the way because he would make more money on his meter. It's the one time I have gotten perturbed, and I let him know it. He tried to tell me that every street was one way, so he had to turn left, go 3/4 of a mile in the wrong direction, and do the same over and over in order to get me to the Lao embassy, which was about five blocks from the hotel. I showed him the map, and our route, which I had been religiously following from the back seat, and he caved. No more meters.

We spent the afternoon being ridden around in cyclos, which are like bicycle rickshaws. We took the drivers to lunch, which I think shocked the living daylights out of them. I had GREAT pho bac (which is a beef noodle soup kind of thing). Yum city.

We also went to a bunch of museums, etc today, including the Museum of War Artifacts (formerly named the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes, but renamed recently to avoid insulting tourists). They should have kept the original name - it was true. What we did in this country, from Agent Orange to napalm to nail bombs to god knows what else, was tragic. Yes, I know, war is always ugly, but it wasn't our dang business in the first place. We were trying to keep the country from becoming communist. SO we lose tens of thousands of good American soldiers and now what? The country is communist. We'll never learn...

All in all, though, these are the friendliest people so far. Even in exchanges with each other, there's constant laughter, much good-natured joking, and just a friendly attitude. If the city weren't dismally polluted (air-wise), I'd love to stay here for a long time. But, Laos awaits. Before leaving though, I am going to spend a day wandering around HCMC doing some shopping, and then a day up the Mekong for a cruise of sorts. I am going back on my original vow to buy nothing while here, and I am getting a thing or two for my munchkins. Perhaps, if they show some proper respect, they'll get the gifts when I get back to the states. :-)

OK, go call your parents, or grandparents, and tell them Janine told you to do it. HURRAH for filial piety!!!

--Janine