PRIVATE vs PUBLC

EXPOSED LIVING

When you travel, you can be sure to lose a few things. Beyond the usual list (keys, coins, regularity) there are also a set of intanglibles you might not have. In Vietnam, your sense of personal space is one of the first things to go the moment you step on the plane to Hanoi. When flying in the U.S. and in other overweight countries, passing the flight attendant's snack cart is not only frowned upon by logistically impossible for a large majority of the passengers. This is not the case on Vietnam Airlines where the inches to the side of the cart become an express highway. Most Vietnamese slide by but a few get stuck bumping into you and knocking the six salty peanuts you were holding between the seat cushions. It's not really a big deal since I am comforted by the thought that if the plane goes down in a body of water, imagine all the peanuts you would find when using your seat as a flotation device. And even once you've made it off the plane, claiming your baggage is no different. I deplaned and secured open real estate where I could easily retrieve my bags. I knew that standing at the mouth of the moving belt would be a heavily contested area so I chose space at the first bend. I don't recommend the first bend anymore. Within a minute, I felt like that peanut stuck between the cushion with 20 little peanuts surrounding me. Amazing how the concept of personal space just does not exist here. Funny how I am ready to get back to New York - a place that once drove me insane with its noise, congestion and density. I guess you can get used to almost anything. People here are more accustomed to living, sleeping, eating, sitting, line waiting etc. in tighter situations. The exposure of living here is something most westerners would most likely notice. For example, walking the streets in residential Hanoi, I found that there is no separation between the public street and a family's living room. Living is exposed much like the back of a dollhouse. In my passing observations, I noticed at least one TV set on, a miniature shrine with burning incense, a motorbike parked next to grandma's sleeping head and a color that you have never seen before painted on the wall. Some families double their homes as teahouses or internet cafes. I remember having to walk over a few sleeping kids to get to an open computer.


EXPOSED LIVING #2