Heavy Thoughts and the Big 3-6

On the pretense of it being my Birthday Week we headed out from Hanoi to the Ha Long Bay area. This incredibly scenic northwest corner of Vietnam has become world famous for it's dramatic karst landscape of more than 3,000 rock islands jutting out of the Tonkin Gulf. While the scenery has more than lived up to our expectations, the friendly people + bustling commercial fishing industry came as an unexpected surprise, and the icing on the (birthday) cake.

Check the "link" for photos from Ha Long + Bai Tu Long Bay

Yet again, we find ourselves entranced and marveling that we've been launched into more modern-day time travel. We certainly enjoyed this in the rural areas of southern China, but all throughout Vietnam it's been surprisingly easy too. Though it's a country bent on progress + modernizing to keep up with it's wealthy neighbors, it's still deeply entrenched in the past and timeless ways of doing things (likely just from the poverty level of many of it's citizens). In the tug-of-war between past + future lay the Vietnamese people - A tough, resilient, hard-working bunch that are almost entirely self-employed. And while most don't make alot of money, almost every family at least owns a home (usually jam-packed with people) + a moto (with the notable exception of those that catch or grow food for a living being at the bottom of the economic ladder), and seem to have no problem putting food on the table. What's even more inspiring about the whole scenario is that universally, the people go about their long day of work with an easy pace and a smile on their face. I keep finding myself wondering "How do they do it?!"
(Photo: View over Ha Long Bay harbor town)



But I digress, if only to put the next in the context of our current surrounds. The point is that we REALLY dig Vietnam. The people aren't over-the-top friendly + engaging as were the southern Chinese, but we've had lots of great experiences with them too. We like their feistiness + easy laughs. We like the grit, the moto/bicycle culture, the brightly painted homes, the walkable cities, the comfortable + ridiculously cheap cost of living... As we've spent the last few weeks searching online for volunteer positions (and 3-1/2 months here in total) we've been living the near-perfect life (You could certainly argue WHO WOULDN'T BE, if they weren't working) for less than ten bucks a day. In the 10-out-of-10 moments I've been repeatedly enjoying (You know, those moments when you know life just can't GET any better) I find myself wondering "Could I live here?" What about cultural differences? - I'll NEVER get into karaoke, and I just can't eat soup for breakfast. What about family + friends? - Most of them won't come here, and how often can I afford to go home and visit. And I did say NEAR perfect for another good reason - As two educated, dependable people we're finding it very difficult to find work (other than teaching English) even volunteering to work for FREE!

The truth is, there was a point awhile back where I REALLY missed home and wondered if we should just forget the rest of the plan and return. Now I'm finding that the longer we're gone + the more we establish a comfy, fulfilling routine here, the more the thought of going home to the rat race depresses me. These posts I've been writing - Will I ever be satisfied again?, Will I ever have time again? - are things weighing heavily on my mind (in addition to the fact that I'm currently making ZERO contribution to society) as I re-think my chosen career and ponder the direction that the next big chapter of my life should take. In this time on the road, I've seen and done so much that has profoundly changed my way of thinking and shaped the strong opinions I now hold about what I feel is important enough to exert my personal efforts towards. In other words, to practice what I preach.

Traveling + living here as cheaply and simply as we are, not spending money on non-essential "junk" - These things certainly give me a sense of satisfaction at our reduced footprint on the planet. Now more than ever, even with my uncertainty about the future, I don't doubt that I/we are doing the right thing. I firmly believe that everyone from the States would benefit from taking an extended vacation in the developing world to better see how excessive our lifestyles are in respect to so many others. Even as I look for "aid" work HERE I know that BIG change is going to have to begin AT HOME because WE'VE set the model for what the developing world is striving for, and that maybe ultimately my efforts are better focused there. There really is no us and them, we're all part of a global whole. Not until Americans begin to reconsider their/our luxurious lifestyle in a more all-encompassing perspective and in light of the current conditions of the planet + it's limited resources will true change begin. We, as apex mega-consumers, hold so much power to change simply with our combined efforts to consume WISELY and LESS. It's also worth checking out the stats on what businesses your investment money is supporting. There's so much evidence out here, if you choose to look, that change has GOT to happen, and NOW! It's got to begin with us.

So as not to end on a doom and gloom note, and because I try to have faith in the human race and our ability to evolve, I'll end with this quote from Treehugger.com, an eco-minded site that I linked to above, as to why they do it -

Our environment is currently facing huge obstacles that have the potential to seriously disrupt our future and the future of all our fellow flora and fauna friends. Keeping that in mind, TreeHugger also sympathizes with the fact that most people aren’t willing to compromise their current lifestyle in order to improve our shared environment, so we have created a place where you can discover how to maintain or improve your quality of life while reducing your harmful impact on the earth. TreeHuggers know that you don’t need to run off to live with the wolves to contribute to the betterment of Mother Nature. (We do, however, prescribe this to anyone with strong urges to pursue cave art and moon howling). TreeHuggers live in the 21st century, make quotidian decisions, consume, have fun and maintain their aesthetic je ne sais quoi. Knowing that apocalyptic predictions tend to paralyze the masses instead of mobilizing them, we also prefer an enthusiastic, upbeat outlook. We live green, through education and action.