Vietnam is building more and more of those buildings, hopefully in the near future, most Vietnamese citizen will live in a better housing condition than they are right now.

Viet-Ams ? - Do you mean Viet Americans?

Anyways just asking about the term, I'm full Viet but I do have concerns about the growth of Viet Nam currently. I am in no way against the development of VN's economy but I am afraid of the side effects of "modernisation", such as the increasing separation between the utterly rich and the incredibly poor, kids becoming hook on video games, the introduction of sexuality and violence into mainstream media, etc.

Of course I DO NOT BLAME the economic changes for these problems, but they are side-effects that pop up in every culture that is "modern". I think the reason they pop up is from the drift of focus from morals and virtue over to the "main" focus of capitalism - ahem - "money" for some individuals. Also I think our deep rooted culture may be put on the line through the hard situation that VN has to run through to keep up in the international sense. For example, with these new aparments popping up, as many of you know, ancient buildings dating hundreds and even thousands of years are sometimes destroyed.

I can't do much to change the situation. I'd prefer that culture, morality, and development run parallel. The truth is that VN went through a lot of hard times in history so we are just trying to boost the economy as fast as we can. Morality is obviously being looked after in VN, but the reality is that sometimes is not enough. Too bad.

I think it would be cool to see apartments and modern buildings to have a Vietnamese flare added to the architecture to remind us about the beauty of our culture. Any of you been to "Chua Keo" Pagoda in the North - its amazing. The bell tower is made completely without nails and stuck together by notches and grooves. When I visited VN I never paid attention to the new buildings but what caught me attention was the stuff we can call "Viet".

I'm sure sure most of you agree that economic improvement is nice - and I totally agree. But if we turn into a second Japan then we may be not too ideal. Spring all the new leaves and buds we want, no problem - just gotta keep the roots strong and we don't have to worry.

This is a pic of the bell tower in Chua Keo. I went inside - so cool. There aren't any walls on the tower - what you see are wooden windows that are all closed. When the windows pop open its magnificent.

I also met two friends who are in the architectures guild that are planning the new "Den Hung" in Ha Noi and their mixing old and new. Their blueprints where are hush-hush operation by they managed to give me peek.

And by the way I'm not native to Ha Noi if you wondering. Born in Canada - lived in Canada all my life to a mother from south of Vn and a father from the north VN. When I went back to VN I went everywhere:

Sai Gon
My Tho
Vinh Long
Da Lat
Hue
Ha Noi
Sapa
Cao Lai
Ha Long
Thu Duc
and some other places i forgot.

3) our people are noisy (at cafes, little saigon, etc) because of the side effects of war. try suppressing our people for hundreds of years and force them to grow up in war and bombs. a little noise is nothing. And not all Viets are noisy and if you think Viet people are noisy, then you haven't been aound other people cause the westerners and chinese, india, italian, german are loud speakers themselves.

Hah! - yeah right I barely know anything. You know I used to be totally white-washed. i grew up in a town with less that 5 Viet families and they all went to different schools. I never like our people because of misunderstanding like the following:

1) we are poor as a country
2) we have ugly customs (I mistook a lot of Chinese stuff as Viet - no offense to Chinese - seriously no offense - its just the stuff like the color red everywhere or eating monkey brains and snake guts - yuck)
3) our people are noisy
4) no chicks

But then I grow up and leanred about our history and:

1) we are poor because other nations rob us for millenias - why do they rob us - because we are rich. who wants to rob anarctica? no one cause there's nothing there. who wan't to rob russia? no one cause the resources are slim other than titanium. - so we are not poor - we are rich!
2) we were conquered for 1000 years - so leanred how to figure out what is really Viet and not Viet in origin
3) our people are noisy (at cafes, little saigon, etc) because of the side effects of war. try suppressing our people for hundreds of years and force them to grow up in war and bombs. a little noise is nothing. And not all Viets are noisy and if you think Viet people are noisy, then you haven't been aound other people cause the westerners and chinese, india, italian, german are loud speakers themselves.
4) no chicks - hah i was ignorant - viet chicks are da bomb, no one in my heart is cooler/smarter/hotter than a viet chick, and ao dai's make me drool especially white ones

Only in 2000, when I went back to Vietnam did I find my root Viet again, and started reading Viet history and poems from there on.

3) our people are noisy (at cafes, little saigon, etc) because of the side effects of war. try suppressing our people for hundreds of years and force them to grow up in war and bombs. a little noise is nothing. And not all Viets are noisy and if you think Viet people are noisy, then you haven't been aound other people cause the westerners and chinese, india, italian, german are loud speakers themselves.

1. Chỉ lo nghỉ đến chuyện đi nước ngoài
2. Chỉ biết có nhạc và phim Tàu, Đại Hàn, Đài Loan mà cứ đưa mắt ra mà nhìn
3. Đả xa lày tới mức độ đi làm chuyện không thể tưởng tượng được, đó là làm phim sex và bán đi, trong khi đó còn mặt áo dài đi học
4. Không quan tâm đến việc chính trị ở Việt Nam
5. Chỉ biết đùa theo với nhửng người ăn chơi
6. Hút thút và bị bện AIDS/HIV nhiều
7. Không còn lể phép nửa

I disagreee with the first two reasons.
1. Why would they want to go overseas? It's all about jobs opportunies. Vietnamese goverment don't know anough how to use her rich human resources. While officials' children can apply jobs anywhere, a normal Daihoc Bachkhoa HCM (best university in the south) graduates are struggling to find jobs.
2, Why do they watch Chinese, Korean, and Taiwanese dramas? Easy, Vietnamese dramas suck. If you go to the cinema last 2 weeks in Saigon, 80% movies are about Dien Bien PHu documentaries. Everywhere is propagandas, propagandas, and more propagandas. Even in Vietnamese drama, 98.9 percents have to do something with communism.
Also we have always read Chinese stories, and very well familiar with it. Back in time, Vietnamese elites read the romance of three kingdoms (Tam Quoc Chi), Confucius and Mancius books, even Truyen Kieu By Nguyen Du is actually took place in China! In the 60s, Saigon people wait in lines to buy Jin Yung stories like Thien Long Bat Bo, Anh Hung Xa Dieu etc. That's why Ancient chinese drama is still very popular in Vietnam.

3. Most of the high school in Saigon require "nu sinh" to wear ao dai. I know for sure Nguyen thi Minh Khai (Gia Long high school) still require people to wear it.

Yes, I understand the flaws of the first 2 reasons, but we need to set ourselves a higher identity of ourselves than of China's.

Copying another civilization's philosophy, and architecture, and other things is not completely bad at all. The Romans copied almost all of the Greeks' philosophy, gods, military, ways of life, and many others. But they blended with their own custumes to make it better for themselves.

The context of Dai Viet's statement probably meant that the Viet younger generation is idolizing western culture without understanding. To share a culture is no problem - but make sure you understand the benefits and more importantly its consequences.

Going overseas to learn for education purposes is not what Dai Viet meant (I think?). What He and I meant was that some of our native Viet people look up to the western world as heavenly. I agree with you that there is corruption in VN and sometime moving out of the country is the only feasable answer (heh I lived in Canada rememeber!). The context of Dai Viet's statement probably meant that the Viet younger generation is idolizing western culture without understanding. To share a culture is no problem - but make sure you understand the benefits and more importantly its consequences.

On that part about movies - its a difficult situation. VN right now is not in the proper time and doesn't have the money to make its own shows and not to mention regulate it so that MTV crap doesn't spoil our kids. What Dai Viet is probably meaning is that VN tends to have copy cats that go overboard. I watch korean movies (The Way Home), chinese movies (Happy Times) and Japanese movies (Spirited Away), but I understand where I'm from. In VN, because we are in the aftermath of war, the young generations are venting their steam and having alittle fun, but sometimes they forget to dig up the fun that is called Viet.

The fact that VN reads/watchs/learns about or from other cultures is no biggy. We've been doing it for thousands of years from Indai, China, Cambodia, Laos, French, America, etc. But what I am afraid of is the loss of identity and the brainwashing of our children that VN has nothing to offer. That's my concern and I think that is what Dai Viet means too. I can see you have concerns for our people too which is why I like these forums so much. We need to share because we all have a common goal, but sometimes we misinterpret each other.

4) no chicks - hah i was ignorant - viet chicks are da bomb, no one in my heart is cooler/smarter/hotter than a viet chick, and ao dai's make me drool especially white ones

I don't consider riches made from the suffering of other peoples civilized. That's why some people without understanding ask why doesn't VN has great monuments like the wall 'o' China and such. Well, because we don't enslave our own people (oh and a lot of VN prisoners made the wall 'o' China and died there - arrghh!) to make structures. In history (like the Co Loa Citadel) our poeple united under the common motive to protect our homeland from northern invaders and build monuments. Of course we had some naughty kings, but the Viet culture in general has no huge monuments like Pyramids, Lourves, Wall o China, blah blah cause we don't like shedding the blood of our own kin.

I would prefer making houses over buildings.

Vietnam needs to build more houses and clean up the cracks in their existing houses. I mean look at the houses and building in Vietnam, most of them have the paint worn off with cracks.

Someone needs to clean and fix those buildings to make Vietnam look more presentable.

I would prefer making houses over buildings.

Hy, don't u mean north of Toronto. 'Cause if u were south you'd be in NY & close enough for me to go visit u

so you're right next to RockHeart


go RedWings !

Surrey - near Vancouver BC

Actually to tell you the truth I never liked spirituality until I hit this quote in high school (remember I was white washed):

A COSMIC RELIGION
The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend a personal God and avoid dogmas and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description . . . If there is any religion that could cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism.

-Albert Einstein

So something got me thinking - If Einstein likes Buddhism, then hey?! there must be something cool for him to like.

But still I never went to the Pagodas and I was bored to death - you know that chanting stuff and superstition weirdness.

But "duyen sao" I met this Monk and he had a hilarious sense of humor and he could speak english quite well. He also had Novices my age too so I could relate to the younger generation. Also the Novices came from the same background as me. They showed me Buddhism that was "TRULY" Viet - without the superstition, red colors all over the alter and walls, weird chanting and stuff. Now I'm addicted to listening to them chant. They chant according to the "Mien Trung" style and use the Buddhist instruments like drums, umm whaddaya call em little pan like things, bells, giant bells, wooden thingy (sorry only know the Viet names: Chuong, Mo, Linh, Khanh, Tan, Trong, Kieng). Also their are all very artistic. One monk is a suped up graphics designer and I get along with him very well and another is a groovin carpenter.

Across Canada and the Us there isn't a Pagoda that has younger Novices like here - their mainly older Monks and the younger generations like us have a hard time communicating with them. So I'm really lucky to be hear - If you're every near Vancouver ask for "Thay Vie^n Gia'c" and his place is "Tho^n DDoa\i". He's got about 10 Novices - youngest is around 5 years old and the oldest is around 27.

Chua Linh Son? Is that Thay Tam Hoa?

Thay Vien Giac used to head the Buddhist Youth Grouth in Chua Bat Nha at Calgary before he moved to BC.

When you learn Buddhism, you really got to have people to explain it to you and show you the right stuff or it gets really boring. The Novices and I have converstations on culture, language, science, scriptures, quantum physics, sports, art - really relaxing atmosphere.

I might post those 3 sheets on how to learn Vietnamese later.

Anyways I never got into other religions cause any religion that had a supreme beaing that would allow suffering to continue is insane. The Buddha on the other hand is sorta like "I can only show you the door - you must walk through the door yourself". This makes complete sense cause even if the Buddha drag our feet through the door, that considered coercion and the true spirit of liberation in any type of saviourhood is debunked. Anyways I think this little last part here is gonna start a flame war on religion so I'd better stop