from
http://www.motorcyclephilippines.com/
I was checking if my Vespa post is listed in Technorati yet and of course, it's not. Well,I found this instead and just reading it made my day. The pic helped just a bit. And so, to sate my hunger for more pics oops info, I visited the links. Damn Vespa!
l don't know how to drive a motorbike. I don't even know how to drive a bicycle. And I never had the interest to learn.
Since I'm now living in Vietnam, I 1.ride a xeom (often), 2. ride a taxi (sometimes), 3. use C-my brother in law as a xeom driver (seldom but not never). So you see, I was fine.
There are a lot of xeom in every street corner. And the xeom drivers near the house, they know me. Whenever I go out, they look at me closely. They stare. In their minds, they're thinking, there she is, the woman who looks Vietnamese but something's just not right about her. 1. Is that all she's going to wear when she rides a bike, a simple blouse, jeans and shoes? No long-sleeved jacket, hat, arm glove, socks, mask, (please take a deep breath before you continue) plus the blouse, jeans and shoes? It's so sunny, god's sakes! 2. She smokes. (This was when I just arrived. I've quit smoking.) Tsk, tsk, odd, odd woman. Must be a foreigner. Charge her more.
So I when I go somewhere 1. near (around Tan Binh District where I live)= VND 10,000 2. far (District 1 or 3)= VND 20,000 or VND 25,000. I know it's more than what the Vietnamese pay but it's less expensive than riding a taxi 1.near = VND 20,000 to 30,000 2. far.= VND 60,000 to 70,000. And C is a charming, good-looking man; you see, he was once asked to be a model of Tiep Thi va Gia Dinh for a mien phi makeover (badly-needed!). He's also got the X factor; X = mien phi xeom driver. I'm still alive. Life is good.
But since Sunday, when C's newly-pimped vintage mini Vespa arrived, signs of dissatisfaction have been emerging. I've been thinking/ rethinking about my plight as a woman in Vietnam. Coz you see, I'm not as free and independent as I would like to think. I depend on men as drivers.
Which may be the reason these images have been recurring in my mind lately. Me ala Angelina Jolie (freudian since she was here a few weeks ago) minimalist look (simple cut black or white blouse and jeans) with wisps of wind-blown hair escaping out of a colorful helmet speeding along Duong Nam Khy Khoi Nghia in a vintage mini Vespa, all black with white leather seat.
And C's Vespa, it's been taunting me. It's grinning at me from its honored place altar-like in the garage cum living room cum TV room as I write this post. Good thing that Vespa's seat's not white.
(Note that I try not to sexualize rides, as men are wont to do.)
C's Vespa Mini 50cc 1950
M. (my sister) and C. (her husband) are heading to the P.I. for a vacation. So I had the phenomenal, larger-than-life-task of listing the things they need to buy up there and bring back to Ho Chi Minh .
It was a long list, to say the least. It includes books (please sell Arundhati Roy books in Vietnam!), CD's (sample, a belly dancing instructional video), DVD's (not pirated!), office clothes for M. (difficult to buy here since we're not as small as Vietnamese women),even Mac makeup (make up in HCM are mostly European brands, there are some American brands but still no Mac, I think) and a lot more.
To make the list longer, of course, I added MY DREAMS part. It's a list on its own. It's independent. It has its own life. It breaths, sighs, weeps, begs... I'm posting it on my blog because a list on a paper is a list on paper. It can be lost and then nada. A post on a blog will haunt you. It can be seen even in the P.I., just go to my blog, damn it. What I'm saying, bluntly speaking, is, "M. and C. if you ever read this, as I know you will, I would appreciate it if you buy me some!" There.
My Dreams List (This has got to be the most mentally-taxing post I've written here. Just to demonstrate, I had to edit and reedit it more than three times.)
1. Lord Stowe's egg tarts: No website and I have no idea why. Though for me, the brand sounds English (a cause de "Lord"), I think this is a Portuguese delicacy. It has outlets in Hong Kong, Macau and Philippines. I don't know where else.
2. buko pie from Nueva Vizcaya province: I have to be very particular here. The link was used as an in-case-you've-forgotten-the-sight-will-remind-you-how-mouth-watering-buko-pie-is, okay? I want the one from Nueva Vizcaya.
3. Auntie Anne's pretzels
4. Krispy Kreme doughnuts
5. Muhlach's ensaymada: Another instance in which I need to be particular. Muhlach's, Muhlach's, Muhlach's.
6. Cinnabon cinnamon rolls
7. Sans Rival Cake: I love the cheesecake in Brodard's, don't get me wrong, but hey, we're talking about dreams here.
Attention: If this ploy proves successful, there might not be madness for a while so people in Vietnam will be spared. I'll also gladly spend a sugar-induced hiatus from blogging, brain freezing due to excessive sugar and all. It's a good idea to wish me luck.
Seventeen Saloon
White Person: You're a Filipino. Are you a member of the band here?
Me: No. I'm here because I'm writing a review of the bar. And I also need some pictures.
White Person: Really? You? Write? (from what I remember with a smirk)
Me: Yes, but I sense the question marks there.(laughter not because I found it funny but because I was already drunk I could laugh at everything)
(White Person proceeded to quizzing me thereafter, i.e. how would you rate the band, how would you rate the bar. My reaction: Go ahead, I always ace quizzes.)
Vasco's
American Guy: (when I mentioned I have 2 blogs) So, what language do you write in?
Me: Uh, English sometimes. Sometimes Filipino.
American Guy: I meant, what language are you more comfortable writing in?
Me: Uh, both.
Still in Vasco's
Same American Guy: Have you been to any country outside of Asia?
Me: No, why do you ask?
American Guy: Because you speak English with a barely noticeable accent. Did you speak English at home?
Me: No,mmm, in fact, we don't even speak Filipino at home. We speak Ilokano which is another language altogether. I learned both Filipino and English in school. I was smart, I guess (note the past tense).
American Guy: (I-can't-believe-the-gall-of-this-small-woman-laughter)
I find it ridiculous at times when some White people in Vietnam are dubious that some Asians educated in Asia do speak and write English well. It's not like all Whites can speak and write English well. Not even some of the supposedly educated ones do. (Enough, Cheryl.)
"...(I)t's odd that English is a language that, for somebody like me, is a choice that is made for me before I'm old enough to choose. It is the only language that you can (I prefer the term must) speak if you want to get a good job or you want to go to a university. All the big newspapers are in English."
Arundhati Roy said this of the English language in India. (Please sell Arundhati Roy books in Vietnam.) It's true in my country and in other parts of Asia, as well.
(American Guy, hi! I don't hate you. You have to admit you're full of crap sometimes.)
You think I'm not a goddess, huh, yahoo?
I don't know why I did, but, mmm, I searched my virtual moniker amadbrownwoman on yahoo. Well, look what I found. It only shows what I've suspected all along. One, Black Eyed Peas is really famous, (yeah, of course). Second, OMIH's blog is famous among Vietnam bloggers. Lastly, yahoo doesn't care that amadbrownwoman has her own blog.
So, if you're a blogger and you want to be visible on the internet, go comment in OMIH's blog.
Or if you want to be a famous blogger, just claim you're OMIH.
Or if you want to be famous period, just be a member of Black Eyed Peas period.
"I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. And I am horribly limited."-Sylvia Plath
Recently, I met up with 2 bloggers and I was asked about "Bebot." The only thing I can remember from that conversation was being asked what the word "bebot" means. Since I was caught unprepared (and as usual, I did not want to start a conversation which interests only me), I did translate the word but I did not go into what I as a Woman, Filipino, Asian thought of the video (read this as the Generation 2 since it's the one I saw) per se. I am posting this in the hope that the blogger who asked me about "Bebot" will read this and understand. But if you do get bored, I advise you to go to another blog. No cheeky post today! This open letter from some folks (I got it from another Filipino blogger) is representative of my sentiments.
Open Letter re: “Bebot” Music Videos
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
2:09 PM
To Apl.de.Ap, Patricio Ginelsa/KidHeroes, and Xylophone Films:
We, the undersigned, would like to register our deep disappointment at the portrayal of Filipinas and other women in the new music videos for the Black Eyed Peas’ song, “Bebot.” We want to make it clear that we appreciate your efforts to bring Filipina/o Americans into the mainstream and applaud your support of the Little Manila of Stockton. However, as Filipina/o and Filipina/o American artists, academics, and community activists, we are utterly dismayed by the portrayal of hypersexualized Filipina “hoochie-mama” dancers, specifically in the Generation 2 version, the type of representation of women so unfortunately prevalent in today’s hip-hop and rap music videos. The depiction of the 1930s “dime dancers” was also cast in an unproblematized light, as these women seem to exist solely for the sexual pleasure of the manongs.
In general, we value Apl.de.Ap’s willingness to be so openly and richly Filipino, especially when there are other Filipina/o Americans in positions of visibility who do not do the same, and we appreciate the work that he has done with the folks at Xylophone Films; we like their previous video for “The Apl Song,” and we even like the fact that the Generation 1 version of “Bebot” attempts to provide a “history lesson” about some Filipino men in the 1930s. However, the Generation 2 version truly misses the mark on accurate Filipina/o representation, for the following reasons:
1) The video uses three very limited stereotypes of Filipina women: the virgin, the whore, and the shrill mother. We find a double standard in the depiction of the virgin and whore figures, both of which are highly sexualized. Amidst the crowd of midriff-baring, skinny, light-skinned, peroxided Pinays some practically falling out of their halter tops - there
is the little sister played by Jasmine Trias, from whom big brother Apl is constantly fending off Pinoy “playas.” The overprotectiveness is strange considering his idealization of the bebot or “hot chick.” The mother character was also particularly troublesome, but for very different reasons.
She seems to play a dehumanized figure, the perpetual foreigner with her exaggerated accent, but on top of that, she is robbed of her femininity in her embarrassingly indelicate treatment of her son and his friends. She is not like a tough or strong mother, but almost like a coarse asexual mother,
and it is telling that she is the only female character in the video with a full figure.
2) We feel that these problematic female representations might have to do with the use of the word “Bebot.” We are of course not advocating that Apl change the title of his song, yet we are confused about why a song that has to do with pride in his ethnic/national identity would be titled “Bebot,” a word that suggests male ownership of the sexualized woman the “hot chick.” What does Filipino pride have to do with bebots? The song seems to be about immigrant experience yet the chorus says “ikaw ang aking bebot” (you are my hot chick). It is actually very disturbing that one’s ethnic/national identity is determined by one’s ownership of women. This system not only turns women into mere symbols but it also excludes women from feeling the same kind of ethnic/national identity. It does not bring down just Filipinas; it brings down all women.
3) Given the unfortunate connection made in this video between Filipino pride and the sexualized female body both lyrically and visually, we can’t help but conclude that the video was created strictly for a heterosexual man’s pleasure. This straight, masculinist perspective is the link that we find between the Generation 1 and Generation 2 videos. The fact that the Pinoy men are surrounded by “hot chicks” both then and now makes this link plain. Yet such a portrayal not only obscures the “real” message about the Little Manila Foundation; it also reduces Pinoy men’s hopes, dreams, and
motivations to a single-minded pursuit of sex.
We do understand that Filipino America faces a persistent problem of invisibility in this country. Moreover, as the song is all in Tagalog (a fact that we love, by the way), you face an uphill battle in getting the song and music video(s) into mainstream circulation. However, remedying the invisibility of Filipina/os in the United States should not come at the cost of the dignity and self-respect of at least half the population of Filipino America. Before deciding to write this letter, we felt an incredible amount of ambivalence about speaking out on this issue because, on the one hand, we
recognized that this song and video are a milestone for Filipina/os in mainstream media and American pop culture, but on the other hand, we were deeply disturbed by the images of women the video propagates.
In the end we decided that we could not remain silent while seeing image after image of Pinays portrayed as hypersexual beings or as shrill, dehumanized, asexual mother-figures who embarrass their children with their overblown accents and coarseness. The Filipino American community is made up
of women with Filipino pride as well, yet there is little room in these videos for us to share this voice and this commitment; instead, the message we get is that we are expected to stand aside and allow ourselves to be exploited for our sexuality while the men go about making their nationalist statements.
While this may sound quite harsh, we believe it is necessary to point out
“,1] ); //–>that such depictions make it seem as if you are selling out Filipina women for the sake of gaining mainstream popularity within the United States. Given the already horrific representations of Filipinas all over the world
as willing prostitutes, exotic dancers, or domestic servants who are available for sex with their employers, the representation of Pinays in these particular videos can only feed into such stereotypes. We also find it puzzling, given your apparent commitment to preserving the history and
dignity of Filipina/os in the United States, because we assume that you also consider such stereotypes offensive to Filipino men as well as women.
Again, we want to reiterate our appreciation for the positive aspects of these videos the history lesson of the 1936 version, the commitment to community, and the effort to foster a larger awareness of Filipino America in the mainstream but we ask for your honest attempt to offer more full-spectrum representations of both Filipino men and Filipina women, now and in the future. We would not be writing this letter to you if we did not believe you could make it happen.
Respectfully,
Lucy Burns
Assistant Professor
Asian American Studies / World Arts and Cultures, UCLA
Fritzie De Mata
Independent scholar
Diana Halog
Undergraduate
UC Berkeley
Veronica Montes
Writer
Gladys Nubla
Doctoral student
English, UC Berkeley
Barbara Jane Reyes
Poet and author
Joanne L. Rondilla
Doctoral candidate
Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley
Rolando B. Tolentino
Visiting Fellow, National University of Singapore
Associate Professor, University of the Philippines Film Institute
Benito Vergara
Asian American Studies / Anthropology, San Francisco State University
Addenda: To check out the Bebot Generation 1 and 2 videos, go to www.blackeyedpeas.com and log in using this account, username and password amadbrownwoman. To have an idea what the song's lyrics mean, go to carpediem23.multiply.com for a rough translation.
During my first few months in Vietnam, I had this unchecked idea that "Hai Ba Trung" means... (okay here it is) twenty three eggs. (To Vietnamese speakers, stop laughing now, will you?) It's what happens when your main interaction with locals is buying. Mot nghin dong, one thousand dong... hai nghin dong , two thousand dong ...ba nghin three thousand... ca, fish... ca trung, fish eggs...Get how brilliant me is? (To my former professors in the university, it was not all in vain. There are moments when I redeem myself. I do. I do.) To my defense, at least I knew my numbers.
It was named after the Trung sisters who are women-warriors in Vietnam history. (Yeah, move over Mulan!) "Hai" means two, "ba" madam or a married woman and Trung is the family name. (Thanks to the boyfriend of the friend of my sister for pointing this out. Heller!) Here's the Trung sisters' story.
What's this black bird called anyway?
It's from this small eatery in (82, 84, not sure) Dinh Tien Hoang Street. (Despite black bird above), it's a crabby place (fried rice with crab meat, fried soft shelled crab, crab anything, crab everything).
We went here last Saturday, my sister, her husband and I. We stayed in the second floor and the stairs are very steep. There were also groups of rowdy drinking Vietnamese men.
I therefore conclude that you people shall come here after gym/when you're sure there's no possibility of a heart attack/ when no one cares if you have a bulging stomach after all those crabs, that you women shall not wear high heels when you come here unless you're used to climbing Mt. Everst in five-inch heels, that you women shall not come here alone because it'a beer venue for Vietnamese men, not that they're dangerous,mind, just to be safe, that you shall stay away from black birds if you have a queasy stomach and that you shall come here hungry,very hungry.
Addendum:
But please ring the bell, don't steal.
Just surfing...
Been browsing the internet and I saw an article on film festival in Hanoi which starts this Sunday.
Day dreaming...
Reminds me of my Cinemanila,French Film Fest, UP Film Fest, etc. days in Manila.
Reality...
Only thing that's close to film fest in Saigon (that I've been party to) is going to Saigon Square, buying a ton of pirated DVD's and some marathon DVD watching at home.
Sunday, in Saigon Square, Ho Chi Minh City
“Do you have a size L?” I ask the saleswoman as I show her the white blouse which caught my eye.
“No, no size L. Size M only. This very beautiful for you.” She answers cheerfully in her awkward English.
“Me, size L. No size M.” I reply.
Yes, I wear large clothes here. After living in Vietnam for a while now, I am getting used to it. However, I don’t feel enthused every time this fact is being confirmed and reconfirmed. Like this instance.
I just came from a stall that sells jeans. I wanted to buy jeans that would go with the blue bag I just bought. So I went inside the stall. The saleswoman smiled at me. Maybe she remembered me because I usually buy jeans here. I chose one that I thought would look great on me. I tried it on. And…the jeans were smaller than I thought. I asked the saleswoman to give me one that’s a size bigger. She giggled and said, “ Troi oi (tr. Good God)! Madam, you’re so fat!”
Such audacity!
I immediately left afterward. I draw the line at saleswomen telling me I’m fat when I’m buying clothes. I guess I never thought that I would ever be in this situation, be described as fat...to my face...at American size six!
My pitiful attempt at ao dai art-ing. I waited for the woman wearing ao dai at the corner of the park near Notre dame Cathedral just to get a good shot and look what I got. You can see women wearing ao dai in the city just about every day. This pic shows what I love most about Vietnam. It has clearly not forgotten its history. Yet.
The same is not true in my own country. If a woman wears a baro't saya, the traditional dress of women in the Philippines, the natural assumption is a) she's a public school teacher and today is filipiniana day b) she's a politician/public school teacher/government employee and she's attending an important community/school/ function in which she needs to showcase her "patriotic spirit" by wearing such and such.
(There was a time when the government required their employees to wear filipiniana clothes on a certain day of the week. Hence, the term filipiniana day. Not sure if it's still being implemented, though.)
This should have been titled My Foray Into The World Of Che.
I am known as Che by my friends. I have a dry humor and an acerbic tongue. This nickname stuck when I went to college and I realized that my then new found friends could not pronounce my original nickname well. I got tired of correcting them like an elementary school language teacher. So I accepted it. I just shortened my real name.
Che I became.
Still in college. I discovered Che. I mean my namesake Che Guevara, a marxist revolutionary marytr who was born in Argentina. He was an important guerilla leader in Cuba. You've probably seen his image in some shirts as he has been adopted as an "icon" by some popular brands. These brands are capitalizing on his image, thereby making profit out of him.
Ironic it is.
In Vietnam, I had a taste of che. Literally. Apparently, it is a dessert enjoyed by many people here, especially in the South. I tried it the night I arrived in Ho Chi Minh in Quan An Ngon Restaurant.
Yummy it was.
I know that in other countries che may have a different meaning, too. I am looking forward to discovering those che's. Meanwhile, I am going to enjoy che in Vietnam while I can.
Viva la Che!
I finally joined the blogosphere in order to have contact with my friends in the Philippines. I now have two: a personal blog and this, my public blog. Since I am in Vietnam, I have been perusing some Vietnam blogs lately and what do you know, I found an interesting article about cultural discourse in the Vietnam blogosphere. Lesson: THINK before you (I) blog.
This is an excerpt. To read whole article (edit: written by Mark Robertson), go to global voices online.
Recently there has been a very lively discussion in the English-language Vietnam blogosphere about the phenomenon of the self-proclaimed expat expert... An example of this kind of cultural dialogue is a discussion amongst Vietnam bloggers on the nature of Vietnamese social relations. This strand began with several posts in Six Months in Hanoi about the contrast between Vietnamese and Western patterns of socializing. In one post, HanoiMark describes a mixed party in which these patterns were in stark contrast: the fluid networks of Western expats vs. the family-like groups of the Vietnamese. In another post he tries to understand the nature of “closed social networks” or “groups” among Vietnamese friends. While Western modes of socializing often involve mixing circles of friends and creating new acquaintances, the Vietnamese approach affords a spontaneity and intimacy between friends that is perhaps less common in the West.
La Fenetre Soleil Corner Nam Ky Khoi Nghia and Le Thanh Ton Streets, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
I just discovered this coffee shop, La Fenetre Soleil. Great place to laze the afternoons away. Its decor is shabby chic with mismatched tables, sofas, and chairs. It's difficult to find a nice coffee shop sans gawking old white and vietnamese men (who are on the look out for mistress number 10) but this coffee shop offers a refuge. It's frequented by young locals but a few expats are discovering it. However, the stairs leading to this cafe: ugh, ugh, ugly. Still, great place.
Seems life offers no worries for this xe om driver who's catching up on the day's news in the park. With a xe om or motorbike taxi used to transport passengers (mostly tourists) to different parts of the city and a few rests in between trips, everything is just dandy.
