As my girlfriend and I attempted to squat
on the knee-high stools without bothering anyone else enjoying their
meal, the chef/waitress/cashier auntie dropped two bowls of steaming Pho
Bo in front of us. This bowl of happiness made me forget who I was for
the time being, I felt like just another Vietnamese citizen taking a
lunch break. This was the first time on our trip where I felt invisible;
it was the first time where I wasn’t stared at like I had money hanging
from my eyebrows. I could finally relax. Then the slap of reality, “Do
you guys have forks here?” Everyone at the table, including us, stared
at this misinformed individual. Because we were in Asia and we both
happen to be Asian, all we had to do in a situation like this was look
down and keep eating, letting our black hair act as camouflage.
This incident and incidents like this always bring up the same questions for me. 1. No matter how hard you try and no matter how much you hate tourists, when you leave your nest will you always be a tourist? 2. What is the significance of location?
In my head the first question always has a pretty certain answer: Yes, if you are a tourist, you will always be a tourist unless you create a new nest. Thus, transitioning slowly from visitor to resident. But, I can never produce a solid answer that second question. For the next 15 weeks or so I am going to try. Do not expect a statement like “…and therefore, the significance of location is blah.” It is not going to happen. But, I will explore the things that make a location important, as well as everything that lessens its importance. Along with writing about this matter, I have also already started visual research through the use of photography.
To be able to take a photo in Los Angeles that convinces the viewer that it was taken in Tokyo amuses me. To be able to take a photo in Tokyo that convinces the viewer that I am in Los Angeles frustrates me. The photographs will help me unveil aspects of locations that will be the topics of my writings.
Everything I say though, is coming from someone who has lived in the area of Los Angeles his whole life. I have been spoiled by it. There aren’t that many places where a person could have a würst with German beer for lunch, go to a Japanese Museum, then have amazing pad see ew for dinner, followed by churros for dessert. To someone from a place where imported goods are less prevalent, my blog may seem close-minded. I will try to be as unbiased as possible but I know I will slip.
If that mislead individual I spoke about before just wanted to have a conversation with a waitress about forks that ended in her getting a bowl of Pho, then why not just go to her local Korean owned Vietnamese restaurant?
This incident and incidents like this always bring up the same questions for me. 1. No matter how hard you try and no matter how much you hate tourists, when you leave your nest will you always be a tourist? 2. What is the significance of location?
In my head the first question always has a pretty certain answer: Yes, if you are a tourist, you will always be a tourist unless you create a new nest. Thus, transitioning slowly from visitor to resident. But, I can never produce a solid answer that second question. For the next 15 weeks or so I am going to try. Do not expect a statement like “…and therefore, the significance of location is blah.” It is not going to happen. But, I will explore the things that make a location important, as well as everything that lessens its importance. Along with writing about this matter, I have also already started visual research through the use of photography.
To be able to take a photo in Los Angeles that convinces the viewer that it was taken in Tokyo amuses me. To be able to take a photo in Tokyo that convinces the viewer that I am in Los Angeles frustrates me. The photographs will help me unveil aspects of locations that will be the topics of my writings.
Everything I say though, is coming from someone who has lived in the area of Los Angeles his whole life. I have been spoiled by it. There aren’t that many places where a person could have a würst with German beer for lunch, go to a Japanese Museum, then have amazing pad see ew for dinner, followed by churros for dessert. To someone from a place where imported goods are less prevalent, my blog may seem close-minded. I will try to be as unbiased as possible but I know I will slip.
If that mislead individual I spoke about before just wanted to have a conversation with a waitress about forks that ended in her getting a bowl of Pho, then why not just go to her local Korean owned Vietnamese restaurant?
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