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McDonald’s Comes to Vietnam!

McDonald’s comes to Vietnam!

First world food comes to Third World country:

But, Is it too much to ask for a stove and a bed?Many of you know my son Jeremy is living in Vietnam. He is doing a number of things, mostly teaching English and driving Jeeps for tourists. The language is often a huge barrier, but sometimes the culture is…different.

Jeremy moved across DaNang, almost a year ago. He was exasperated trying to find a nice, clean place, off the main streets where he could settle for another year. Many of these homes were unfurnished with clay or makeshift walls. He found a place and requested the owners to give him a stove and a bed with the house.

No problem. They nodded and the transaction was complete. When Jeremy moved in, he found a straw tatami-type mat on the floor for a bed. There was no stove.

Unbelievable that the landlord ‘didn’t get it’, and off he went to find a mattress in the non-existent home furnishing area of town. He found, and wrestled a single bed and mattress back to the rental home. (Good thing he had a jeep to drive.)

Six months later, the stove had not materialized.

Interesting fact: In feng shui, the stove and the bed are both very important. A bed is used for 8 hours a day for resting and rejuvenating. It is good to be close to the ground, but also good to have room for chi-energy to move.

The stove is the hearth of the home. The stove represents more than a cooking surface. It represents an abundance of food, a warm home, and the gatherings of family and good times. No stove?

After inquiring a few times about a stove, Jeremy figured there wasn’t one coming his way. The attitude of the Vietnamese is; ‘No need to cook, there are people who cook’.

It would appear that everyone has a job in this society and there is no reason to cook; as there are lots of cooks. Just as there are tailors to fix clothes, the farmers to bring in the crops and machine workers that can make and fix everything from anything. In this society, everyone has a role, and it seems to work. There is plenty of food on the streets or in homes that are open for travellers.

My son sent me a few pictures of McDonald’s that just opened up last month! He is wondering how the little ladies, cooking with their carts on the street, are going to compete with the food chain. He took one of his friends, Tam, to the opening of McDonald’s.  Tam runs a café in DeNang. She’s been cooking for expats, locals and GI’s for the past 30 years, and she wasn’t impressed.

As for the mattress, Jeremy threw it out. When he arrived back to his house after our visit last fall, everything was mouldy; shoes, papers, pillows, mattress and everything else that was hanging around. These homes do not have insulation; the temperatures are high, then low, and therefore no control of heat of humidity.

Count yourself lucky to have a nice bed to sleep in tonight, and a stove…and a little feng shui in your life.

Kathryn

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About Kathryn Wilking

Author, Home Stager, Feng Shui Consultant

Kathryn has inspired women for more than a decade to take charge of their lives; arranging their environment, home and office, to support a positive, prosperous lifestyle. She provides informative tips and talks to organizations and small groups through her Facebook Group and Blog Posts and recorded podcasts. Contact her today for more info about bringing the practical application of Feng Shui into your space.

Her book, Practical Feng Shui for the Office; never goes out of style!
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