June 24th: street food, laundry and the American Dream

Sheila and I have developed a little routine. I wake up early, wash my clothes, and walk for a few hours. By the time I come back, Sheila is awake. Then we walk, eat, walk, drink, eat, walk and eat. 

This morning I got a cup of nescafe and sat on the sidewalk. I met a Nigerian man (there are a lot of Nigerians living in this neighborhood). He spoke perfect English, explaining a little of Nigerian history: colonized by the British, and then independence on October 1st, 1960. There are over 300 dialects in Nigeria, so English is the common language. There are so many Nigerians in Bangkok looking for a way to make a living. Some of them sell drugs. The man I met used to be a preacher, and now is a rapper. He dreams of going to America. 

Bangkok going up and up

 My Nigerian friend told me that he doesn't want to be a Nigerian. He wants to be an American. "But why, " I asked. "Nigeria is your mother." "Yes, it is my mother. But I want to be an American." The American dream - such a provocative and enticing fantasy. "It is a myth," I tell him. "True for so few people." "No," he corrects me. "The American dream is true. Work hard. Make money. Be free."

delicious morning street food

 "But look around you," I reply. "It is the same here. People get a little space. They wheel out their cart. They make a little money. They try to survive. This is the same." "But I want to be an American," he replies.

shanty-town laundry

 Our conversation reminded me of two things. 1) I take my students to Vietnam every year. The most common reflection my 14 year old students have at the end of the trip is how happy the Vietnamese have with so little. I know it is a cliche, but students talk about how there is little correlation between wealth and happiness.

apartment laundry

 And 2) I bring in a guest speaker every year, Dr. Bezruchka, to my Global Studies class to talk to the students about the determinants of health, asking the students why it is that Americans rank so low in life expectancy while more than half of the world's health care dollars are spent in the Untied States. He points out to the students that studies show that the typical factors affecting health, such as smoking, exercise and diet, are only a small percentage of the contributing factors to poor health. Dr. Bezruchka points to two main factors: income disparity, which is a leading factor to poor health, and a sense of community or camaraderie, which is an important factor contributing to good health.

I wandered through the back alleys this morning, called soys, and on the way back, realized that I don't need to go in a loop or circle. Coming back down the same street is new again, for it is a different perspective on the same thing.

chicken on a stick