It’s been just hours since the iPad just started selling in Japan, and the crowds are at their frenzy. Almost everywhere has their reservation lists sold out! Check out the scene at the store right across the street from my hotel…
Needless to say, Japanese people LOVE their electronics.
In my previous trips to Japan, I’d always missed the southern islands. Under-rated and off the beaten path, Kyushu and Okinawa further south were frequently forgotten on most tourists’ itineraries. In fact, only some Japanese ever go to Kyushu, and even fewer have ever been to Okinawa.
I’m quite glad that I made it out to Okinawa. It wad quite possibly the best part of my trip so far. Being the rainy season, flights were cheap (only 10,000 yen each way from Tokyo), my hotels were affordable (5,000 yen/night), and everywhere I went there were only a few other tourists around.
The best part was Emerald Beach, on the northern part of the main island of Okinawa. This man-made beach was protected by an inlying bay and long extending sand-bar. The sand on the beach was pure and clean; the water was warm and ridiculously clear. Coming out of the water you’d feel as if you had just taken a shower; there was no discomfort from sticky sand or filmy residue on your skin. It just felt good…relaxing to be there.
The most awesome part of it all was that there were just a handful of other souls on the beach. As if this beach had been forgotten by most tourists. The beach had a great setup, however. Speakers played JPOP music around the three separate sides of the beach. Several lifeguards took close watch over the swimmers (with a ratio of something like 4 swimmers for every lifeguard). There were also some nice viewpoints from the volcanic rock formation on the tip of the park area.
Showing up to a beach like that all by myself is a little bit strange. I always thought those people at the movies by themselves or those who go snowboarding alone were a little strange. But then again I do a lot of traveling by myself, so by now I’m getting used to it. Hearing nothing much but my own thoughts…it can actually be soothing and bring clarity to the mind.
My time at Okinawa actually reminds me of all those times I transited through Dubai…while I was working in Afghanistan. Dropping by hotels in the middle of the night, or just hitting the pool or the beach for a few hours in the day was the usual routine. I didn’t think it was weird — it was almost necessary, to keep the mind sane (otherwise Afghanistan may consume you). Anyway, here’s to Okinawa, and all those of you who have traveled alone.
And so West is where I’m going. At this very moment im sitting on United 875, going from Seattle to Tokyo. I’ll fill you in on the plan…
After finishing up my first year at Harvard Kennedy School, I’ve moved my stuff down to Philadelphia, in preparation for next year’s start at Wharton for my MBA program. This coming year will be the second In my three year dual degree program.
Summer, however, is what’s up next, and I’m on my way to a two month research internship in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I’ll be working at the Fulbright School, the premier public policy school in Vietnam. Not only does the school provide a uniquely legit Master in Public Policy for Vietnamese officials and industry professionals, it also remains one of the country’s most qualified and respected think tanks. While I’m there during June and July I will be conducting research on the urban development policies, real estate, and infrastructure. It should be an interesting summer, my first professional experience in a truly Vietnamese context.
But first, I’m heading to Japan. How could i go to Asia and pass up an opportunity to visit this teeming island of modernity. Or should I say post-modernity. Well the plan is to spend about 10 days here visiting friends in Tokyo, then heading out to Okinawa and Hakata (yes, Hakata RAMEN!)..for those of you who can appreciate a bowl of ramen this will be quite a pilgrimage to the Mecca of pork flavored goodness itself (pls forgive the cultural faux pas)… and maybe I’ll make it out to Hiroshima on the way back to Tokyo. Hopefully this trip will be a good experience to fill in the gaps in my earlier trips to Japan. I’ve always wanted to go to the southern islands of Japan, so now’s my chance. I can’t imagine the next opprtunity I’ll have to see both old friends and new places in Japan, so this is it.
But whats so interesting about Japan and the rest of Asia so exactly this entanglement of new and old, East and West. Growing up as a Californian, my sense of geography is ultimately twisted. My notions of
new and old, east and west, traditional and modern are all products of California’s relative geographic location. Sure, Asia is traditionally “the East”. But it’s also just a 10 hour plane ride to the West, and it’s a region that is trying to modernize as much and as fast as any other developing place on earth. Combine that with its millenias-old history, and you certainly get a sense of the multiplicity here.
So, what you get in places like Vietnam …and perhaps Japan years ago… is a race to modernity, starting from a very modest beginning. When only 15 years ago, it was almost illegal to have a telephone, normal Vietnamese now brandish their laptops and iPhones, make-do with their Vespas and Louis Vuitton, mingle with YouTube and Facebook, and have daily debates about the real estate and stock markets. Such is the face of an overt attempt to become modern. The leap to modernity, however, not without caveats. The sales and import of Apple products and laptops is heavily controlled. Luxury goods carry a 200% import tax (imagine $100k Toyotas). And censorship only grows across Vietnam’s internet (don’t be surprised if you see me disappear from Facebook soon). The real estate markets itself is in quite a situation, as economists and industry watchers warn of an over-blown asset bubble. Thus, Vietnam is a very interesting place to be. And so, I will go West…
After a great summer in Vietnam, I’m low on steam to keep after_alex going. I’ve decided that this will be my final post…for a long while.
The latest update on my life is that I’m back in the US. I have finished the Vietnamese Advanced Summer Institute (VASI) in Saigon. Now I’m settled in Cambridge, MA with Victoria and launched off into the first year of my 3-year MPA/MBA program. This is a dual-degree — MPA is Master in Public Administration, and MBA being Master in Business Administration. This first year is at JFK School of Government @ Harvard University (Harvard Kennedy School), and the next year will be at The Wharton School @ Penn. It’s been a great ride. Almost two months in, I’m pretty much knee deep in an intellectual and social bonanza. Each day is like a conference on cutting-edge public affairs, with happy hours and dinner events squeezed into the PMs. Happy to say, I’m enjoying it very much. I’m seeing great people — from the President of Columbia to advisers for the Vietnamese government, and it’s been worth every moment. I don’t agree with all ideas that come across the JFK campus, but it’s a great space for tomorrow’s leaders (as well as some of today’s).
Now, here’s some images from this summer.
A couple of snapshots from all over the place: Hong Kong airport is a special place for me, having spent many hours here waiting (and eating!). Great food from the cafes inside.
Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City) is an ever-changing place. The pace is picking back up again for construction. Yes, it’s supposedly slowed down, but I guarantee you that each day you’ll never see a skyline that you’ve seen before.
Club Velvet, one of the current hot spots in Saigon, brags about its exclusiveness. It caters to expats and the wealthy…both growing groups in Vietnam.
And that’s a wrap on the last 4 months…
I guess that it has taken me a while to come to this point…where I am finally at terms with being back in the US, and where I have finally re-constructed “my life.” Some people are quite good at adjusting to life back and forth from Afghanistan, but I’d say that for most like myself, the jolt of settling down can be a spin. Intentionally, however, I’ve spent the past month-and-half in Southern California in order to reclaim some of my roots and recognize what’s important for me in the future.
Last time I made my way back to the US (in 2005) after a stint in Afghanistan, I was totally culture-shocked.
This time, I was surprisingly culture-shocked again. Upon returning to the US, I rushed to my cousin’s wedding in San Jose, California. And after just 1-night of sleep I was in the middle of it — a traditional Vietnamese wedding ceremony in the suburban environs of California. I recall just staring out the window at the local park, just thinking, “man….are those kids lucky to be just rolling around at park.” Typically, kids in Kabul are working for their parents by the time they’re old enough to walk and talk. Whether they’re in the welding shop, herding goats (even on the streets of Kabul), scavenging the neighborhood trash, or just fetching drinking water from the local pump….life isn’t so simple. Still it’s kiddie-life, and I’m sure most kids look upon their younger years with yearning … no matter where they were spent.
Culture shock was accentuated this time, not just by the East/West | Islam/Christianity | Pork/Chicken divide…but by the huge chasm in technology. Being a former high-tech researcher and software manager, coming back to a world where information flies was just…IS just….amazing. Astounding. Day-by-day we can’t understand the eventual leaps in technology that we make, but with things like the new iPhone I have been simply blown away. I knew that I had to catch with almost 2 lost years of “hi-tech” so I signed up for the iPhone as fast as I could. Man…was that the right thing — and most shocking thing — to do. With this iPhone I’ve wasted away hours-days-nights (…or finally caught up with tech, depending which way you look at it)….hacking, jailbreaking, apping, and breaking this thing.
On coming back to the US, I thought that I would be able to pull out my old desktop PC and begin tinkering productively on it again…then I put my iPhone next to it…and WTF. Sure, I can put Linux on the ol’ white box and slap a bunch of cool programs on it. But pretty much the iPhone can do everything you want it to — if you are just patient enough with it. And now I’m convinced that “cloud computing” is here. To hell with it, I said. So today I dumped my beloved old white box over at Salvation Army, along with the huge 17″ Samsung Monitor that I dropped hard-earned cash on (back in 2001 of course). With my re-education with technology at least I’ve found some peace.
More importantly, however, I realize now why I wanted to spend so much time here in SoCal before moving on. California is a great place not just because it represents technology, but because it’s the home of comfort, trendy lifestyle, and great ideas. I’ve been able to do some hard meditation on “what next”…which is typically an easy deliberation for me. This time it’s different, because I feel that the US isn’t what I’ve wanted to come home to…and it’s not the core of my future…but because it’s just the platform. In reality, coming back was originally my finale for Afghanistan. No more, no less.
Now I’ve come to terms with the next few years of school at Harvard and Penn…(more on this later). Somewhere in there I’ve also found some bearing with regard to career vis-a-vis family, life aspirations, and reality’s limitations. In the years to come, it’ll be important for me to stay humble and imaginative while keeping it real. Life is at a crossroads, I suppose. And it’s an exciting time. Like my old friend Thien said, “The end of every era is the beginning of the next.” You can choose “when” you will be alive, but it’s all about choosing where and how.