the world for more than it simply is

Awoken early today around eleven am by Ha Linh–she had finished work early and had nothing to do before our meeting to visit the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology (Bảo tàng Dân tộc học Việt Nam). We had breakfast or perhaps it was brunch before meeting up Hạc and his tutor Quyen to go to the museum together.

 
Along with a look into the lives of Việt Nam’s many minority groups, there was a feature exhibit on the Bao Cấp/Subsidy System era of Việt Nam from 1975 to 1986. During this time, the country existed on a system of redeemable coupons based on citizen rank to obtain living essentials such as rice, meat, clothing, etc. Speaking to Ha Linh on the period, she recalled that she had it better than most during the time since her father was a musician (flute) whose services were required by the government. She explained that because of this, they were able to obtain food easier than others–often times, commoners would have to wait in line all day starting from midnight to receive their food rations. At times, the food supply would run out and those who had been waiting all day would go home empty-handed. Also regarding the food supply, the exhibit noted that rice would often times be moldy or smelly when it was distributed to commoners. Thus, their dreams were generally more limited to just obtaining a rice stipend that did not smell.

 
These were hard times in Việt Nam’s post-war existence, in which black markets and other operations would appear. Recalling further memories, Ha Linh said that her mother learned how to knit during this era in order to make clothing to sell in order to get other supplies (almost a system of bartering). Likewise, because of this era of hardships, her only manufactured toy was a doll which she was only allowed to play with every two weeks when she was on her best behavior as another could not be afforded to replace it.

 
Life was different then. The exhibit states that the future of Việt Nam is moving towards a brighter one now.