|
Vietnamese Dawdling By Anna Moi |
|
|
|
The Petit Robert Dictionary proposes the following definition of dawdling: walking without specific goal, according to one's whim.
To tell the truth, the Vietnamese people never stay still. They need to move, alone or with their family, with ducks, window panes, even pianos. Even markets are moving and floating. Even dead people are wandering and need living people to take care of them.
The ever mobile Vietnamese adapt themselves to vehicles, unless vehicles adapt to them.
In the movement, there is a sense of life and optimism. One can feel irresistibly pushed outsides the walls, toward something else, towards future and hope.
But in order to move without a goal, we need to slow down. Motor vehicles are not suitable for this. Have you ever seen someone dawdle in a car? Cars must be taken seriously and more and more car are a feature of modern life because of their speed.
Slowness is a synonym for poverty. It is prohibited. Selling in the street is prohibited. Cyclos are prohibited. But then poverty is transformed into a gesture of flight: there is always someone to warn the others when the police are coming.
|
