|\| |) \/ /\

SO I just came back from a club. Technically I've been in a club before, but I was alone and I'm not exactly the "socializer" so as you can imagine how great that experience was (it was not bad actually, especially when I got a bit tipsy). Tonight I went to a club in Hanoi with a few friends. Although I was only there for about 30 minutes (since it was 1030pm and my parents were already calling me incessantly - ok, twice) I probably got a few realisations about me and clubbing. First of all, clubs (maybe just Fuse, maybe just clubs in Hanoi, i don't know) are for rich people. I was dressed quite, um, ghastly today, since all of my "better" clothes are packed since I'm leaving on Friday. OK so it was not that bad, like a t-shirt and jeans and sandals (because I was too lazy to put on shoes). I have been very image-conscious for the past few years, probably due to Singapore, but I could really feel the awkwardness when I arrived at the club. People

I don't think there is a Vietnamese word that is totally equivalent to "resentment". Yet I have been seeing (and probably experiencing) so much resentment lately, be it about a country that is disliked, a trend that is criticised, a past that is regretted. It kind of scares me, to be quite honest. Frankly, I don't even know where these waves of resentment are coming from. Everywhere we go my mum would refuse (or at least avoid) any kind of products that are made in China. That is most probably out of fear that any product made in China is toxic, dangerous and low-quality, despite the fact that 90% of the world's stuffs are made in China (random, unchecked statistics) and in a place like Vietnam the label can be switched in a minute. The resentment continues on at any sort of news that pops up on the TV about China, especially with the recent debates about sovereignty over the islands, whereas my parents would immediately say something that can be roughly paraphr