Extreme Materialism
Tim's cousin & family are in town visiting this week and we've been eating out every day. Been eating way too much. Worst part is the realization that the eating frenzy has begun and will continue throught Christmas & New Year...and only end next Jan after Chinese New Year. Anyway, they've been based in Tokyo for the last few years. Discovered that the Japanese society is extremely materialistic. Apparently there is an obsession to always have the latest equipment. Anything that is over 3 years old loses value & gets chucked. That's how they got their 3 yr old Mazda stationwagon for US$4000. In some neighbourhoods, one can see TVs & other equipment on the roads because they have to make way for the latest stuff. They wanted to bring in their own Thai rice but weren't allowed. So they have to buy the Japanese rice for US$50/bag. Tim's cousin couldn't bring herself to buy fruits for the first year they were there because it was so expensive. I'll have these images in my mind when I visit Vietnam next week - one of the poorest countries in the world.