G-nam

It started with google search.vn, then came gmail, googledocs, and blogger in Vietnamese, and now it's gotten as far as google maps. Vietnam has joined the g-world.

Here is a very pretty picture of G-noi. And for a really surreal experience, check out the satellite view where you can almost see my house on hong mai street. Creepy.

But this is a recent development. A few months ago when I needed to figure out how to get to the central post office, I instinctively sought out google maps, innocently assuming that the g-minions had gone ahead of me photoing, labeling, and uploading every last inch of this city.

I was forced to return to my well-worn analog version.

The only thing google maps had to say about Hanoi included a few major streets and a pink hot air balloon labeled "A" where, presumably, the precise center of Hanoi was located. This caused me a fair bit of anxiety. How was I going to find anything? What if I got lost, would I actually have to talk to someone? If the city of Hanoi didn't exist in virtual form, could I be sure it existed in reality?




= REAL?






And this epistemological concern gave way to another, related question, namely, why do I feel the need for a digital map? Why can't I feel comfortable in a city unless it has already been explored, cataloged, pre-chewed and regurgitated, as it were, for me?

I think that the anxiety stems from my fear of making mistakes, of making a wrong turn, of looking like a fool. But that's what the Bible calls us to be. Fools. Not people who know what we are doing or even where we are going every step of the way. Christians are not called to be impeccable; we're called to love our neighbors as ourselves.

No one likes to make mistakes, but the simple fact is that mistakes are one of the most effective learning tools. And what did I come here for, anyways? To be perfect? No way! I came here to learn about a new culture, a new language, and about myself and God, too. So let's get out there and start making some mistakes!

I began this post with my discovery of the brand-new g-version of Hanoi now available, but what I discovered soon after is that I don't actually need it. Within the first month of being here, I already knew how to get to work, to school, to the MCC office, and home, and more importantly, I knew that if I got lost it was actually not the end of the world. Are you listening, google? Because if you are, you can take this as my declaration of independence. I don't need you. I can find it on my own.

And to prove it, here is a list of several places that I discovered before you did.

1. My workplace, Thế Giới Publishers (the building with the v-shaped roof)
2. My place of study
   
3. My favorite coffee shop, Puku (letter B)
4. My favorite bookstore, the Bookworm (actually, google, you got it wrong. It's been moved to Yến Thế street.)
5. My favorite museum, the National Arts Museum
6. My favorite pagoda, Trân Quốc
   

The list goes on, and on, and on...

And this goes for you, too, friend. If you find yourself depending on Google to do your living for you, take it from me: you don't need it. Google and all its functions are a nice tool for getting some work done fast. But it's just a tool. You still have the right to exercise your free will while you are using that tool. And if you happen to make a mistake with your free will...well, that's what grace is all about.