Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Vegas, Baby....
....is made in China!
Okay, so the actual city of Las Vegas is not made in China, I almost need to believe that something so colossally difficult to absorb, so glitzy and contradictory must be made mostly in America.
The souvenirs are another story all together.
My mom and I went to Vegas for the first time last month, she for business and me for my birthday and this trip may have been one of the first endeavors where this China boycott is really paying off.
Perhaps I'm cheap, or ungrateful, but I don't understand spending your precious vacation time buying cheap trinkets for the people who stayed behind. Is it a subtle "in your face I went on vacation and you didn't?" Is it a sign that the person on vacation was really bored, or has too much money to spend? Or is a plastic, glow in the dark bendable shot glass from Death Valley really a gift that made you think of me? If so, please have amnesia on your next vacation!
As a general rule, I avoid buying souvenirs for people unless I really believe that it will somehow, even in a small way, enhance their lives. People usually only get stories as gifts from me when I travel.
My Vegas story is that almost every gift, every trinket, bauble and bendable shot glass is made in China. I was terribly frustrated for the few hours that I spent looking for useless "I went to Vegas and you didn't" gifts before it hit me that I had one hell of an excuse for not buying anything. Who is going to argue with, "I'm sorry I did not buy you anything on my trip, but I've got this boycott and my principles to stand by. And, heck, next time you go on vacation, feel free not to get me anything." It sounds like a win-win situation to me!
Ok, truth be told, I did buy Luke a "Vegas CSI" hoodie, which seems to have been desirable to everyone from other countries visiting Vegas.
I ignored the fact that we don't watch TV.
It is made in Pakistan and one of the few allowable trinkets, plus, he has this old blue hoodie from a vacation we went on in Florida many moons ago that I love, and he can't possibly wear both simultaneously.....
Oh, and I did leave him to house sit our three cats and my mom's dog by himself three days after we moved back to the East Coast. There was some guilt on my mind when I bought that gift!
When people from China go on vacation to other countries, do they bother buying the souvenirs if they are made in China?
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1 comment:
I think the main reason why people buy those whatnots is tradition.
In a similar vein I remember there was a big fuss made over Sydney Olympic souvenirs being made in China.
Most Australians are bothered that jobs are going to other countries : not China specifically but included with India, Thailand, Singapore, Japan the list goes on because Australia is close to the countries of Asia and most of them have cheaper labour.
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