Things that can only happen in Saigon...

Living in the States, especially just an hour away from Hollywood, you read a lot about celebrities whether it's from US magazine or Perez Hilton.  You also realize the chances you'll ever get a chance to meet someone famous is pretty miniscule.  I've been stalking Jessica Alba since high school, yet I've still never caught a glimpse of her in real life.  So the idea of actually being in a movie/television show, being a singer, or even being a magazines never crossed my mind.

But the funny thing about Vietnam, being famous is as easy as finding a 50-year old prostitute (not as hard as you think).  You wanna be a model?  Piece of fucking cake.  How about an actress?  Well, that's the logical  next step isn't it?  A singer?  All you need is an autotune machine and a terrible pop beat.  You ain't nobody til you got at least two slashes to your profession.

The easiest way to being recognized nowadays in Vietnam is to become a hotboy/hotgirl.  Kinda like Paris Hilton this type of fame requires no real talent unless you consider uploading a lot of photos onto Facebook a challenge.  That's right, Vietnam has created a whole new access to fame using Facebook.  Just add 5000 random friends, and people here are gonna start believing you might actually be someone important.

What does this have to do with me?  I've already been an extra on a television show (probably not too hard to do back in the states either).  But just last week I was just flabbergasted when a magazine actually approached me to do a photoshoot for them.  WTF.  Obviously, I did it in a heartbeat.  Reason #1: for the experience of course.  Reason #2: So I could add the 1st slash.  Now all I need is T-Pain's Autotune iPhone app and a drum machine and I've hit true Vietnamese stardom.

That's me with the makeup caked on and drawn in eyebrows.  Yup, they cast me as my cousin's date.  Only in Saigon...

SH