Diary+Entry+1

Your first two diary entries will be from a day in the life of your character from the year 1937 right to December 8, 1941. Each of those two entries must reflect the tensions in East Asia (or at least in the world of your character's) during that time. Discuss how at least two events would be affecting your daily life (or at least your thoughts and feelings).
 * Diary Entry 1 **


 * 7.23.1938 **

Today is my 30th birthday but I am not happy at all. I’ve only got some presents from those innocent young kids, who does not have any antagonistic feelings towards me, who I don’t want them to be victims of all the war-like tensions in the world. Some adults celebrated my birthday but I could feel how their attitudes are changed as a result of lowered wages. But obviously this is not my fault and what I wanted. The Great Depression struck the world and it had a catastrophic impact on Vietnam too. The prices of rubber and rice fell dramatically which led to rising rural debts, unemployment as well as rural uprisings in neighboring provinces Nghe An and Ha Tinh. The decreasing price of rubber makes me worried in a great deal. Last month I have used my own money to pay employers and this month I am running out of money. Revolts have already taken place in other cities and it is evident that people in Saigon will also be influenced by those revolts very soon. In order to appease them in a way, I’ve been very nice and generous to all rubber plantation workers; I provided them some food and less working hours. I hope this soothes their rising anger in some way. Another problem also bothers me these days. Vietnamese people now try to drive out all the foreign forces. According to French newspaper, a leader named Ho Chi Minh combined all the competing Communist groups and established what is called the Vietnamese Communist Party. Vietnamese nationalist movement began, which will arouse antagonism towards foreigners even more, especially towards the French. In the newspaper, I read all these articles about revolutions taking place in other regions of Indochina. Not all of them were successful; Europeans are still too powerful against Asian and African countries. In previous days, despite Vietnam’s worse standard of living compared to that of French, I liked cooperating with new people and playing with young innocent kids. But these days, I just want to go back to my homeland with my family. My parents also want to go back to France since they are greatly anxious about the increasing tension between the French and the Vietnamese. Yes, they are old and they worry about everything. However, I feel that this is becoming a serious issue in both countries. But the fact is that I have to somehow recover the losses of the rubber plantation and go back to France or something. We will have nothing when we go back to our homeland. I am considering selling little portion of my farmland to earn some money back.