I just came back from Uong Bi, Quang Ninh. Woke up at 6 am everyday. Ate oatmeal and banana for breakfast. Spent 20k VND on lunch and 25k VND on cheap market dinner. Life couldn't be better.
I'm surprised by how I craved so little and stayed so happy. Is the world in my beloved urban life creating an illusion? An illusion of a standard "happy life". A "happy life" in Hanoi includes nice coffee, preferably black, in a stylish set up. That "happy life" also possesses splendid lunch in one of the Golden Gate's restaurants, bad-ass leather bags, and a business to be proud of.
My happy life in Uong Bi was quite the opposite. Two Microeconomics textbooks, 3 chapters of curricula I finished, a laptop, a wardrobe of 3 t-shirts and pants.
When one stands at a different frame of reference, one's perspective adjusts. My standard of happiness differs to yours, to my version 10 year ago, and clearly to its Quang Ninh version. It is why Alfred Marshal's "cetaris paribus" is a magical word.
P.S:
1. Quang Ninh's students are better at studying maybe because they live with less distraction (no bubble tea, perhaps LOL)
2. Under the Bridge by Red hot chili peppers is perfect for morning blue.