Wed. Dec 11th, 2024

Vietnamese lifestyle in the eyes of a foreigner

Ms. TJ Vargas has been living in Ho Chi Minh for nearly 5 years. On her blog, she shared some experience about lifestyle of Vietnamese people.

Related: Things Vietnamese people do

I lived in Vietnam since 2007 and I would like to share with you what I know about this country in general and Saigon in particular. I could be right, could be wrong and you may agree or disagree with me, but I still write anyway:

Iced tea is free in most restaurants. Some have hot tea, others have both.

Vietnamese people often leave 5% to 10% of water in the cup when they drink tea, water or others beverage.
Vietnamese do not take a shower in the morning. Instead, they take a bath in the evening.

Korean culture impacts Vietnamese youth a lot, from food, music to hair style, clothes…

Vietnamese people take a nap after lunch. This means that the street is very quite from 12 pm to 1 pm. No traffic jam.

“Happy New Year” by ABBA, “Hotel California” by The Eagles, và “Papa” by Paul Anka are most popular karaoke songs.

The Vietnamese wear helmet not to keep them safe but in order to not be fined by traffic officer.

No one takes notice of pedestrian lane and zebra crossing. We always have to pray whenever crossing the street or walk on the pavement.

Every family have 2 or more motorcycles and they store them at ground floor. Sitting room is also garage at the same time.

Mai Linh and Vinasun are most reliable traxi companies. At the airport, everybody queue for Mai Linh anh Vinasun. They would rather wait for a long time than jump on random ones.

The Vietnamese often ask your age, nationality and marital status right on the fist meeting.

The coffee here is fantastic. Everybody like iced coffee milk or coffee with condensed milk and ice.

Nguyễn (Nguyen in English) could be a first name or last name and many people have this name. 7 out of 10 Vietnamese I have met have this name.

Generally, Vietnamese people are very honest, friendly and helpful. In addition, they are always smiling.

Vietnamese language is very hard to learn. You may know the pronunciation of it but when you speak it out, they hardly understand what you mean. The advice for you is to write down all the things you want to say. As for me, the key is gestures.

Come to Vietnam and get experience yourself. All shares about Vietnam are welcomed here.

By Fiona

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