As expected, being in a foreign country is so overwhelming that I'm constantly noticing different facets that surprise or interest me--there are too many to count. I decided to make a blog post listing a few of these little facets to organize my observations and preserve them to look back on in the future.
- People wear soccer jerseys almost all the time (if you pick a random Vietnamese male, there’s a 50% chance he’ll be wearing a soccer jersey) but they don’t know anything about the teams that they’re wearing (I asked someone wearing an Arsenal jersey who his favorite player on Arsenal was, and he said Cristiano Ronaldo).
- People yell “hello” at us when we pass by on the street because we’re American, which oddly reminds me of catcalling except it stems more from curiosity than power and ownership.
- The Vietnamese always offer to pay for their friends—it’s not a big deal like it is in America where we Venmo each other after every cup of coffee
- Vietnamese coffee shops are my new favorite places—in the evenings, people go to hang out and sit and talk and play guitar and sing and there are some of the best vibes I’ve ever experienced.
- There is an overwhelming obsession with foreigners. They love Koreans, Americans, etc. If you ask anyone here if they want to travel to America, their answer will almost always be, “Of course”.
- There is less of an emphasis on civic engagement and current events. It doesn’t seem like they care very much about who is their president, etc, because government doesn’t affect them much. After the Nice terror attack, Americans were in shock, while the Vietnamese were of course sad but less shaken and less motivated to discuss.
- Vietnamese people are hilarious. Maybe it’s just that it matches with my sense of humor, but they are not afraid to do ridiculous things and make fools out of themselves. They love joking around in big groups and laughing at stupid stuff.
- Vietnamese people are also more chill and go-with-the-flow. When Trinh took a vacation by herself, she got dropped off in a random place, asked about 20 people where the nearest hostel was, rented a motorbike, and just rode around by herself looking for food and lodging. She did not plan her trip at all beforehand, something that would never happen with an American vacation.
- If people don’t know where to go, they stop and ask for directions. Google Maps? What’s that? The local people can almost always point you in the right direction.
- We have agreed that Vietnamese students are in general a lot more immature than American students in the same grade—probably due to less pressure here to grow up and be an adult.
- However, the Vietnamese roommates will take on immense responsibility to support their friends. Hoi, Jared’s roommate, will always help us when we need it without fail. He takes us to bike shops to fix our bikes, he helps us with our bags, he makes sure we don’t fall off cliffs at national parks. Additionally, when Trinh and I need something in our room, she’s always out the door to get it for us while I’m lying in bed eating Chocopies and watching Netflix. They don’t mind at all and ask for nothing in return.
- Everything is small here. When we go to a café, the tables and chairs are almost always kiddie size (Jared broke one chair just by sitting in it).
- You have to take off your shoes to enter some clothing stores.
- The only two places in Quang Tri that I have visited that have air conditioning are: my room in the guesthouse, and the bank.
- You can get ripped off ANYWHERE. What are laws? I went to the bank to exchange 40 dollars to Vietnamese dong, and because I was a foreigner, they told me that one of my bills was ripped so they would lower the dollar-to-dong exchange rate. They brought in a random old lady off the street to examine the bills and give me my money. It was the weirdest, sketchiest encounter ever.
- They are Facebook-obsessed (particularly our students), but don’t have Snapchats.
- They are obsessed with taking selfies (Hien asked me if Americans or Vietnamese take selfies more, and I couldn’t decide).
- As I mentioned in a previous post, privacy is much less emphasized. Two students wanted to visit my room in the guesthouse, and I had no choice but to let them.
- It seems like a lot of them live with their extended families, not only their parents and siblings.
- War and violence is somehow glorified here. I can’t explain it well, but every war memorial is much more aggressive than ones I have seen in the US, which usually only remember the fallen. At the local park, there are toy tanks and planes that toddlers can ride. Murals and posters of the war focus on violence—there were images of people drowning and burning up in flames at the last one I visited. Next to the stairs at our guesthouse is a painting of a war scene, with tanks, fire, and overall destruction.
- Due to the reckless way that people drive on the roads (not necessarily fast, but hectic and without order), Trinh told me that almost everyone she knows has gotten in at least one accident.
- Somehow, Vietnamese clothing tends to have a lot of American swear words. When I went swimming with Austin’s class, I noticed that the sweetest girl was wearing a shirt with the word “Bitch” on it. There have been a few other instances of this, too.
- When they go swimming, guys go shirtless but girls swim with their clothes on.
- The Vietnamese always eat family style—we get one or two big dishes and share. We always serve each other—pour drinks for each other, give each other rice—it’s expected.
- There are no trash cans anywhere (exaggeration, but a little bit true). On the street, people throw their trash on the ground in “trash piles” that are cleaned up by government workers (?) the next day.