Job Discussion Forums

snowalker · Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 16

Hello everyone, well�. I started thinking about going overseas not all that long ago and I�m glad I am doing my homework now! It seems moving to a foreign country is a lot more work than I thought it was going to be!!! Surprise surprise ..lol. I�m having a hard time pinning down some facts though. This website and these threads seem to be the most informative but SOOO diverse. Everyone says one thing and someone else says another. I�m wondering if anyone can tell me exactly what I will �NEED� to try and head off any surprises. I will be landing in Hong Kong, then making my way down to Vietnam to teach English. Here is my list of questions.

I have only been to Canada, the USA and Mexico, and none of these countries required anything special, you just show up and do your thing�. So all this visa stuff is new to me

1)Will I need anything to land in Hong Kong? Visas and such? Where do I get them?
2)When I enter China, same questions� what do I need and where do I get it?
3)What about entering Vietnam? Same questions?
4)If I decide to hit up Laos or Cambodia on my way?

I asked the travel agent here but it�s a small town and I got about as much help as I did when I asked my 2 year old cousin. She gave me some emails to try��.. Which I did ��with no success�..

5)Can I just jump on a plane here and get off there? Tourist Visas? Health records? Criminal Records? Where do I get this stuff? Do I really need it? Some people say the criminal record stuff is for Americans only� is this true, does a Canadian need it? And what about a health record�.. Some people say I might need it for employers and some say I need it to enter the country� Vaccine records? What vaccines do I need (I got my armed pumped full of everything the nurse could find so I should be covered there)?
6)How long does it take to get all my visas in order and all that fun paper work I need? I wanna leave ASAP! WAHHHOOOOO!!!
7)Do I legally need a degree to work in Vietnam; does anyone �REALLY� know? Oxford Seminars says no but some people can quote the law codes from Vietnam that says yes! Does it matter? �..no really��does it matter? Some people say no and some people swear yes!
8)Is there a decent social life for 23 year old fun loving but very responsible Canadian guy? Other teachers? My age? Sex ratio�s in the foreigner population (is there 58 guys to every female)? What about meeting women? Are Vietnamese women off bounds unless I wanna marry them (I respect their culture and do not want to hurt the reputation of anyone or their families�.. or be publicly flogged and beaten for my actions!)? What about relationships with other non-Vietnamese women? Is it looked down upon for foreigners to engage in a relationship with each other? If I met a girl I like there (from wherever) do I have to check them in every time I wanna cuddle and watch a �movie�? What are the social groups of teachers like? Is it hard to make friends, have a group of people to hang out with and have fun? Do people find a week off and go explore Thialand or Cambodia together? Anyone into fishing or scuba diving? What is the bar scene like there?
9)What are the people like? I hear they see a lot of �runners� so I understand the people not wanting to befriend someone right away but over time�. Will I gain their trust? Make friends with locals? I really want to get involved with the culture, you know get invited to weddings and celebrations�..do the Vietnamese welcome foreigners into their homes and lives easily?
10)Banking�� can I, even if I do not have all my �legal� documents to work there get money into my accounts here in Canada to pay some bills (standard student loan and a crappy vehicle loan). What about if everything is in order and legit?

I know there is a lot on the plate here and I�m sure these topics have been covered but I�m really hoping someone can help me out here, preferably a fellow Canadian who �KNOWS� what I need to do in regards to visas and work. Sorry for the 18 thousand questions I tried to blend into 10�. I really appreciate the info everyone; I�m finding it hard to �know� what to do.

Oh, and if anyone can think of something they wish someone told them before they went �please do tell�..

Thanks everyone for the info,
Any links or contacts or anything would be awesome,
Josh

VC · Joined: 11 Feb 2003 Posts: 35

therock · Joined: 31 Jul 2005 Posts: 1266 Location: China

snowalker · Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 16

Thanks guys, is there any way to get my visas for vietnam and china in canada before i leave?

Porlestone · Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 95 Location: Asia

No Vietnam is definately not a friendly place for a 20 something guy. The women are overwhelmingly unavailable, just as you said marriage is a must. Prostitution is actually very low. Social life is about the worse Asia can offer for a single male. "I really want to get involved with the culture, you know get invited to weddings and celebrations" Go ahead. You can definately do that. "Will I gain their trust?" No. "Make friends with locals?" Friendship here depends solely on how much money you shell out.

VC · Joined: 11 Feb 2003 Posts: 35

lexpat · Joined: 23 May 2004 Posts: 56 Location: Meh

Porlestone · Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 95 Location: Asia

Good topic deserving of replies.

I would say that only a 'few' Vietnamese women want to go with western men. I wouldn't even mind that if they weren't otherwise so repulsive.

Vietnamese women are very deceptive and misleading. Manipulation is a way of life. In relationships the women are terribly revengeful, they live for it; they are all-around bad news as girlfriends and even dates.

Cafes in this city? Seem like one carbon copy of the next to me. Music so loud you can't relax, people staring and "lookie at the foreigner, wow this is fun!" Wreck your chances of trying to put on any moves, let loose and enjoy your time.

De Tham street? Oh god! I would probably try and go there once in a while if it wasn't that so many Vietnamese GUYS come up to you (and onto you). .... How about Go2 bar? Classic example and the reason why many foreigners would cut their visit to Nam off after 2 days. "Dood, where's the party?"

Vietnamese women are overpriced as prostitutes, and overwhelmingly overpriced in attitude. And horrorific behavior as soon as things don't go the way they want.

Lastly - you get into any relationship with a Vietnamese girl and every single person on every street you ever frequent will have to get the lowdown on what you are doing and when is the marriage. "Just dating" is unacceptable. A relationship between adults is supposed to be between a man and a woman. Too much immediate society involvement here.

I pity guys who have a girlfriend here or otherwise think they are "playing".

larryB · Joined: 25 Jan 2006 Posts: 23

Porlestone has been cut up pretty bad, huh? That is the most ridiculous post ever! Women are women the world over, and there's a stupid misconception here that Vietnamese women are different - try to live a lifestyle like what you have in Vietnam back in the West and your woman would leave you - quaranteed.

Porlestone · Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 95 Location: Asia

my experiences have been nothing more than the usual of what any other foreign male is going to experience here. it's bad news nearly all the time. i have never seen this 'blatant ulterior motive' thing in any other people as here. And your comment "things (or women) are the same whereever you go" already shows me the warning signs of bias - thanks.

mapraopenrai · Joined: 16 Mar 2006 Posts: 29 Location: Kyoto, Japan

I cant speak for vietnam. but ive been in japan for awhile and have also dated two very nice thai women. When I say very nice, I mean nothing at all like the automatice stereotype which I know comes to Japanese minds when I mention having a Thai girlfriend, and probably nice than most Japanese girls that I am likely to date.

But I'm off the subject here. I have chatted, fairly little I must add to be fair, with some Vietnamese girls on the net. They seem to be up there with Koreans is being a little odd..... Strange, selfish-you-had-better-like-me and do as I think is best kind of attitude. And I'm only talking about people I've met on the net. It's really hard to judge people on the net, but they seem to be on the net the same as many Koreans that I have spoken with off the net, and the Koreans seem to be keeping themselves hidden from us lately.

I've had much more favorable impressions of Thai, Malaysian and Indonesians to tell the truth. But maybe this has no connection to what youre talking about.

lexpat · Joined: 23 May 2004 Posts: 56 Location: Meh

Well you need to take into consideration just who it is that seeks out Western males via the Internet or by frequenting the streets, bars, etc. where they are likely to be found.

According to my students there are certain provinces where the women are particularly coy and manipulative. Back home, it is understood that there are a lot of henpecked, Deputy Dog type Viet males in those places. The HCMC guys have trouble with these types too, and have told me these women often seek out Western guys because Viets give them a wide berth. Just a thought.

Generally speaking though, I think Viet females aren't that bad, though I think they are more like the men here than the women in some other Asian countries are. For example, when asked what might be done to fix up the complete mess that is Cambodia, I always say the first thing would be to make it illegal for men to hold office. If Cambodian women ran the place I think it would be okay. I don't think that about Vietnam.

Porlestone · Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 95 Location: Asia

Maprao, it does seem that interesting reports are coming out of Indonesia. On the one hand there's the (personal) concern of being attacked while there. Some room for non-western, non-christian feelings(?). Yet when guys speak they seem to like the Indonesian girls... Your perceptions of Vietnamese females don't seem off the mark... Speaking of Vietnamese as a whole I've seen a few (i.e. couple) of nice ones with decency but at the end of the day they fall diligently in line with their culture. I personally cannot handle the "everyone gets involved" thing.

Whenever I use these PC rooms I sometimes look over and you'll see an OK looking local female logged into one of those "VietFunChat" or "AsiaFriendFinder" sites while simultaneously editing her pictures and posting them on sites. I think it's because of that experience why I don't ever try using the net for chatting. But for people reading this, I can't say I discourage using the net, but just to keep in mind who the people are and what the culture is about.

Honestly, despite having been to both places I can't much at all seperate the countryside people from the HCMC ones. And whether country or city, the overwhelming majority of Vietnamese males seem to act like deputies, to me.

larryB · Joined: 25 Jan 2006 Posts: 23

Cyan · Joined: 26 Mar 2004 Posts: 59

larryB:

Porlestone's comment might sound out of line but its exactly on target. Who give a ..... if it sounds racist. I had no perceptions whatsoever of the Vietnamese people before coming here - in fact, I knew very little of Vietnam. Now having been here for a couple of years I would consider myself a serious racist and its a combination of these people and expats who make dumb statements like---

"Most people who get ripped off or stung in Vietnam are those who expect it of the locals."

That really aggravate me!!!