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Proffeshnial Teachman
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 60
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 Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 9:04 am Post subject: |
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| sphinx wrote: |
Ah�help poor Ms Saigon. Prior to going to Vietnam, I thought that the world had an obligation to help Vietnam. After going there, I began to understand why the GIs at the time felt that they needed to keep fighting. It was not a case of evil Nixon/McNamara ordering more bombs to be dropped on hapless villagers and napalming virgin rainforest just for the fun of it. The Vietnamese communists are of a type that is so terrible that even their one time brethren, the Chinese communists, went to war with them.
I have seen people in Vietnam get publicly beat up for the most trivial offenses. People with the right connections drive on the roads with a reckless abandonment because they will never be punished. And there is the ugly racism that is an inherent part of Vietnam�s national culture. The list could go on but I have no interest in recounting it.
In HCMC and Hanoi, food is expensive. Presumably, if you have lived there for two years, you would know where all the cheapest places are. And if you speak a little Vietnamese, the price comes down. For the first few months that a new teacher washes up on the beautiful shores of Vietnam, he/she is not likely to pay less than US$1 for a meal. A simple meal of Pho Gam would be 15,000 dong. Of course the locals only pay 5,000 dong. But try to get them to sell it you at the local rate and you would have to shed your Caucasian skin to succeed.
I did not say that all the teachers are in Vietnam for sex and drugs, but a significant number are. John Carr was in Bangkok as an English teacher to have sex with minors. He is by no means an isolated case. Because life revolves around the family, if you are there as a do-gooder expat living alone, you will find your existence to be horribly dull after a while. You can get the latest blockbuster movies from the ubiquitous cheap DVDs rip offs to pass your time, other than that, practically nothing is available to you. For most people, that is a problem and they move on as they seek a more entertaining lifestyle. The ones who do stay are the ones with special interests.
If you are accepted as a friend, the Vietnamese people are probably the most gracious in the world. As a guest, you would blush at how far they will go to extend hospitality to you. But I think that the originator of this thread needs to understand just how broken Vietnam�s society is. No one trusts anyone. The people you see �policing� the streets do not do it to protect you, they are part of the police state that keeps the ridiculously corrupt �communists� in power. Everything is done by force or the threat of it. Even though the individual Vietnamese can melt your heart with their sweetness, they can speak of destroying others with such hard edged candor that you will be left breathless. How can such Oriental softness hide such pointed fangs? Stay long enough and you will learn that they need it just to survive.
I am extending my hand to someone who is thinking of doing something very idealistic, thoughts which I had once entertained myself. The poverty, the birth defects from Agent Orange, their reputation as the most bombed place on the face of the earth, it cries out to every broken American looking to help others so that they might heal themselves. Well then, come to Vietnam and see for yourself the horrors of a Hobbesian state. Yes, America did bomb Hue to rubble; but what is happening in Vietnam today has nothing to do with the United States. It is all Vietnamese left, right and center. Don�t forget that as you paddle through your dream. |
Yes, with this I agree. My only criticism of the previous post is that you were using the wrong ammunition. All the above is quite accurate.
In my experience, Vietnam grinds a person down with it's relentless irritations. 6-8 months is as much as I can stand before I begin to get really annoyed with everything and have to leave for my own good. |
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sphinx
Joined: 12 Nov 2005
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 12:31 pm Post subject: |
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I sniff a hippy here. Don�t you worry about a thing NYCLizzie. There is top grade pot to be had at Hanoi and if you ask, heroin is just round the corner. One thing I would agree with you though, I did learn a lot from Vietnam. And no, you are not going to be alone in Vietnam. There is a very large pool of available and very eager young men who spend their lives trying to bed Western women. Looking for that special �boyfriend� experience, you won�t be making a mistake by going to Nam. You do not need to be an ex-model. Caucasian chick, 200 lbs, that works too!
Try to be a little more balanced about the torture thing huh? It was nothing compared to what the Northern Vietnamese did to the Southern Vietnamese or what happened to the ethnic Chinese after the communists took over.
NYCLizzie, you are going to fit right into Vietnam. They are going to love you!
Peace and loving kindness
With marigolds and buttercups
sphinx |
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slug93
Joined: 07 Jan 2006
Posts: 38
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| Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 5:47 pm Post subject: NYCLIzzie.. |
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i think if you come to vn(or anywhere), with a positive & helpful attitude. Then you will have a pleasant OVERALL experience. While you may encounter an occasional bad experience, I think you'll have a wonderful time.
I found Spinx comment very accurate, especially about the power/corruption of people high up(business/govt/etc.,) over the masses. This leads to more "I'm going to get mine.." attitude in many people. In VN, connections, connections, connections is the name of the game. If you got it(or developed it), life will be easy. Work opportunity will open up easily for you. Without, you'll be cursing and pulling your hair out of frustration.
I have a good friend that works in the VN media(all VN media are own/controlled by govt), so she has high level contacts w/ gov't officials and business folks. She once told me that if she got stopped by traffic cop(for traffic violation), she(and her high level media people) have a "get-out-of-jail-free-card". Plus she has TWO passport, one is the regular VN passport the OTHER is GOVT passport! The GOVT passport allows them to get VISA to practically ANY country in the world INCL USA. Anyone working high level in large VN companies that are part govt controlled. Have the same setup! how weird is that. Even Bill Gates DOES NOT have a US govt passport! only his regular US Citizen passport. So as you can see, VN has two system, one for the regular folks and one for the rich/powerful. Sure we have this in the US too, but not to the extreme that VN(and many 3rd world country) has.
Food in VN is pretty tasty and cheap(comparatively), but I'm constantly have to be on guard regarding hygiene. UNLESS I goto a decent place. I've eaten food on the street/alley ways, but I do watch while they prepare the food.
Entertainment in compare to other countries I've been to, is decidely lacking. Disco are overprice and are not alot around(so there's no competition to drive down prices). Most local people DONT like to dance! (what kinda of culture dont like to dance?). Cafes/Bars close at MIDNIGHT(WTF??). Yes, I know the foreign area(tay bai lo) is open pass midnight. MOST People go home early 11pm or midnight(even on sat night). If you dont have/connected to a vn "family" then your existence can be boring at night. If you do, then your evening/night will be filled w/ activities. |
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phoni91
Joined: 21 Jul 2006
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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Bah, uneven coments or what? Sure, you can get a bowl of noodles for peanuts in China, someone said 2 kuai, Ive seen places sell big bowls for 5 mao. But you can be sure these places are not that clean, although that does not mean the food itself is not acceptable and safe for most stomachs. Go to a big city and try find a bowl of noodles for 2 kuai, again, you can, but in which areas, and what kind of restaurants?
Some countries in Europe have 3 types of passports. The most prestigious one, diplomatic, is reserved for high-level government employees, although some countries issue these passports to significant religious leaders as well.
The next is the so-called business passport. Again, low-level civil servants can get these, and also anyone else who may conduct government-sanctioned business deals. As the poster above me mentioned, anyone working high level in large VN companies that are part govt controlled can have it.
And finally the bog-standard passports, for plebs. Im sporting one, in a fashionable burgundy. Whacha!
So, it is possible that Vietnam also has this crappy 3 tier system. If they do not, well, if the government has controlling interests in a company, I would say that it is state-run; and lets not forget, if youre rich some rules do not apply.
Let us all be thankful for Western justice systems.
In a Western country you could not, for example, kill your wife and her lover, leave copious evidence and get away with it. Whoops... |
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