Job Discussion Forums

[CThomas]

MOD EDIT I take a look around and, it's true: there are a lot of girls and women passing through but I honestly haven't met any female teachers yet. What do y'all think the ratio is here and... What's up with that, anyway?

[just noel]

[Buffalo Boy]

Booze, girls, no political correctness, riding a scooter without fear of ridicule- there's just more here for guys to enjoy than there is for girls.

[mark_in_saigon]

if I was a girl, this is the last place I would come to find romance, if I was a boy, it would be the first. Other than that, life is like being on a permanent construction site. What kind of western girl wants to live like this?

[wasted_ace19]

Why is that, Mark? I'm not attacking your comment, just genuinely curious.

[lucreziaborgia]

I have no idea what you are talking about. I loved those Ha Noi eyes looking into mine. Older is better.

[sirenii]

I wasn't aware of the gender discrepancy until I read this, but don't care. Can't wait to get there. Wonder where the women who take the CELTA course in Vietnam go after awhile and why? (They're in the pictures online or is that all just marketing?) Do you really think they don't find satisfying work, friends, love, love of the culture/city/country there? Again, don't care. Feel pulled. Couldn't be happier about meeting students, visiting temples, buying from vendors, experiencing the culture, meeting some of you. Can see that all of SE Asia would be a wonderland for men who like adventure and Asian girls, but I assume that those expats who stick anywhere that is, initially, "foreign," are misfits of a sort not satisfied with what they leave behind in the West. I mean that in a good way.

[mark_in_saigon]

My take on it is that this is not a good place for western women, or most of them. While I do think the teaching part can be quite satisfying to either gender, I just think the environment is way too harsh for most western women (and probably a lot of western men as well). If I presented this life to any western woman I have ever been with, she would insist I get her out of here. I mean, she would want to do the tourist thing, sure, but she would not want to live here.
With reference to the misfits, I think there are some of those, and in a bad way. But I also think that the people who are not the misfits are not so much �not satisfied� with what they leave behind, I am very happy with my life in the west, instead, they just see how they can have the kind of life here that they could only dream of in the west. This life does come with some very serious liabilities though, and those liabilities are a lot more difficult for most women than they are for some men (again, it is not easy for a man either). I also think the special rewards are a lot greater for a man than a woman, thus more fully compensating a man for accepting some of these problems. Having said all that, I do think it is nice for anyone who can �deal with it� to come on over. I certainly would not plan on staying without having spent some time here though.

[lucreziaborgia]

I agree with mark_in_saigon regarding most of his comments. For a woman in any foreign culture it is more difficult if you are alone. It's
easier anywhere if you are older and have lived in several cultures.
VN has its challenges and also its delights. It is probably one of the more difficult cultures to live in with confidence as it operates on many different and conflicting levels.
If you are a single young female it is easier to seek out people from a Western culture and lead a Western lifestyle than find your own way - alone. From 5 years of observation, the freedoms available for younger expats are seemingly greater than those in their own countries. That is not the case and eventually one as to cope with the prsonal ramifications of one's actions.
This can be a painful process to reconcile and that is the reason I said
it is easier for an older woman with experience to live well in VN.

[Looking for my place]

SO seems to me that a single girl would have a hard time dating in VN? I am in my late 30s and while I am perfectly fine with being single, I would at least like to go somewhere where dating is an option and I can enjoy myself as a single gal. This seems to be an issue for many Western women in Asia?

[sigmoid]

In Viet Nam you have to get married (or at least engaged) before you can start dating.

[mark_in_saigon]

pretty cute. I think that is just a bit of a stretch, but maybe not in the boonies. In HN or HCMC one can have some serious fun, but it is not like the west. One has to respect their sensibilities on all this, understand their rules, and have your workarounds. It can be a lot of fun, once you figure out your system. There is some gettin down goin on, but they rarely do it in the road.

[Oh My God]

[inky]

It's interesting that all of the opinions about what it's like to be a woman in Vietnam have come from males. And the original question -- where are the western women? -- was posed by someone who had been in Saigon for about two weeks, and who wasn't teaching full time!

Where are the women? Probably too busy enjoying life in Vietnam to bother posting here. I work at a large school where about half the teachers are women, and several women occupy administrative positions in academic management and hiring. On average they stay as long or longer than their male counterparts.

[sirenii]

Inky's experience at his workplace is encouraging, and it's true that there may be far fewer women logging on to express their views in this forum resulting in a skewed picture. Even so, I'm curious as to what Mark-in-Saigon means when you refer, Mark, to the "harsh environment" and the "serious liabilities" of long-term life in Vietnam. Are you referring to crime, political situation, serious, ie career-killing sexism in the workplace, or is this all about dating and relationships? It would be helpful to be forewarned more specifically.