Good earth : expatriates and their living in Vietnam
HO CHI MINH CITY - Attachment to living here. Fred
Burke, managing director of Baker
& McKenzie Law Office, recently
decided to get himself bound to
Vietnam by marrying a Vietnamese
girl.
The American lawyer finds a spouse for himself after nearly 10 years
of living and working here. He often goes to many countries and feels
that returning to Vietnam is like going home. Fred buys a Honda
Dream motorbike to travel in the street instead of using a car for this
purpose.
"When I return to the United States, many people ask why I can live in
Vietnam," Fred says. "Those people ask me so because they haven't
really lived in Vietnam. This country is changing and it is a good place
to live in. To me, there are many reasons but the first reason is
because this is the country that has many smiles."
Jake Olver, general director of Cathay Pacific, is also a person who
likes to live in Vietnam. He has come here together with his wife for
nearly three years. A person who once lived in many countries in
Europe, America and Asia, he feels that this is the country he likes
best. "The only thing I hate is heat. Terribly hot," he says.
Jake is very busy with his business but still devotes some time to
social works. Lately, he has successfully organized the first cyclo race
of foreign companies in HCM City. In addition, he also takes part in
activities of the foreign community which are organized occasionally in
HCM City. He is British, so he likes to attend meetings of the British
Business Group.
Foreign business associations play an important role in organizing
community activities, from business to entertainment and relaxation.
For instance, the U.S. Business Association organizes monthly
lunches with a lecture given; the Australian Business Association has
the second Thursday Sundowner, and the Canadian Business
Association has the third Wednesday.
Recently, the foreign community has begun to organize in HCM City
every Sunday morning and in Hanoi every Saturday morning a race
which is called Hash House Harriers. A great many adults, women and
children participate in this race, even the Vietnamese.
Living like the natives. There are no official statistics of foreigners
living in Vietnam. However, it is estimated that around 3,000
Westerners are living and working here. If the number of Taiwanese,
South Koreans, Japanese, Filipinos and Singaporeans is included,
the foreign community totals more than 10,000 people.
Many foreign business people agree that they have a very
comfortable life in Vietnam, with overseas business trips, higher
salaries than in their own countries, house rent, travel expenses,
premium and holiday costs paid by their companies while the living
here is rather cheap. Fred says that Hanoi and HCM City have very
good educational services for children. They can learn at schools of
international standards, and can also learn music and take piano
lessons at lower prices but with better quality than in Hong Kong and
Shanghai. The majority of business people bring their own family to
Vietnam. A number of wives rear the children and also join community
activities.
For example, the wife of Lalit Monteiro, general manager of
Nike, has taught English free to workers of Nike shoes factories.
In entertainment and recreation, foreigners have also gradually got
used to buying CDs and VCDs like the Vietnamese when modern
cinemas and theaters are rare. They also like some traditional
Vietnamese music and art programs, concerts, etc. A number of bars
in HCM City are their favorite rendezvous such as Saigon Saigon, Caf?
Latin, Number 5, Underground, O'Brien's, Sheridan's, and Blue Gecko.
Presently, languages are a barrier which prevents foreigners from
joining the native community. Many foreigners want to continue to stay
in Vietnam but cannot easily find a job with a stable high income.
In reality, there are still many things which dissatisfy foreigners. They
must pay higher than the locals for the same services. The noisy and
polluted environment and traffic jams in HCM City also tire them.
For foreigners, when living in a foreign country they always pick out
interesting things, especially cultural differences. Jake says that he
has lived in Vietnam for a few years but is still surprised at many
things-for example, the forgiveness and patience of the Vietnamese.
By Lan Anh - The Saigon Times Weekly - June 2nd, 2001.
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