Stuff Vietnamese people like

Vietnamese people love to sing. At least once in their lives, they have grabbed a mic and sung a song. Most people choose a karaoke club where they can monopolize the audience’s attention.

Of course, singing karaoke in the Vietnamese way is different. People sit still in the sofa, choose a heartbroken song (Don’t worry, most Vietnamese songs are about broken hearts), sing along the lyrics, and wait for the score. The score is an important factor. In some clubs, they even give awards to those who score 100 for a song.

That’s the reason why many Vietnamese buy DVD midi karaoke players to practice singing at home, though they will bother their neighbors a great deal. Another reason is that they will be embarrassed if the score is too low. In their opinion, scoring low means singing bad.

A foreigner may recognize a song by the singer or the band who’s made it famous. In Vietnam, a songwriter will be honored if her/his songs are sung by many singers, plus karaoke singers.

If you’re invited to a karaoke club, pick a strange song most people don’t know of, so if you score low, nobody will comment on it. If you’re confident, pick a fun song with fast rhythm. If you don’t sing at all, ask somebody to duet a song and murmur when she/he actually sings for you. Don’t decline to sing. It’s rude.

If you’re in Vietnam, better practice singing now.

Vietnamese students have to study in the evening because their parents force them to. They also study some hard skills they aren’t taught in school because they wanna find a good job after graduation. If they didn’t go to evening classes, they wouldn’t keep up with their classmates.

Vietnamese workers study whatever their boss asks them to because they want a promotion. Some girls study things like dancing, cooking, massage, makeup, etc. to prepare for marriage; while guys prefer to study to play sports.

Some go to evening classes because everybody does. They would feel like they’re missing something in their life if they didn’t do it.

Most people go to evening class to really further their study. But there are exceptions. While some parents think their “princesses” and/or “princes” are studying hard, these overprotected children actually hang out with friends in a coffee shop, a karaoke club, a fashion store, or an internet cafe spending their money.

Of course, English is the most popular subject for the evening study. Speaking periods are good opportunities for Vietnamese people to know more about Western cultures and to talk with their native teachers.

Leisure and studying/working time in Vietnam can’t be separated as easily as we unbutton halves of a shirtfront. If they bring sort of a heavy bag, they may not be ready to hang out. If you’re lucky, maybe you could persuade them to skip the formalities and go with you.

There’s a joke that Vietnam only has two seasons in a year: hot and hotter. The sun specifically favors this country. That’s why Vietnamese people have to be fully-equipped when going out.

You might run into acquaintances on the street, but you’ll never know. Don’t bother to call them out because it’s a high chance you make a mistake. Almost everybody looks familiar with the same outfit. Old or young, beautiful or not, you will find them in sunglasses, face masks, ankle high skin socks, long gloves, and long sleeve shirts or jackets, along with their funky helmets and bikes.

While Westerners can’t help getting more sun, Vietnamese people avoid sunlight as much as possible. If it’s noon time and you wear no jacket, people will ask where it is, as if you always got one. Getting darker is a nightmare for Vietnamese people. So, no matter where they go, they will not be going to anywhere—they will only be running from, the sun.

Don’t tell Vietnamese people that their skin is already very dark or that they don’t need to wear those ridiculous things. It’s like you are insulting them. Vietnamese people hate to lose face, especially to a foreigner.

In order to be liked by Vietnamese people, you should wear things on the street like they do, starting with a face mask. In big cities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh city, the air is badly polluted. You sure will need a mask. If you don’t have one, they will think that you’re crazy.

Face is a social concept in Asian countries. And Vietnam is an Asian country. Face is a drug. Sometimes it brings you down, and sometimes it gets you so high.

In Vietnam, keeping face has leaped to the next stage. It doesn’t mean saving face to each other no more. It now means “I try to keep my face, and I don’t care about yours.” They don’t mind downgrading other people. “It’s not my fault. It’s theirs.” Saying sorry isn’t popular in Vietnamese culture. Don’t expect anyone to apologize to you sincerely, unless they’re forced to.

It applies to working style, too. They have a plan. They conduct it. They find out it’s not working. They fix it. They find out it’s not working. They have a new plan. They will never admit that they are wrong from the beginning.

Of course, in an argument, nobody likes to be in the lose side. They don’t even know of a win-win outcome. In the end, they try to settle for a win-lose situation which actually turns out to be lose-lose . “You’re right. I’m left.”

In Vietnam tradition, keeping face for the family is as important. Children are forced to study hard; women are forced to do the housework; spouses are reluctant to stay with their unfaithful partners; and so on. In short, Vietnamese people don’t live their lives, they live the lives their families lead them to. Sometimes, when life’s too tough, they try to avoid it by traveling alone.

Don’t try to compete socially with one of these people. You won’t defeat them.

Vietnamese people are prejudicial for a reason. Prejudice is passed by tradition from one generation to another, by the means of Vietnamese language. You have to address Vietnamese people by personal substitutes. There are many of them, so, to do it right, you must ask or guess that person’s age and marital status. In English, starting a conversation with “I” and “you” is much simpler. In Vietnam, you need to judge.

Such questions like “How old are you?”, “Are you married?”, “How much is your salary?” are not sensitive ones. Avoiding answer them will hurt Vietnamese people a lot. Also, Vietnamese people like using the words “good person”, “bad person.” When you want to know about a person and ask a friend, you will hear her/him say, “She’s a good daughter” or “He’s a bad student.”

“How much does it cost?” is popular, too. Your neighbors will wanna know if your new motorcycle is expensive or not. Be sure that you give them a higher price, so they will give you a discourse on where to buy cheaper things. They’re a good source of information about Vietnam.

Vietnamese people are so stubbornly determined to dwell on negatives. When a white guy’s holding a Vietnamese girl’s hand on the street, Vietnamese people will cast them a nasty look. Most people will think this girl is a whore or is digging the guy’s money (especially when he’s old enough to be her father). Hardly will you find a Vietnamese person who thinks this white guy is an asshole, and you know why. Sometimes, they think it out loud to make the girl lose her face.

If you’re the target of rumors due to prejudice, remember “Ignorance is bliss.”