Stuff Vietnamese people like

Traveling alone is economical and fun. Usually, Vietnamese people go online to find information about the place they wanna go and then they start saving money to go there. Some Wednesday afternoon, they suddenly don’t wanna work/study, and the next Thursday morning, after taking a few days off work, they are off to travel on their own with a camera and a backpack.

It’s not easy to travel without a friend, but usually their friends have parents and children and friends and pets and jobs and hopes and plans and memories and futures… and all that they can’t leave behind that fast. And if they have to wait for a team, they’ll have to wait for like another 6 months.

So, some Vietnamese backpackers find companions online, just to make new friends and get their photos taken on the road. Taking photos is an important thing to do for Vietnamese travelers, because they wanna show others that they have been to Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, China, etc. when they get back.

Traveling abroad is a a trend for those who think they are good at English. Vietnamese people feel the need to do it the way foreigners do it: discover new cultures with only a map and without a guide, find the values in places tourists don’t go to or can’t go to. Back home, they try to make you envy them by talking about their pilgrimage as if they were Christopher Columbus just discovering the Americas.

Days off work are not holidays. Of course, people don’t go to work on public holidays, but in Vietnam, people observe only 9 a year. For sure, the number is among the lowest in the world. So it’s not so surprising that Vietnamese people love days off work.

There are 12 to 16 annual leaves with full pay, or even days without pay. But the best days off work are the days when there’s a blackout day. For some people, blackout is a pain; for Vietnamese people, anything but. Even though most people will have to work some other day to compensate the day off work due to blackout, they don’t mind. It’s never better to relax a bit, especially when there’s a stressful meeting or deadline coming.

Vietnamese people enjoy the days off work to the fullest. They go singing karaoke when it’s cheaper (on weekday mornings and afternoons), go shopping when the supermarkets are not crowded, sleep off their extreme tiredness or chat with their friends–from the comfort of their beds. If they take a few consecutive days off, they’ll pick some place to travel alone.

If they come to you saying that they have a day off work, be nice. Don’t criticize that they’re not productive. They’re not at work. They don’t love money that much. They have the right to have more holidays. They have no control over blackout. They have more reasons why they need those days off work. You envy them. Blah blah blah!

Yahoo Messenger is the most popular means of online communication in Vietnam. Yes, if you don’t wanna lose contact with Vietnamese people, it’s best you set up a Yahoo account and start learning Vietnamese way of chatting (passing everything people send you to your acquaintances, except your bosses).

Vietnamese people choose Yahoo Messenger because they exceptionally like the emoticons set (smileys) from Yahoo Messenger 6.0. They consider it the best way to transfer their emotions in a message. If they are on Linux and use Pidgin or Kopete, for sure they try their best to find a way to install the Yahoo emoticons. They prefer chatting to downloading in the office, though both are often disallowed. If they have a day off work due to blackout, they’re available to chat once they’re at home.

Another Yahoo product Vietnamese people don’t wanna give up is Yahoo 360. Since Yahoo announced the closure of this poorly performing social network, they have been scared to lose their blog entries. Even though there are better blog services, Vietnamese people always choose Yahoo 360, because they can easily connect with the Yahoo Messenger network they’ve already used.

Vietnamese use the “status” to update you about their thoughts. Their “status” changes every day, every hour, even minute, every time Vietnamese people think of something interesting to share with others.

Don’t suggest Vietnamese people to use Windows Live Messenger, Skype, Google Talk, AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, or anything that most people use in your home country. In Vietnam, either of those IMs would come a very poor second!

10 years ago, Vietnamese people didn’t know anything about Valentine’s Day. When it was first introduced by white people, Vietnamese people even enunciated the word Valentine wrongly. But thanks to their love of learning English, not only do they speak rightly, they know how to live the day to the max.

Of course, Valentine’s Day is important to couples. But in Vietnam, everybody likes the day. Why? Single people like the day because they can exchange their little funny stories about how to hook up with a targeted partner, in a sarcastic way. Unlike Friday the 13th, in some cases, workers can have a day off they all wish for on Valentine’s Day. That’ll never happen in other countries. And that’s the reason that makes people like Valentine’s Day all the more.

This year, Valentine’s Day arrives on the day after Friday the 13th. Don’t think that you can ignore any of the days! Vietnamese people will make sure you remember both with a joke like “Friday the 13th seems to be better than the day after (because prices just don’t go up).” Friday, February 13, 2009 would be scarier if there was no Valentine’s Day following it. So, keep in mind that these two days are sort of a package deal. Just like the song “Bad day” and its MV!

Single or in a relationship, when you happen to be in Vietnam on Valentine’s Day, be cool with ironic jokes they tell you. Inventing some jokes will definitely upgrade you in their eyes.