Stuff Vietnamese people like

Vietnamese people like to take photos. They have polarized into two groups: photojournalist wannabes and nude model wannabes.

Vietnamese photojournalist wannabes try to own semi-professional digital cameras so that they could prove to others they are taking the art of photography seriously. These people sometimes travel alone to the countryside to find picturesque sceneries. You will find these so-called scenery photos featuring at least a person. Vietnamese people like jumping in the photo because they think they will make the photo more beautiful. But often, when these photographers can’t leave the city, you will easily find them on the middle of the road taking photos of a dead rat or a traffic jam from many angles.

Vietnamese nude model wannabes outnumber the photojournalist group, because they don’t need to buy expensive cameras. They have to arrange an appointment with photographers (or the above-mentioned photojournalist wannabes). Even if they are willing to pose nude for free, they will need to queue up a long line in front of the studios. Because they’re desperate to keep up with the fashion trend, these people usually take photos of themselves, with their cellphones or webcams. It will save their time, and even their money (yes, sometimes they have to pay for their own nude photos taken).

If you happen to see a photo collection of a Vietnamese acquaintance, give good comments on the artful work (even if it’s not close to art) and ask her/him the circumstances behind those photos. You’ll have a bunch of stories to tell your friends later.

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.”

Vietnamese people are just too curious to stay out of rumors. In Vietnam, people stop their bikes on the street just to see an accident, especially when there’s a quarrel involved. They see a group of people gathering and ask the one who stand in front of them what has happened. They will get the story (either right or wrong) and tell the one who will later ask them with some adaptations. Even slightest accidents cause traffic jams.

Moreover, Vietnamese people love to tell stories their own ways to impress others that they’re good readers. Usually, they get the stories online from some tabloid newspapers like VnExpress, Ngoisao.net, etc., where little control can be exercised over the information. Most are poorly adapted from other news channels in English.

Again, Yahoo Messenger is widely used to transfer rumors, fast and effectively. That’s why bad people take the opportunity to deliver viruses through fake “hot news.” Anyway, those kinds of rumors seem harmless to any person, unless one clicks on a link that contains a virus. You should be careful to confirm with the one who has sent a link before you click on it.

Verbal rumors mostly come from Vietnamese prejudicial nature. These rumors badly affect their target’s face to some extent. Beware of these kinds of rumors, don’t pass them around because you’ll unknowingly hurt the someone and she/he’ll lose respect for you. In case you’re the target of a rumor, learn to laugh it out and let it go.

In any circumstances, when you’re told a rumor, you should only laugh with them, not at them. Just observe to see if they’re laughing at all.

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.