What do expats think about Vietnamese?

Why don't we spin the coin round? Let us start another thread and find out 'what do Vietnamese think about expats in their country'? What kind of changes or influence are they making here? That should be interesting! No?

Sploke77

Simpel.

They want our money, if none of us had any money, we would 100%
not be welcome here, simple as that....

And no matter what country you go to in the world, the peoble who lives there are the no. 1
The rest who are not born there are in second place...

The Vietnamese accept us because we bring a lot of money to them, so that they can live a better lifestyle (western)

The younger generation here like us because they want the material lifestyle, but the older generation dosent like us.

The older generation (not everybody but most of them) will allways look back and say, in the
old days before the foreingers came it was better than now.
Most of the older generation cant speak any english, and they dont understand our way of living at all, stress-material etc.

In Thailand it,s the same, i used to live there fore 4 years..

I do understand them, because you will allways have to remember,
It is there country....

That is a very simplistic way of looking at things. All underdeveloped countries need Foreign Direct Investment. It's how you package the attractiveness of it to entice the foreign investor that attracts them.
Tax holidays, Ease of setting up and operating? What matters most is the extent of technology transfer the foreigners bring. Of course the core technologies are still kept secret but at least whatever is transferred should at least uplift the host nations capacity and upgrade the skills of that nation. Meanwhile, the foreigner should reap profits considerably more after such investment as they are leveraging on a cheaper resource be that human labour or raw materials. In that way, the equation is balanced. Of course, when 2 cultures crash, there will be SHOCK! That's obvious..

Last year, at the Hotel Intercontinental, there were a couple "drivers" down in the parking garage.  These guys just sit there and wait for their masters so they can drive them around in their Mercedes, or Toyota Land Cruisers.  Anyway, to make a long story short, one of the guys was urinating on the wall INSIDE the parking garage behind a car!!! That's going to smell nice in a couple days! 

I complained to the security man at the gate, then I drove back to the main entrance and spoke with a manager and made it clear that that behavior was disgusting and unacceptable, especially at a "5 star" hotel.

This is the kind of thing that ruins repeat business.  They don't want to learn or change, and no, you don't need "education" for that. I don't like hearing all the time it's because they are uneducated.  That's obvious, but I didn't learn how to go to the bathroom or how to take care of my personal hygiene at university. 

The reason they do it is because their parents don't know better either and they were never taught anything at home, nothing.  They've learned how to behave in a way that's acceptable in their society. Or at least acceptable to their peer group. This behavior is considered acceptable here, which is why they feel comfortable to do it.

Cybrscot.

Your absolutly right....

they are lazy and dont care, no manners at all...

It will be funny to see in 20 years, when the women will be more and more western behavior, and the men still keep on acting like they do.
No women will have them anymore, i wonder why so many women here wants western men because we got manners and treat women and our self with respect.....

Yeah Crasher, it's unreal.  Maybe the kids will be okay, if they can figure out which behaviors to model.  I assume their parents had nobody to look up to for guidance, other than their own parents and other VN.  But the kids now, if they're exposed to foreigners, should be able to chose how they want to behave.  I only hope the foreigners lead a good example and treat the kids well.  I also hope that the foreigners are not so politically correct that they fail to deliver the proper message.

I completely disagree with the "let them be who they are, it's their country" philosophy.   If you really want to help people,(give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime) then one should be concerned enough to deliver even the toughest messages without worry.  For example, if you have children of your own, you don't tell them that everything they do is okay.  You don't encourage failure by ignoring their bad behavior.  I'm sure all parents agree that loving your children means being tough when you need to be, and hopefully never ignoring a behavior that must be corrected, for it's in the best interest of the child to help him grow and become a caring, responsible and successful adult.

If one allows the bad behavior to continue in VN, then they don't really care about the VN do they?  Maybe they only care about their laborers in their factories and their profit margins.  Maybe they like to take easy street because it's the path of least resistance. Most of all, it's the path that most others seem to take if they are "good/nice" people, so you're more likely to be accepted and acknowledged as a good person for smiling and looking the other way.

In reality, it's the brave few, that try everyday to correct their bad behavior and teach them that this isn't the way that people in the civilised world behave. (with some exceptions of course) And it is us who are told that if we don't like it, go home.  A VN once told me that if I don't like it I should go home.  I looked at her and tilted my head like a confused dog would, and I said, "this is my home"  I don't understand why America can be your home, but Vietnam cannot be my home?  What right do you have to tell me that?  I'm married to a VN woman, and I'm residing legally in this country. The way I see it, just because I don't like something doesn't mean I have to pick up and move.  I'd like to change it, and I feel I have a right and a responsibility to do so as this earth belongs to all of us.  Why should we move on and allow it to stay like it is? Why can't we live here, and make changes that are positive for the environment, our local neighborhoods, society?  I hate that attitude.  I love to challenge their status quo, they just stare back at you and look scared. They have no idea what to do.  They're taught to follow and listen, the important decisions in life will be made for them.  You do nothing, you get nothing.

I think this topic is much too broad and generalized.  It should be broken down into subcategories, like
What do expats think about Vietnamese....
1) Traffic
2) Manners and Social Graces
3) Traffic....oh I said that already
4) Work ethic
5) Environment
6) Education
7) Honesty and Ethics

etc. etc. etc.  This would allow a much more narrow focus, because honestly, volumes could be written about each topic subcategory.

Here's something that can alleviate the problems you both seem to have with the Vietnamese.

hi friend. for me i think it's a great topic, so we can exchange culture in order to understand Vietnamese people.^^
Thanks!

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