Culture

Hello John,

How are you? How is your business?

I have just come to Vietnam three months ago. Everything in here is very strange and different from the U.S. People behave differently in public, especially in transportation.

I usually travel by bus, so I will tell you about the bus in Vietnam.

One day, I waited at a bus stop for bus number eight. When my bus arrived, someone got in front of me in line, bumped into me and didn’t say ‘excuse me’. It is different form my country. Everyone always stands in line. Who come first, get on the bus first. Then I got on the bus. Oh my God, the bus was very crowed, I couldn’t have a seat. Then the bus conductor came to me. He spoke Vietnamese to me. I didn’t understand him at all. He started to shout rude words to me. Luckily, a Vietnamese student told me that he asked the money for bus ticket. Just four thousands Vietnamese Ðô`ng. I had to stand up and held on the pole for a long time. I watched other people to learn about Vietnamese bus etiquette.

I saw many strange things on that bus. I saw a young girl who yawned loudly without putting her hand over her mouth. I noticed a fly around her. I wonder that if that insect flew into her moth, what would happen. Another boy sneezed on bus. I didn’t use a handkerchief to blow his nose. That is disgusting. Therefore I handed him a tissue. After that, the bus came to another stop. Some people got off and a big guy got on the bus. That man didn’t wait for others getting off the bus. He pushed through a crowed and slammed to others. It was very impolite. I thought he should learn some manners.



After that, I saw a student took more than one seat. I asked him “Is this seat taken? Could I sit here?” “Of course, sir”_ he said. I had a seat. I felt very tired. “What? Are you crazy? You want to break up with me? ”_A girl talked loudly on her cell phone with her boyfriend. As you know, in the U.S, we just whisper on a cell phone. We just talk quietly. We don’t have a whole conversation on the phone when we are on bus. It is so strange. Another thing is that I realized Vietnamese people are always throwing garbage on the ground. On my bus, there was a waste basket, but they littered packages, chewing or waste paper on the bus. It is dirty and uncivilized.

Another day, I caught bus fifty three to go to IU. Luckily I had a seat. Then an elderly man got on the bus. As the bus started to go, He had to hold to a pole so that he didn’t fall down. There were young people sitting in the seats around him. None of them gave their seats to him; even make eye contact with him. No one enforce the “give your seat to elderly passengers” rude, even the driver and the bus conductor. I gave my seat to him. I sat at the back of the bus. It is higher than other seats. Therefore I could learn Vietnamese behaviour on the bus. I saw a girl putting on make-up. In the U.S, putting on makeup in public is considered rude. Maybe in Vietnam, it is normal. Then she took out her iphone and talk on the phone with her friend. Maybe she just tried to show off her new cell phone so that everybody could feel jealous. After a while, she felt asleep and yawned loudly. She closed her eyes and slept. My colleague told me that when I traveled by bus, I shouldn’t take out my cell phone, wallet or some valuable thing. Someone could notice and steal them. He also warned me that it had happened on bus fifty two. It was unexpected because many IU students take this bus and students don’t steal each other. Therefore someone took advantage of this subjective thinking. He or she just got on bus fifty two and stole a cell phone. My bus continued to go. I would reach University Village after fifteen minutes. Suddenly, a stylish girl yelled “I lost my iphone” and cried a lot. I knew it. It always happened on the bus. It was expected. Sometimes, I had to put my bag in front of me. I had to make sure that no one could steal anything from me. My bus came to the last bus stop then I went to IU.

One day I caught bus fifty to go to University Village. I saw a sign “No smoking” on the bus. Then a driver smoked a cigarette normally. That is unbelievable. They made the rude and enforce us to observe/ obey. But they smoked, which is against the rule. It is odd. They made the rules, and then they broke the rules. I think they should set an example, so everybody would follow the rules. They must follow the rules first. Then everybody will do it the same.

As you know, people in the U.S have an “air bubble”. It is a personal proximity. No one can enter it, except my girlfriend or my family. It is a circle with an arms-length radius. It is personal space. We would allow strangers enter that space. In Vietnam, it is different. People stared at me, even touched me. Oh me God, they thought I’m a famous singer? One day, a kid asked me to buy ticket. I didn’t buy it. Then he slapped me. Oh me God, we just toughed awkwardly. It is very queer and embarrassing.

I think you should know about these things before you come to Vietnam. It is monoculture. We should learn more about their culture so that we can get along with them.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regard,

Mad.