Hi! New member living in HCMC for 3 years

Welcome!
Hope you are enjoying life here in Saigon!

hello friend!nice to meet you.hope you have been a good life here.please tell me more about yourself.

i_love_vietnam wrote:

hello friend!nice to meet you.hope you have been a good life here.please tell me more about yourself.

She wrote it in her profile.  You have to click on her name or her picture to go to her profile.  Here's the cut and paste.

About me
Hello Everyone! My academic and professional background is in social psychology and communications, especially linguistics and foreign languages. I have a very broad range of knowledge, experience, and skills and I am exceptionally resourceful and creative in my endeavors. Originally from Portland, Oregon, U.S.A., my travels have taken me to over 30 countries to explore peoples and cultures. For the past 3 years, I have been living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In those 3 years, I have enjoyed working with nearly 1000 Vietnamese students via my English classes and groups. What a fascinating experience I have had with Vietnamese people! I enjoy reading, writing, intellectual conversation, public speaking, philosophy, education, animals & nature, travel, ice hockey, biking,, skating, walking & hiking, camping & backpacking, mountains & forests & lakes, peoples & cultures, social sciences & humanities in general, hard sciences, art.......... Among other languages, I have studied French, German, and Russian. I am currently studying Vietnamese and Chinese. In the future, I also hope to learn Korean.
I can speak English, Russian, French, *German, *Vietnamese

Interests
education, languages, public speaking, reading, writing

thank you Tran Hung Dao.
i truly admire yor knowledge.and to learn more about you.

Thank you for the welcome, charmavietnam and i_love_vietnam. Yes, Tran Hung Dao, I thought it better to fill out my profile than to fill up a forum. I mean that just a bit tongue-in-cheek, of course. Just as on other websites, though, I see most here prefer their profiles rather sparse.

The meaning of contributor seems clear enough, but what is an "EB" member? Perhaps if I looked around more, I would figure it out.

EB= Expat.com
It's all ranking
Depends the number of your posting this site confer you these titles: Contributor, Serial Expat, EB Member, etc.

vanessacorey wrote:

Thank you for the welcome, charmavietnam and i_love_vietnam. Yes, Tran Hung Dao, I thought it better to fill out my profile than to fill up a forum. I mean that just a bit tongue-in-cheek, of course. Just as on other websites, though, I see most here prefer their profiles rather sparse.

The meaning of contributor seems clear enough, but what is an "EB" member? Perhaps if I looked around more, I would figure it out.

charmavietnam wrote:

EB= Expat.com
It's all ranking
Depends the number of your posting this site confer you these titles: Contributor, Serial Expat, EB Member, etc.

vanessacorey wrote:

Thank you for the welcome, charmavietnam and i_love_vietnam. Yes, Tran Hung Dao, I thought it better to fill out my profile than to fill up a forum. I mean that just a bit tongue-in-cheek, of course. Just as on other websites, though, I see most here prefer their profiles rather sparse.

The meaning of contributor seems clear enough, but what is an "EB" member? Perhaps if I looked around more, I would figure it out.

And you're an EB Member +, charmavietnam (plus even)!  I thought it had to do with ranking and usually ignored it until vanessacorey pointed it out I'm a "contributor".  I guess it probably means I post/talk too much.

vanessacorey wrote:

Thank you for the welcome, charmavietnam and i_love_vietnam. Yes, Tran Hung Dao, I thought it better to fill out my profile than to fill up a forum. I mean that just a bit tongue-in-cheek, of course. Just as on other websites, though, I see most here prefer their profiles rather sparse.

The meaning of contributor seems clear enough, but what is an "EB" member? Perhaps if I looked around more, I would figure it out.

Portland Oregon, along with the lumber industry and tax-free shopping, is famous for it's bicycle friendly environment.  So I take it vanessacorey, you ride a bicycle around HCMC?  If so, how do you find the riding culture/environment compared to Portland?

Yeah, seems like you have much time, or are you doing internet related work?

Tran Hung Dao wrote:

And you're an EB Member +, charmavietnam (plus even)!  I thought it had to do with ranking and usually ignored it until vanessacorey pointed it out I'm a "contributor".  I guess it probably means I post/talk too much.

Yes, Portland is a wonderful place for bicycling as well as many other outdoor sports and activities. Back home I both ride and hike nearly every day. The city itself is quite bicycle friendly, but I do love riding on the outskirts out into the countryside and wooded areas. Going for a 4 hour ride and maybe picking all kinds of wild fruit along the way makes for a perfect summer day. The only time I don't ride much is during the winter ice and snow, and even those times are nice for a good walk or hike.

Here in Saigon, I truly miss my bike and skates. I didn't plan to stay so long, so I kept putting off getting a bicycle. Learning to drive or ride here wouldn't be too difficult, but traffic jams, flooding, damaged road surfaces, glass, nails, parking & theft issues, and other hazards left me convinced that a bicycle might be more trouble than it was worth here. I mostly walk everywhere instead. The high level of pollution, noise, and lack of space as well as the hot and humid climate are truly a challenge to my usual patience and good nature, but walking offers its own benefits.


Are you a bicyclist at heart as well? Do you have a bicycle here?

vanessacorey wrote:

...The only time I don't ride much is during the winter ice and snow, and even those times are nice for a good walk or hike.

Winter ice and snow...I don't remember Portland seeing alot of precipitation in the form of snow; rain and sleet mainly.  But I understand your summer comment though.  The Northwest still has the forests and the natural beauty surrounding it.

vanessacorey wrote:

...Here in Saigon,... but traffic jams, flooding, damaged road surfaces, glass, nails, parking & theft issues, and other hazards left me convinced that a bicycle might be more trouble than it was worth here. I mostly walk everywhere instead. The high level of pollution, noise, and lack of space as well as the hot and humid climate are truly a challenge to my usual patience and good nature, but walking offers its own benefits.
Are you a bicyclist at heart as well? Do you have a bicycle here?

Like you, I do enjoy bicycling in the countryside and did alot when I was back in the States.  But in Vietnam, seeing all the hazards you describe already while riding a motorbike, I can just imagine it worse off on a bicycle.  The traffic system in Vietnam is like natural selection - the bigger the vehicle eats the smaller vehicle.  Bicycles always end up crushed in accidents.  You can also take a look at the picture in the tribute to Wayne Madison for a reason I don't ride a bicycle.

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=299753   

So you've lived in Vietnam for three years and you don't own a vehicle?  You walk everywhere?  Are you stuck in the big city or have you ventured out in the countryside?  The Western Rice Region/Mekong Delta (Miền Tây)is gorgeous!

Portland is sprawling metropolis, built on hills, at the end of a mountain gorge, in a valley bordered east and west by high mountain ranges. Add an abundance of rivers, lakes, and the nearby cold Northern stretch of the Pacific Ocean, and you get a nice recipe for fog, rain, hail, freezing rain, sleet, snow, and ice. We get some of this and some of that and not everyone gets the same thing at the same time!

In the '60s & '70s when I was a child, I always looked forward to the beginning of the snowfalls in late fall. There was usually quite a bit of snow over the course of fall, winter, and even some into late spring. In the 80's climate changes became noticeable with the decrease in snowfalls and changes in animal migrations. For many years there was barely any snow at all down in the city, although the mountains above, the outlying forests, and the Columbia River Gorge, still wore winter white.

In the 90's the snowfalls returned to some extent, along with a few ice storms for good measure. I think it was 2008 that we had a lovely spring and then in early June we had a heavy snowfall, the first that late in a few decades. I had left for Europe the day before and I was very upset to find I had missed the snow. It was all I had wanted for Christmas! I spent several months in Europe that year and back in Portland it snowed a few times over that summer and fall culminating in the December 2008 snowstorms that shut the city down. Many friends of mine lost a lot of work and money between June and February due to all of the snow problems.

It is common for Portlanders to have sleds and snowclothes and snow tires and other snow gear. Yes, to make a long story long, we Portlanders have snow...and ice. Not as much as New Hampshire, but still, yes.

Ok, that was probably far more than  you wanted to know, but I love my PNW (The Great Pacific Northwest) and I am definitely a polar bear who loves the ice and snow.

vanessacorey wrote:

...

Ok, that was probably far more than  you wanted to know, but I love my PNW (The Great Pacific Northwest) and I am definitely a polar bear who loves the ice and snow.

It's fine.  You prolific writing is a fun read.  If you do love ice and snow, then you should check out Sa Pa up in the northwest of Vietnam.  It's one of the rare areas of Vietnam that experiences snow.

I haven't been there so I can't really tell you more about it than the fact that it snows there.  When I get homesick for the USA's cold weather, I just go up to Đà Lạt.  If you've been here for three years, I'm sure you've adapted and maybe just a trip to Đà Lạt will make you feel cold again.

In answer to your other question, I do get outside the city now and then.

Da Lat was certainly a refreshing break from the hot weather and concrete jungle. It was pleasantly cool, but warm enough that I still wore shorts and a t-shirt. I found myself absolutely mystified by all of the Vietnamese people trudging this way and that, all bundled up in their winter woolens. I saw that wool clothing was a popular item in many shop windows.

It took a lot of time and asking back here in HCMC for some kind of explanation about all those winter woolens. As it it turns out, Da Lat is one of the few places that Vietnamese have to wear such interesting fashions and so, they wear them.

I have also spent time in Hoi An, Da Nang, Hue, and a few other points here and there. I have not been to the North yet.

Yes, I have heard about Sa Pa and it's occasional snow. The locals tell me that whenever there is snow in Sa Pa, many people rush to go there for a chance to see snow and thus it can be difficult to actually go there when it snows.

I have not so much adapted to this hot climate as I have made best friends with AC.

I gotta say that being able to ESCAPE cold weather was one of my motivators for moving to Saigon from Japan and find the talk about feeling homesick for it mystifying. Heck, even the summer here I have found much more bearable than Japan's thanks to the constant breezes and even the darned rain that keeps falling. Then again, I hail from Southern California so that's probably why.

Welcome aboard Vanessa!

Yes, I know.

The PNW has it's share of people who get the winter blues. Just 2 hours away from Portland is Seattle, Washington. The weather there is a bit worse with less sunshine and more precipitation which accounts for a big difference in the local moody blues. Yet, I would really love Seattle for it's vibrant life and character.

I see many foreigners come here to escape the dreary cold weather of their native lands. Scandinavia and the UK have their charms and I truly enjoyed my stays. Whats that people always say, cold hands, warm heart? I only dream of cold hands and feet these days. I am looking forward to exploring Japan at some point.

You know the best thing about being cold is that it is easy and fun to warm up or keep warm....the old fashioned ways with mugs of hot chocolate and a dash of rum or tequila and cinnamon, seated next to a roaring fire, with someone you like being close to!....or the modern way with lightweight high-tech coldweather gear or central heating.

The worst thing about being hot is that there are only so many clothes that you can take off....and only so many places that you can do that.