An American in Vietnam

It's been almost fifteen years now since I first visited Vietnam, then for just a month, but since I've been stretching out the visits and now I spend most of my time here; to the extent that if my partner would hear of it I would love to sell our property in the States and only go there for visits.  He is probably right though that we are better off keeping the American link.

I have many times tried to figure out what it was about Vietnam and I guess still is that attracted me.  Part of it is of course I see the States as decaying, but that can be attributed to my own decay and probably the US has a good deal of steam left.  Still the infrastructure and culture and especially the politics of the States seem be be getting more and more "dysfunctional" (I put the word in ticks because I realize what a cliche the word has become).

One thing for sure: living in the states is a hassle.  Living overseas doesn't really help much as I still have to fill out US tax forms and maintain credit cards and US bank accounts and a drivers' license and insurance of all sorts and on and on, but I do escape most of it as my partner handles things more and more and Vietnam is a cash society, so the only real hassles are getting money here, getting steadily easier, and keeping a valid visa (a real pain in the neck).

I think, contrary to all American opinion, that Vietnam is a much freer country than the States.  All the rules in the States one has to observe, all no doubt enacted for good reasons but that persist because of vested interests, such as those about schools and about pharmaceuticals and about employing people and about simple things like who can give you a haircut and a shave -- yea -- I'm able to afford a barber's shave here -- are just either not here or not enforced (not being a lawyer I'm not quite sure).

Of course the country isn't "free" in the form that it is a one party state, but having been here and seeing first hand the implications in terms of reasonably effective governance without a self-appointed political class, I begin to see advantages.  Voter participation rates in the States tell a tale -- people there don't think the right to vote means anything anyway for a variety of reasons, including corruption, bought elections, and the fact that close elections seem to come out in favor of the party controlling the voting bureaucracy.  But that is a subject for another post -- this one is about why I live here.

One thing I noticed right away is the absence of guns and the relative safety in even the biggest cities this and a no-nonsense law enforcement and judicial system seem to provide.  Oh there is crime, and there is prostitution, and common sense is called for, but it doesn't thrust itself on you as in other places.  There is also poverty; after all Vietnam is a developing country and the culture and structure of poverty in a society take generations to mitigate, but in the time I've been observing the progress, especially in the countryside, has been palpable.  The long and short of it is I feel much safer here.

I set out to talk about why I like Vietnam, not politics, so I will get to it.  It's mainly the people, but also the land and the cuisine and a whole list of intangibles.  It is tropical and I don't like cold.  OK that is easy enough, but there are lots of tropical countries.  It comes down to the friendliness of the inhabitants.  Only Scandinavia and the Netherlands are friendlier, and in many countries I've visited I've experienced serious unpleasantness.  I suppose there are those here who don't like foreigners either, as that is part of a "bigot" personality trait that I suppose is present in a minority everywhere, but here I think maybe they tend to just avoid you, end of story.

Vietnam doesn't have the "rules" either like not showing your feet or not looking at someone or not smiling or talking to a stranger or not touching someone you are talking to or not hugging a good friend.  There is something of a code for what to wear for business, and one can be pretentious in one's clothes if one likes, but being Western I am forgiven all that and can dress simply the way I like, which means knee-shorts and pull-on and comfortable slip-on shoes.

Did I mention smiling?  In Vietnam it is the thing to do.  Smiling is not as in some countries seen as a sign of untrustworthiness.  It is seen as a sign of friendliness and the Vietnamese are friendly.  If I get up on the wrong side of bed, everyone in the household notices and asks if something is wrong, to the point that I cannot indulge myself in being miserable but have to cheer up.