How many of you have lived in a foreign country and experience culture shock? I have. I’m from Vietnam and I came to America 5 years ago. To me, there are so many differences between where I grow up, Saigon and where I live now, Newport News. Today, I’ll share with you the differences between these 2 cities in 3 basic subjects: food, language and traffic.
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| The beauty of Vietnamese people and the traditional dress - Ao Dai |
To begin, I think the major problem for everyone to live in a foreign country is the language barrier.
When I first moved to America, I had difficulty speaking and understanding English. I smiled all the time and said OK even though I didn’t understand. After living here for a while, I’ve learned one great thing about America: it’s a “melting pot”. Americans are understanding to my mistake and encourage me to ask question when I don’t understand.
On the other hand, tourists who travel around Saigon have no worry about communication since English has become a global language. However, it’s really not easy for you to try to learn Vietnamese. Vietnamese people are friendly and they laugh in any situation. Unfortunately, they will laugh at you as well if you make a mistake trying to pronounce a Vietnamese word.
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| The beauty of Vietnam will make you fall in love since the first sight |
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| Saigon by night |
Second, food is one of my favorite subjects.
Anthony Bourdain stated in his No Reservation show that “Vietnam is a clash of cultures mixed with a hectic urban pace and people who are serious about eating.” That’s pretty true.
Thick, hot Vietnamese coffee drips slowly into the sweeten condensed milk – it’s how we start our day. Unlike Starbucks or Dunking Donuts coffee, the strong taste of finely ground, dark roasted coffee with the thick milk lingers in your tongue and wakes you up for a new day to come.
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| Thick, dark coffee is one of most famous Vietnamese food |
Our most popular soup is Pho which is a bow of rice noodle with either beef or chicken in broth and served with many choices of fresh herbs. The most popular food in Newport News, in my opinion, are fast foods which will be deep fried and very greasy. There is nothing in this area can compare with the distinctive flavor of Pho.
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| Pho Bo - Beef noodle soup |
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| Pho Ga - Chicken noodle soup |
Street food is a very special characteristic of Vietnamese culture. You can find it anywhere, at any corner of Saigon’s street. At night time you can see a lot of opened flame on street with various choices of tasty grilled meat. In Newport News, I can barely see any food vendor around. Most of food vendors in America will gather to the big city where there are a lot of tourist such as New York or Washington D.C only.
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| Food vendor is a part of Vietnamese culture |
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| It's getting crowded at night with all different kinds of BBQ |
Food is the spirit of a culture and it can bring people together. The differences between the two countries in food actually expresses its differences in culture.
Finally, traffic in Saigon is crazy to compare with Newport News.
The variety of transportation is a common part. Whatever vehicle used in Newport News is commonly used in Saigon. However, most Vietnamese ride scooters because Saigon’s roads are much narrower than roads in Newport News. They have the advantage of being able to enter all the narrow alleys that are off limits to car’s access.
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| Scooters is the most common transportation in Vietnam |
Public transportation seems more popular in Saigon than in Newport News. There are a lot of buses and taxi. There are a motorbike – taxi in Saigon which are very convenient and available at most of street corners.
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| Buses are popular and crowded |
Traffic laws in Saigon are more like suggestion instead of laws. Daring people break the rules of road constantly which make traffic there horrible. Tourists will have a hard time passing through traffic in Saigon, especially in rush hour. Unlike Saigon, driving in Newport News is less stressful and safer because the U.S has a good system of streets and highways. In addition, people here are willing to follow the rules and keep in mind that safety first.
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| Traffic jam is overwhelmed in the big city such as Saigon |
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| It's scary since nobody will stop for you to go across street |
According to those differences, I absolutely prefer to drive in Newport News to Saigon.
All in all, I’m fortunate to have experienced living in both nice cities, Saigon and Newport News. The different culture between the 2 cities create the differences of the most basic subject such as language, food, and traffic. Disregard to those differences, I love both places. One is where I were born and raised, one is where I found my true love. Truly, as long as I keep an opened mind and willing to challenge myself, I’ll be happy no matter where I am.
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| Sai Gon - Newport News |
