Coming back to Vietnam: Reverse Culture Shock

Since being back in Vietnam for the holidays, I’ve experienced quite a bit of reverse culture shock. No one seems to be using cash anymore, and somehow, I seem to have forgotten how to cross the street - what’s happening to me? 😃

Werbung / Promotion:
Want to learn a new language? Use the following link to save up to 50% and get lifetime access to 14 languages on Babbel 🥳

00:00 Intro
00:16 Hosting guests
01:57 Restaurants
04:12 Communication style
07:21 Getting around in Vietnam
08:53 Store opening hours
09:35 Food safety
11:01 Traffic
11:26 The noise
12:15 Body contact
13:30 Using correct pronouns
14:27 Fashion style
15:23 Outro

---
Hi, I'm Uyen Ninh but please just call me Uyen!
Originally from Vietnam, I now explore life in Germany, sharing my unique perspective through my videos on my way to be your favorite Ausländer! 😁

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for Videos and Shorts: @uyenninh

[radar]

Irony of non confrontational culture is u can't be direct setting boundary but ppl can be direct w their criticism 😅

[aadakaa]

They tell you that you are fat and ugly and when you ask not to, You are considered confrontational?!? The nerve. 😳

[PerpetualJoy]

Its wild that its considered confrontational to tell someone you dont appreciate their comment but not to confrontational to say the rude comment in the first place

[ddawn]

When I first came back to the US after living in Belgium, I was so used to the price on the tag being what you pay that I confronted a cashier for overcharging me. She looked at me like I was crazy and explained about the sales tax. I completely forgot. So embarrassing.

[mnrbrt]

I love how the video starts with 'im back to Vietnam', after I saw the video of getting back to Germany like yesterday hahaha

[suzanrudulph]

I am 73 years old and my mantra has always been, if you want respect you have to give respect. It works both ways.

[sottypongdang]

Hi Uyen, full-blooded Vietnamese like you here, although I lived in the south and had always been a city boy, but my mum is in Can Giuoc, which is in a rural area as well! I want to tell you that, I completely understand your feeling about the more icky side of our culture, and you have my full support especially on older people commenting and judging everything you do base on their "elderly" opinions. You have every right to confront them on those topics! It is a part of our culture that we should start to slowly change.

[adelheide]

I can't wait for the "My Vietnamese family's culture shock in Germany" video.

[TastySchu]

So proud of you, too, for standing up for yourself, and yes, breaking those boundaries down. You should always defend how you are treated & talked to. Especially by elders or those who are close to your family. Great video. I loce learnign more & more about your culture and Germany as well 😊

[Sorrely]

Wow! Well done on standing up for yourself. That always takes courage, but in a culture where it’s not done. That takes super courage. ❤

[dfuetwr]

2.5 years abroad ish is the threshold between "I'm going home" and "I am going back but doesn't feel quite like home"

[PiscesPower]

Who else felt like they were at a sleepover when that mosquito net went over the camera? 😂 Thanks for the immersive experience!😂

[warriorbard]

Good on you for standing up for yourself. I also grew up being conditioned to respect my elders even if they badmouth me or disrespect / ignore my boundaries. I had to learn to unlearn this because it's such a toxic mentality and allowing people to walk all over you is never good. I'm glad to hear that you're able to take the reins and speak up about your boundaries.

P.S. - at the beginning of the video when you talked about guests showing up unannounced - as an introvert, this is literally one of my worst nightmares. Honestly, I probably wouldn't even answer the door and just pretend I'm not in. 😓

[YayWei]

Regarding the family making comments about your body...that's literally all I talked about today in therapy 😂. I feel you, as a Chinese American who played outdoor sports growing up and as a result has darker skin than the average rich indoor Chinese person, I understand the pain of having to fend off the comments. I have muscle from playing ice hockey, but to my family, I'm eating too much rice! It's infuriating!! I'm so messed up because of it, hence the therapy lol. Love you, Uyen, and so happy to hear you are standing up for yourself!! 🧡

[xymonau]

You are so articulate and pleasant. No wonder you have so many followers. There are always bittersweet things about leaving and coming home for visits. Especially in rigidly-tiered societies. As we live, we adopt the things that work for us in our current life, and ditch the things that don't. We become like the people who surround us. And of course we then forget the minutiae of things no longer relevant. You are doing so well. Always lovely to see a new video.

[dkdebashreedk]

Just wanted to say that watching your long form videos makes me feel like you are my cool big sister, thank you so much for sharing your experience with us!! ❤️❤️

[franziska]

Hi Uyen, I am from Germany and I am in Hanoi right now, I've travelled Vietnam for six weeks and I can relate to every single thing you just said, this loud music everywhere is driving me crazy sometimes haha:D
thank you for helping me preparing for this beautiful trip with your videos! ❤

[AMD]

Never apologize for standing up for yourself. I understand the cultural differences, my wife is from Hong Kong, but you need to be you.

[AniaBumba]

You should be very proud for standing up for yourself. A lot things are cultural and we should be accommodating but when people start insulting us about our looks or for not being pregnant etc. it is really crossing the line. I understand how hard it is to say something if you were raised to be quiet but I think you did really well for yourself. Congratulations!

[deoxyplasmic]

You did a great job explaining the differences of living in each country and your perspective. It's amazing how a person's lifestyle and even worldview can change so quickly. There seem to be pluses and minuses for both countries and can see how different people would enjoy one culture over another, but I think I'd definitely prefer Germany. I'm glad you stood up for yourself! Thanks for sharing.