Why I'm Here

I’ve always been asked why I decided to move here four years ago, and I’ve always been confounded to provide a simple, stock answer because at that point in my life, I really wasn’t sure myself.  Rumors rampantly flew that I moved to Saigon to live in a debauchery soaked lifestyle filled with drugs, alcohol, and cheap prostitutes, or that I was on the lam from a finger chopping bookie and a six figure gambling debt (neither are 100% true).  Truth of the matter, I was probably going through a quarter-life crisis.  A deep introspection of my American life found a lack of direction and excitement.  Basically I was in a marriage-less rut, waking up everyday and performing the same routines flushed with the same bad habits.

So when I came to visit Vietnam, it felt like I was awakened by a metaphorical douse of ice water; the ice water being air pollution, a cacophony of motorbike horns, and the putrid river smell.  Engulfed by my senses, I realized I’d touched down to my new home.  I was just bewildered by the bustling chaos, and excited at the new adventures that awaited me.

In my four years here, I’ve met a wide variety of Viet-Kieus that have also come to live here.  They tend to fall into at least one of these four categories:

     

       (1) The Ambitious Viet-Kieus

They’ve heard of the emerging markets in this region and have come like prospecting gold diggers looking to strike it rich.  When you meet them, you might find yourself in a complicated conversation using economic jargons like equity, capital, and, GDP. 

          

       (2) The Horny Viet-Kieus

Like the former group, these VKs have heard marvelous stories of bountiful, beautiful babes and came to Vietnam to get lucky and strike it rich.  Like El Capitan, they don’t care about business opportunities or networking, instead, they just want to bone as many girls as they can while living here. 

      

       (3) The Adventurous Viet-Kieus

This group seeks an adrenaline rush and moved here because of the exotic tales of eating a snake’s heart, or macheting through a jungle (probably a conclusion from watching way too many Vietnam War movies).  They can’t be in one place for a long period of time, and have the love of traveling.

      

       (4) The Reconnecting Viet-Kieus

Whether they’re deep FOBs or just curious, these Viet-Kieus come back to Vietnam to discover their roots.  They come back to their hometowns, and visit their grandparents.  Sometimes, they just want to be brought back to the good old days of yore.

When I look back, I feel like I could have fallen into any of these categories.  Well, probably not the ambitious one.  Everyone’s got his or her own reasons for moving to Vietnam.  As you can see, mine’s just as boring as everyone else’s. 

Si