In a lot of ways, Vietnam is weird for me, although every day I am shocked by less and less. Yes, still disturbs me when there are 4 people packed on a motorbike flying down Dien Bien Phu, 2 of them under the age of 3 and not wearing helmets. Yes, I cringe a little bit when I see about 40 finches all crammed into a cage no bigger than a square foot. And I still have zero Vietnamese skills, besides "hi!" (xin chào), "thank you!" (cảm ơn), and "ice cream" ("kem"). Let's be real, though, that's the important stuff.
Day to day life, though, is pretty normal. Even better than normal, if I think about it. In case of homesickness and making Vietnam "more like home," there are a whole lot of options for expats here in Ho Chi Minh City.
First, there's the expats Facebook groups, which have proven invaluable to me. You can find out about events, clubs, language exchanges, get honest reviews on restaurants, or just make friends. I have found the girls-only group to be very supportive and helpful. Girls will post extra hotel rooms they bought in nearby beach towns, or offer to give things away for free when they are leaving Vietnam to return to wherever home is. (Unfortunately, the main group that allows males is totally different. It's overrun by angry neckbeards and trolls, much like the r/Vietnam community on Reddit. How to start a fight on one of these groups: "What's the difference between an expat and an immigrant? or "How much money should I give my Vietnamese girlfriend for New Years?" Not that racism or the sexpat stuff isn't worth discussing, its just been discussed and rediscussed ad nauseum).
Essential to fighting homesickness has been finding my "third place" outside of work and home. So, in case this hasn't been established, I love hula hooping. Like a lot. Back in Philadelphia, my hooping spot was Clark Park in West Philadelphia. Here in Ho Chi Minh City, it's a big park in District 1 along Nguyen Thi Minh Khai with a bunch of statues and beautiful gardens. I am not allowed on the grass, but my fellow hoopers and I usually take over a big slab of concrete at the back end of the park and set up shop with hula hoops and speakers. I spend hours there, most days. The proof is in my hoop progress (my Instagram handle is @circushabits if you're interested!). The park and hula hoops have really made me see that Vietnam and the US are not that different. Watching little kids get so excited about the hoops, having grown-ass adults taking creep videos of me when they think I'm not looking, being meekly approached by a woman who wants to try the hula hoop while her boyfriend films the hilarious attempt on an iPhone, it reminds me that people are not that different no matter where you go. At least in regards to hula hoops.
Then there's the Western spots. Just about any night of the week, there is someplace holding a special event night where expats gather. Movie nights, bohemian/night markets, art gallery parties, open mic nights, board game nights, trivia nights, acroyoga... This is all good, because I work early mornings on Saturday and Sundays so I cannot go out and meet people on Friday and Saturday nights. Basically, if you want to be alone in this town, you can be. But you definitely don't have to be!
I also have found a gym, a yoga studio, and I take aerial silks every week. That feeling of progression in something has done a lot to make me feel fulfilled, which has done wonders for my homesickness. In fact, I have gotten so good at filling up my extraordinary amount of free time with hobbies and physical activity that I don't know how I'll ever adjust to a 40+ hour a week job ever again.
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