Life in Hanoi

Posted by Rebecca Haynes on February 25th, 2010

I am half way done my experience in Hanoi, Vietnam. So far, I have really enjoyed the travelling, the food, meeting new people, and taking in this fascinating culture. My position as Project Assistant at the WUSC office has also been a great learning experience so far. The staff has been so helpful and amazing, I couldn’t have asked for a better team to work with! My job is very diverse since I get to assist with different projects, and learn about things that I haven’t yet in business school like writing proposals. I’ve also helped with a marketing analysis which I had studied and done cases on in university.

The travelling has also been a real highlight. I went to Ninh Binh my first weekend here, that was fantastic! I also went to Hai Phong with WUSC staff, it was a cold day but I still had fun. I’ve also been to Sapa and Ha Long Bay both trips were amazing and a great adventure. I also came back from Ninh Binh again this past weekend with WUSC staff and saw the biggest Buddha in South East Asia and some beautiful temples, I was very impressed.

The food here is also incredible! I love eating Banh My which is fried egg in a French bun or you can get it with kebab. I also love the Vietnamese coffee it’s very strong and sweet. They also have amazing fruit drinks here you can get avocado smoothies or even apple custard. The fish here is really tasty, I don’t normally like fish but I get it here every chance I can. I also like the way people eat here, it is very common to eat family style and share everything and have a bowl of rice with it. There’s a lot of new food to try, but the best is the cheap food that you get on the street. Someone once told me the lower the chairs the lower the prices, I think that’s pretty accurate.

The Vietnamese people I have met so far have all been wonderful and friendly. They are always willing to give me advice or teach me something I didn’t know. I was invited over to a work colleague’s house over Tet (the Chinese New Year). It was fun to see how they celebrated, a lot of eating and drinking and talking. I’ve met a few expats while I have been here they are also fun to hang out with because they too will have similar frustrations.

I find the culture here very fascinating from what people value to their day to day lives. I think that the Vietnamese people are very hard working. They have family values that are very important to them and I think that the majority seem happy in this chaotic city life. Although the city seems chaotic it’s fun and has its’ own charm.

I’m looking forward to the rest of my time in Vietnam, especially mid March when I will go down South to Ho Chi Minh City and get some sun!

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