I and my girlfriend found a beautiful house through https://www.facebook.com/HouseRentalDanang/ very good website with a lot of nice house around Hoi An and Danang

Hi Vincent,
Gosh, I have no idea. I’m so sorry! (My specialty was fitting everything I own into a suitcase to avoid such problems – ha ha)

I doubt you have a license for Vietnam. They don’t accept international ones. I’m moving to Hoi An or Da Nang in 2 months. Are you still there? If not, how was the totality of your experience?

Hi Be,
Fascinating! I had not before considered the idea that “expat” is a term reserved solely for white people. I’ve often referred to fellow foreigners of all skin colours as expats, but perhaps that’s not the norm.
I will continue to ruminate on this idea and see what comes. Thank you!

Thanks for the reply, Nora. I wish I was fluent but I doubt that will ever happen. And yes, I’ve had that same experience where I’m *certain* I said something perfectly but wasn’t understood. True funny story-my husband would say a phrase in Vietnamese in answer to how long he’s been here. The reaction was a reassuring smile. One day someone told him he was actually saying that he was pregnant. Hahaha. As an EFL teacher, I know that accents can make everyday words mysterious to the listener. And I’ve talked with people from different parts of the country with wildly varying regional dialects, so there’s that, too. Still, as you say, persevere. The more local language that is acquired, the more connections that are created. We have lots of Vietnamese friends that help bridge the communication gap. For people staying anywhere for the long term, keep acquiring the language. It will be worth it.

On another topic, given your years of travel and experiences, maybe one of your blog posts could speak to the use of the word “expat”. I cringe every time I hear that word. On a global scale, it’s not a fair word. As a travel writer, maybe you could help change it up?! Here’s a good medium article about it. https://medium.com/bigger-picture/migrants-are-migrants-c11e5d3b47c9. Or this from The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/mar/13/white-people-expats-immigrants-migration

Take care. Happy travels and even happier landings.

Thank you for sharing your experience and advice, Be!

And you’re absolutely right – I cringe when expats say they can’t or won’t learn the local language, especially if they have been there for years.
I also agree that shopping locally and learning to live without imports from “home” not only enhances the possibility to connect with what local living is like in a more meaningful way, but it lowers the cost of living too!

On the language front, I know a few westerners who lived in Vietnam and made serious attempts to learn the language; they eventually moved away because they found it so difficult and didn’t want to live on the fringes of local society.
I was only there for a few months, and although I generally consider myself to be decent at learning a few phrases, once I graduated beyond the most basic of pleasantries, I couldn’t make myself understood. I would listen and learn a phrase from one person, and turn to use it on another person who would have no idea what I said! It was really frustrating.
But like you say, if you plan to live there, perseverance is vital. I take it you’re fluent in Vietnamese, then?

Living abroad is a unique way to understand privilege, power and oppression, especially for people raised in a dominant culture, and I feel lucky to have that opportunity. and yes, living abroad is tricky on many levels Sounds like you are investigating that trickiness as well. Thanks for sharing your thoughts via your blog.

Hey Rob,
Thanks for the info! Seems pretty silly to me for a license to only last as long as a visa. No wonder people don’t bother!