Vietnamese Cultural Differences

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In this seminar the speaker was of Vietnamese background, and he talked about his experience from leaving Vietnam and coming to the United States. He mentioned the different Vietnamese communities around the country and how they differ from one another. Another thing he presented to us was the former lives of Vietnamese people before they came to America, and the culture shock they had to underwent after living here. The last important thing that was a core topic in his discussion was that most of the immigrants, including him, still hold on to their culture and Vietnamese origins. These three key points in his presentation explained the noticeable cultural differences that I personally have not encountered, because of my hometown and the lack of traveling to places with Vietnamese communities.
The
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Doctors, Lawyers, Government employees, etc, left their work for the American Dream. Once they set foot in America, they could no longer practice their professions and were forced to get demeaning jobs in order to form a living. Since it became more difficult for men to acquire a job, their wives had to look for work instead because they were easily hired. In Vietnam, the man of the house is supposed to be the main source of income while the wife does the housework. If the woman has to be responsible for upholding their homes, it becomes humiliating for the husband. Not only is letting the wife work humiliating but their jobs also consist of working in beauty parlors, such as nail salons. Another thing they left in Vietnam were their luxurious houses. These are often more than one story high and they have more square footage than their houses in America. Besides all of the obstacles they endure by coming here, they persist on celebrating their culture and are also gratified in striving for a better government and