I spent my last 2 weeks working in Vietnam, where coffee shops open all day long and people take 2 hour lunches and leave the office by 5:30 on the dot. Completely going against the hectic daily routine I had laid out for myself, Hong Kong style was hard at first. However, settling into Vietnam mode put me back in touch with my softer side, you know, the one I left way back in Cali when I decided to work in Hong Kong.
Vietnam is a complete clash of Hong Kong culture. Talk about wanting to achieve perfection and go beyond "mediocrity" in my last entry, Vietnam opens up my perspective to well, enjoying life as is. People there, rich or poor, have this common ground by enjoying the little things in life. You can buy a cup of coffee at any price in any kind of place in Saigon. From street patios to platforms viewing the waterfront, ranging from 5000 VND to about 24,000 VND. Then, people just literally lounge around and relax while either talking or falling asleep under the shade. Happiness there is about the moment. People don't seem to save or plan too far ahead.
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Tai Long Wan Bay
Hi, I'm a Viet-American from Southern California and have decided to move to Hong Kong in order to pursue working on projects in Asia as an urban designer (i.e. architect/planner). These entries describe my experiences in adapting to Hong Kong culture and are really a means of keeping my dear family and friends posted on my daily struggles and progress. It's my little open forum so please feel free to comment and give me feedback on my thoughts.
Quirks of HK
Quirk #5:
Switching languages between Cantonese and English is common practice in the presence of an expat, and in between sentences (three's a crowd, 2 locals + 1 expat = Canto Conversation). Somehow, it is not considered rude, as the preferred conversational language is Cantonese. Forget about hearing English amongst the locals during any kinda get together.
English is only used as an official language for work and exchange. And most professionals here read and write in English better than native speakers. In house translation by the people is done regularly between the two languages.
Quirk #4:
Convenience is in theory. You may see "convenience" stores like 7/11 and banking services MAY offer online banking, but that's all marketing... there's NO such thing as convenience, around here...
Quirk #3:
Everyone speaks English but all you hear is Cantonese.
Locals always give me the benefit of the thought and start in Cantonese... I don't even know how to say "I don't speak Cantonese," but they almost always switch to English.
Quirk #2:
"Never leave work before your boss does."
In America, it's about getting to work early or at least on time. In HK, everyone shows up to work late--fter the 4th day of arriving on time with no one in sight for another half hour, I decided to call it quits and sleep in!
However, leave on time and you're in trouble, even if you've already completed the work for the day, you should "pretend" to be working on something or ask for more.
Switching languages between Cantonese and English is common practice in the presence of an expat, and in between sentences (three's a crowd, 2 locals + 1 expat = Canto Conversation). Somehow, it is not considered rude, as the preferred conversational language is Cantonese. Forget about hearing English amongst the locals during any kinda get together.
English is only used as an official language for work and exchange. And most professionals here read and write in English better than native speakers. In house translation by the people is done regularly between the two languages.
Quirk #4:
Convenience is in theory. You may see "convenience" stores like 7/11 and banking services MAY offer online banking, but that's all marketing... there's NO such thing as convenience, around here...
Quirk #3:
Everyone speaks English but all you hear is Cantonese.
Locals always give me the benefit of the thought and start in Cantonese... I don't even know how to say "I don't speak Cantonese," but they almost always switch to English.
Quirk #2:
"Never leave work before your boss does."
In America, it's about getting to work early or at least on time. In HK, everyone shows up to work late--fter the 4th day of arriving on time with no one in sight for another half hour, I decided to call it quits and sleep in!
However, leave on time and you're in trouble, even if you've already completed the work for the day, you should "pretend" to be working on something or ask for more.
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