Vietnam through the eyes of a Japanese

But if I could only choose one word to describe Vietnam, I would choose “emotion”. Vietnam, to me, is a country full of emotions. I have only lived in Hanoi for nearly a year, but I can feel the affection that Vietnamese people have for each other and for foreigners like me. For example, Vietnamese people always share joy with each other, visit and encourage sick people. Once, when they saw me looking for lost items, people asked and helped me find them as if they were the ones who lost them. Experiencing life in Vietnam, I also understand that asking for personal information about others on the first meeting, such as whether they are married or not, is also a way for Vietnamese people to show affection towards foreigners.

In my opinion, the relationship between Vietnamese people is closer than that between Japanese people. Vietnamese people have the custom of inviting each other to their home for dinner as long as they feel happy, while most Japanese people do not invite each other to dinner unless the other person is a very close friend. Vietnamese people can freely joke and tease each other without worrying too much about offending the other person, while Japanese people cannot do the same. Towards foreigners, Vietnamese people are more open. Vietnamese people enthusiastically welcome and happily interact with foreigners, while Japanese people will feel shy and find it difficult to open up. In general, Japanese people like to keep their distance from others. For Japanese people, they will feel uncomfortable if asked about private matters, even if the questioner is a family member.

During my time in Vietnam, one time, a Vietnamese friend of mine did something that disappointed me. I didn't want to continue that relationship so I kept quiet when I met him. However, some other Vietnamese people advised me to be more "tactful". At that time, I wondered what "tactful" was, why I needed to be tactful with someone I didn't like. After the explanation, I understood what the Vietnamese meant: if I cut off the relationship with that friend, maybe in the future I would lose someone who helped me. Actually, the relationship between Japanese people is very simple so I found it difficult to understand this way of behaving of Vietnamese people. If Japanese people lose trust in others, they end the relationship or stop caring for each other. They will never be able to restore the relationship as before. On the contrary, Vietnamese people try to be gentle to maintain a long-term relationship. I think, Vietnamese people can do this because they know how to behave tactfully but also from sincere feelings.

The deeper reason is that Vietnam is an agricultural country. Agricultural life depends heavily on nature, so people need to support each other to survive. Currently, more than 60% of Vietnamese people still live in the countryside. They still maintain the lifestyle of "selling distant brothers, buying close neighbors". This means that the role of neighbors or people around is very important to the lives of Vietnamese people and they need to maintain relationships with those people. I think this is a beautiful lifestyle.

In Vietnamese people's feelings, there is a kind of feeling called "forgiveness". My teacher told me that:Dstainivohi nhyesold manohc chiunmarketablen past paintings, nguhi ViyesI neveryeahforgetUhng nguhi ViyesI have ittoforgivecongestion. I told my friends that when asked about the relationship between the Vietnamese and the Americans. They thought that the Vietnamese hated the Americans because of the war. I also explained that the Vietnamese considered the Americans as normal friends although the memories of the wars have never faded. In my opinion, this is a great advantage of the Vietnamese because forgiveness is very difficult for humans and human nature is to blame others. Being friendly and cooperating with countries that were enemies during the war could be a “secret” to help Vietnam develop quickly after the war.

I have lived in a “rational” country like Japan, so living in an “emotional” country like Vietnam has given me many interesting experiences. I do not want to say which way of life is better, nor can I conclude which way of life is right or wrong. I just want to say that living in Vietnam has given me many emotions and helped me have a more positive attitude towards life. I thank your country very much.