When someone asks me about cultural differences between western and eastern countries, I think about mindset.
I’m not sure that it’s completely right but that’s what I had suffered. And I can tell you something:
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How social prejudices are.
If you were born in an eastern country, you would know how people prefer boys to girls. I think it is a kind of gender discrimination.
In Vietnam, hardly girls went to school before the 18th century. People think boys should go to school because boys will become husbands and make money to take care of their families. It is unfair.
Besides, girls must follow outdated customs which are no longer suitable. Sometimes they make girls’ lives worse. I hate that.
I know it somewhat used to be the same in the past in western countries but not now.
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How you were taught about life.
When I learned at school, teachers always asked me to think the same as they thought. I have never thought it was a good idea.
Your life should be decided by yourself. No one can ask anyone to do what they want. I was requested to learn like a photocopy machine and did not create anything. I didn’t do that and then my teachers discussed with my parents how badly I was behaving.
Maybe it is not a good thing but I can show them what I think and wanna do. I wanna keep my mind consistent and do what I think is new and different.
My friends learned at UK school and were not requested like me. They can create something new and amazing. I wish I would be taught like that.
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Relationship: family, friends, and wife/husband
Relationships in eastern culture are so complex, while it is so simple in western.
I live in Vietnam, an eastern country. We always have many cousins whom I can’t remember who they are. It is really bad.
When you were a child, your parents always asked you to learn more and more. They were proud of your achievement and pushed you every day. They never understand how you feel. I usually feel tired when I think about that.
When you are an adult, everyone keeps asking you how much you earn from your jobs, when you marry, when you have babies, and many other questions… day by day. I think they are so talkative. What they are doing makes my quality of life decrease.
Do they know that or I must tell them?
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Independent life in eastern countries is not the same as that in western countries.
In a western country, you can move out of your parents’ house easily when you are an adult. But it is not the case when you live in Vietnam.
If you do that, your parents will ask you many questions and your cousins keep asking you until you go crazy. They think you are unloyal.
I can’t understand why they can think like that. I decide where I live and whom I live with. I live my life, not them.
How do you feel?
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Make more and more efforts if you wanna succeed.
Most Vietnamese are traditional. That is why they don’t like new things. If you create something new, please prepare your mind that your plans can be fiercely opposed.
That is why I said you should try more and more.
When I say that, it does not mean that you can not succeed, just with a little more difficulty.
Do you know Mark Zuckerberg? He created Facebook, a new social network. Many Harvard students used and advocated for him. That is one of the reasons for his success.
You can realize they are so open-minded. And that helps your new ideas come to reality.
In a nutshell, we always have many troubles because of eastern countries. But it is not completely negative. You can still change something by raising your voice about opinions that you care about.
Sometimes, you should learn how to adapt to the local culture.
Carmen
