Category Archives: Living
Goodbye Tran Van Dang!
We will never forget our five-story house with a panoramic view of Saigon. GREAT TIMES! Everyone who came and visited our house loved to listen us say Tran Van Dang to the taxi. We had our first Christmas turkey dinner on our rooftop. We had many great nights drinking Saigon Do bia (beer) and great conversations with all of our friends. We will miss the small narrow alleyways and the bakery that sold us freshly baked baguettes for 2,000 VND ($0.10 USD). District 3 is an exciting place if you want to experience good food, hang with the locals and take in a lively part of town. We will miss our neighbors and friends out there. We decided to experience a different part of the city in Tan Binh District, which is not to far from District 3. So we can visit anytime. It was never a dull night at 79/11/5 Tran Van Dang, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.
Screw the Meds
I have always been fascinated with traditional medicine. Ever since I was a little boy, my mother has always mixed up an all-natural medical remedy when I had a fever or sore throat. She used things like lemongrass, ginger, lime and honey. I realize now that traditional medicine has always been apart of my life and now, I do it myself. Since moving to Asia I have been practicing more forms of traditional medicine. I have experienced a hot stone massage in different countries. It’s a revitalizing massage that gives you energy. In a small Vietnamese shop, I experienced what is known as cupping. This is used for blood circulation and removes the negative energy and replaces it with positive. They use glass cups and heat it with fire and place it on your back for 30 minutes or an hour. Currently, I am in search of a trustworthy place that does acupuncture. I think I am up for the challenge of having 50 sharp needles in my back.
Sore Throat Fix
3 Limes
1½ teaspoons of honey
Make sure the limes are soft and squeeze the juice into a cup. Mix it with honey. This will help you with your sore throat! Thanks mom, for this remedy that I still use today.
I got robbed so I got something they can’t steal from me
When I was 15 years old I worked at Chick-Fil-A in Orlando, Florida. I worked part-time with my brother and friends. It was a fun experience because I was able to make money and learn how to be financially independent. After one month of working at minimum wage ($5.25/hour), I made my first purchase, a gold Figaro necklace. I always wore it – I never took it off. I was very proud of it because I paid for it with my own money.
A few months of living in Saigon, my 12-year-old cherished possession was stolen from me in a blink of an eye. I was walking on Dong Khoi Street just before Tet Holiday in a crowd of people. It was a classic snatch and the thief blended into the crowd.
Things like this happen quite often in Saigon. That’s another story in itself. Petty theft in Saigon is big business. It happens to both foreigners and locals. As Vietnam continues to grow, one has to think, who will do anything to get this under control. Besides for this incident, Vietnam has been good to us and that’s why we love Vietnam!
I was incredibly upset and this just helped me make my final decision about getting a tattoo in Asia. A tattoo is definitely more permanent than a necklace. However, many people associate tattoos with the mafia in Asia. In America, tattoos are a form of expression. I got my first tattoo after my father passed away and it reminds me everyday about him.
After doing my research, I decided to get my tattoo at Lac Viet Tattoo & Piercing, a branch of Saigon Ink at 608 Dien Bien Phu. They were professionals. It took a total of 13 hours in three sittings and it was truly an experience that I will never forget. I added a design to an existing tattoo that has an Ohm and made a short sleeve. It represents my time in Asia and on my back there is an outline of Mount Fuji where I proposed to Shauna.
Kung Fu Shauna!
Before I moved to Vietnam, my good friend Khoa told me that I was pronouncing my last name wrong. Of course, in America, we take out all of the accents and tones of the Vietnamese language. So, growing up in a home where English was the only language spoken fluently (except for the occasional – ăn cốm! And đi tắm! {eat rice and take a shower}), I had no real knowledge of the Vietnamese language. Vo is actually spelled Võ. The ‘o’ is pronounced as an ‘aw’ sound and the tilde above the ‘o’ gives it an up and down tone. Thanks Khoa for preparing me.
After a few months of Vietnamese class, I found out that my last name actually means “Kung Fu!” I think it originates from China – as does a lot of things in Vietnam and the language. However, from a more recent history, Võ was actually previously Vũ. One of my teacher’s assistant’s last name is Vũ and she said that her family comes from the north. When some Vũ families migrated from the north to south, they changed their name to Võ. When I did further research, it looks like they changed it to Vũ because the given name of one of the Nguyễn lords was Vũ. The Nguyễn lords ruled South Vietnam. So in order to show respect to the lord, they changed the pronunciation to Võ.
Now, that I’ve been teaching in Vietnam for more than a year. I’ve learned that Võ really means “martial arts.” They put Võ in front of any type of martial arts, so it’s like a classifier, for example Võ Karate, Võ Judo, Võ Taekwondo.
At any rate, I still like the sound of Kung Fu Shauna.
One for the History Books
Living in Vietnam is like looking through the history books. Vietnam is a beautiful place where the people are great and the country is breathtaking. However, when people hear the country, Vietnam they automatically think of the Vietnam War, also known as the American War. We’ve been to more than 20 cities in Vietnam and each city has its own sense of uniqueness.
Saigon is special. Not only is Vietnam known for the war, but it is also known for a Buddhist monk who made a huge statement for religious freedom and equality. On June 11, 1963, Thích Quảng Đức set himself on fire and burned himself to death to protest against the Roman Catholic persecution. More than 40 years later you can still see the impact he left on Vietnam. An impressive statue that lights up at night and a memorial represents this event and the monk on the corner of Cách mạng tháng 8 and Điện Biên Phủ in Saigon. Many people pay their respects to him everyday. History is all around us. This seems to be especially true in Vietnam.
The last words of Thích Quảng Đức before his self-immolation were documented in a letter he had left:
“Before closing my eyes and moving towards the vision of the Buddha, I respectfully plead to President Ngo Dinh Diem to take a mind of compassion towards the people of the nation and implement religious equality to maintain the strength of the homeland eternally. I call the venerables, reverends, members of the sanghaand the lay Buddhists to organise in solidarity to make sacrifices to protect Buddhism.”
Photo by Journalist Malcolm Browne
Looking for a creative mind to fulfill your design needs? Shauna Vo is also a freelance graphic designer who specializes in web and print design. Feel free to browse her portfolio at