Japanese teachers fall prey to the charms of Viet Nam
by Vu Lam
Takamuki HanakoA Japanese woman says she never thought she would settle down in Viet Nam when she began teaching Japanese at the Sakura school in HCM City in 1996.
Born in the United States and raised in Hong Kong, Takamuki Hanako earned in one year only one-10th of what she made at a Tokyo-based bank.
Seven years and several contract extensions later, Hanako says she is 60 per cent "Vietnamese" and has a much easier time in the country.
"At first it was almost impossible to follow the school’s principles and follow the orders of my Vietnamese bosses," she says. "The hard sedge mat I slept on made for many sleepless nights and I lost weight.
"The best way to make it was to marry a Vietnamese colleague."
Nguyen Van Si, Hanako’s husband, says she is charmed by Viet Nam’s more comfortable working atmosphere, the warm weather and her Vietnamese in-laws, who live in her home.
Hanako is not the only one in the school to be "tied by God" to the Vietnamese. Fukuzawa Katsumi arrived in the country five years ago. He settled down with his Vietnamese wife and two daughters in Phu Nhuan District.
Katsumi says he is enjoying himself more in Viet Nam than Japan because there is less pressure from work.
"I used to feel very uncomfortable when my Vietnamese students and colleagues would miss appointments, but now I’m familiar with their bad habits," he says.
Katsumi says he felt exhausted watching television during a vist to Japan. A clock, which appeared on the corner of the screen during every programme, was nerve-wracking, he says.
Suzuki Takeshi says he has worked at the school for eight years teaching his mother tongue.
"Eight years is a period of time long enough to turn hair grey," he says. "However, I never feel bored. I enjoy cruising the rural areas and meeting farmers during my leisure time."
Takeshi says the only way to talk with many of the farmers is through body language. However, the people are hospitable and similar to those in the prefecture of Chiba in Japan.
"I’ve visited every locality in the central and southern provinces on my motorbike," he says.
Takeshi says he attributes his long stay in Viet Nam to the peace and vitality of the country.
"Japan is more crowded and the people there concentrate too much on work to talk to others," he says. "In Viet Nam, people talk while riding motorbikes side-by-side.
"Vietnamese put their hearts into everything they do. I prefer life here rather than in Japan, although things take more time and are less effective."
The Vietnamese teachers at the school say they distinguish their 15 Japanese colleagues by the hard work and devotion they bring to school.
Rector Le Cong Danh says he admires the will and devotion of his Japanese staff to their work.
"They are flexible but not easily compromised," he says. "I can rest easy when I assign jobs to my Japanese staff because they use all of their skills to finish them."
Danh says he orders school security to stop the Japanese teachers from working at the school on weekends without his permission to ensure they rest properly.
"The Japanese teachers are the cherry blossoms of the Sakura," says Danh proudly. — VNS
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This article was in December 2003, but I thought it would be nice to post this, just for a change.
The quality of life in Vietnam does attract a lot of Japanese who at first came to work (in Vietnam she earns only one tenth of her former salary!), and then either they come again and again, or they settle down for good and enjoy life in Vietnam...
mmm?
ii will even listen to vietanmese language for pho. 
sugar cane juice, all tropical fruit shakes... 
I love Viet Nam