I am a non-Vietnamese male in Saigon. I have known a girl here who is 23 years old for a few years and have fallen for her. She used to work for me, so it was out of the question, but now she works somewhere else. This is the first time I have seen her without her working for me. I come to Vietnam once a year only. I believe she feels the same towards me, and we had a great time at dinner last night. Before I leave I would like to give her a gift to show her how I feel towards her, and was hoping someone could give me an idea of what would be an appropriate gift to give her. Since I am not from here, I don't know if what I would do for a girl from my country would be appropriate for a Vietnamese girl living in Saigon. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hum... I figured YOU would know more about her. Maybe if you post a pic of her, we can help you out....

LOL @ VietPunk... 2


To metsfan1190,
If you don't know which gift this girl like, we don't know it either. It's all depend on the girl. Some Saigon girls can be very demanding I suggest you research more about this girl, it will save you much problem later on.

Ask her to marry you. That's what she is wanting.

Tell her "anh muo^'n cu*o*'i em vi` vu' em to qua' " or "em thi'ch bu' hay lie^'m?" I think it means "i want to go out with you because you are so beautiful" and "do you like to go to the movie or eat?", respectively.

A lot of viet girls in saigon are high damanding now. Well, they have good reasons to be. I think God accidently gave us viet too many good-looking genes....unlike the rest. Hahaha i'm just kidding...unless you agree, then i'm being serious. And only those with a brain would agree.

**watch, some lame-@$$ non-viet is gonna start some shiet.**

All in serious, you should tell her with words. And you coming in once a year is kinda....eck. Anyways, if she's the shy type, you have to make the first, because she won't, even if she feels the same way. Watch out though, never know she might be one of them that goes for foreigners for money and a free trip outside vietnam. Then bye bye to you. Try those pick-up lines a provided, would at least crack her up...i hope.

how sweet of you. Perhaps, you should visit her house and meet her family. Bring them gifts. The best way to a Viet girls heart is to go through her parents first.
Unlike Western culture, many Vietnamese girls are still very obediant to their parent and to get their parent approval first will do you good in the long run. You want an appropriate gift: jewelry...Vietnamese women are like Western women in this regard. They like the same thing. It depends on how big your pocket book is. If you're cheap...then welll...good luck friend.

yes also be warn...if you're a foreigners be esspecially careful around her family. Don't say something is stinky even though it is. Be polite and respect Vietnamese culture and you'll do fine. I will say that some family do not want their daugthers associating themselves with people other than vietnamese. Depends on the family.

By the way, how old are you. You better not be some little punk kid with no career. Vietnamese women (the good ones) value education and stable family.

Yes, Vietnamese girls care a great deal about their families. If you want her hand, you will have to meet her family, parents, older sibblings: they have great deal of influence on her decision and it is considered disrespectful if you don't.

If I were you, I would buy her family something they could use and give you an excuse to be there, like a computer, some programmes for the compute if they have one already, which is doubtful, help them to connect to the internet, pay for the internet connection, teach them about surfing, buy them a program to learn Enghlish etc..... Then you will have all the excuses to come and teach them something every time. You will have to give the family a gift first to get their permission - an indication that you are asking them for approval - and then give her some jewelery. The gift has to be to the parents or older sibblings first, and give yourself the excuse to be there . That is how you have in. Vietnamese culture is all about respect and providing for one another. If you are stingy, they would see you as selfish.

Herosword is right in this one, but he is still playing with 50yrs crap and worming around in it.

Remember we have never needed separation of Church and state, in fact the opposite was when we were harmonious and great; and we never have segregation although many try to, but the significant part of the poeple do not judge you simply based on the color of the skin.

These two have never been the core of our culture, and history

Your White aren't you.

Yes he is non Vietnamese. It has never been an issue to us Vietnamese. Hmong people are great Vietnamese too. They are not individualistic. They are very brave , loving and down to earth people. They live very close to the nature , thus the color of the skin is not important to them as well, right .

A picture of her. Now that's funny.

Thank you all so much for the advice. Yes I am white. No, I am not some little kid playing a joke or something like that. I am very sincere. I am successful in business as a regional sales manager for Asia, and well educated with a college degree in economics and a MBA in Finance. I am not stingy at all. In fact, I tend to overspend for gifts for friends and family, so that is not an issue. Likewise, I know that some girls may just be looking for money/free trip out of Vietnam, but I have known this girl long enough to know that she is not like that. I am not looking to put her name on my bank account, I just want to give her a gift before I leave so she has something to be reminded of me while I am gone; something besides words. But I also want to make sure that what I do is respective of the culture here.

It would be a lot easier to go through her parents if they lived around here, but it is a 9 or 10 hour drive to where they live. She lives with her older brother here in HCMC, so perhaps I could meet him and give him a gift to show respect to the family, until I had the chance to meet her parents.

I appreciate everyone's reply. You have all been most helpful.

could it be? someone just want some viet @$$ before he leaves. And then more @$$ the next time he comes. Cuzz you know, @$$ is good, tight viet @$$. Man that's gonna cost you. .

just kidding bro. I can kimda understand your situation. You know you want the girl and think about her all the time, but it seems so difficult, not only you are non-viet, but because you are always busy with work and other things. (you wish you met/knew her in a different situation, say if you met her because she is in your class for college). Everything is so hard, but you know you can't let that one special girl go forever.

btw, have you tried the cool catch lines i showed you up there? Well, do it!

If you go away for another year, you should let her know your feeling before you leave. She is 23, who know next year she will marry other guy.

Older sibblings act in place of parents, when parents are not around. Yes, you will have to give something to the parents and older brother, otherwise some girl would not accept the gift, if her brother or parents say to her: " you can not accept it , since he did not show proper respect". When meeting will parents or older sibblings , you will have to show respect, shaking with two hands, and buttons your shirt , wear long trousers, be formal to show respect. Traditional Vietnamese families have hierachy that has to be followed. Very wise to ask for our opinion on this subject and I wish you well. When you tight the knot let us know and we will congratulate you.

Marry her.