Lean In Vietnam

Truc on a tuk-tuk.

Truc on a tuk-tuk while traveling in Cambodia.

Let me tell you about my friend Truc.

A master’s student studying hospitality in Singapore, Truc is from Vietnam. The tourism and hospitality industry is booming in the rapidly developing South East Asian country, and by studying in the influential city-state Singapore where she can fine-tune her English, Truc has more opportunities and a better chance of getting a good job when she returns to Vietnam.

Like my Chinese friend Olivia, Truc is crazy talented, and as a passionate foodie and traveler, she’s previously traveled throughout South East Asia as a travel writer, and never turns down a chance to try somewhere new.

I’ve been lucky enough to stay in touch via email and Facebook with Truc after we worked together in Ho Chi Minh City, and I was thrilled to see she’d emailed me to respond to my recent post about my Chinese friend Olivia and what she thought of the book Lean In. Many of the links are in Vietnamese, but you can figure them out if you use a Google Chrome browser with the built-in translation on.

What I’ve appreciated the most about reading and sharing Lean In are the stories and genuine exchanges shared with friends and family–all over the world. This international exchange has meant a lot to me, and if you’ve gotten something out of this story, I would love it if you could share this post with your friends on Facebook, Twitter (@GinnyTonkin), or LinkedIn.

A little piece of Truc’s brain.

___

Ginny oi, how are you doing? Just finished reading “What do women in China think of Facebook coo Sheryl Snadberg’s book Lean In?” Great piece of writing and lots to think about actually. It made me run straight to the keyboard, and yes had to write something to you.

I’ve read some articles recently about women in China who were trying to get married to rich old men by signing up for a “contest” in which they would be interviewed or have to perform some basic skills in housework such as ironing, washing clothes, sewing etc. So is it proving that “Most Chinese women look for money, appearance, a house and a car?” and they’ll try every way to make it become reality? Thinking about that makes me sad. Sad because that society with such a narrow mindset has pushed the women in the maze of doing what people want them to do instead of doing what they love to do, and more importantly “focusing on what’s really inside.”

I’m attaching a link (Sorry this is written in Vietnamese, no English versions) which describes the “contest,” the way young ladies in a part of China take part in the “contest,” and wait to be picked to become wives. I don’t think that’s how a marriage starts off. Are ladies just like items in the market that men can stop by, start to choose the suitable one(s), bargain and then just grab one if the deal is made?While reading all those words in your writing, more or less I’ve found a shadow of Vietnam’s society in which women in the countryside still have to follow the old path of their parents and listen to whatever they tell them to do, getting married at a very young age in particular. Here are some other links. Men from China looking for partners in Vietnam’s countryside.

But it’s not just about marriage, women should be equally treated even in their families, in the workplace and everywhere. They can be primary earners but still, have the right to receive an equal responsibilities and salaries as well. Simply they just deserve it.

Being different is not acceptable as well… in most Asian societies. At school, at work and even worse in the family, it’s hard for others to accept that you’re different, especially if you’re a girl. I mean different in your own way, different but not weird.

When all of this will end and stop negatively influencing the generation nowadays, I don’t know, but I’m giving high hopes that there are still people like you, Olivia and Sheryl (Sorry but I haven’t got a chance to read Lean In, they don’t have it here in Singapore : )) who will be able to keep inspiring people to live their life and and “find the value of love and life.” : )

___

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *