Citygal:
Nigeria is hard to live, wahala for who no dey ready to japa.

Hi Whyna,
Hope you are doing great.

One quick question, can I still relocate to Việt Nam even without an ESL job offer yet and I’d get one when I arrive (with vigorous application, of course)?

Also, please come and give us hope, we await this week’s edition

Big YES

Big YES[/quote]

Hi WhyNa, glad to know you're doing fine. Please check your email. I sent you a PM. Thanks.

WhyNa:


Big YES

Thank you.

Richdee1:


Where the money dey for Aussie? Na Express sure pass

I like Aussie sha but i fear their wildlife.

NiklauseFred:

I like Aussie sha but i fear their wildlife.

One of Natures Attribute that turns me on

Richdee1:


One of Natures Attribute that turns me on

Untill you see snake for ur W.C

NiklauseFred:


Untill you see snake for ur W.C

Lolzz.. And I won't be able to kill it. I'll have to call people that's in charge of Animals.. *Grins*

Richdee1:


Lolzz.. And[b]I won't be able to kill it. I'll have to call people that's in charge of Animals[/b] .. *Grins*

Love this response.
You're one step away from being in a saner clime.

NiklauseFred:


Love this response.
You're one step away from being in a saner clime.

Or the snake is one step away from being in my pot of stew

Joohan:



Or the snake is one step away from being in my pot of stew

Do that there and you will get one free ticket to Africa.

Joohan:


Or the snake is one step away from being in my pot of stew

Be like your Village people don follow you reach there. Naija Straight up!

Richdee1:


Be like your Village people don follow you reach there. Naija Straight up!

I dey tells you! Na free ticket Dem go give am

WhyNa:


Big YES

l have been a silent ready if your thread. I will send you dm base on this answer

Richdee1:


Be like your Village people don follow you reach there. Naija Straight up!

Even if you're in harms way you shouldn't protect yourself? What if the snake is posinous or kills you before someone arrives?

Just curious.

Plead:


Even if you're in harms way you shouldn't protect yourself? What if the snake is posinous or kills you before someone arrives?

Just curious.

Bro to be honest, I no get answer to this.. we suppose protect ourselves. A niggar would kill it and it would end in the pot. Dinner ready��

Got a mail this morning that issuing of visa may be suspended till February 2021

iamadonis2:
Got a mail this morning that issuing of visa may be suspended till February 2021

visa to which country and what source?

Hey guys, hope everyone's doing fine.

I've been following the news on the happenings in Nigeria especially the hike in food stuff and it greatly saddens my heart.

Not to further dampen your spirits but I've been meaning to do a write up on a particular topic but haven't found the time.

So today, I want to talk about the downs I had when I first moved. Some believe it's all rosy immediately you land and hope to blow in 3 months. It's not always the case, it takes time to adjust. For some, it could actually be smooth from when they land, there's nothing God can't do. So here's a moment by moment challenge I encountered in my first .....say 6 months. I've been here for 9 months and believe me, I'm still learning.

1) Starting to spend my money from the airport on unnecessary things.

So I had a BTA of 1000 USD. In my mind, I was like what's wrong if I spend a few dollars. Now don't get me wrong, some things are essential but you have to choose and spend wisely. Once you leave, things go begin enter your eyes and e go dey do you to buy buy, try try like I don see these things for fim. Make I try am. Resist that urge! Time will come when you'll get tired of those things!!!

During the long lay over in Doha, I was soooo tired and sleepy and looked for a hotel to book. Kai. Thank God they were fully booked because I finally saw that there are places called quiet areas with comfortable reclining seats and couches where you can sleep peacefully. There are loooots of bathrooms for you to have privacy and freshen up wisely.

I also spent money on snacks and food I couldn't finish cos it was much and the taste wasn't okay for me. I saw things I knew in the menu ooo, but I wanted to try something new. The money I spent on that useless chips would have bought me food straight up. That chips cost me more than 15 dollars or so. I landed and the same chips no reach 1 dollar here.

Let me pause and cry small....

2) Staying in a hotel for 1 week.

Now this was inevitable but the money I spent in one week was half of one month's rent.

I could have gone for a cheaper place but remember I had money on me so I had to be careful. I also had foodstuffs that needed to be opened and aired cos of the heat from packaging for days.

If you have someone here, it's best to ask the person to help you get an apartment you can move into as you land. However, don't rely on pictures sent. Do a video call with the person and see the house from the street till they enter they house and all. Agoda and booking dot come is also a good place.

For guys who travel light, you can actually stay in a hostel with bunk beds and save lots of money but generally, I still don't advice this. Safety and cleanliness issues.

Whatever you do, don't stay more than a week in a hotel, home stay or hostel. Start exploring and looking for house the day or next

Always happy to read from you. Thanks a lot for this update.

Btw, I heard there are some natural disasters happening in vietnam, how true/false is it??

I pray God keeps guarding and protecting you.

Amen!!

WhyNa:
2) Staying in a hotel for 1 week.

Now this was inevitable but the money I spent in one week was half of one month's rent.

I could have gone for a cheaper place but remember I had money on me so I had to be careful. I also had foodstuffs that needed to be opened and aired cos of the heat from packaging for days.

If you have someone here, it's best to ask the person to help you get an apartment you can move into as you land. However, don't rely on pictures sent. Do a video call with the person and see the house from the street till they enter they house and all. Agoda and booking dot come is also a good place.

For guys who travel light, you can actually stay in a hostel with bunk beds and save lots of money but generally, I still don't advice this. Safety and cleanliness issues.

Whatever you do, don't stay more than a week in a hotel, home stay or hostel. Start exploring and looking for house the day or next

3) I was sent money from home to be able to pay rent. I actually accepted jobs as low as $6

Shocker right

So remember before I traveled, I got a job offer for $900 a month which I rejected. During this period, I almost wished I didn't reject it but now thankful I did.

I arrived late February, March end lockdown began. Schools closed, no jobs, no income but rent and bills still had to be paid.

By this time, I had spent money on a bike, one month rent and deposit, feeding, transportation and some other things and I was running low..

Parents had the upper hand now as teachers were looking for jobs and everything was online.Westerners actually took to the streets begging. I KID YOU NOT!
In order to stay afloat, I accepted every and anything. It wasn't enough but it was something and better than being idle. Then, that 6 dollars was like gold to me and if I hear or see a price tag of even $5 dollars, my heart will first walk away.

I remember one Naija guy paying 6 months rent at once during that period and in my mind I was like God when.

There were times I cried. There were times I thought about staying or going home but even plane ticket money no dey. There were times I wondered whether rejectiing that 900 dollars job was a mistake.

This period lasted from March till May. This was also the lockdown period and 100% due to the Covid-19 situation in the world.

By June, things picked up and in July, I made the highest money since coming to Vietnam just by working part time. By end of June, I had multiple job offers with lots of packages which I have already shared in this group

SpeciallyUnique:
Always happy to read from you. Thanks a lot for this update.

Btw, I heard there are some natural disasters happening in vietnam, how true/false is it??

I pray God keep guarding and protecting you.

Amen!!

Thanks. This is very true. It's affecting only the Central Vietnam areas though. The flooding no be here and many have lost their life and home destroyed.

But if you see the support from all and sundry, you'll marvel. Even the kids in school donated books or toys, individuals, government and all these things reached the people affected.

No storing in warehouse

4) I think I sent out up to 100 mails

Since I was always indoors, I spent majority of my time sending out mails. I applied to all and everything.

Did I get replies? Sometimes. Schools were just recovering from the Covid-19 situation so response was slow as they too had to recover.

I much later learnt that majority of the mail's I sent aren't read because they receive lots of mails so they sometimes don't read all.

Another thing that was kinda working against me was I was actually picky as I didn't want to leave Hanoi and wasn't willing to accept the small salary being offered to NNES so it took longer.

I also found another tactic. I sent out mail, then CALLED! If there's a phone number, I'm definitely calling and telling you I already sent my CV and we talk further.. Chances they speak a little English is hirgh so calling wasn't a problem. If you don't speak English, I translate and send you a text in Vietnamese.

This method also yielded a lot of fruit.

In the end, the multiple job offers I got was a result of the above

5) Make friends with Vietnamese and go with them to buy things you need. I still regret the first set of cloth shopping I did

So it's just like back in Naija, how you know that Oyingbo and mile 12 iare the best places for food stuff and alaba for electronic and co, it's the same here.

Yes you can actually get all you want from the supermarket but trust me, you'd get cheaper things when you have a Vietnamese friend wey Sabi.

For example, I like snacking and have gotten used to having dessert after each meal. Before, I used to do Doritos, yoghurt or some Korean snack. I can comfortably afford these things but variety they say is the spice of life and I've come across some locally made snacks that are really really good and cheap.

Same with clothing. You'd marvel at the winter jackets I bought at a give away price. Something I would have bought at triple the price if I had gone to the shopping mall.

Some random facts...


1) Rush hour: There's what we call rush hour here. These are times when people go to work/school, after lunch and after work. There is usually heavy traffic at these times and if you're going somewhere, leave on time. The time is usually between 7am to 9am, 1:00pm to 2pm and 5pm to 7pm


2) Bum gun. Vietnamese people are not into toilet papers, just a few of them so in every and I mean every toilet, there's a bum gun for tamba after you are done with your business


3) Wires hanging low: This is one of the things that will amaze you when you get here. You'll see very as in extremely low hanging NEPA wire, lots and lots and coils and coil of them hanging in every allley way but funny enough, I haven't heard that anyone got electrocuted. The thing dey fear me when I first come but now, I don't even notice again


4) When you first start teaching, 30 minutes will seem ike an eternity to you talk more of 1 hour 30 minutes especially if you're teaching kindergarten. In the long run, you'd crave for 1 hour 30 minutes lessons not just for the pay but because that's just enough time to teach and sing and play with the kids.

When you go back to 1 hour lessons after tasting 1 hour 30 minutes, you'd always run out of time without finishing your lesson till you get used to it. In time, you'll normalize


5) Weight: Vietnamese people don't weigh much. An average 25-32 year old Vietnamese lady would weigh between 45-50kg. Shocker. Imagine their surprise when they see my weight. The kids are very light

6) Be mindful when renting a house here. There is this smell that emanates from the bathroom drainage hole and it can be pretty bad and stinky

7) Don't drink the tap water. I don't even use it to cook. Some people say it damages their hair too and they have to buy a shower filter to reduce the effect.


Buy malaria drugs that has a long shelf life and toothbrush when coming. Pharmacies don't sell over the counter malaria drugs and you have to go to a hospital first. All the toothbrushes here are as soft as a pillow

9) If you have a bike, invest in a good helmet. It will really protect you during the four seasons trust me

Thanks for the update @whyna but I gotta ask these days it's not only about the money anymore for we nigerians, moving forward do you plan on getting naturalized in VT if yes what steps are you're going to take to achieve this?? Good morning

dehiero:
Thanks for the update @whyna but I gotta ask these days it's not only about the money anymore for we nigerians, moving forward do you plan on getting naturalized in VT if yes what steps are you're going to take to achieve this?? Good morning

Hello, I plan on staying here for a while. It's a good place to make money while spending only a little. It will give me time to save up.

I have it in mind to move after some years. Also, I'm a lady so some percentage depends on my other half.

Also, naturalization in Vietnam is extremely difficult so the answer is no. Stay, work, save up and move

dehiero:
Thanks for the update @whyna but I gotta ask these days it's not only about the money anymore for we nigerians, moving forward do you plan on getting naturalized in VT if yes what steps are you're going to take to achieve this?? Good morning

Seems you want to hook up with Vietnam babe.

If you got the means, just save and enter more better Country

WhyNa:


Hello, I plan on staying here for a while. It's a good place to make money while spending only a little. It will give me time to save up.

I have it in mind to move after some years. Also, I'm a lady so some percentage depends on my other half.

Also, naturalization in Vietnam is extremely difficult so the answer is no. Stay, work, save up and move

other half lol

mygee2:

other half lol

Other half, better half, future hubby, as long you understand, I move

WhyNa:

Other half, better half, future hubby, as long you understand, I move

maybe better half follow dy read ur thread sef

dlordy100:

maybe better half follow dy read ur thread sef

dlordy100 how many times did I call you?? Face your front ok?