shaun darragh
@lirelou
Vietnamese expat in the USA
Forum posts
393
Contacts
8
About me
Vietnamese
Lives in Tampa
Speaks English, French, Spanish, Vietnamese (basic), some Portuguese
Registration: 16 September 2013
About
My expat journey
USA
Seoul, South Korea
Analyst
Great modern city, lots of markets for the wife, castles, old hill forts, great parks and forests. Easy access to everything on fast and reasonable public transportation.
Koreans were great company.
San German, Puerto Rico
Home was a far on a hill overlooking the Guanajibo Valley between San German and Cabo Rojo. It was my dream to return here, but no Vietnamese. Wife was very lonely.
Analyst
Late afternoons and evenings looking across the valley at the Cordillera Central from my veranda.
It had changed so much since my Uni school days, and not for the better.
Fort Clayton, Panama
Working up projects with Panamanian and other LATAM governments. This was my third assignment toPanama
Analyst
The beaches, mountains, festivals, people, food, music, travel to all LATAM nations except Chile.
Mexico City, Mexico
Worked in U.S. Embassy on Reform. Traveled from San Miguel Allende to Zihuatanejo, Acapulco, Huatulco, Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz, Tequisquiapan, and Cuernavaca as well as D.F. ANd yes, Teotijuacan.
Obscure civil servant.
Mexico as a nation state sucks. But Mexicans as a people are one of the wonders of the earth! Great food, great music, great times, wonderful friends.
I did get to see Cameron, where the Foreign Legion legend was born.
Mexican coffee is a poor cousin to Latin America coffees, and far less tastier than fresh Vietnamese brew.
Fort Bragg, NC, USA
Worked for the Joint Special Operations Command.
Analyst
Extensive travel in Latin-America ranging from a week to a month. Great place to stay in shape. Worked with the very best the U.S. military had to offer.
Never much personal time off. Wife had to travel to Vietnam alone.
Fort Clayton, Panama
Directed U.S. Army exercises and operations in the region.
Army Officer
Extended travel to all countries except Chile. Learned Portuguese (and Portagnol) to intermediate level. Took my son to Bolivia, Uruguay, Argentina, and Rio. Saw many old friends.
The Panama Crisis, very sad for everyone involved.
Montpellier, France
Attended French Army Parachute course and visited French Infantry School.
Special Forces Officer
Great food, great locations, great comradeship, and an interesting look at a very different Army. Met several French officers with Vietnamese last names.
Having to leave.
Nha Trang, Vietnam
Advisor to Vietnamese light infantry companies and reconnaissance platoon.
Special Forces officer
Wonderful people, beautiful setting, good food.
The war was a bit of an inconvenience.
Activity
New members of the Vietnam forum, introduce yourselves here - 2019 by Julien
Hi all, Newbie on the Vietnam forum? Don't know how to start? This thread is for you ;) We invite you to introduce yourself on this topic, to share with us your expat story if you are already living in the country, or to tell us more on ...
Su nombre se prenuncia en ingles "Hwancho" o "Hwanho"? Bienvenido a Viet Nam. Ya debes saber que en 1858 la expedici贸n Franco-Espa帽ola lleg贸 a Danang, donde el ej茅rcito imperial los negaron acceso a la ruta ... Read More
NO Daylight Savings Time in Vietnam by OceanBeach92107
:D https://www.timeanddate.com/time/change/vietnam
The Mexicans tried it one year we were there. I think they have since dropped it. Central and South America certainly didn't have it, nor Puerto Rico. Read More
How is Quy Nhon as a place to live as a retiree by Dennis Thomas
Hi everyone new member here Retired 65 from USA been living in the Philippines last 4 yrs. My pension is 1400 usd a month. I find I must live in the smaller providence cities here, cant afford Cebu or Manila, that have more to offer. ...
As far as Vung Tau goes, it's only a hop, skip, and a jump from Ba Ria (Baria in Aussie) which was home to the 1st Aussie (ANZAC) Task Force during the war years, and vets still pass through to visit. Many stay at Tommy's Place which is an ... Read More
Expat proposing to move to Nha Trang in Vietnam by Kem Allison
Am visiting Nha Trang for 11 days commencing 27/4/2019. Would like to make contact with an expat living there as I am contemplating buying a condominium & living there 6 months in a year. Could anybody reading this please put me in contact with ...
We had a contact with family in Nha Trang when we went house hunting in 2007. made the mistake of mentioning how much we had to invest to our contact in the US. Our contact's Uncle took us to several places of varying quality all of which were ... Read More
I just want to know what vietnamese people think. by bawindayak
First time when I come to vietnam, I think they is nice and friendly when I walk alone. but for some month I living here. I just learn about vietnamese. just one think, I don't understand about vietnamese people attitude. I think they very nasty ...
The how old are you question is common to all of East Asia, and the Vietnamese are culturally East Asian. Which bring up the question: It common among the Khmer Krom people of the Delta? Or is it used in Cambodia as well? Read More
Foreign Banks Fleeing Viet Nam by gobot
Article of interest to expats. "Fleeing" is hyperbole, and only offers speculation about why banks are leaving/divesting. Foreign Banks Fleeing Viet Nam
Neither my bank nor my credit union in the united states shut down in 2008. I even got a mortgage for a house through my US bank. Read More
Recognition of foreign qualifications in the USA by Priscilla
Hello everyone, Were your professional qualifications recognised in the USA? What country did you complete your qualifications in? What profession are you in? Did you have to go through any formalities to get your qualifications recognised, ...
Members of any profession face hurdles when coming to the United States. Judging professional qualifications such as law, medicine, accounting, or dentistry falls to the individual states or territories in which any expat resides. States may grant ... Read More
Why do some expats leave Panama? by PacificaMaryAnn
As I reach the conclusion of my second exploratory trip to Panama, I felt compelled to discuss this new phase. I want to reaffirm how important it is to spend time in Panama before selling the house, the car, and all the belongings. One month in ...
Having lived overseas much of my life, to include with pets, all I can say is that the regulations for bringing pets out of a country are established by the the country you are leaving. SO what the US says you need to do to bring a dog in does not ... Read More
Naming infant for Vietnamese birth certificate by Diazo
I know I have seen this topic covered many ties on the forum. Tried to search for it but the search function on here seems to leave a lot to be desired. I am an American Married to a Vietnamese and just gave birth to our son. One government office ...
THIGV, Back in 1968 I worked with a Vietnamese special forces sergeant named Dung, pronounced Dzung (he was from the North) who was extremely arrogant and overbearing to the Montagnard troops. We Americans always called him "Dung" around ... Read More
Is This Insane???? by Diazo
Has anyone married to a Vietnamese women with whom they had a child had the women refuse to cooperate in getting the child a Certificate of Birth Abroad ( American Father) because she thought the father would steal the child. Mine has done just ...
Diazo, I don't see that you've met her half way. She's been living with a foreigner, so her marriage chances to any Vietnamese is about 0.01%. Children are Vietnam's traditional social security. Who's going to take care of her ... Read More
Will Sapa General Hospital in Vietnam have the rabies vaccine? by r424920
I was bitten by a monkey on Cat Ba Island in Vietnam and came to Hanoi the following day to go to Hanoi Family Medical Practice Hospital. I have to receive a series of 5 rabies injections. The first three occur in one week (which I am getting at ...
Budman, as usual, you are the man to cut through the chaff and help out posters who need a real answer. A salute to you and yours, and may you have a Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year. Read More
Hard to find a job as Vietnamese American by ZePhilosopher
It's a real struggle for Vietnamese American to find an English teaching job in HCMC! I never expect the discrimination to be this bad when they only saw my name, not even my CV yet, and refused to offer me an interview. When it hits me I was ...
In the case of young Viet Kieu, it was their parents who made the decision to leave, not themselves. And since they grew up Vietnamese in a different country, it is only natural that they would want to see it someday. In many ways, they pick up ... Read More
What do you like the most in Vietnam? by Christine
Hi, Living abroad, expats discover and enjoy a new environment. What do you like the most in Vietnam? What seduced you when settling and living here? Share with us your favorite part of living in Vietnam and the reason why you enjoy ...
The best posts I've seen are by BlueNZ, Jimbream, and Ngatt. I love Vietnam, but I am intimately familiar with its downside. I knew the real Vietnam in 1968, and based on that I would never have married a Vietnamese woman merely because she was ... Read More
13 best coffee shops (translating from online news) by ngoc anh nguyen thi
like i said, this is gonna be my first thread of translating from Vietnam local newspaper, which review best places to visit, or the most popular among locals sadly that it is only available for 1 pic :( just click to check the view of those coffee ...
Ngoc Anh, You stated that Vietnam is the world's number one exporter of coffee. An internet search tells me that Brazil still is. Vietnam remains #2 with about half the exports Brazil has. The Trung Nguyen site linked by Bia Hoi also names ... Read More
10 Types of expats living in Vietnam by paultruthy
I was going through this information about the 10 types of expats in Vietnam, i feel most of what is written here is half truth, i might not totally agree with the writer, what's your view? 10 Types Of Expats In ...
AlexterBalexter. Did I read the last two lines of your 20:10 post correctly? US Army 1970-76, Vietnam? Am I to presume you were in Vietnam in 1976 while a member of the US Army? Read More