Third Culture Kid, Designer And Content Creator | Chris Nguyen S5 E5

Chris Nguyen is a third culture kid born and raised in the UK to Vietnamese and Chinese parents.

He’s a self-taught product design leader, facilitator, and creator. His journey into content creation happened during the pandemic.

He now documents his journey on Youtube covering Creativity, Life in Asia, Unemployment, and The Human Condition.

Subscribe to his podcast Ranting Bananas on Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts and his YouTube channel Semigrownkid.

You can also follow Chris on Instagram.

Shout outs in this episode to 

Creators in Saigon Podcast

Ho Chi Minh Expat Group Saigon

and please support 

The Green Bamboo Center - Cơ sở Bảo trợ Xã hội Tre Xanh

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Transcript

S5 E5 Chris Ngyuen Full - 2:15:21, 19.46

[00:00:00] Thank you for listening to 7 million banks of Vietnam podcast. My name's Niall Mackay and I'm your host. We have a great episode this week with Chris and when Chris is a third culture kid, and we're going to talk more about that in this episode and the moment he stranded in Bangkok and weeding on his paperwork so that he can come back to Saigon.

[00:00:29] And I'm looking forward to catching up with them when he does. Chris runs a podcast called renting bananas. So make sure that you check that out anywhere that you can find podcasts. And also look him up on YouTube. He's got a channel called semi grown kid each week. I want to highlight another amazing content producer in Vietnam.

[00:00:47] This week. I want to give a shout out to the creators in Saigon podcast. You can find the link to that in the show notes. Make sure you check them out. That's co-hosted by Dina, DRI hosts, Nicholas tan, and two AC in [00:01:00] wind. And they have new episodes every Thursday morning. So make sure to check them out and the interview ex-pat and local creatives and entrepreneurs on personal growth.

[00:01:08] Relationships health identity cultures, and more so quite a broad range and really, really interesting. So I'll make sure that you check them out and then also make sure that if you haven't already, wherever you are listening to this podcast, go and make sure you subscribe or follow whether it's Spotify, Apple, podcasts, Google podcasts, or any number of different ways that you can find those.

[00:01:28] Make sure you give a Lake and a follow. And then also please go onto social media. Cause I know you're all on there. Go on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. Sales for 7 million bakes and you can subscribe on there as well. So I hope you enjoy this episode and thank you very much for listening. Okay.

[00:01:51] Episode five of season five of 7 million bakes a Vietnam podcast. Thank you for listening to this episode. My guest today [00:02:00] is actually calling all the way in, um, via zoom. From Bangkok where he's stuck at the moment waiting to get back into Vietnam. Like many people are I'm one of the lucky people that won the lottery ticket of being in Vietnam during the pandemic, and been able to live a relatively normal life here compared to the rest of the world.

[00:02:20] So my D my guest today, he's a designer, but user interface and user experience, um, and become more of a content creator. Now he's a third culture kid. Um, he's from the UK. And he's coming back to Saigon soon. So check out his YouTube channel, which is called semi grown kids and his podcast, which you can find on Spotify or Apple podcasts everywhere called renting bananas.

[00:02:45] And you'll find some really interesting topics in there. It covers a really wide range of topics. Um, and I saw Chris, you just posted today that your niche is that you don't have a niche. Is that right? And my guest today is Chris wind. Sorry. Yes, I, uh, [00:03:00] thank you. Thank you for that awesome introduction. I did post today.

[00:03:04] Uh, I'm deciding not to have a niche. I think it's more of a clickbait title, but it was this idea I was playing around with in terms of like, why do you need to decide when you first start? Because I've only just started on this content creation journey. So I'd kind of, don't want to lock myself down and be, uh, as I said, one dimensional in the video.

[00:03:26] So, yeah, that, that's my, um, journey and I'm sure I will niche down when I figure out what I want to talk about. Um, eventually. Yeah. And it made me then look at your podcast a bit more closely and because I've only just come across it in the last week and we connected and we're, we'd said let's, let's do an interview.

[00:03:48] And the topics that you cover. Are really broad. So just today I was looking, I was like, okay, so you talk about user experience, which is obviously what your background is talking about. Design. [00:04:00] And then the next episode I looked at was like all about, um, in or sex and gender sick.

[00:04:09] I was like, yeah, no, he really doesn't have a niche. Yeah. I think as like people, right. We're just so into so many things. So we thought, Hey, why don't we just create a space where we can literally talk about anything we want? Of course we'll have a topic for that episode, but you know, we're interested in so many things, music, sports work, and just random things.

[00:04:33] And there's lots of interesting topics to speak about. So why just speak about. Design for example. Right. Um, I just, yeah, I just, I just kind of love that sort of outlet where you can be creative and just kind of just speak about lots of different things. I think, I think that's really interesting to me, you tie down a niche eventually, or you think you continue on my niches is not to have a niche.

[00:05:01] [00:05:00] I mean, at the end of the video, there was a really good. Quote from Gary Vaynerchuk, Gary V. And he says, Um, his, like, he doesn't have a niche. Right. Cause it's better to be as broad as possible, uh, and be fully you and fully authentic. And then, so you become the niche, however, that's harder than it sounds because he's this marketing genius and you know, he's been wildly successful, so people just kind of want to replicate what he does.

[00:05:30] But I believe that. Sure. If you don't have a niche, it might be hard to like. For content creation gross. Um, but I think everybody's looking for authenticity anyway. Right. So if you are you, then it doesn't matter. And maybe my channel won't be like teaching someone how to knit right. Or teaching someone designed skills.

[00:05:50] Uh, but I might do something like that. Um, I'm really not sure about what the niches, uh, I don't plan to. Have one soon, [00:06:00] unless it's something that it's like a light bulb aha moment. And I could spend the rest of my life talking about this subject for sure. To meet me. No think like I have, cause when I started this podcast, I never thought like, what's my niche.

[00:06:12] It was just, let's do this for some fun. So then it made me think like, well, what is, do I have a niche? I guess main is storytelling and no Reba. I've adopted the kind of tagline. Everyone has a story just because that is what 7 million Bates has been from the beginning. My inspiration was, um, just, I was doing the dishes one day and I wanted a hobby and I was like, I love podcasts.

[00:06:34] I was like, I'm going to start a podcast. And, and what I knew right away, what I want to share people's stories because living in Saigon, there's so many interesting people here, and sometimes it does a thing here where people get pigeonholed into being a teacher. And it can almost, it's really bad sometimes even though teachers are held with such high reverence in Vietnam within ex-pats, if you can give people say the, but like they'll just a [00:07:00] teacher, which is horrible, you know, you're not just a teacher, you're a teacher.

[00:07:03] You'd be proud of that. So some people get pigeonholed into that. Like I'm a teacher or whatnot. But actually, when you get to know these people, they're from all over the world, they've had all these experiences, all these backgrounds, they do all these different things, have all these different passions and they're not defamed by being just a teacher.

[00:07:22] So I think that was part of it. And so a lot of the guests that I've had on 7 million bytes, Have been teachers, but we don't even mention it. And not because we're trying to hate it would just maybe come up briefly, but we talk about the other stuff and it's the same as well. I get asked because I'm a comedian also, you do a comedy podcast and I'm like, no, no, my podcast.

[00:07:42] Totally separate from my comedy. Like I interview a lot of comedians, but only because I know them and I can ask them, but we don't really talk about comedy that much. Like if you go listen to the episode with EG Miller, which is one of my favorite episodes, and she's not even just a comedian, she's a [00:08:00] singer or performer, a teller, a tattoo artist.

[00:08:03] Um, A personal trainer, but her whole episode is about how her dad was in the Vietnam war and how that had affected him and higher. And it was this really emotional, deep, deep episode. And, um, so went on no long tangent, but just to say that, I think that that would be the niche, I guess, of 7 million bytes is just telling people's stories.

[00:08:25] Yeah. And I think that's, you know, it gives you a lot of room to play with, right? Because you're going, you're definitely going broad. And I think one of the reasons why me, you both love Vietnam is because, um, there's so many personalities, as you said, you know, the name of the podcast is 7 billion bikes, which is a.

[00:08:41] Amazing name. Uh, I might add. Yeah. And exactly. I think that's why we love it because it's so dynamic and there's so many different people from different backgrounds and you're quite right. Just the teacher is just such a terrible label. Right. And I think [00:09:00] that we have a. Similar take on, on this area where it's like, you know, you can be a teacher, you can be anybody, right.

[00:09:08] Whereas with a profession, but that doesn't necessarily define who you are because you know, there's a journey of growth there. Uh, you know, you're maybe a teacher one day or designer one day, and then you do some other thing. You don't have to just be just one thing. And oftentimes we get labeled that one thing.

[00:09:26] Like create, like designers always get labeled, uh, creatives. Right. So when it comes to anything like business orientated, like business, people just don't respect them. Uh, and I've seen that like corporates and stops and stuff like that. So it's like this very weird stereotype. I know also designers are supposed to be like the cool kids or whatever.

[00:09:48] Right. But there are these stereotypes that exist like around and it's just like really not healthy. Uh, uh, it's only if you subscribe to that belief. Right. And, and I don't believe you [00:10:00] do. Um, but you know, a lot of people do. So. Yeah. I mean, do you have a broad enough sort of spectrums that then you can dive into all these avenues?

[00:10:08] And I think that's, that's a great start because unless you figure out what you really, really love and really, really passionate, then give yourself some breathing room at the end of the day, this is it's a creative outlet. So let that be, you know, your playground for, for, for these things that you're trying to do.

[00:10:24] So that's really cool. Yeah, no, that's cool. Thank you very much. Um, so tell me then how did you go from being a designer to a content creator yourself? So I moved to Bangkok in 2019 for this job. Uh, I was leading a design team. Here in Bangkok for this pretty large company. And I found myself not really sort of fitting into the corporate culture.

[00:10:54] I had primarily worked at startups in Vietnam and Mexico and the U S [00:11:00] so. I, I didn't really fit in and I was like, Oh, what's happening? And actually the, uh, the culture, the working culture was fairly toxic. Uh, not obviously the Thai culture, but just specifically the working culture. And I just. Didn't really find my happy place.

[00:11:17] It was basically my dream job, because I had always wanted to like lead a design department in an organization and being sort of one to make decisions and sort of, you know, uh, lead the charge in that way. But it just wasn't the right place. I was already set up for success and eventually. I left in July, June, 2020.

[00:11:41] Uh, and I was like, okay, well, what am I going to do now? And the original plan was traveling, but of course the pandemic hit in March and everything was on hold or lockdown here in March. So. It was just a great space to sort of explore, right. I always wanted to do like [00:12:00] a podcast, make videos. I had been thinking about this, but because work has always been the main focus.

[00:12:08] Um, And he used to travel a lot for work as well. So it was just like, I just didn't have time to do these things right. Invest time to learn about, um, you know, production or, or cinema photography or anything like that. So that then I just had all this time stuck at home. What do you do? You go into Zada, you buy some equipment and then you just start creating and watching lots of YouTube videos and, and, uh, I guess the rest is history.

[00:12:36] That's awesome. And it's been interesting to see, you know, that creative outlet, I guess, or just the different ways that people. Have had to deal with this pandemic. Um, the last episode, talking with ne Corcoran about how that's affected dating and how it's affected, she's a designer as well, um, or run or heads up a design agency and how that's affected these things.

[00:12:59] And [00:13:00] everyone's just trying to, I guess, figure out new ways of doing things, right? Yeah. I think, um, Yeah, there are some inspiring stories about like how someone like pushed through the pandemic, right? Like whether they, you know, spend time on crafting a hobby or they just discover different things about themselves.

[00:13:21] And, um, it's interesting that, you know, some people that have really like, sort of propelled from this time of like introspection and self-reflection because like now you have to care about. Things you actually care about you don't have the distractions and all that, these lights and shiny things that you always have to chase.

[00:13:40] It always have to be busy. You can really sort of like spend time inside your own mind inside your own house, which is like crazy at first, right. To deal with. But now it's, it's kind of enlightening. So, uh, for me, there's a. A whole like new, like refocus and realignment of, of, of [00:14:00] how I want to, you know, proceed with like work staff and, and social stuff.

[00:14:05] So it's been really insightful. I think. And I'm going to, I'm going to contradict what I just said, because on the flip side of that, I remember last year when the pandemic really first hit the bus LA Bernstein and, and there was some segment of people that will say, you know, now's the time, just start your side hustle knows the team to teach, start that business that you want to do.

[00:14:28] You've got no more excuses is any more like, you know, this is now blah, blah, blah. But then I saw stuff come up after that, they were saying. No, like it's all key to be overwhelmed right now. It's all care and not be creative. It's okay. Not to want to start your side business. You can just hunker down and, and do what you need to do for you.

[00:14:52] And the, the most interesting thing I saw we compared to it was like, you know, Maslow's hierarchy of needs where the, at the base of the pyramid, your needs [00:15:00] is like shelter, food, water, then it kind of moves up. I can't even remember, but, and it goes all the way up to and creativity at like the pinnacle of that hierarchy of needs.

[00:15:09] So you have to make sure your, your base needs are taken care of before you even have the, the wherewithal to be able to give that creative outlet or that spiritual outlet, whatever it is for you. And when the pandemic hit and when everyone's jobs are being lost or people having to work from home or whatnot, your main focus is just on those lower, um, needs.

[00:15:32] And I felt that like when we had, we didn't even have one big, long bone or a hassle on them, but we had a lockdown of salts back in March and April. It's true. The window of my sales creativity with creativity, I even see the world probably creatively. It took the window, my seals creatively, and it took me about four or five months before I got back on stage to do stand up.

[00:15:56] Comedy didn't really do many podcasts episodes. And then [00:16:00] even now we've just gone through another mini mini outbreak of like a few hundred cases. But. And we, we, we were again in like a mini lock down situation or kind of, not even a lockdown, but like a mini shutdown. And I already feel it like just sapping my CRE vantage.

[00:16:16] And I don't know what it is. I need to get over that mental hurdle of them, of being able to deal with this. So I think you can see both, both ways of thinking now. Yeah. Yeah. Quite right. I mean, of course I've been cool, you know, lying on my couch, watching Netflix for a week straight, right? Yeah. Just getting takeout and like not trying to work out and, and really just bingeing YouTube channels just for the sake of, um, like I'm saying to myself, Oh, yeah.

[00:16:46] I'm, I'm learning this craft. So therefore I need to consume lots of content, but you know, if you're not making something you're not being productive. Right. So I think it's up to you to figure out a way to get out of it. And you know, like, [00:17:00] like everything in life, it's, it's all in waves, right? It's not, uh, it's not always a high and you're not always productive, but I've, I've realized that.

[00:17:10] All the time. I, so I work really well in sprints and not marathons. I'm not a marathon runner. Right. But I'm a damn good sprinter in terms of like, if there's, um, a project or video or something I want to do, I, I basically try to bang it out as quick as I can, because I lose momentum very quickly. And I've just realized that.

[00:17:33] So. I almost do that. I don't want to like take a week and don't do anything and just think about it and let that thing kind of, um, I dunno, uh, simmer. Right. And then when I'm ready to like mentally and physically, then I work in it for a few days and then I rest. So I, I think that's like a very personal, but I could see a lot of people doing that as well.

[00:17:57] I mean, we can't be, you know, creative [00:18:00] all the time. We have to be like, No a vegetable on the couch sometimes. And I think, and you have been lucky, right? Because we've been in countries where lockdown is not as serious as the rest of the world. And, um, And yeah, we've been, we've been in such a fortunate situation.

[00:18:17] Yeah. But we shouldn't be ourselves up, you know, it happens for a reason. And as long as you can pick yourself back up after like, that's the most important thing, right. That does resonate with me. And it makes me feel better because I've been having that even like this week where I'm like, I have these ideas that I want to do this, or I'm like, I shouldn't sit down and write some more jokes or I should write a new song.

[00:18:40] I need to spend some time being creative or I'm going to do more for the podcast. Oh, yeah. I could just sit and watch, you know, the, the lamb documentary on Netflix for four hours.

[00:18:52] I find, I have these waves of energy where I'm like, yes, I'm going to do this, this and this. And then it's like, you can say, then you have two days on the couch and [00:19:00] whatnot, and you don't get much done. But then at the same time, you know, we're recording a podcast or I know we're creating something, we're doing something.

[00:19:06] So I it's like, I feel like I always want to do more, but I probably should just be happy with what I'm doing sometimes. I don't know. Do you feel similar about that? Yeah. I mean, I have, I, one of those, like, I'm definitely one of those people that could generate a lot of ideas and getting excited about different things, but, you know, um, Execution, right.

[00:19:30] Like execution is, well, it's more than just a single idea. So I mean, I'm, I'm really bad at this, so I've been trying to get better at it. And one way that helps me is to hold myself accountable by tying someone else to the project. So I, I find myself that if, if it's something that I do on my own, um, A lot of the times, you know, I could basically make excuses for myself and I'm the only one [00:20:00] accountable for it, so I can do whatever I want.

[00:20:01] I could just chill and not do anything. But as soon as I tie someone else into the project, I immediately get that like, Uh, motivation and that spark and I'm like, okay, you know, there's someone to bounce ideas off and it just runs a lot smoother for me. So that's kind of what I've learned, which is like, I need to work with people because that's where most of my energy comes from.

[00:20:25] But. I think it's fine. I think you just kind of got to hack away at it. And, um, I, yeah, I have like this crazy long list of like things I want to do. Uh, but I'm slowly ticking it off. I'm slowly trying to involve people and then taking those things off. Yeah. What's the next thing on your list? Oh, I've got so many.

[00:20:45] So I'll just talk about, yeah, just talk about one thing. Uh, this, this is like a personal thing. So this is actually for, so, um, so, um, so I'm a designer, right? Um, and I want to [00:21:00] start this whole side hustle thing as you were speaking about. So I'm launching this like database of sort of design step-by-step guides, but before I spend.

[00:21:12] You know, hours and hours on it. I basically did this one guide. And then for me to hold myself accountable, I basically pinged my friends. I was like, Hey, I want to concept, test this with you, you know, asking you if you find it valuable, would you pay for it, et cetera, et cetera. So then, um, I I'm onto my fourth interview, uh, which is happening next week.

[00:21:35] So that's a way to keep myself accountable, but yet again, I don't know if it's a viable business product yet. I still have to get some feedback from the user. So that's one thing on my list that I, um, you know, I I've started it and probably about. 75% of the way through. So I just need to like, you know, really ramp up or really involve people into my process, into my creative process.

[00:21:58] And then we'll see where that [00:22:00] goes. But that's the next thing on my list. That's given me some, some great motivation as well. Cause I think that is good advice. Um, and I'll do it with my wife and involve all, but absolutely right. I'm going to do this. So if I, if I tell her then she will hold me accountable for it.

[00:22:16] But telling more people and making things happen. Um, I think it's good advice as well, because even we connected through the Vietnam content creators, Facebook page. And, and even that actually I was hesitant of putting a post on there to look out for people to connect with. I remember writing the post and then being like, do I hit send because if I hit send or posts, or if I, if I post this, then there's going to be a reaction which then means I'm going to have to do something right.

[00:22:45] Like it, then it's causing an effect where I'm like, but if I don't post this. It's still just an idea in my head and I don't have to follow through with it yet. And thankfully I hit post and it was able to connect with people like yourself. I don't quit another few people that are going to be upcoming guests on the, on the [00:23:00] show.

[00:23:02] I find it really awesome. Like I, I only found the group like a week ago or two weeks ago maybe. And I was like, Holy crap. Everybody is so friendly. And yet again, I think it was the same as you've been like hesitant, but if you really want to sort of get into something new, then one of the best ways is to.

[00:23:23] Um, connect with like-minded people, right? Like what is the community around it? And I found watching and stumbling across all these Vietnam sort of creatives that, that are making things. I, I immediately want to make something or I immediately want to collaborate or. So I know me and you were speaking about podcasts in like two weeks, and then I just posted, Hey, does anybody want to do a zoom this weekend?

[00:23:46] And you're like, yeah, let's, let's do it. And I mean, that's the thing, right? Like you need someone else to sort of give you that motivation that you might not necessarily, uh, have. And that's great. Can I just go on a side tangent [00:24:00] very quickly? I'm Scottish. I live till I'm Scottish. I live for St. Tangents.

[00:24:05] We never tell them. I never tell a linear story in Scotland. Great. Okay. Good. Good to know. So I posted this post yesterday and it was like, does anyone want to do a podcast over zoom this weekend? And a few people responded. You being one of them, but there was another guy who responded and, uh, so we got a pain, but he was a little bit rude.

[00:24:32] He was like, What do you do? Dah, dah, dah, like all these things then. So I looked up his podcast and it was a bit, you know, it was a bit serious and it was a bit like wasn't kind of my vibe and I didn't really want to do it. So then I was just Frank with him or I just said, Hey man, um, I think, um, You know, uh, you know, thanks for reaching out, but, um, maybe, maybe we're not the right fit in terms of me being on yours or you being on mine.

[00:24:58] I like, I, [00:25:00] I don't think we kind of fit. And he was like, just really, really offended by that. And he just wouldn't stop pestering me for like an hour, like commenting on the stuff on my Facebook and just. Just glaring at me. And I was like, Oh my God, I'm so glad I didn't do a podcast with him. Cause he'll just be super anal retentive.

[00:25:17] Right. And he probably might listen to this. So, uh, showers, do you, I don't even remember your name, but uh, just stop, you know, just stop getting offended about these little things that don't really. Amount of much, right? Like if anything we've learned from the pandemic is we need to get less of a shit about things, right.

[00:25:36] Just chill out, dude, anyway, side tangent rent over there. That's a good one bad, but that ties into the, the hesitancy. When, when, and I do that with a lot of my posts, I'm like, do I want to post this? Because what's the reaction going to be? Because even if it's just an innocent thing, like. Who wants to do a zoom call?

[00:25:53] It could end up being something like that. I don't really have any experience like that, thankfully, but you know, it's always, uh, [00:26:00] always a possibility. So, um, no I'm going to be even more skilled to post after hearing your story. No man. Like, no, don't be right. No, no, seriously. Okay. So, uh, uh, another side tangent.

[00:26:11] Right? So when I first moved to Vietnam, um, I was in this tech job and then I knew I found the right industry, but I wasn't in the right job. I was like, I'm doing digital boxing. Didn't like it. So, what I did was I quit. And, uh, because in digital marketing, you've got to look, you got to do like some graphic design work.

[00:26:31] And I figured out that that's what I wanted to do. So what I did, I helped my friend bill dislike, crappy website. Right. And then. I was like, wow. I, I F I found myself losing so many hours in building this website and I was like, I really enjoy this. I wonder if I could build myself a website and then sell that service to other people.

[00:26:51] So what I do was use Wix, right? This drag and drop website tool. And, um, and I just built, you know, uh, so made [00:27:00] my own content, build, build, build a website on that. Then I posted it on ex-pats in Saigon and. We have one of those groups where, you know, 10,000 plus people, there are a lot of trolls, especially the one expert in ho Chi Minh, right.

[00:27:13] Just so many trolls. And I'm fine with that. But I was like, look, if anybody wants to, you know, uh, together though, if I can do anything for you in terms of setting up your website, digital marketing, I could, you know, I could help. I think there was this one guy. That's like a, an older gentleman, probably in his fifties, but he's been like, you know, a lifelong programmer.

[00:27:34] And he got really offended with what I offered as a service. Cause he's like, this is not a real service. You're doing a disservice to us like programmers and engineers. This is a drag and drop tool. You know, you, it like you should kill yourself or whatever. Right. Like he just went at me and I was like, dude, like, all I'm trying to do is like, Do something, you know, like just try something, you know, I'm, you know, unemployed, like whatever, right?

[00:27:57] Like there's a lot of people that like supported me, [00:28:00] um, and saying, look, just shut up, man. But he just kept going on at it. But luckily enough, uh, that was sort of my first freelance gig. And I, and I worked on like two startups with, with some friends. Um, and that sort of. Led me to where I am today. So if you don't put yourself out there and willing to take all this negative crap, then.

[00:28:26] Like, do you know what I'm saying? Like, you, you got just for out that like just don't care, right? Like who cares at the end of the day, there's always going to be haters and there's always going to be people that like your stuff. Right. So for me, I'm like, uh, it doesn't matter. I know people are going to hate my stuff is cheesy.

[00:28:43] It's boring. It's whatever. But, you know, um, as a designer, I love feedback. Right? So. You know, give me the feedback. If it's actually good feedback, then I'll take it. But if it's, if it's just like personal and kind of shitty and toxic, then whatever, it's the most [00:29:00] difficult thing. And I think it's what stops.

[00:29:01] Most people. Doing things like that because it's taking that leap and being worried about the reaction. And even for me, I'm a fairly confident person, but I still have a thin skin source to speak and I still get knocked back if there's negativity. And I think the biggest. Thing for me. I said this recently thing to my wife, I was like, I'm just stupidly confident where I don't really think about things and it's worked out well, Katie so far, like I don't analyze things so much where I get paralyzed.

[00:29:34] Like, I don't worry too much. Like, Oh my God, what happens if no one likes this podcast episode? Like, I just don't think about it. And then do it. So it's, I like to, I think it's kind of like stupidly confident, like I'm confident enough to do it, but I'm stupid in the fact that like, I don't really think about, like, I still get surprised when someone tells me they listen to the podcast.

[00:29:52] I still like when someone says, Oh yeah, listen to your podcast. When I meet them in real life. And I'm like, Oh, Oh yeah, forget that. Like, people like, we're recording this right [00:30:00] now, but then someone's going to go listen to it. Like, that's still surprising me. Right. Have you found that people who listen to your podcasts, like you haven't met them before?

[00:30:09] Right. But, and then like, You like, they feel like they're your friend and they mentioned things about you and you're like, Holy crap. How it wa I should know you. How are you? Have you been stalking me? Have you ever felt I haven't had that yet? No. I just I've had some people recognize me from comedy. Um, I know I've met people.

[00:30:28] Who've been like, I mean, this is a, this is one of the funny things that happened is one of the first times I got introduced to someone who's just at a bar and like, Oh, this is Neil, this is so-and-so. And I was like, Oh, Hey, nice to meet you. And he's like, Oh, you knew Mikai from 7 million Bates. And I was like, Oh yeah, cool.

[00:30:42] Yeah. He's like, yeah, listen to some of your shorts. It's really good. And I say, Oh cool. Thanks. And then the next week my aunt was visiting, um, shout out to cost because she knows, I tell this on stage and it always gets a big laugh, but it's true story. The next week, my aunt came over from Scotland to Vietnam, pre pandemic, obviously.

[00:31:00] [00:31:00] And I said to my aunt, I said, because I had my first like celebrity moment last week in Saigon and she's like, Oh sweetie, that's so nice. Who did you meet?

[00:31:14] I love it. I love it. And I was like, no, I was, I was the celebrity moment and she's like, Oh, what do you mean? Explain it, but I've not ever had anyone like him that knows too much about me, but I did have it as well, just at the end of last year. I was out with my wife and, and there's Carol that our market's toxic.

[00:31:37] Oh, you're new MCI from 7 million Bates. I guess she like recognized me and I was so stunned. I'm just so awkward, which I'm generally not an awkward person, but I was so awkward. I was just like almost frozen. And my wife was having a nudge me and she's like, see, thank you. Say hello. Like ask her, what's her name?

[00:31:54] Like. I don't normally need to be cajoled into having a conversation. I do. I [00:32:00] need to get better at that. That has happened a couple of times now, but not to the level of like they knew about me, but that's no, you've made me paranoid about that because I've talked about it. So I don't talk the most on the podcast.

[00:32:10] This one is the, probably the one I've talked to most. I don't, I'm going to chat today for some reason. But, um, yeah, you've had your coffee, right? I had my coffee this morning, but I, I, I would never get to what team is that I would never get to one 30 and not have had a coffee apart from, I just did a juice cleanse recently, but we won't get into that.

[00:32:30] No, she would tell me when, um, when I, I introduced you and then from what you told me, you are a Doug culture kid. So let's move on from it. Content creation and whatnot. What does that mean to you? And what does that mean? A third culture kid. Yeah. So what it means is. Like a person grew up or born in an environment where their parents aren't on from.

[00:32:58] So that's what it means. [00:33:00] Right. And how it relates to me is I was born in England. I grew up in England, went to school in England about my dad is Vietnamese born in Saigon. And then my mom is Chinese. Born in Saigon as well. So her parents immigrated to Holcim in, you know, uh, and then had her. So, yeah, I'm Chinese Vietnamese, but born and bred in the UK.

[00:33:28] So that's me in a nutshell, um, uh, in terms of like, what else it means to me, it's like, I think a lot of people struggle with this or, or maybe it's just me. I'm not really sure, but you know, like, When you're in England, you don't quite fit in like everyone else. Right. You look different, you know, you eat weird things, you know, you S you know, you speak a different language, whatever it is, right.

[00:33:56] You have this, um, Chinese [00:34:00] Vietnamese English culture, which is an England, you know, like, you know, but, and then when you come back to Vietnam, The motherland, you know, the Holy grail, then you're like, what's going on? Like, you almost don't understand lots of things. And you're like, well, why does it work like this?

[00:34:16] Right. There's lots of cultural nuances that you don't get when you come to visit or you're on holiday when you're actually living in that country. That's where you discover it. And a lot of people that, you know, friends of mine or. Girls I've dated. I like, yeah, but you'll white though. Right? And I'm like, Ugh, well, like you said, it like, it's bad.

[00:34:37] Like w w what is it? Right? Like what, so, uh, all like Western, like, I think I do typically have more of a westerner mindset, but like, so, yeah. So, so where the hell do I belong? Right. Like, that's the, that's one of the, you know, life's big questions. Like where, where are we from? Where do I belong? So. [00:35:00] I guess that is how I define it.

[00:35:03] And I've got more comfortable as you know, uh, I've grown to sort of realize that it's just a mixture of that. And for me, it's like, you know, optimistically, it's the best of both worlds because you can kind of adapt easily to, um, other cultures and be more open-minded with weird and wonderful things. So, yeah, I think that's, that's it in a nutshell.

[00:35:29] And it's, it's very different to my upbringing because I am from like a mono culture. Like I I'm white. My family going back, generations are all white from Scotland. Like I don't think there's any inter mingling in there. A toll note, completely different. Not like my, no, my generation, you know, my wife's American Mexican.

[00:35:51] My cousins are Hong Kong East Scottish. You know, the New Zealand cousins now and by marriage and things like [00:36:00] that. So no, this generation of the family has completely changed, but for me as growing up, I haven't, I don't know, have that experience that what you have. So when you're describing that there, that to me is this is a completely different experience.

[00:36:17] Yeah. Imagine the kids. Right. I don't know if you have any kids at the moment, but you imagine so American, Mexican and then Scottish. And then do you guys have a kid? So there's that mix, but then you're in Vietnam. So there's also not like it would just be so confusing, right? Like who is this child? Like what, like, like their identity will just be this like intermingling.

[00:36:43] And I think like, that's kind of. Where are we going? You know, as a society and as, as you know, the world gets more globalized anyway. Right. But there is that strong, internal struggle that your kid will have to deal with or generations that follow us. So it's very interesting. [00:37:00] Would you say then that has been an internal struggle for you throughout your life?

[00:37:06] I think when I was younger. Definitely. I think now, like since I kind of moved abroad and just go used to like those like living and try to being yourself a bit more, being more confident, you kind of diff yeah. You kind of work out who you are, you know, very quickly because you know, you're in a country where you're not used to things and you kind of just figure it out.

[00:37:31] But yeah, as a kid, I would say so. Yeah. From from previous guests and talking to friends as well, it can be very tricky, a lot tricky, but very. Challenging from my understanding on a variety of levels. So I knew people who are similar to you, like Vietnamese, Australian, who then come over here and then they get treated like a seven.

[00:37:53] We, or people who've been born in Vietnam. Then they moved to the U S at a young age, then came back. So then they get [00:38:00] treated in a certain way. Like they're expected to have like more money or they're expected to do this or that. And those expectations don't always line up. Have you had experience like that in either direction with those, a certain expectation of you as whatever you, whatever you're expected to be?

[00:38:20] Hm, good question. I, I ha I could, uh, off the top of my head, I can't think of one that I am expected to be. Um, but however, that they're all like local expectations, right? Like, You know the way, like, for example, if someone invites you to a wedding and you're not going, you have to give money. Right. Like that's, that's a very local expectation.

[00:38:46] So in that sense, I'm kind of a Dick. Cause then I'm like, I played the naive foreigner card and I'm like, nah, I'm not doing that. You know? And, um, and I get away with it, which is great, right. Because I'm like, Oh yeah, I'm the naive guy that doesn't [00:39:00] know what's happening. So I guess I use it to my advantage.

[00:39:04] In some sense. Um, but the, uh, there are some expectations. Like I remember coming back when I was like 17 years old and I'm just on a holiday, uh, I would invite my cousin out and I'm like, Oh, let's go for dinner and get some drinks afterwards. And then basically she invited the whole village, right? Like 10 of our friends showed up.

[00:39:27] Uh, I had to pay for the bill at dinner, and then we went to this bar. Go some balls. And then me as a 17 year old, like I've just saved up a bunch of money to go on a holiday to Vietnam without my parents. And I have to like, You know, pay for everything. It was, it was actually pretty crazy. And then from that day, I was like, I'm not, I'm not, this was in ho Chi Minh.

[00:39:47] This was in ho Chi Minh, like when I was 17. And there's that, that's kind of an example, I guess that's a great example of stories of how things like that, that, that that's perfect example of the expectations being completely [00:40:00] mismatched. Yeah, but I don't do that stuff anymore. Like, I've learned my lesson.

[00:40:05] Like we just don't hang out anymore. I'm just like, look, if we hang out and just meet me and you don't invite the whole village, don't like, you know, but you know, uh, you know, you get burned once. Right. And then you're like, okay, like whatever you learned your lesson. So what is your, what is your background or history in terms of coming to Vietnam?

[00:40:22] Like when did you first start coming? How often do you come. Yeah. So I, I had, yeah, like I've been coming to Vietnam basically throughout my life ever since. So I used to be fluent in Vietnamese. I'm not anymore. So my parents used to come when I was a kid and then just like throw me to my grandma's house.

[00:40:44] Right. So then obviously as a kid, you adapt. So I was probably like three. Yeah, three or four years old. So I was pretty fluent. Um, and then, you know, we S we started coming less frequent and obviously going to school in England, you know, you, you're learning a new [00:41:00] language, right? Cause at home you speak Vietnamese and Chinese, and then, you know, you adapt to the new language at school.

[00:41:06] So, and then the dominant language in my household was. Cantonese because my dad actually had to learn Cantonese from my mum. So then it was like Cantonese took over and then, uh, English was the main, like, so I stopped coming as often, but I would say I've probably been to Vietnam before actually living there.

[00:41:23] Like ten-ish times I, I, um, I did, I did it like a couple of gap years. And, uh, and both of those gap years, I actually did, you know, two months in Vietnam. Um, once with my friend that we were traveling there once with my girlfriend at the time, uh, traveling as well. So that was cool. So I had been familiar with it, but only on a holiday basis.

[00:41:47] And so I actually came back in 2013. That was actually meant to be a holiday, uh, for six months. But. It turned from six months to now. Like I [00:42:00] just, you know, last year I had my seven years abroad. So funny things. Yeah. Funny how things change, right? Like it's crazy. Yeah. I mean, my wife and I tell this story often and I've said it on the podcast probably a million times.

[00:42:13] We came to Vietnam for six weeks and we've now been here for nearly five years. Not so bad. We came for a holiday. We came for a vacation back in like 2015. We did about two weeks. We did, you know, all the major tourist spots from South all the way down to the new Kong Delta. And a lot of them just absolutely fell in love with it.

[00:42:34] Like everyone does crazy. I know. Do something about the police. No one can really put the finger on it, but there's just something about it. And we went back to New Zealand where we lived and then we're like, right, let's go traveling for a year. So we saved up for a year. We went away. We came to back to what you meant to learn, how to teach English.

[00:42:52] So we were just doing a four week course, a couple of we deal side of it. And then we were going to continue on traveling, go back to our life in New Zealand [00:43:00] and yeah, five years later now we're still here. So I completely understand who you're six months to became a seven year. So what was Saigon like then in 2013?

[00:43:12] Because I mean, we've seen massive changes in just the last few years. What was it like for you when you got here? Yeah, community was definitely a lot smaller in terms of the community of ex-pats. I mean, um, and, um, it was a lot smaller. There was like less sort of cool bars and restaurants and coffee shops, you know, like your local spots that people would like to go.

[00:43:36] So there's less of that. So you'll get to see a lot of familiar faces, uh, you know, especially with going out and drinking and partying. There's only be a few places to go. Uh, the skyline was very different, you know, now, now there's all sorts of like new buildings getting built, lots of these apartments.

[00:43:52] So that was very different as well. Um, and there wasn't much of a tech scene. When I first went there, Vietnam had [00:44:00] started to like build up, like it's homegrown startups and, and a very American or outside investment, but now it's like crazy. Now it's like, you can really see the boom, right. In terms of like how many recruiters are there and like people reaching out and then like people starting things.

[00:44:20] And, and like, for example, this. Group that way in part of Vietnam content creates a group. It like, it just wouldn't have been a thing in 2013. Like, I don't know anybody that was making stuff. Yeah. But within this year, as I've got into it, I've seen so many and everybody's doing so well and doing cool things.

[00:44:41] It's just like exploded in terms of people who's moved here. And, um, like starting businesses, lots of like, uh, via kills, which is like overseas Vietnamese coming back to start restaurants, bars, companies. I mean, it's just crazy now. And I just absolutely [00:45:00] excited to get back and to like be in the thick of it and then to soak up some of that buzz, because I think that's what I'm missing since I've been in Bangkok and it's just, uh, something I can't wait and I'm gagging for.

[00:45:12] So how did you end up being trapped in Bangkok when. Well, um, I spoke about my, my work, right? So, and then I ended up quitting, but then the lockdown had already happened because I quit in, in, uh, last year, 2020 in June. And then, you know, Vietnam has basically closed down all flights, right? So the only way to get into the country was if you hold a Vietnamese passport, which I don't, or your foreign expert, Which means you have a job or your investor, right.

[00:45:45] So you need some sort of sponsorship from a local Vietnamese company. So, yeah. And I was just kind of waiting for things to ball over. Cause I thought then I would open the tourism scene like Thailand has. Right. But it just hasn't, it's [00:46:00] been very careful with who it lets in and, and I think that's a good thing.

[00:46:04] Right. But. Now I'm like, Oh, I kind of want to come back. So I was lucky enough to have a friend that runs this company and he was like, yeah, I'll sponsor you. And I was like, sweet man. Let's do it. Let's finish up with the final questions before I do that. I do have to add, we will talking about, um, ex-pat groups and X-Pack tools.

[00:46:23] And I have to give a show. If you want to join a group that doesn't have tools, join the whole achievement ex-pat group Saigon. Uh, it's a good friend of mine run by Warren's young. Who's been on the podcast before, and it's quite funny. Cause when I first mentioned this group a long time ago on the podcast, I said, I have like 5,000 members and he messaged me and I've made fun of him.

[00:46:46] We've taught them or there's he messaged me when the podcast comes out and he's like, it's actually 10,000 members. Can you make sure you get that correct? And I was like, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. And he ended up being on the podcast. And I, I think when he came on, there was like [00:47:00] 15,000. I've just looked up right now.

[00:47:01] They've got 19,300 members and he runs that with, he runs that with an iron fist. So there's no negativity, even if, sometimes you read the comments and the comments are just starting to take like a tub of, uh, starting to get a bit like negative. He'll just jump in and be like, Hey guys, remember there's a non troll group.

[00:47:21] If you keep going this way. And he's like zero tolerance. Like if you put one true comment, Juul like banned from the group immediately. So it's a really safe space because he recognized that with a lot of those expat groups, they are covered in troubles. And that's been a goal of mine for awhile. I actually want to interview a troll.

[00:47:40] So if anyone's listening and you identify yourself as an internet tool, Then please get in touch and I will be happy to have you on I'd love to interview someone and have a conversation about why are you the way that you are and why are you a troll? And you don't need to even give you a name. You can do it anonymously.

[00:47:57] But if you're a, if you knew that you're an internet [00:48:00] tool and you want to come on the podcast, then send me a message and, and we can make it happen. So, anyway, moving on checkout, uh, who who'd you meet? Ex-pat groups are gone. That's a good one. So we'll finish with a final question. So. As you mentioned before, the name of the podcast is 7 million bait.

[00:48:14] And I just saw an article last week, seeing that they're trying to reduce the amount of bakes in Saigon because of the pollution. And it's funny because people always ask me, what are you going to do when those 8 million Bates are you going to change the name or no? I may have to think about changing the name to 6 million bucks or 5 million Bates of the, if he continued to reduce the amount of, uh, Polluting bites, but it's going to stick.

[00:48:35] It's going to stay at 7 million Bates, no matter what, no matter how many bikes that are in Saigon. So there are 7 million in Saigon and the sporty 5 million across Vietnam as well. One of the highest levels of bait registration in the world. And as we know what comes with that is just the craziness of the traffic.

[00:48:52] So for you, when you've been here, what's the unwritten road rule that you can't live without.

[00:49:01] [00:49:00] Aye. Okay. Running a red light. When is it? That's that's it? That actually made me my favorite as well. Like just if it's safe, if it's safe to do just, you can go through it. Right. So, yeah, I agree with that one. Um, now you said you were fluent in Vietnamese, but you've lost that a little bit, but when you do come back here, what's your most useful Vietnamese breeze?

[00:49:28] Oh, man, this one was hard because I was like, how much Vietnamese do I know? And it turns out, I don't know any, so, um, yeah, so this answer is going to be terrible, but I'll explain why it's terrible and why I, I, I use it so. Uh, my, my most favorite or not even most useful, but most favorite is Moe. And I find myself doing this when I'm in other places like in Bangkok, when you kind of want to get someone's attention, I'm like, Oh [00:50:00] God.

[00:50:00] Okay. Different language. Um, But it's just so useful, right? Like it's not considered rude to, you know, like get someone's attention at a restaurant, especially at a restaurant, uh, when you need service and they're just like flat out ignoring you. They might've seen you, but they just kind of walk past. So it's a very, like for me, it's quite useful.

[00:50:20] But the reason why I mentioned this is because a bunch of my friends had evolved this Moe term into like, Uh, what are you doing with your Emily tonight? Or like, Oh, did you say that the more you over there? So like, that's how we use it and it's kind of like permeated across, you know, uh, different places, like, you know, like, cause I worked at a Mexican company.

[00:50:45] And, uh, now they all use it and like, you know, like people from different places to use it. My friend in Taiwan is like, what's your, like, who's your Moe tonight? And I'm like, I don't know. So it's, it's amazing. Like we we've used it and we've killed it. And that's why it's [00:51:00] no, but for anyone that's listening that hasn't been to Vietnam or maybe doesn't know what we're talking about.

[00:51:06] Can you explain what is M sure. Um, so M is someone younger than. When you write, uh, whether it's a guy or a girl is just someone that young, not super young, not like a child, but just someone that you deemed maybe younger than you. Right. And oil is, uh, I dunno, I guess it's like adding, uh, an emphasis, uh, onto a certain sentence.

[00:51:34] Like I'm very tired. Right? And then you could add oil on the end of it. So Moe is like really to get someone's attention. That's younger than you. So typically you'll say it. You know, at a restaurant or like trying to get someone's attention. Like maybe your mate, that's like looking at their laptop and you're like, Emily.

[00:51:52] And then they're like, Oh, what's up? So like, you know, that is typically used in, in lots of different ways, but the most common [00:52:00] is, you know, at a coffee shop, if you want to get service or at a hotel or at a bar, et cetera. But the thing you haven't added is you don't say it. You showed her. Right. Yes. Even after being here for five years and this happened last night, I was out with friends and one of my friends and my wife, and I see this all the time.

[00:52:22] My wife is the funniest that this, my wife listens to all the podcasts. She knows exactly what I'm going to see right now when she calls eMAR. She's like, am I. I think you do, you need to yell where you she's super late. And this is what my friend said last night. And I think a lot of ex-pats, even though we know it's not rude, we find it really difficult to just yet.

[00:52:43] Yeah. Like, it just feels rude, even though we know it's not, and we don't do it because it's like, Oh, as a someone who's from Vietnam, do you have that shame of you'll just yell out? No problem. I used to have that [00:53:00] shame. I got past it and it was just like, I just want to be efficient. And it's, it's, it's fun.

[00:53:05] Like, it's actually fun yet again, like I don't buy that though. So you understand what I'm talking about? All right. Oh completely. Yeah. I be like, cause you know, if you're in the UK and you don't even want to cut, like you just hold your hand up and you don't even hold it that high. And like, it's just this weird dance right.

[00:53:22] That you're trying to do in the restaurant trying to be polite. But I just love the directness. Like, ah, I love that. I'm kind of like. Hit a peak and then come back down. So yeah, I was in the beginning, nervous, shy, then I was kind of like beating here. I'm like, yeah, I can see it, but now I've come back down on the other side because I'm more embarrassed that I've never really, I've not learned any Vietnamese to back it up.

[00:53:44] So now I'm like, I'm the one to like see it because I can actually back it up with any Vietnamese. So yeah, I leave for the next pack. No, what's your favorite sunset spot in Vietnam. I struggled with this one. I don't think I am too much of [00:54:00] a sunset set spot person, but I mean, I really liked this bar, like when I first moved there and it was Broma, so it's changed a lot since I first came to Vietnam, but that would probably be like, what am I most famous?

[00:54:15] Just because it reminded me of a time of like first coming here, discovering rooftop bars in Vietnam, in the middle. Of a really busy city on wing wear. And it's just like, wow, like this, like, you know, for me, that was like a, an awesome time in Vietnam. So, yeah. Um, and on that street, when queer, I'm probably butchering it.

[00:54:37] When you put a skin, then in 2014, that wouldn't have been finished, right? No, it wasn't finished. No, you could drive everywhere and now, like you can't drive anywhere. Oh, you could drive on that street when you lived, when you both came here. Yeah. It was like two massive avenues. So like what you get in like district seven and stuff.

[00:54:55] I just two like big ass roads, right? Any way you want. [00:55:00] Yeah. So they completely revamped it. So it was there when I, when, uh, it was revamped and it turned into like a walking street. Right. Uh, but yeah, it was like, you know, typical Vietnamese traffic. You can do whatever you want. Yeah. Cause we, when we came into those in 15, they were nearly finished it.

[00:55:16] And then when we came back to those 16, it was Spanish. So for anyone who doesn't know, it's just, there's massive flat Boulevard that goes right through the middle of Saigon and they use it for events. Like right now they have the flower festival for Tet and, um, just a place you can go hang out, things like that and broom about Luke's over that.

[00:55:33] So, yeah, that would have been completely different than when, uh, when you went to roll mobile, then back into those and 13. Yeah, totally, totally like more quiet, more, more like sleepy and just really nice. Yeah. And do you know what that used to be a canal? It did. Yeah. Yeah. Way back in the day. That was a canal that ran the length of that and maybe a railway lane as well.

[00:55:53] I think I'm not sure. Anyway, talking about stuff. I don't really know all those, so let's move on. So would you rather live in [00:56:00] Vietnam now or 20 years ago? Now, I think 20 years ago it would have been a lot more difficult to fit in, although you can get a headstart on other things, but I think now is just, you know, uh, has all the right sort of ingredients to, to what I want in like a city life.

[00:56:19] Um, but yeah, I think now, yeah, that seems to be the most common answer from people. Um, and last one what's missing from Vietnam. Oh, this one's hard. I had had some thoughts in my head and I was just going to list them off, but I didn't want to be a twat. So I'm not going to, uh, I think I'm just gonna say, and they'd been very cheesy and be like, it's missing me, man.

[00:56:47] Like the hell am I doing here? Damn it. Fair enough. We'll we'll accept that answer. There'll be four. We finish up, I do have to touch on something that we talked about before we started recording. And I'm going to give a [00:57:00] shout out to the previous guest ni Corcoran. And if you listened to that episode, you would have had the discuss about how she mispronounces her own name when she's telling it to people.

[00:57:10] And I actually said it right on the podcast because NHI with me and she introduced herself as me. So, um, I was, I was proud of that one, but then we were having a conversation about this before we started recording. And we were talking about your name too. Do you want to share the story that you were telling me before?

[00:57:29] Yeah, so, um, uh, my surname, uh, in Vietnamese or how you're supposed to pronounce it is wing, but as a kid, I've always pronounced it as, uh, no Wayne, right? Uh, just, just cause it was like easier. There was no N in pronouncing it in Vietnamese, but you know, teachers would ask me and stuff. So I grew up thinking that was my surname, like for like.

[00:57:56] 28 years or whatever. So it was like, Holy crap. You [00:58:00] know, it's not until I was actually in Vietnam and you know, you see wing everywhere, right? Wing AF for example, um, which is a street name, but like you see it everywhere, then you kind of learn how to pronounce Siara name. But I don't know. How it got into my head that my surname was Norwegian and maybe it was something for my dad, but it's just, it's just screwed up, man.

[00:58:24] How did your parents never correct you at 28? You'd be like yo Christian. You're not seeing your name right. I don't know, man, because I know my Chinese name and I pronounced that. Right. Because there's only one way to pronounce that. Right. But I don't know, maybe because of the Latin alphabet, just like confuses people.

[00:58:43] I don't know. I have no idea. And you said you spoke Cantonese. My hand is actually from Hong Kong and she, she speaks Cantonese as well. When we were having a family group chat yesterday, we were talking about the lunar new year and my sister could remember, I'm just looking it up in the message. How to say this, [00:59:00] which is gong.

[00:59:01] Hey, fat joy. Yeah, go on here for Ty there. You said it better than me, which is Cantonese for happy new year. Exactly. Exactly. There you go. I need to my answer. Sorry. Just what what's the, uh, Vietnamese, uh, happy new year joke among them. There you go. That's the only thing. Yeah, I can see it's so embarrassing.

[00:59:24] Like last night we were walking down the street in passing. Some guys haven't billed tigers by the state of the road, Vietnamese guys. And they're like joked long number. And I can say it back with confidence, but at the same time, I'm still like, it's been five years and that's like the only thing I can say with confidence, it's all about it.

[00:59:39] It's terrible. But if you ever, if you have a Google, um, What'd you call it a Google assistant, ask them to see it because it's pretty funny. They say chop among them more. Oh, well, I mean, it's a, it's an AI, right? So you can't really blame it for not getting the pronunciation, but, um, that makes me laugh enemies.

[00:59:59] So if anyone has a [01:00:00] Google assistant, get it to say choke among them or happy new year in Vietnamese, and it will butcher the pronunciation more than the right. So let's finish it up on the hat. Thank you so much, Chris, it's been awesome to chat with you. I'm looking forward to you making it back to Vietnam and we will definitely be meeting up for some bills and some cocktails and some, some wonky ex-pat adventures.

[01:00:22] Um, before you do go tell people where can they find your content? Where can they listen? What, what are you up to next? Tell people how they can connect with you. Sure. So at semi grandkid, pretty much anywhere Instagram, YouTube rent had been on his podcast on all the podcast platforms. Um, and yeah, I, I think I'm, you know, that's how you can connect with me and.

[01:00:46] You know, send me a message. Let's collaborate. Let's work together. And, uh, I'll see everybody in Saigon soon. Awesome. Cheers, Chris, I'll see you soon.

[01:01:02] [01:01:00] A special shout out to the first ever three Patriots of 7 million bakes a Vietnam podcast. A massive thank you to Brandon Thompson, Xian Johnson. And Alison Chapman for becoming the first ever people to do that. And please, if you can support the podcast, go to patrion.com forward slash Vietnam podcast.

[01:01:22] You can find the link in the show notes and you can become a member. There's different levels. There you get different benefits, or you can just give a little bit, if you want to help support the production of the podcast, there is also a link for buy me a coffee, but you can change that to buy me a beer.

[01:01:36] So if you want to give a one-off donation to support 7 million Bates. And that would be amazing as well. It obviously costs money to produce a podcast and takes a lot of time as well. They'll always be available for free, but if you think that you enjoy this content and it's something that is worth supporting and given a little bit of money for that would be very, very much appreciated because as I said, it does take time and money to produce.

[01:01:58] So it would be [01:02:00] unbelievable to have your support. So thank you social much to Brandon. Allister and Zion for that support. That's unbelievable. And I also want to give a shout out to a local charity each week. I'll put a link in the show notes. If you want to give them a donation, that would be unbelievable this week.

[01:02:14] We want to give a shout out to the green bamboo center, which provides social services and support for poor and disadvantaged children in ho Chi Minh city. And they also run the green bamboo kitchen. I have ordered food from before, and it is. Unbelievable and super cheap as well. So make sure you look that up on Facebook, the green bamboo kitchen, that's run by the boys from the shelter and it helps financially support the center as well.

[01:02:37] So make sure you check that out at the green bamboo kitchen or the green bamboo center. They're based here in Saigon as well. Thanks for listening again this week. I hope you all enjoyed that episode. If you can support on Patrion or you want to buy me a beer or support green bamboo, that would be unbelievable.

[01:02:51] And I hope you can like, and subscribe to tune in to episodes coming in the future. [01:03:00]