I told him I could the next day, but that I was "in a hurry to get to class." Before I got on my motorbike to leave, he stopped me and asked what that strange word meant…“hurry”. I explained that it meant I was in a rush, that I had too many things to do and not enough time to do them, so I had to run from one thing to the next as quickly as possible. He shook his head and chuckled at me, then asked, “We don’t have a word for ‘hurry’ in Vietnamese. Why would you do that? Just get to things when you get to them, man.”
Can you imagine that? Being so easygoing in your daily life that you’ve never felt what it’s like to be in a hurry? Discovering these sorts of cultural differences is what drives me to keep exploring different parts of the world and meeting new people everywhere I go. I had never thought about what it would be like to never be in a hurry until I got to Can Tho. Although I still catch myself hustling around town sometimes to fulfill various commitments, thanks to my immersion in Vietnamese culture, I’ve learned to relax a lot more as I move about each day.
Learning this important new perspective on staying calm has invited me to consider other things in my life that I may not usually question, such as my diet, my sleep schedule, my learning habits, my communication skills and other daily routines. Sometimes it’s important to consider new perspectives when you think about your own life, and you don’t even have to go to Vietnam to do that! By asking your friends or family about their approaches to certain aspects of their lifestyle or opinions they have, you’ll open up so many different opportunities to learn and grow, just like I have in Can Tho.
