My name is Sim and now I am working as an English teacher in Vietnam. I just got
back to Vietnam about 4 months ago after living as an au pair in Virginia for 2
years. Those 2 years were the best time of my life that I will never forget.
Being a Vietnamese always made it hard for me to make such a big decision of
living in another country, especially when I was in my mid-twenties. It is
Vietnamese tradition that that women should just find a stable job and get
married and have kids and shouldn’t adventure so I was glad that I made a choice
of becoming an au pair in the US. It was hard the first time but now I know it was
the best decision that I have ever made in my life.
I always wanted to become an English teacher. Before I came to the US, I was
teaching English but something in me told me that I still needed more for this job.
I wanted to know more about the culture and I wanted my students to learn that
too because English is not only about the language, it is also about people, about
culture and lifestyle. So I went for it. I got to immerse into American culture by
living with an American family. I could never forget all the weddings that I have
been to or all the holidays that I was treated like a member of a family. On
Christmas 2017, my host family engaged me in Christmas photos shooting with
them which we never do it in Vietnam. I think it is the holiday that I enjoyed the
most. I got so many presents from everyone and I got to give others some
presents too. It reminds me of the Tet holiday in Vietnam on which people share love
and caring to family and friends. My host family gave me so many things, one of
which was a family photo with me in it framed very nicely. I brought it back to
Vietnam and still keep it with me.
I did not only learn American culture but I also got to share my Vietnamese
culture with my American host family and friends. Once in a while, I would offer
to make Vietnamese food to my host family and they really enjoyed it. Their
favorite Vietnamese food is spring rolls. I would prepare the ingredients and my
host mom would fry the rolls in the backyard. We ate and I would share things
with them about Vietnam. Those moments were my best memories! I love my
host kid like my little sister. Seeing her grow up was the best thing that happened
to me. I got to witness her from a little baby to a little girl who can speak and sing
songs in Vietnamese. My host family is like my second family now. The bond that
we created made me think that America is like my home now. It is not a place that I will go to visit, it is a place that I will go back because I have people I love
and care for me.
America made me a different person. I become more liberal, more open, more
confident and believe in myself more than ever. One thing I learned from
Americans are that “Be yourself, be who you are and don’t care about what other
people think about you”. The trip to America helped me develop my passion,
which is teaching English. After becoming better at English and really grasping
American culture, I am confident to teach English as a language and share things
with my students to inspire them. I also got a teaching certificate TESOL (Teaching
English to speakers of other languages) which was always my dream of becoming
a qualified English teacher. I remember I still struggled to find a teaching job 3
years ago but right now job opportunities come to be much easier. With better
English, qualified skills and life experiences, I get much better offers which have
made my life more enjoyable.
I have been talking with lots of Vietnamese girls who want to experience the
world but still hesitate to try it because of family traditions or their own fear. I’d
say: “GO FOR IT”. If you never try, you never know. Once you do it, you will realize
that the world has so much to see and America, as a diverse environment, will
encourage you to learn, to grow and believe in yourself more than ever.
I find myself very lucky to have a chance to work with Expert – a wonderful and
supportive team who is always willing to help me with any problems. With their
company from the first day I came to Florida, I never felt left out. I hope more
Vietnamese girls will come to America under this program because this is an
amazing opportunity for us to become strong, independent and open-minded.
Expert AuPair 