Why do Vietnamese people get offended over...

[Lanae]

Why do they get offended and ignore other for meeting for the first time and introducing themselves

So one time in high school, i met Viets. When I met them and introduced myself to them, they looked at me and frowned at me.

At the mall, i met Viet, when i said hi and was about introduce myself, he just looked at me all mad and rudely walked off on me. That S F !!! Why? Is it rude and offensive when being introduced to?

In America, it's polite and friendly to introduce yourself to them for the first time.

What part of that made them so offended?

 

[Rescued One]

Why do they get offended and ignore other for meeting for the first time and introducing themselves

So one time in high school, i met Viets. When I met them and introduced myself to them, they looked at me and frowned at me.

At the mall, i met Viet, when i said hi and was about introduce myself, he just looked at me all mad and rudely walked off on me. That S F !!! Why? Is it rude and offensive when being introduced to?

In America, it's polite and friendly to introduce yourself to them for the first time.

What part of that made them so offended?

Things are different in different parts of America. I've never seen people introduce themselves in a mall. I know that people are generally friendlier in the South, but I've hardly done any shopping in the South. But when we were in the South, a shopowner called my husband a foreigner!

 

[Kit Sigmon]

Why do they get offended and ignore other for meeting for the first time and introducing themselves

So one time in high school, i met Viets. When I met them and introduced myself to them, they looked at me and frowned at me.

At the mall, i met Viet, when i said hi and was about introduce myself, he just looked at me all mad and rudely walked off on me. That S F !!! Why? Is it rude and offensive when being introduced to?

In America, it's polite and friendly to introduce yourself to them for the first time.

What part of that made them so offended?

Question... are you saying that you walked up to a total stranger and introduced
yourself to him? Could you explain why you did that?

 

[Lanae]

Question... are you saying that you walked up to a total stranger and introduced
yourself to him? Could you explain why you did that?

Yeah and maybe I thought I might make friends at the Mall

 

[MariaJLM]

Yeah and maybe I thought I might make friends at the Mall

Well in those circumstances nearly anybody would be weirded out. I don't think this is specifically a Vietnamese thing.

 

[Kit Sigmon]

Yeah and maybe I thought I might make friends at the Mall

Well now, the people who do that at the mall are usually someone making sales from kiosks like for make-up, getting nails done, perfume sales, travel/tourism etc.

People generally don't do friendships that a way... if you a people person you
could see about getting a job working in sales at the mall or working in a
convenience store or something like that.

 

[Moonrise Lu]

Most people at the mall are trying to get shopping done or hang out with people they know. They don't want strangers coming up to them in their free time for who-knows-what. Honestly if a stranger introduced themselves to me at the mall just to become friends I would be weirded out or try to avoid them. Like someone else said, I'd think they were trying to sell me something. (Also how do you know they were Vietnamese if they were random?)
I'm wondering, was the high school group also you randomly talking to them or was there a group project or something?
In any case, 2 occurrences are not enough to generalize. My husband's family is Vietnamese and his mom would probably ignore you cause she's shy and hates talking to strangers but his dad would engage because he is more open to people interaction and he is more confident in his English.
If you really want to make friends with a Vietnamese person specifically, for whatever reason, I suggest frequenting a Vietnamese restaurant or something like that. The small family run places really remember their customers and get to know you over time. Any place where you can make a natural connection over something instead of randomly greeting people.

 

[Lanae]

was the high school group also you randomly talking to them or was there a group project or something?

for the two Viets I met in high school, there was no group project or anything. idk what they were thinking when I first met them. the 2 speak English but never even talked to me. I asked them where they from and what their nationality was. then that was it. I should've asked them about their hobbies and then none of this would've happened

My husband's family is Vietnamese and his mom would probably ignore you cause she's shy and hates talking to strangers but his dad would engage because he is more open to people interaction and he is more confident in his English.

Does your mother in Law speak English? maybe I can learn the Vietnamese language some day

 

[Moonrise Lu]

for the two Viets I met in high school, there was no group project or anything. idk what they were thinking when I first met them. the 2 speak English but never even talked to me. I asked them where they from and what their nationality was. then that was it. I should've asked them about their hobbies and then none of this would've happened

Does your mother in Law speak English? maybe I can learn the Vietnamese language some day

She speaks it well but she has a strong accent and isn't always confident in it. If we are at a restaurant or something where she needs help from a worker she will whisper to someone else to ask them lol.
But yeah maybe it just seems too random to people for them to want to have a conversation.

 

[LoricaLady]

Most people at the mall are trying to get shopping done or hang out with people they know. They don't want strangers coming up to them in their free time for who-knows-what. Honestly if a stranger introduced themselves to me at the mall just to become friends I would be weirded out or try to avoid them. Like someone else said, I'd think they were trying to sell me something. (Also how do you know they were Vietnamese if they were random?)
I'm wondering, was the high school group also you randomly talking to them or was there a group project or something?
In any case, 2 occurrences are not enough to generalize. My husband's family is Vietnamese and his mom would probably ignore you cause she's shy and hates talking to strangers but his dad would engage because he is more open to people interaction and he is more confident in his English.
If you really want to make friends with a Vietnamese person specifically, for whatever reason, I suggest frequenting a Vietnamese restaurant or something like that. The small family run places really remember their customers and get to know you over time. Any place where you can make a natural connection over something instead of randomly greeting people.

And btw Vietnamese food is really yummy!

 

[Danoh]

She speaks it well but she has a strong accent and isn't always confident in it. If we are at a restaurant or something where she needs help from a worker she will whisper to someone else to ask them lol.
But yeah maybe it just seems too random to people for them to want to have a conversation.

Yeah.

Learned this first hand, some years back, while promoting a business I had then started.

While out handing out fllyers, I noticed that there was a high percentage of people who turned it down outright.

And I'm a guy who women have always stopped to stare at.

So I'm thinking 'well, that can't be it - I know what...'

So I changed my tactics, and next thing I knew, I was out of flyers.

Sometime later, while doing some Evangelism with a group of Jews For Jesus, I found they used a tactic similar to the one I had figured out.

Another time, I passed a brand new ice cream shop with its' large window wide open, and someone hanging out from it miserably failing at enticing passers by to come in and a snall some ice cream sample.

Feeling for them, I said 'try this...'

As some one was nearing the store, I said to them 'now those are a great looking pair of sneakers!' (they were, which made the compliment easier to come up with/dole out).

'By the way, this place has really great ice cream,' I said to them - 'here, try some - on the house - but ya have to tell me where you got those great sneakers from - just kidding, here ya go - enjoy!'

Two other people walking by then said they'd like to try some too.

So I looked over at two more people headed our way and looking over at us, and said 'Yep! You two can also have some, lol.'

Next thing I knew, the shop was full, I had a new friend, and all the free ice cream I could eat!

Piece of cake this tactic.

Simply make a comment about something they are doing or wearing, followed by a question about it, followed by a comment about yourself...

'Looks like an interesting book - what's it about?'

I once said to someone that their hair looked awful, lol.

I then quickly added 'just kidding - actually it looks really great - do they do men's hair?'

And off we went into, the art of talking with total strangers...

The thing is to just get in there and get the process going.

Then later, as you reflect on where you ended up off, you look for ways to better improvise with the next person, and the next, and the next.