16 Tips to Stay Healthy While Teaching in Vietnam
Teacher life in Vietnam comes with a unique set of health challenges that can easily be managed with the following tips.
By: Brennan Lagman
So you’ve set your eyes on Vietnam as your destination to teach English. After all, the Southeast Asian country is quickly becoming one of the top global destinations for English teachers!
As an industrialized tropical and sub-tropical country, Vietnam’s physical health hazards abound. But people also forget to consider the stress that comes with being far from home, navigating a completely foreign culture, and not having a solid support system of loved ones and friends.
All of those factors can build until they hit you like a tropical downpour in Ho Chi Minh City’s rush hour, which, if not addressed, can lead to teacher burnout, depression, and a myriad of other health issues.
But don’t worry! If you follow these 16 tips on how to maintain your health and wellness while living and working in Vietnam, you’ll be able to stay on top of your game and get the most out of your English teaching career here.
Physical Health Tips for Teaching In Vietnam
First, let’s look at some tips to keep in mind to care for your overall physical well-being.
1. Listen to Your Body
Be aware of the signals your body is sending you. The common flu-like side-effects of most diseases can and will happen. Horror stories of foodborne illness, mosquito-borne sicknesses, parasites, and communicable diseases can make it seem terrifying. More often than not, they are signals of manageable, non-disease related issues like dehydration, sleep deprivation, and exposure to higher levels of pollutants, to name a few.
Listen to your body and be sure to seek help and adjust your life accordingly.
2. Familiarize Yourself with the Healthcare Landscape
Before you arrive, research the clinics, hospitals, and urgent cares near your job and residence. That way you know where to go in case of an emergency. The Vietnamese Government invests greatly in pharmacies and hospitals, so there are options all around.
Pharmacies can be found in most neighborhoods, and all you need is a generic name of the medicine you need, or you can just describe your symptoms to a local pharmacist and get most medications for a cheap price. If you have specific medical needs, learn which pharmacies have what you need.
3. Choose Healthy Food Options
Food in Vietnam has different microorganisms, and the food safety standards are low for most places. As you eat your way through the country, use discretion. See how the food is prepared, make sure it is cooked fresh and has not been sitting too long, or it is re-cooked to piping hot before being served.
There are many western food options in major cities, but if you want to maintain a healthy and well-rounded diet, the best option is to cook your own food. That way you can control what goes into your body.
4. Stay Physically Active
International sporting activities like CrossFit, soccer, weight lifting and yoga are on the rise in Vietnam. But they also have a culture of maintaining physical wellness. Just go to the park in the morning and you’ll see people flocking to stretch and move. Most cities have local and foreign gym options, parks with calisthenics equipment, and/or boutique studios with other activities.
With all that extra free time, be sure to stay active!
5. Explore some Alternative Medicines
In the US or Europe, traditional Asian practices like cupping therapy or acupuncture can cost a fortune. In Vietnam, they are commonplace and much more accessible. Like anything, you should research the practice and practitioner and seek professional medical advice before you get any type of treatment for any disorders.
6. Wear Protective Clothing
The heat in Vietnam can be unbearable. Still, it’s important to protect your body! Overexposure to the equatorial sun can cause health issues, so wear light clothing to cover up commonly exposed skin areas.
Dawn and dusk are high times for disease-carrying mosquitos, so cover your limbs in long, loose-fitting clothes to avoid getting bit.
Also, air pollution is a big problem throughout the country, so be sure to wear a filtration facemask on smoggy days to protect your lungs from gases and dust.
Take Care of Your Mental & Emotional Health While Teaching in Vietnam
People who arrive to teach English here are generally aware of physical health issues. However, many are unprepared for the mental and emotional stress that comes with the job too. Be sure to practice these things to look after your heart and your head.
7. Self-Care Time
This is the most important thing here! It is easy to get lost in the excitement of socializing, wrapped up in the demands of work and lesson planning, and overwhelmed with all the adjustment phases you have to go through. In order to avoid having a mental or emotional breakdown, take time for yourself! Go to a spa, Netflix and chill, take naps, have silent time in the park, anything to help you decompress.
8. Keep in Touch
Homesickness comes and goes. To cope with it, be sure to reach out to people who make you feel at home. Part of the adjustment process is sharing what you are going through. Just err on the side of caution: keeping too much in touch can make homesickness worse!
9. Make New Friends
Your family and friends back home won’t always be able to relate or understand what you are going through, which can feel isolating. However, most foreigners here are going through a similar challenge, which is why they are generally easier to talk to than back home. And people start to feel like family very quickly! Both foreigners and locals are warm, easy to approach, and most people are very willing to help if you ask. [Ed: If you start your journey teaching English in Vietnam through Ninja Teacher Academy’s TESOL program you’ll meet a lot of great people when you arrive in Vietnam!]
10. Keep a Journal
Your new life as an English teacher in Vietnam will be full of surprises. Journaling helps you to make sense of what you are feeling and thinking as you go through all the motions. It is especially powerful because there are no rules or social dynamics at play, it’s just you and your thoughts. Plus, those memories will always be there for you to revisit and learn from later.
Maintain and Enhance Your Spiritual Health too!
Whether you consider yourself spiritual or not, spiritual health affects everyone. Things that are ‘spiritual’ are things that help us to find meaning, to express ourselves to the world and ultimately connect with people and things that resonate with our deeper self. Here are some tips to look after your spiritual health in Vietnam.
11. Take up Yoga and Meditation
Thanks to the prevalence of Buddhism and the country’s proximity to Yoga Meccas like Bali, Thailand, and India, Vietnam’s yoga scene is really on the rise. You can find yoga classes for a fraction of the price back home, and there are plenty of meditation practices as well.
12. Explore New Things
Humans love familiarity, and even in a place like Vietnam, its easy to get too comfortable with the routine. As you settle in, don’t forget to continue to try new foods, see new angles of your city, take a short staycation or vacation to a nearby town or province, keeping your experience here dynamic so you don’t begin to feel stagnant or stuck.
13. Take up a Hobby
If you happen to be in one of the larger cities, you will be a ‘big fish in a small pond.’ In many hobbies that are popular back home such as stand-up comedy, singing, or dancing, you may face less competition and pressure to outperform others. It is a great place to get your feet wet, dabble, and try some new things! Plus, everything is way more affordable.
14. Create
Finally, be sure to work your creativity too! Expressing yourself through dance, art, writing blogs, Vlogging, or Instagram –whatever helps you express yourself– will help you add meaning to this experience. There is an up-and-coming art scene in Vietnam, so join in on the the excitement.
Staying Healthy While Teaching in Vietnam is Totally Doable
No matter where you go to teach English in the world, maintaining a healthy lifestyle takes work! Even though life in Vietnam will present itself with health challenges, if you follow these tips, you are sure to take some of the mess out of the stress and have a more balanced English teaching experience.