Semyon is a Russian TikToker living in Viet Nam. (Photo: Courtesy)

I am Sam (Semyon), a Russian from Moscow. I am currently living in Ho Chi Minh City. I came to Viet Nam in 2023 and have been connected to this country for nearly three years. That has been long enough for me to observe Viet Nam in my own way…

At seven in the morning, small cafés and street-side drink stalls are already nearly full. Low plastic chairs are arranged closely together on the pavements. Vendors prepare coffee while remembering which regular customers prefer iced black coffee or bạc xỉu. Some people sit alone, reading the news on their phones. Groups of friends sip their coffee and chat. From time to time, an entire table bursts into laughter over a very ordinary story.

Vietnamese people have a habit of sitting together over coffee and chatting.

I often sit there for quite a long time. What catches my attention is not the coffee itself. It is the way people make time for one another.

In many places where I have lived, a café is somewhere people stop by before starting work. They drink quickly and leave. In Viet Nam, however, a cup of coffee can last an entire morning. Some people finish their drinks long ago but remain seated. No one rushes to bring the conversation to an end. No one seems impatient about having spent an extra few dozen minutes.

Semyon enjoys street-side drink stalls. (Photo: Courtesy)

That is one of the first images that made me feel that life in Viet Nam has a rhythm of its own.

Before coming here, I knew very little about Viet Nam. I knew about phở, bánh mì and a few stories about the war. Some friends who had lived in Viet Nam told me that it was an interesting country. I decided to come.

At first, I only planned to stay for a short time. But then I stayed longer than I had expected. Perhaps it was because every day here, I came across small things that were surprisingly easy to remember.

I have often been invited by friends to their homes for meals. Before eating, everyone waits until all family members have arrived before sitting down. The mother calls her children in from the yard. The father brings extra bowls and chopsticks for the grandparents. During the meal, the conversation moves from work to school, then to the neighbours and stories about their hometown. After eating, no one is in a hurry to get up. More tea is poured. The conversation continues.

In Viet Nam, a meal is a time for people to be together.

I also enjoy walking through the small alleys.

Semyon enjoys walking through small alleys. (Photo: Courtesy)

In the afternoon, many families bring chairs outside their homes. Children run and play on the pavements. Adults sit and chat with their neighbours. A shopkeeper remembers the name of a regular customer who comes by every morning. A motorbike taxi driver stops to give directions to a stranger. Greetings, smiles and a few words of inquiry happen naturally, without any special reason.

Perhaps because these scenes are repeated every day, many Vietnamese people no longer pay much attention to them.

But to me, they are the things I remember most.

Viet Nam is developing very quickly, but what impresses me more is that the rhythm of everyday life does not seem to be swept away.

People still make time to meet friends after work. They still sit together over a cup of coffee. They still return home to share a meal with their families.

Semyon tries Saigon-style cơm tấm. (Photo: Courtesy)

I am now a TikToker, making videos about Viet Nam. In fact, I do not try to seek out anything particularly unusual. I simply record what I see every day. It may be a pavement café, a family meal, or an afternoon when neighbours sit outside their homes and chat…

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