Expats In Ho Chi Minh City: Guy, Canada
In a new series showcasing the stories shared by Expats in Vietnam, produced by Fred Wissink, we put together a few tidbits of notable expat personalities.
Name: Guy Leduc
Occupation: Businessman
Nationality: Canadian
Overseas Since: Since 1995
Could you name some of the countries you’ve lived in since leaving the place where you grew up?
Only Vietnam.
What’s your definition of ‘home’?
A place where I can speak French and where I really feel that I am at the right place, at home.
How did you become an expat?
I wanted to have a big change in my life and my Vietnamese wife made me come to Vietnam.
How has being an expat changed your perception of your home country?
I realized that Canada is one of the best places in the world to be born, raised and live.
Can you think of any particular moment, exchange or encounter that made you mentally or emotionally feel you’d left home “for good”?
When I found out that the Canadian government seized all my revenue and assets.
Do you have a pet hate about the country you currently live in?
If I understand correctly your question, then it’s the way Vietnamese drive on the street and the noise everywhere.
What’s most surprising or useful insight you could offer a newbie expat in your adopted country?
Be prepared:
- to be treated as a visitor
- to accept the fact that there is lots of corruption
- to be mugged at some point, petty theft
- to be hot in this weather!
What, if anything, do the expats you’ve met have in common?
We are hard workers and we are honest.