It is not my first time working in Asia, but Vietnam definitely gave me some surprises. It has been about 3 weeks since I have arrived in Hanoi and I have finally found a sense of comfort. I am working at MCG Management Consulting and it has been extremely different from what I had imagined.
On our first day of introduction, the company threw the three of us a mini party. They bought pineapples, lychee, cookies, grapes, and many different Vietnamese snacks for us to try. Everyone gathered around the table and we all introduced ourselves. It was a pleasant first day that we never expected. The culture of the company is very free and employees are encouraged to reach out for assistance when necessary. Our manager would occasionally check up on us but would give us a lot of time to ourselves and a lot of freedom to do what we felt was best. We needed to become more independent and start asking for help because we realized we needed to adapt to our new environment. There were moments when misunderstands and miscommunication would happen mainly because of language barriers, but we always worked the problems out because we all wanted to make the best out of our time together. Although everyone works extremely hard individually, MCG has a “work hard okay hard culture” and they love throwing mini parties. The team loves to celebrate birthdays, new interns, and even resignations. One of the employees had resigned and was leaving soon and the team took pictures and had many Vietnamese deep fried foods ready for everyone to have. One of our interns got her VISA to study in Canada and she brought us Ice cream with sticky rice to celebrate. Sometimes, our colleagues would randomly buy milk tofu desserts just because she felt like it. Food seems to be a big part of celebration and happiness, or at least at MCG it is!
Caring and welcoming others can manifest in many different ways. At MCG, making time to eat together and chat is their way of caring and creating a welcoming atmosphere. I think that no matter where you go, appreciating how others care for you in their own way is the key to making your experience enjoyable.