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Usually expats living abroad use English as their lingua franca, but I’m also sure some of them are native to other languages. I’m really curious about this and if the situation has been raised before, I’ll appreciate a hint.

In my particular case, I’m a native Spanish speaker but also speak English.

So if I’m allowed to ask you all: Am I the only Spanish speaker here?

Or to widen the scope of my question: is there any other foreigner in here whose native language is different from English?

Thank you!

Byron
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Has anyone ever heard of these diseases? It turns out that their high prevalence, especially in the North of Vietnam, has inevitably been of concern to me.

Maybe and just maybe I’m exaggerating, but the sequelae, a disease like neurocysticercosis can leave, are sadly permanent. It’s known that taenia solium (Pork tapeworm) eggs have some preference for the central nervous system where they best strive forming bean-sized cysts in the brain. Those eggs are found in the feces of tapeworm carriers and the vast majority of them don’t ever realize they’ve been hosts until they have “accidentally” infected themselves and begin having noticeable symptoms like grandmal seizures.

It’s curious but despite of the fact that it’s endemic in Northern Vietnam, not all the specialists are completely aware of it and don’t take this seriously. The Ministry of Public Health should pay more attention to this. They should constantly remind people about improving their hygiene habits. It’s not really the same as catching a diarrhea or being food-poisoned. It just goes beyond that. There’s no vaccine to prevent it. Although the disease normally doesn’t kill, it does disable people.

After I learnt about all of this, I’ve been quite careful about things I touch or eat, because taenia solium eggs can survive up to two years out in the open waiting for some unsuspecting victim.

Just google “Neurocysticercosis Taeniasis Hanoi” or simply “Neurocysticercosis” to learn more about the disease.

There are carriers in Hanoi, and those carriers usually come from rural areas. I don’t really consider myself finicky, I’m just taking precautions and would like somehow let you know. :-)
I also know that washing one’s hands before handling food or eating and after using the toilet or having contact with soiled things are the solution, but unfortunately the failure may come from someone else.

Any comments will be appreciated, thanks!
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Answers (8)

Posted Monday October 29th, 2007.
Hi, Robin!

The only I can tell you is if you have an embassy of your country in here, you're practically done. No matter how bureaucratic they can get to be. I got married to a Vietnamese lady last year, too; considering that my country doesn't have an embassy here. :-) It was quite painful, but we made it! So I'm sure you'll get it, too! Wish you all the best!
In response to the question: This is for all of the romantics out there. Myself and my partner (a thoroughly wonderful Vietnamese lady) are planning on getting married in the near...
Posted Wednesday October 31st, 2007.
WOW! 3 Latin languages, e.i: French, Spanish and Portuguese!

Thank you very much for your answers. Now I see I'm not the only one. HEHE

How can we open up a new group for this?

¡Un grupo de hispanohablantes sería genial!

Soy latinoamericano de descendencia española e italiana; y de por sí, entiendo portugués sin poder hablarlo. (Ha de sonar contradictorio)

@Michal: Si llamas a la embajada de México puedes preguntar por el Señor Álvaro Castro. Él es una muy buena persona y te podrá ayudar en le que pudiere.

@Grubby: Thank you for the information. It will be great to have a multilingual interface! By the way, you've got a beautiful daughter! :-)

@Guadalquivir: ¿Cómo abrimos el grupo? ¡Es una idea magnífica!

@Back to all: I'm hoping to meet more people. Before I had a couple more friends but they've already gone back to their countries. :-( Since then, I've been around here virtually alone. HEHE

Thank you again!
¡Os agradezco a todos!
Merci beaucoup!
In response to the question: Usually expats living abroad use English as their lingua franca, but I’m also sure some of them are native to other languages. I’m really curious ...
Posted Monday November 19th, 2007.
It sounds quite nice to my ears and senses and I do like Vietnamese-related things. ^^ Definitely it's a song to relax and wouldn't wake up a sleeping baby.
In response to the question: Anyone could give a comment for this song? http://www.nhacso.net//Music/Song/Tru-Tinh/2006/01/05F601C1/Default.asp It is in english and composed and ...
Posted Monday April 14th, 2008.
Yes and Yes! (I'm even craving tacos now. HEHE!)
In response to the question: This is a survey i know it's not a place to do it but i really need your opinions, so the more answers you give, the better my survey is. Thank you in...
Posted Monday June 16th, 2008.
Oh, I've been looking for one of those, too! But without luck. :-(

What I didn't know is that you could get Skype credit without a credit card. How to do that??? I'd really appreciate it if you could give me some more info.

Cheers!

Byron
In response to the question: Good morning! Having found a way to get Skype credit on to a Skype account here in Vietnam without a credit card, I now want to buy a Skype phone for ...
Posted Friday June 20th, 2008.
Another thing is here IPS's throttle certain protocols (e.g. streaming media, HTTP, ...) and sometimes specific ports. Thresholds are scheduled and you'll get different speeds throughout the day (Peak/Off-peak hours).
That's why you can sometimes, let's say, get downloads at 128 Kb/s (Really fast) and you still can't watch a video at YouTube continuously and even pauses between breaks are long.

Besides everything that comes in and goes out of the country passes through MANY filters and firewalls, and yes, of course, unnecessarily. Ah! I almost forgot to mention that they really overdo it with the checksums in here.

All of this altogether makes internet speeds pretty lousy.

There's more I can add, but perhaps this is enough. :-)

Good luck!
In response to the question: Hellos, Anyone know the story on Internet speeds in Vietnam? What's the fastest REAL speed we can get here, meaning the connection to the outside...
Posted Monday June 30th, 2008.
I'd suggest Panasonic. I have no special reasons but that brand hasn't ever left me on the go.
In response to the question: Before I do a metro run and just buy the first thing I see, can anyone recommend the brand / model of a good basic microwave? And where the best pla...
Posted Monday July 21st, 2008.
You may also want to try Hanoi International College:

Add: 15 Cao Ba Quat street.

http://www.hicostudy.com
In response to the question: Does anyone know where I can take Spannish lessons? I have studied Spannish before and want to continue. Thank you!...