Dunno if it's related but it probably is - the Vietnamese economy is now going gangbusters because of deals they're doing with China and Russia. Surprisingly, we don't hear any complaints from western countries!
Anyway, it means VN parents can now send their kids overseas for study, which is very popular because the teachers in VN schools are either mostly un- or barely qualified locals or backpackers pretending to teach English! And with favoured destination Australia now tightening up the visa requirements to stop the shonks getting study visas but just using them to get relatively highly paid work instead - then sending the money home, of course!
Frustratingly, genuine folk like our niece Sunny are finding it tough to get a visa (even though she's only 11yo so hardly likely to wanna go there to work even if we let her, which we wouldn't!). We were advised instead to give it a few more years before applying for her student visa, which makes sense but annoys Linh because it means she can't live in Australia until we can get Sunny's visa.
I'm happy in VN, especially since so many of my former mates in Oz have either died or moved somewhere cheaper to live than Sydney. Gotta say VN feels more like home to me these days - especially as my remaining rellos are in Sth Africa, Finland and UK but none in Oz.
