WELCOME TO HO CHI MINH CITY! Thuy Thai– Foreign Service Institute
What is HCMC Out and About?
Self-study Program Ho Chi Minh City Out and About is one in a series of multimedia language/orientation resources designed for members of the official American community who may not have received formal training in their host country language. The general goal of these programs is to demystify the process of leaving the embassy cocoon and gettingOut and About in large cities where a modest amount of language capability can make a tour richer, more productive, and more enjoyable.
Who Produced it? Ho Chi Minh City: Out and About is the result of an enormous amount of creativity, effort, and teamwork on the part of FSIs School of Language Studies and the Instructional Support Division. - Content Developers, Photographers - Graphic Designers, Instructional Designers - Programmers - Audio-Visual Production - Project Management - Quality Assurance Team
Key Topics Ho Chi Minh City Out and About is divided into seven units, introducing the following key topics: 1) Getting Started 2) Getting Around 3) Getting Food 4) Getting Things 5) Getting Enriched 6) Getting Help 7) Resources
Vietnamese alphabet Southern Vietnamese sound system Common expressions Numbers, money, and time
Signs Directions Modes of intra-city transportation
Food in a market Meal customs and etiquette Ordering food in a restaurant
Shopping for necessities Shopping for gifts and souvenirs Types of stores and markets
Historic sites Museums and parks Entertainment
Medical emergencies Routine medical care Fire and police emergencies
Family Forms of address Holidays Weather Maps
What Else Does It Have? Ho Chi Minh City Out and About includes a total of over 20 hours of reading and listening material, and over 300 interactive exercises of many types. ARecord and Compare feature allows you to compare your own pronunciation to the native Southern Vietnamese speakers in the program.
Where Can I Get It? Ho Chi Minh City Out and About is available online for all federal government personnel and eligible members. For more information, please contact FSI at For general public, Ho Chi Minh City Out and About program will be available to purchase at
Thank You for Coming!