Nguyen Van Quoc, a new student of the HCM City University of Physical Education and Sports, complained that everything is too expensive in HCM City. “Before I left for HCM City, my parents gave me two million dong, which I spent all within three weeks,” he said.

“I have to spend money to buy some things for my new ‘home’. Besides, I have to pay for electricity, water, rental rooms. On average, I need 1.5 million dong a month at least,” said Nguyen Thi Thanh Tam, a new student of the HCM City University of Natural Sciences.

However, lacking money is not the only concern of new students. Most of them feel they are like a fish out of water in big cities. They have to get used to many changes in their lives. Especially, the living environment in big cities proves to be quite different from the environment in their home villages.

“Everything is small in big cities. The rental room is so tiny that we have to lie close to each other to share the same bed. There are three of us in the same room, but I feel the room is so cramped,” Bao Tran, a new student from Quang Ngai province, said.

“In my home village, our house is much bigger. We have a large garden where I can walk and do morning physical exercises. Meanwhile, here I have nowhere to go,” she added.

Meanwhile, Thu Thao, a new student from the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanity, said she feels inconvenient when sharing the same room with other girls.

“I live with two older girls. They have boyfriends and the boyfriends usually come to visit them. They carry out caressing manners right in the room and do not feel ashamed. As the result, I have to go out to give places to them,” she complained.

“Sometimes, the girls and boyfriends have dinners together and the men stay in our rooms until the next mornings. I think I have to look for another room to rent,” she added.

It seems that male students do not have the same problem, but they face other troubles. A lot of students said they were once forced to drink beer and wine, though they really did not want to.
A student related that he was told by elder students that he needs to join the parties with elder students in order to “integrate into the community”.

The Bao said he is living in Thu Duc University Village in HCM City. “Though it is a university village, you can see restaurants everywhere. Students are the main customers of the restaurants,” he said. “One time, I was forced to drink too much alcohol, and I could not go to class the next morning”.

Students also have to wary of burglars in big cities. “A student has lost a laptop worth more than ten million dong. She knows who the burglar is, but she dare not do anything, in case the burglar takes revenge on her.

However, despite a lot of big difficulties, students still have to keep living, studying in big cities, because they hope their lives will be bright after they finish schools and can find good jobs.

Source: VnMedia