😁🤣 Interview with vtt3613 😂🤦‍♂️

Interview with @vtt3613 05.07.2026

Thank you very much that i can interview you @vtt3613!! 🙏🙏😊😊 I have 20 questions but with each part i ask 5 every time. And if you dont like a question you can just tell me and i can make a new one!!! 😃

BUTTT before i post the first part of the interview, i wanted to say something else. I always ask which 4 emojis the person likes for in the title and this time i want also to copy what @vtt3613 wrote because it is super funny!! 😛 😛

I think the questions are fine, so let's go with them then.

But first thing, the emojis, although I may use a lot of emojis, the variety is actually not a lot, so I guess they are 😁🤣😂🤦‍♂️. These are the four ones that I think I used the most so far. But wait, why does when the emojis line up like this, it looks like a plot for a tragicomedy or something? I don't remember where, but I think in one of the forum posts I read, there was a question about if you could turn your life into a book title, what would it be. Something like that. Well, "Don't make your life miserable like me" could be a good one then, with those 4 emojis on the book cover.

⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ PART I

1: How long have you been a member on PPG and what are the things that you like the most? What kind of forums do you like the most and what kind of people do you like to chat with? And do you maybe have tips for @Etienne to make PPG better?

Okay, so my story with PPG can be a legend of my own, so bear with me for the long story.

On my profile, it says that I'm here for 2 years. It will actually be 3 years in November 2026, if I'm correct.

So back in November 2023, during just one of my boring days, somehow I recalled the word "penpal" that I learned during English classes from almost 20 years ago. So I googled it, and actually PPG is not the first site I found, it was another one called "penpalworld". I created my account there, but for some reasons whenever I logged out and logged back in there, my account was suspened. Twice actually. So I gave up there, googled again, and found PPG.

And even here, actually until March 2025, you may not see my account appearing anywhere here, no matter how many posts I wrote on the forum, or how many messages I sent to other people. The reason is, I was shadow banned during the time. Reason for the shadow banned is, I was using VPN when I created the account here.

That's why from November 2023 to March 2025, no matter how did I try to contact other people, either through forum or messages, I never got any replies back. But at the time I thought maybe my profile or forum posts were not interesting enough to other people, so I don't think too much about it. Even though with that situation, I don't spend much time here during that time. Some of you can be surprised why I don't give up here eventually with that situation.

It was until one faithful day in March 2025, I got replies from one account which was just created less than a month at the time. However, after just a short conversation, that account turned out to be a scammer, you know, the type that would send you some 'suspicious' links. But it was also that moment when I realized maybe I was shadow banned on PPG. I play chess on lichess, and there, if an account got caught for cheating, they will mark the account so people know, but they still let the account logged in and play, but only play with other cheaters. So I thought maybe it is the same here, shadow banned accounts talking to shadow banned accounts only.

Regardless, I emailed the admin here, asking hey whether I was shadow banned, and what is the reason for that? @Etienne said that using VPN is actually what scammers usually do when they create accounts here, trying to cover their trace, so you could be shadow banned automatically for that. I guess that was also why my accounts on penpalworld were suspended. But then he reviewed my accounts, everything is clean, so I'm free, and here I am now.

About what kind of forums that I like most. It's hard to say since it depends on the topics and the title of the posts. Trivia results is defenitely the one I visited the most, just to learn new stuffs, and feel the pain whenever I missed an easy question. I'm here almost everyday for the trivia session actually. Other kinds of forum that I like is the one talking about culture or customs around the world, I guess. History is also good for me but I don't recall seeing any lately here. But as I said before, I am quite busy recently, so I am more of a reader than a writer on the forum these days, so you may not see me a lot there.

About the people who I like to chat with. Usually, I'm not the one to reach out first, so either I have to see something special in that particular profile, say common hobbies with mine for examples. Or something else that I find interesting, and that can be so random, so even I can't be sure about it. Or if I see that profile says they are from Vietnam, and in the profile picture, I see that they are surely not Vietnamese, I would be interested and send a message asking them what are they doing there immediately. But oh boy, I think recently I'm more active on the forum than talking with other people through messages these days. And I already said that I'm more of a reader on the forum, so you could imagine how active I am here.

But don't worry guys. Even though I said that I'm not usually the first one to reach out, but if you guys want to talk with me, just send a message. There's a reason why there is a "High Reply Rate" badge on my profile guys.

And tips for @Etienne to make PPG better? I would say things are looking good now, the community is positive for the most part, so I can't think of anything to improve it further right now. Maybe bring back the old chat room is okay, but even I know it was not used much back then, so it's not that important. I know Etienne runs the site by himself and it's a lot so I can't ask much.

But even so, I remember last month, or maybe it was 2 months ago, we had bombardment from 4 accounts from scammers. And after that sometimes we still get one from them. How come they did not get the shadow banned right in the first place while I got one for years. YEARS. Yeah, I am throwing shade at you right now @Etienne 🤣😎

The next questions come later because the post was too long with maximum characters it said!!! So the last four questions i will post below in 30 minutes!!! 😛 😛

2: What is your hometown in America like? Is it a very big city or smaller? And what is the nicest part to see in your hometown if people visit it? And you wrote on your profile that you were born in Vietnam. Do you prefer to live in USA or Vietnam and what are things that you like more of both countries? And do you still have family or friends in Vietnam?

So right now, I live in a small city in the state of Massachusetts (Commonwealth of Massachusetts is what it is called officially) called Marlborough. It is a small city with more than 40 000 people. And although it is officially a city, I usually say that it is called a city, but looks more like a town. When I was in Vietnam, I lived in the biggest city in the country, Ho Chi Minh city (although we the locals there usually call it with the old name Saigon), with 14 million people living there, so you could see the big difference when I moved to the US. Even the biggest city in Massachusetts is Boston, I think the population is just around 600 000 or 700 000.

But still, for the last 5 years, Marlborough also grew quite a lot, as I see a lot of new buildings, new business during that time.

The nicest part to see in Marlborough? I would say the Main Street is the best part of the city, It is where the City Hall was located, and the building is a very nice old building. And the general viewing is also quite nice. Also, there was a lot of restaurants and cafes where you can enjoy meals there. Let's say the first few years when I moved to the US, when I want to eat pizza or hamburger, I went for the big brands like Domino Pizza or McDonald's or Burger King. I did not know better at the time. But oh man, when I discovered that the local family owned business can do the same, and sometimes the quality is even better, nowadays I prefer the local one than the big brands. Plus, it supports the local business too. If you are reading this, and you live in the US, please support the local business.

Also, in Marlborough, we have an annual Labor Day parade. This is the US Labor Day I'm talking about, first Monday in September, not Mayday.

And if you're intrested in history, Marlborough is also where the John Brown Bell located. If you know about American Civil War history, you may recognize that is the bell related to John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry. Second-most important bell in American history, as people said.

Okay, so if I have to choose between living in the US or Vietnam, I think I would choose the US.

Yes, in Vietnam there are things that I like. Cuisine for example, even there are a lot of Vietnamese restaurants in Massachusetts, there are still some dishes that I can't find anywhere. And if I want to buy something, I can just walk a few minutes to a small store, then go home. Also, the neighbors tend to communicate and care for each other more than what I see in the US, although at the same time they can be more nosy. Let's say if you are doing bad in school, and somehow one of your neighbor knows about it, big chances, there are 10 more neighbors would know about it, then 10 turns to 20, and so on. CCTVs run on rice, in Vietnam we have a lot.

But in the US, I see the etiquette, for example get in a line to get on a bus. When I was still there, get on a bus could be a nightmare during rush hour. I see the professionalism of the government officials. When I was in Vietnam, once I had a form to be signed by the local police officer, I had to wait for 4-5 hours at the local police station, as he was away somewhere playing xiangqi (Chinese chess), and when he returned, he just rejected the form and did not sign it saying it is not in true standard, while it was a form from my college. Compare it to the time when I had to get my photograph taken for US Citizenship test, even though the appointment was at 11 a.m., I was at USCIS office at 10 a.m., as the office is in another state (New Hampshire). When I was there, there was just a few people who were also get photo taken, but since I was so early, I thought okay cool, I'll just wait then. To my surprise, just 5-10 minutes later, they said it was my turn. I even had to ask one of the staffs are we not waiting until 11, and he just said no. See the big difference?

Keep in mind this was from my experience 10 years ago, so I hope things changed in Vietnam. But from the news that I read? 🤦‍♂️

Also, as I said before, in Vietnam I live in the biggest city in the country, meaning it can be very noisy, while I like the quietness of Marlborough now. I know this could be a contradiction, as I like to live in the city, but at the same time, I like to live somewhere quiet. Luckily, there's one place like that for me.

And yes, I still have friends in Vietnam. I did not live in the US until I was 23, so friends from secondary school, senior high school, even in college, they are still in Vietnam (well most of them, a lot moved to other countries too), and I still keep contact with them.

3: What are your biggest hobbies if you have time for yourself? And what kind of work do you do or do you study now? And what kind of thing do you want to do in the future?

Okay, so right now I'm working as a machine operator, I will keep the name of the company as a secret for now. So it's just a normal blue-collar job, nothing to see here 😁

Okay, so about hobbies, I have some, for examples football (soccer), video games, history... But if I have to choose one for the biggest, I would say chess. I play a lot online on lichess, with the same account name vtt3613 too. Anyone here on PPG also play there, there could be chances we already played against each other. Just stop by and say hi to me if you're there.

And I'm not just playing online. I also play in some tournaments too, starting just 3 years ago. Not really big tournaments, but I do have USCF ratings.

Right now, I have a stable job, so things are okay for me. If there's something I want to do in the future, perhaps it is improving my chess skills, and trying to become a chess instructor one day. But oh boy, that would need a great effort from me. If you read my profile, laziness is my biggest challenge 😁

Or maybe I could try to become a chess streamer, and do a series of rating climber. There you could see me play like Mikhail Tal or Bobby Fischer in one game, then get checkmated in less than 10 moves the very next game 😁

4: If you can change 3 things in BOTH the USA and Vietnam what would you change if you could decide it?

Okay so if there are 3 things in both the US and Vietnam that I would change

First one on the list. Public transport. Actually I think this part is what the US and Vietnam got in common the most, the public transport is not very good. In both countries, people have to relied on individual vehicle. In the US, it's the car, in Vietnam, it's motorcycle. Unless you live in a big city, then public transport is not very widespread. As I said, since I live in the biggest city when I was in Vietnam, so I could manage somehow without driving. Here in the US, the city I'm living in now is small, so I have to drive 99% of the time whenever I want to go somewhere.

Don't get me wrong, I know the advantage of individual vehicles. Myself, I also like to take a spin in my car, but it's in freetime. If it's after a tiring 8-hour workday, I prefer to get on a bus, sit back and relax while getting home than keeping the focus for another 20-30 minutes behind the driving wheel. Just give me more option to travel to choose, please.

Second thing, maybe the housing crisis. I don't know if this is also the situation anywhere else in the world, but surely both the US and Vietnam is having a housing crisis. I see that new houses were still being built, but the price is too high, and people with lower income could not afford it.

Third one, maybe I would pick the school violence. Again, I don't know how bad this is anywhere else in the world, and how much the media exaggerate it, but it seems like it's an issue. I know that most kids are good, but with the rise of school violence I've seen, it's quite worrying. In my book, even if you don't get good grades in school, as long as you have good friends, who are ready to back you up when you're in trouble, and if you don't have big problems with teachers, then your school life is already fine. So seeing kids bullying, fighting against each other, it's just sad.

The post is still too long so i will upload the last question and answer later!!! 🙂 And i think it is actually really positive because this way people who like the interview can really read about u and your life!!! And it is not just one line so u really took time for the answers!! ✨🌈🏆

This is the last part of the first 5 questions!!! I hope that people like to read what @vtt3613 wrote!! 😊😊😇😇

5: What are 3 things of your bucket list that you would really like to do in your life and do you think that you will do them between now and 5 years?

Okay, so now are the 3 things that is on my bucket list that I would want to do.

First one, I would like to go to visit Budapest one day. Sometimes I imagine myself being on a boat on Danube river, enjoy the surrounding scenery with all the bridges and buildings while Ion Ivanovici's Danube's Waves is being played. Beautiful just to think about right?

Let's just hope that Danube river nowadays is not too polluted 😁

Oh, and guess what is one of my favorite chess openings? It's Budapest Gambit 😁 I don't know if I like to visit the city first before knowing the opening, or vice versa.

All right, second thing. It has to be improving my chess skills, improving my ratings. But as I said so many times, my laziness 🤦‍♂️

But yeah, after a long tiring working day, I just don't have any energy, stamina or motivation to learn new stuffs. Maybe I need someone who can motivate me to get up and learn then 🤣

All right, so the third thing, I would like one day I take some classes of fencing, as I find the sport is very interesting. I also would like to learn waltz dance someday. But amongst the three things, this part is actually the most unlikely that I would do between now and 5 years. Simply put, I don't have any dexterity for any of those 🤣

For the first two, I would rate that would be 5/10 that would likely to happen. Visit Budapest may actually more likely to happen, as I was almost there last year. A group of my friends in the US had a plan to go to Germany, Czech, Slovakia, Austria last year, and I was about to join them, with the plan that after they go home, I'll stay in Europe a bit and go to Budapest. Then suddenly during the planning phrase, my old company moved to another state, so I have to find a new job, hence I have to save money and had to cancel what I want to do.

Learning fencing or waltz, yeah, that would be 3/10 that would likely to happen. But who knows, chances are low but not zero, right? 🤣

Thank you very much for the first part of this interview @vtt3613!! 🙏🙏😊😊 If anybody wants to ask a question or post a comment you can do that below ⬇️⬇️ or write @vtt3613 a message!! 🙂 More interviews of PPG members are on this page: overview of interviews.

And about fencing: if you have questions i know that @Miss_Penpal does fencing so she can give tips and also she can beat u with eyes closed maybe!!! 🤭🤭😋 (Sorryyy that is a joke!!) 🙂 And btw what is your first name if u want to share? Because it feels robotyy if i call you @vt3613 but ONLYYY if you want to tell of course!! 🙏🙏

But even so, I remember last month, or maybe it was 2 months ago, we had bombardment from 4 accounts from scammers. And after that sometimes we still get one from them. How come they did not get the shadow banned right in the first place while I got one for years. YEARS. Yeah, I am throwing shade at you right now @Etienne 🤣😎

Oh boy, if only people knew the sheer number of fake accounts that try to sign up on a daily basis 😂️. Some slip through the cracks, but the fraud detection success rate is probably around 99%. Some legitimate accounts occasionally get blocked because they tend to resemble fraudster patterns (like what happened to you, @vtt3613). VPNs aren't bannable per se, but using one is one of many signals that can lead the system to believe the user could be fraudulent

Oh boy, if only people knew the sheer number of fake accounts that try to sign up on a daily basis 😂️. Some slip through the cracks, but the fraud detection success rate is probably around 99%. Some legitimate accounts occasionally get blocked because they tend to resemble fraudster patterns (like what happened to you, @vtt3613). VPNs aren't bannable per se, but using one is one of many signals that can lead the system to believe the user could be fraudulent

Merciii beaucoupp monsieur!!! Can i maybe ask what other signals that you put in the system for frauds than only VPN? And how many new accounts are blocked like that every day normally? 🙄🙄 And @vtt3613 your account works now fully i hope so that is good!!! 🙂

Merciii beaucoupp monsieur!!! Can i maybe ask what other signals that you put in the system for frauds than only VPN?

I can't answer that, I don't want to publicly give away information that can be used against PPG

And how many new accounts are blocked like that every day normally? 🙄🙄 And @vtt3613 your account works now fully i hope so that is good!!! 🙂

On a normal day I'd say 20-25%

I can't answer that, I don't want to publicly give away information that can be used against PPG

On a normal day I'd say 20-25%

Owww whoopsyy!!! I did not mean to ask about the secrets so it will keep working!!! 😛 😛

ANDDDD @vtt3613 i will soon make the questions for the NEXT part!!! 🙂

@Yue_ Hey, thanks for posting the first part of the interview. And I don't realize that my answers could be that long, especially the first one, which can reach the words limit for a forum post 😁

As I said before, I'm looking forward to the next questions.

And by the way, my Vietnamese first name is Tú, which means "a star". In Vietnamese, the name order would go from last name first, then middle name, and then first name. So my full name would be Võ Thanh Tú. And Thanh in Vietnamese could mean "blue", so my middle name and first name, when combining together, would mean "blue star".

But you can also call me Jose, actually, as I changed my name when I had US Citizenship.

This is the last part of the first 5 questions!!! I hope that people like to read what @vtt3613 wrote!! 😊😊😇😇

5: What are 3 things of your bucket list that you would really like to do in your life and do you think that you will do them between now and 5 years?

Okay, so now are the 3 things that is on my bucket list that I would want to do.

First one, I would like to go to visit Budapest one day. Sometimes I imagine myself being on a boat on Danube river, enjoy the surrounding scenery with all the bridges and buildings while Ion Ivanovici's Danube's Waves is being played. Beautiful just to think about right?

Let's just hope that Danube river nowadays is not too polluted 😁

Oh, and guess what is one of my favorite chess openings? It's Budapest Gambit 😁 I don't know if I like to visit the city first before knowing the opening, or vice versa.

All right, second thing. It has to be improving my chess skills, improving my ratings. But as I said so many times, my laziness 🤦‍♂️

But yeah, after a long tiring working day, I just don't have any energy, stamina or motivation to learn new stuffs. Maybe I need someone who can motivate me to get up and learn then 🤣

All right, so the third thing, I would like one day I take some classes of fencing, as I find the sport is very interesting. I also would like to learn waltz dance someday. But amongst the three things, this part is actually the most unlikely that I would do between now and 5 years. Simply put, I don't have any dexterity for any of those 🤣

For the first two, I would rate that would be 5/10 that would likely to happen. Visit Budapest may actually more likely to happen, as I was almost there last year. A group of my friends in the US had a plan to go to Germany, Czech, Slovakia, Austria last year, and I was about to join them, with the plan that after they go home, I'll stay in Europe a bit and go to Budapest. Then suddenly during the planning phrase, my old company moved to another state, so I have to find a new job, hence I have to save money and had to cancel what I want to do.

Learning fencing or waltz, yeah, that would be 3/10 that would likely to happen. But who knows, chances are low but not zero, right? 🤣

Thank you very much for the first part of this interview @vtt3613!! 🙏🙏😊😊 If anybody wants to ask a question or post a comment you can do that below ⬇️⬇️ or write @vtt3613 a message!! 🙂 More interviews of PPG members are on this page: overview of interviews.

And about fencing: if you have questions i know that @Miss_Penpal does fencing so she can give tips and also she can beat u with eyes closed maybe!!! 🤭🤭😋 (Sorryyy that is a joke!!) 🙂 And btw what is your first name if u want to share? Because it feels robotyy if i call you @vt3613 but ONLYYY if you want to tell of course!! 🙏🙏

Very interesting Jose. We have talked briefly about the quiz in the past. My real name is Steve, and I live near Passau which is on the river Danube. Since I have lived here (5 years) I wanted to do the river cruise through Austria, Hungary and Slovakia and back. There are several companies that offer this cruise (or similar) and last summer we decided to do it. It took a week, and was very nice. You get to see lovely views and stop at places along the way. We stopped at all three capital cities, and Budapest was the nicest in my opinion. The cruises are pretty expensive, but I think it’s worth it considering that the food is good, and I wanted to have the drinks package included. The river is very clean, although not blue (as Johann Strauss would have you believe) but more of a dark green colour or even milky in some places. I was happy to see a fish eagle on the way back. They have repopulated along the river after a decline in numbers, which tells us that the water is very clean and there are plenty of fish. Let me know if you want to see a few pictures of the trip, but if you want to wait and see it all for yourself I can understand that.

@Yue_ Hey, thanks for posting the first part of the interview. And I don't realize that my answers could be that long, especially the first one, which can reach the words limit for a forum post 😁

As I said before, I'm looking forward to the next questions.

And by the way, my Vietnamese first name is Tú, which means "a star". In Vietnamese, the name order would go from last name first, then middle name, and then first name. So my full name would be Võ Thanh Tú. And Thanh in Vietnamese could mean "blue", so my middle name and first name, when combining together, would mean "blue star".

But you can also call me Jose, actually, as I changed my name when I had US Citizenship.

If im honest i like the name Tú the most bc that was your official name and your parents gave it!!!! 🙂 But if u prefer Jose more now then i will use that name.

And sorryyy it was a bit busy with things this week because it is almost really summer holiday!!! And lot of friends go on holiday already in beginning so we do now lot of things together before they go away. But i will try to make the next part with questions today!! And as i already said i really like that u made lot of effort for the answers!!! 😊😊😇😇

Very interesting Jose. We have talked briefly about the quiz in the past. My real name is Steve, and I live near Passau which is on the river Danube. Since I have lived here (5 years) I wanted to do the river cruise through Austria, Hungary and Slovakia and back. There are several companies that offer this cruise (or similar) and last summer we decided to do it. It took a week, and was very nice. You get to see lovely views and stop at places along the way. We stopped at all three capital cities, and Budapest was the nicest in my opinion. The cruises are pretty expensive, but I think it’s worth it considering that the food is good, and I wanted to have the drinks package included. The river is very clean, although not blue (as Johann Strauss would have you believe) but more of a dark green colour or even milky in some places. I was happy to see a fish eagle on the way back. They have repopulated along the river after a decline in numbers, which tells us that the water is very clean and there are plenty of fish. Let me know if you want to see a few pictures of the trip, but if you want to wait and see it all for yourself I can understand that.

It is really beautiful way in which u described it Steve @LateLearner!!!! 🙏🌞🏆 I would really like to go to Budapest too and ALSO VIENNAAA!!!!! But i dont know a lot about the capital of Slovakia but then i guess that it is also really beautiful!! ANDDD maybe I and Nidhi @Nishu need to interview you TOO this summer if u would like that!!!! 🙂

If im honest i like the name Tú the most bc that was your official name and your parents gave it!!!! 🙂 But if u prefer Jose more now then i will use that name.

And sorryyy it was a bit busy with things this week because it is almost really summer holiday!!! And lot of friends go on holiday already in beginning so we do now lot of things together before they go away. But i will try to make the next part with questions today!! And as i already said i really like that u made lot of effort for the answers!!! 😊😊😇😇

It is really beautiful way in which u described it Steve @LateLearner!!!! 🙏🌞🏆 I would really like to go to Budapest too and ALSO VIENNAAA!!!!! But i dont know a lot about the capital of Slovakia but then i guess that it is also really beautiful!! ANDDD maybe I and Nidhi @Nishu need to interview you TOO this summer if u would like that!!!! 🙂

I'm in girllll, whenever you sayyyyy 🥹🤭✨