City Diary is special: a place where expats and locals can share their thoughts and stories on life in Vietnam, whether the subject is traffic, cheating, places to visit, a bad experience, or anything in between. To my knowledge there aren’t any other pages like this in Vietnam, where people can discuss important issues on the website of a newspaper, through their own articles.

Beginning today I will be the main contributor at the City Diary page. I’ve been living in Saigon for nearly two years, and visiting the site has become part of my daily routine. I hope that I can continue improving on the great work that has already been done here, and I need your help to do that. If you’ve got something you want to share, even if it’s just a couple of paragraphs, feel free to send it to matatarski@gmail.com or  expat@tuoitre.com.vn and join the conversation.

There’s no shortage of major topics worth talking about. For instance, the allegations of widespread cheating during last month’s national high school graduation exams are worrying. Several contributors have shared their thoughts already, but it would be great to here more opinions, especially with the all-important university entrance exams coming up.

Gambling also has struck a chord with readers. Under multiple headlines, football-mad locals have bet away their livelihoods on Euro matches. In the most striking example of the ugly side of gambling, a recent story highlighted a man who killed his wife and daughter, and then himself, because he couldn’t repay the debts he had piled up during the just-concluded tournament. If anyone, particularly someone from Vietnam, has any insight on why so many people were willing to sell off motorbikes, laptops, and even lives to wager on football, I would love to hear it.

Those are just two examples, but there are plenty of others. As an expat, I am equally interested to hear the perspective of both foreigners and locals, and am excited to see what this page will become. I’ve got big shoes to fill, but with your contributions we can continue to make City Diary a must-visit for anyone interested in life in Vietnam.

Michael Tatarski (second from R - second row) at a meeting held by Tuoi Tre Newspaper and its English newswire, Tuoitrenews.vn, in commemoration of the 2nd birthday of the news service and the 87th anniversary of Vietnam Journalism Day (June 21st).