Week Two

The week began with a lecture on 'Labor Relations in the US' to 40 undergraduate students in the Business Administration major. We started with an overview and then broke into small group discussions about the similarities and differences between Vietnam/US labor relations. My interpreter, Mr. Tung, had studied the material prior to class and, as I understood from the students, did a great job interpreting (from English to Vietnamese and back again!). Most of Tuesday was taken up by editing conference papers in preparation for a women's conference which the Academy is hosting in mid-October. The abstracts and papers were quite interesting--the theme of the conference is Women and Entrepreneurship in the Industrial Revolution 4.0. I'll also be presenting a paper from the U.S. perspective. On Wednesday, Eric and I were invited to a 2 hour conversation with the English Club where we simply sat in a circle and talked about many different topics- the purpose, of course, was to practice English. Today I'll begin preparing for next week's lectures, catching up on emails and other work not related to Vietnam.

"All work and no play..."
Of course, with Eric around, the fun never ends. He is quite industrious, curious and loves an adventure, so while I'm working, he does his own thing---by himself, with his friends and then makes new friends. When I'm not working, I get to join in the fun. This week we have had invites to several dinners and lunches- some with friends, some with VWA faculty. The motorbike runs beautifully and we now have some new "sturdy" helmets which we have decided will come home with us since we plan to make more trips back to Vietnam in the future. Last night we were caught in rush hour traffic which is just an amazing mass of cars and motorbikes, all vying for an inch or space to move forward- some of us gave up and the sidewalk then became part of the road. It was a madhouse. We decided, instead of battling with the traffic, we would stop for coffee until the roads cleared- it was great fun watching the madness of rush hour while sipping cafe sua da!

We were also invited over the weekend to visit the Citadel- the old "Forbidden City" which is currently being excavated. We toured the Citadel with Ms. Chi, her husband, and baby followed by Bun Cha- one of my favorite dishes in Vietnam.

 

 The room where the Vietnam War strategy was executed

 Entrance to the Citadel