Tieng Viet lovers club

[vietboy]

Originally Posted by sgbiker23

hi there does anyone know is there a club in singapore call paradise?

no, i only know of this Tieng Viet lovers club.

u post wrong thread lah. here not singapore club thread.

[ngropy]

Originally Posted by vietboy

chey....

she sms to u wrongly ha? so this means that she also have a singkie guy who knows TV. skali is one of the bros here!

80% of those words are short-formed, how possibly can u find that in any dict?

my guess: she and that guy are talking about something about the guy's that is funny previously. she mentioned that this thing is known by all, so she just wanna mention it so to laugh about it with the guy. something like that.

icic.. ya loh.. coz i saw her sms have "a" and i suppose it to be "anh". So i figure out she must be talking to a guy. just want to decode see what is happening around my surrounding.. hehe..

[jackbl]

Using Food to Celebrate Our Differences
================================================== ===========
Food is the perfect medium for us to both celebrate and bridge our cultural differences. Whether we hail from Vietnam, The United States, Germany or beyond, food is the one constant near and dear to all our hearts. A meal showcasing the best of a local culture is a great way to open dialogue between people of different backgrounds.

The journey ingredients make from market to plate is one of the more noticeable differences between Vietnam and my native America. While some of the meats, fruits and vegetables are found in either country, any similarities end here, for each country cooks up its own distinct flavor.

Back home my fellow Americans are likely to shop once a week in a large air conditioned supermarket. Groceries arriving home in plastic bags are transferred to large pantries, refrigerators and freezers for use in the upcoming week. These groceries consuming a good portion of the household budget are generally frozen, processed or canned.

Much to my surprise and delight, Vietnam’s street market culture has opened my Western eyes to the value of freshness and daily shopping. The wide selection of fruits and vegetables laid out in narrow shophouses exudes freshness and is such a refreshing change from prepackaged items in the average Western grocery store.

Shopping fresh every day would prove time consuming and laborious to a Western person leading a hectic life, yet I notice many Vietnamese value this time honored tradition.

Whether we shop Vietnamese or Western style, the preparation of the actual meal showcases the uniqueness of our cultures as well. American food stereotypically plates up on the heavier side with large pieces of grilled or oven baked meats paired with a starch, such as bread and potatoes. Smaller bite size pieces typify the average Vietnamese stir fry, with rice the ubiquitous base. Perhaps one of the reasons for this difference is the Western use of knife and fork versus chopsticks and a spoon.

I will go out on a limb here and posit that the average American is more likely to use a convenience food rather than cook from scratch. Anything other than cooked from scratch seems a foreign concept here in Vietnam. How many of us expats have been so proud to prepare a “home cooked” meal of jarred spaghetti sauce and packaged noodles pulled out of a kitchen cabinet?

Were we to apply the Vietnamese approach to our Western cooking, that ten minute spaghetti meal would morph into many hours of careful preparation, starting with a visit to the market to buy flour for the noodles and fresh vine ripe tomatoes for the sauce.

Indeed, we Westerners seek out ease and efficiency and would prefer everything done at lightning speed. Vietnamese on the other hand value tradition, and if food takes hours to prepare, so be it.

For example, the flavorful broth we enjoy with our steaming bowls of pho is a recipe shared by generations of cooks before us. Many people still spend hours boiling bones to impart deep color and rich flavors for the perfect taste. Buying a can of chicken stock at the grocery store surely would save a day’s worth of preparation, but something factory-made can never compare to the freshest and most natural of ingredients turned into delicious food by our very own hands.

Neither approach is wrong, for we are products of our environment and upbringings. Celebrating our differences with local food is such a delicious avenue to better understand each other. Indeed, time spent at our neighbor’s table conquers cultural gaps that could normally leave us confused and scratching our heads in amazement.

For me, my taste of Vietnam has left an impression of deep textures, rich colors, and bold flavors so different from the predictability back home. I am thankful to have one foot in both worlds.

[jackbl]

The Milk King
====================
The roundabout at Nguyen Tri Phuong and Ngo Gia Tu on the border of Cholon and District 10 is an odd place for an outlet of one of Taiwan’s foremost snack chains. And yet on the wall of an unaffected, sidewalk-dining, local-style restaurant, is the unmistakable trademark of the Starbucks of the soy milk world, Yonghe Doujiang Da Wang. The name in Mandarin is a mouthful and the ostentatious translation is just as tough on the tongue — ‘The Eternal Harmony Soy Milk King’. Fortunately, the drinks and cuisine here are anything but.

Soy milk should be understood as the native equivalent of a latte in Asia, and it’s particularly popular in Taiwan. Taiwanese soy milk is thick, creamy, sweet and healthy, and Yonghe is considered by many as providing the tastiest concoction of what’s essentially crushed soybeans in water. Not all soy milk quite pleases the unadventurous palate, but Yonghe does a good job — as a credible franchise that’s been around since the 1980s, the quality is reliable, and the food items on the menu — based on favourite Chinese breakfast staples — are superb.

Cheap & Cheerful

The friendly, chubby, long-term owner is the first to admit that this is a tribute to the famous brand rather than an outlet, but decor notwithstanding, it’s easy to be fooled. Called Sua Dau Nanh Vinh Hoa in Vietnamese, every dish tastes as it does in Taiwan itself, which generates a lot of business with the staff of the nearby Taipei Economic & Cultural Office.

Even better, the dishes on offer are inexpensive. The soy milk, labelled on the menu as sua dau nanh (VND12,000) works as a thirst-quencher with ice or as a hot beverage with an oddly familiar mellowing quality on a warm evening. The store’s deep-fried dau cha quay (VND10,000) are like long toasty batons, as crispy and crunchy as the traditional northern Chinese variety; likewise the banh trung and banh mo hanh (egg and spring onion pancakes respectively, each VND17,000) are crusty and gently salty, and easy on the stomach.

More familiar international dim sum items from the Yonghe menu are also available here: bamboo baskets of steamed dumplings and buns are made on request at the counter, with favourites such as the banh bao tau xa (VND12,000), a bun stuffed with Chinese sweet bean paste, and regular fried dumplings (ha cao chien,VND35,000).

The tropical Vietnamese environment may be at the other end of the thermometer from the climates where these dishes became traditional winter breakfasts for the northern Chinese. But transported as they are to an unlikely corner of Ho Chi Minh City, they’re still welcome additions to the growing melange of local and international cuisine. — Michael Arnold.

Sua Dau Nanh Vinh Hoa, 243 Nguyen Tri Phuong, Q10. Open daily from 6am to 1am.

[jackbl]

His 1st official visit oversea since he took up the President post...... Envy him

Singaporean President begins Vietnam visit
===============================================
VietNamNet Bridge – President Tony Tan Keng Yam arrived in Hanoi on April 23, beginning a four-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang.

Vietnam-Singapore relations have developed well over the years through the exchange of high-level visits.

In 2004 Vietnam and Singapore signed a joint statement on the framework of comprehensive cooperation in the 21st century, laying a firm foundation for strengthening bilateral friendship and multifaceted cooperation.

In 2005 the two countries signed a framework agreement on Vietnam-Singapore Connectivity, centering on finance, investment, trade-service, transportation, post communication-information technology, and education-training.

Singapore is one of Vietnam’s leading trade partners, with two-way trade increasing considerably from US$7.7 billion in 2006 to US$8.7 billion in 2011.

Vietnam imports petrol, plastics, metals, machinery and chemicals from Singapore, and mainly exports seafood, coffee, crude oil, gem stones and electronic appliances to the island country.

Singapore’s investment in Vietnam has increased constantly since 1998. By March 2012, Singapore had 1,008 investment projects in Vietnam capitalized at US$24.16 billion, mostly focusing on property, processing and manufacturing industries, and construction.

VietNamNet/VOV

[jackbl]

Vietnamese parents now tend to award children with money
================================================== ========

VietNamNet Bridge – A debate has been raised by VietNamNet’s readers about whether to give money to children to reward for children’s efforts.


A lot of Vietnamese parents nowadays believe that giving money to children is the best way to ask the children to do the things they want.

When asking the son, a 3rd grader, to go to the shop near his home to buy a pack of cigarettes, Kien in Hoai Duc district in Hanoi, said: “Go and buy. I will give you 5000 dong.”

The boy immediately left for the cigarette shop, without any words. 5000 dong is the sum of money he always receives after fulfill a thing as requested by the parents. Therefore, he believes that paying money is a must when someone is served.

When asked why Kien promised to give the boy 5000 dong, Kien smiled and said that if he had not offered the “award,” the boy would not have left for buying cigarettes for him. As such, Kien now can earn his money by providing services to his father.

Hue, a mother in Thanh Tri district, also thinks that it would be better to encourage children with money. Every time when her child cries or refuses meals, she would promise to give the child money.

“My child suffers from the anorexia. Therefore, I have to promise to give her 2000 dong to persuade him to eat meat,” she said. “Sometimes I have to give 5000 dong.”

When asked if this is a good way to use money to educate children, Vietnamese parents all have a common voice that this should not be an education method. Surprisingly, both Kien and Hue do not agree to the education method. However, they still use the way every day to seek their wishes fulfilled.

Educators have warned the parents who try to use money to educate children that the cash bonus would “harm” the children. They would always bargain with parents about the sums of money the parents need to give them when asking them to do something. Especially, they would not understand the value of the money, and that their parents can only earn money from sweated labor.

Ha, the man in Quoc Oai district in Hanoi, related that one day, she asked a niece to go buying a pack of cards for the guests to play after the family party. As the niece said she did not want to go under the sun, Ha gave 2000 dong to the girl, saying that this is the award for her.

However, to Ha’s surprise, the girl did not accept the “gift.” “You cannot buy anything with 2000 dong now,” the girl said. Finally, she only left for the pack of cards after Ha gave her a 5000 dong bank note.

“Instead of using money to stimulate children, why don’t parents think of bringing the kids to the parks or buying the toys they like?” Huong, a parent whose child goes to the Song Phuong Primary School questioned.

In the eyes of international labor managers, Vietnamese people keep a combination of odd features: they are both frugal and squandered.

While the students in 1990s were told that money would associate with crimes, the students in the 21st century believe that everything can be bought with money, while they would not go to school if the parents to not give them money.

Nowadays, in many families, money is given to children when they fulfill normal duties such as doing home exercises, cleaning rooms, washing dishes or taking care for younger brothers.

Nguyen Hien

[jackbl]

What message are you sending?
==========================================

Hi, my name’s Stivi and I live in Hoi An. When we fail to communicate well we have many ways to describe that in English, ‘Crossed wires’, ‘don’t get it (get the idea)’, ‘not a clue’ (don’t understand) and so on. The never-ending confusion between foreigners and Vietnamese re-occurs because of the significant differences in our respective cultures more than the relative difficulties of speaking each other’s languages. This is often funny, exasperating and bemusing.

Last Sunday I was relaxing at a quiet bar at An Bang (Cam An) beach not far from town. A young Vietnamese man sitting near me, short and slightly fat, was chatting with another local expat (foreigner living in Vietnam) in reasonable English. After the westerner moved away, the lad turned to me and said, ‘So what do you teach?’ I was confused because I didn’t know the man. “Sorry”, I said, “do I know you?” The young man continued, “What English do you teach?” “How do you know I’m a teacher?” “I see you around… you have the red bike, yeah?” “Look, I’m sorry, WHO are you?” “Oh, I’m the bar manager (of a local bar)”. He stopped talking and simply turned back to a small tourism book he was reading.

The whole encounter was less than a minute but I couldn’t stop thinking about it later on. The lad was working for a familiar western-style bar that was often visited by foreign tourists yet he didn’t introduce himself nor explain why he asked me or how he knew me. I was puzzled at the lack of social manners, especially as he should have known better.

This topic is not new and every expat has a good story about this. This ‘walk into the middle of the conversation’ happens frequently and is sometimes quite annoying. My students often text me to cancel a lesson but don’t identify themselves on the phone so I have to check the phone lists to find out who called me. Some students invite me to coffee but answer with, “hi, can you guess who I am?” Another maddening habit is to practice English at unpredictable times via text – “How r u?” and I have no idea who is talking. The other strange habit is saying “Hello” to other Vietnamese on the phone but not telling me who you are!

I don’t particularly worry about this strange habit but I do wonder ‘What’s the message you are sending?” Western people place great importance on greeting strangers in appropriate ways. Most of the people failing to identify themselves or their questions are trying to learn English or work in English-speaking environments and this is a very important part of Western culture and some Asian cultures. If I didn’t identify myself in Japan for example, they would often shun me or never reply.

As one local expat restaurant owner told me, “If they can’t understand that they need to tell people their names, why should I employ them to serve my customers?” He added, “I sometimes get customers complaining about strange conversations with my staff where they (the staff) ask, “What’s your name? Where are you from?” and then wander off without saying goodbye or thank you”, leaving the customer wondering what just happened.

I have seen the Vietnamese greet each other very carefully, identifying status and age clearly to establish respect, yet this is a common complaint I’ve heard.

The message you send is ‘I don’t really care’ – if you fail to tell me who you are or you are only asking questions to practice English.

Another interesting gaff I experienced recently was attempting to contact a local resort about English teaching, but the number on the card didn’t match so my calls failed to go though. When I finally visited the staff member in person, they explained that the local area phone code should have one more zero. I asked her why they didn’t print on the card (it is a very famous five star resort), she paused and laughed and said, “You should know that, you have lived here long enough!”


I was surprised – is this the message you want to send to people who have professional contact with your hotel?

The people on my street don’t have much English speaking ability and have never learned much about foreigners, but they greet me warmly every morning without fail. They snap “NO!” when they can’t understand – it’s the only word they know and I understand that. Yet they do try to tell me their names and their relationships to each other.

But if you work in English language environments you should be careful about the message you send.

Getting the wrong message across is bad, but is usually forgiven if some attempt is made to explain again what you mean. This doesn’t happen very much in other Asian countries because people understand the importance of sending the right message and it’s good business and social etiquette.

After all… I did introduce myself at the beginning of the story, didn’t I?

Stivi Cooke

[jackbl]

Call-girl ring operates via sex website in Vietnam
================================================== ======
Starting from a sex website, www.alauxanh... -- registered in the US -- has developed into a nation-wide call-girl ring with hundreds of sex workers who are willing to serve moneyed men.


The ring runners are also the website administrators, who recruit moderators or pimps to monitor sex workers and search for new beautiful girls from various provinces to add to the website.

Tuoi Tre Newspaper discovered and investigated three website administrators: Luan, Tri, and Minh.

The website’s leader is Minh, who initially contacted Tri to establish the blog alauxanh with the aim of introducing and supplying sex workers to wealthy men.

Early in 2011, Luan joined Minh and Tri in buying the domain name alauxanh abroad, with a server located in the US, to conduct the business. Afterwards, Minh tasked Luan to look for ‘long-legged girls’.

After recruiting new girls, the pimps will sleep with them first to examine their attitude, get three measurements, and take nude photographs to report to the alauxanh administrators.

This prostitution ring’s slogan on the website is: “Wherever you are and whenever you want, we will send the long-legged to wholeheartedly serve you.”

On the home page of the website are hundreds of photos of naked girls posing in various positions. Under each photo is information about the girl including three measurements, her serving attitude, code and prices.

The prices swing from VND200,000-10,000,000 (US$9 – 481) per encounter or per night.

Those girls who receive complaints about their unenthusiastic or disobedient service will be dismissed and smeared on the website, for instance, “Be careful, this girl is infected with HIV”.

The prostitution ring doesn’t earn money directly from the encounters between the clients and the sex workers but from member registration for the website.

If a man wants the phone number of a girl in the ring, he must register to become a website member by purchasing a scratch card worth VND500,000-5,000,000, which will expire in a certain period of time.

All contacts with the administrators must be made via email to ensure secrecy. The clients must send a message containing the scratch card code that they have bought to complete the registration.

The clients can register by transferring money to the administrators’ accounts at Dong A or Vietcombank.

After successful registration, the clients are able to obtain the cell phone number of a prostitute and a password. The girl will only go with those providing the right password.

The website administrators divide their clients into several grades including VIP, gold and strategic members. The higher grade the members are, the more likely they will be to access the newest and hottest girls.

[jackbl]

Fake virginity for sale
===============================

VietNamNet Bridge – Small ads offering virginity have become quite popular on the Internet recently.

“I’m a student of a university in Saigon. I need to sell my virginity at the price of VND25 million ($1,200) to have funding for my mother’s operation.” This is a small ad on several websites.

“I want a man who is proper, good-mannered man and does not contract social diseases. I live with my friends so please send texts to me.”

A correspondent called her number and a man answered the phone. He said that this girl boarded at his house. She was very poor and did not have a cell phone so she had to use his number.

This is another advertisement. “I cannot afford to pay school fees, accommodation, traveling, etc. I have only one way – selling my virginity. I sell it at the cost of VND20 million (around $1,000). Call me or email me if you are serious.”

Calling to the number in the small ads, one girl said: “My name is Phuong Thao. My life is very painful! My family used to be well off but since my father had a concubine, he has neglected his business. My mother has not wanted to lose her husband so she has sought every way to take him back. My family has gone bankrupt because of my father’s affairs.”

“It hurts to do this dishonored thing so please do not bargain with me. If you agree to buy my virginity, I would like to have some money paid in advance to pay accommodation charges, my debts and my school fees,” the girl suggested.

When the correspondent offered VND12 million ($600), the girl entreated: “VND15 million please! Let’s think about it, it is very cheap! I’m stuck so I sell at that price!”

Reading small ads like these, many generous people were willing to help pitiable girls to overcome their circumstances without having to sell their virginity.

Mr. Cao Phong, from District 1, HCM City, says that after reading a similar small advertisement that he believed to come from a piteous girl, he wanted to assist the girl.

He called and sent text to make an appointment with the girl at a coffee shop near the Con Rua (Turtle) Lake in District 3.

But he and his friend immediately knew that they were cheated when they firstly saw the “pitiful student.” The girl skillfully played a poor, pitiable girl who was self-respecting but had to sell her virginity because she was at her impasse, but some details revealed herself as a “play girl.”

Mr. Phong analyzed: “That coffee shop is the venue of well-to-do people. A poor student made an appointment at such a café shows that she is not poor as she described herself.”

The girl asked Phong to pay 20 percent of the total money (VND20 million) in advance. She would go to a hotel and text Phong the address. After the transaction, Phong would pay her the remaining money.

“She called herself a poor and well-bred girl but she was very professional in making a deal with me. I was so afraid to seek to withdraw,” the man says.

However, many people were trapped by these girls, who are not poor girls as they introduced, but prostitutes or play girls.

Doctor Truong The Dung, leader of Niem Tin, a voluntary group to help disadvantaged people in HCM City says that his group took initiative in seeing several girls who posted virginity-selling advertisements on the Internet, but all of the cases are dubious.

According to doctors, fake hymens are offered for sale everywhere, priced of less that VND100,000/product ($5). Any girl can become virgins for tens of times.

ANTG

[jackbl]

Becoming Friends With Vietnam
====================================
Recently I found myself wandering through Binh Thanh District to bask in the color of a Vietnam thoroughly hidden from the usual expat trail. By now I am accustomed to locals gawking at my presence and whispering amongst themselves, and I just casually chalk it all up as the price of admission to living in Vietnam. What did catch me off guard though this particular day was one young mother’s unusually strong reaction to my “westerness.”

As quickly as her young son had jumped in front of my path to wave and shout a friendly “hello, hello,” she snatched him back into the safety of her arms and began admonishing him while covering his eyes. I cannot help but wonder about his future reactions when he and a Westerner once again cross paths. I got to thinking about how children inherently do not care about our differences. Indeed, this is a learned behavior over time, and this boy’s mother proved her worth as a master instructor.

Given the West’s historical track record in Vietnam, I can understand where people are coming from if perhaps they somewhat resent my presence. I truly do get it. Nowadays we may arrive in droves for reasons of a different kind, but the basic fact remains…we are guests in someone else’s home.

I think many an expat can relate to sometimes feeling just unwelcome enough to want to pack it all up and return home to our native lands. Many Vietnamese even seem to assume that since I am Western, they can talk about me in my presence. Their stares and laughter require no translation, and if only they realized my Vietnamese vocabulary is just large enough to include their derogatory words hurled my way.

Growing up in America, my mother was quick to admonish me for pointing or staring at strangers. As a young boy I could never seem to wrap my head around why an outstretched finger and lingering gaze were such uncouth manners. Fast forward a few decades and mom’s lessons once again prove correct as I now find myself on the receiving end of what in the West would be considered a gauche display of crude behavior.

I think back to living in Germany and how easily my acceptance and assimilation had come. The language posed no particular challenges, and though different, the food, mindset, and way of life really were not so far off from my own. The ability to maneuver seamlessly between my American and German worlds came so naturally that feeling “foreign” remained a foreign concept.

Expats in Vietnam face significant hurdles to this sort of full-on integration, and we do identify more as outsiders negotiating a confusing land. Vietnamese words prove difficult to pronounce, the food can seem a bit unusual, and thick books delve into the inherent differences between our cultures. In my case, not being able to speak the language is one of the biggest self-induced obstacles in bridging the cultural gap.

Were I proficient in Vietnamese, perhaps I could have engaged the young Binh Thanh woman in conversation to prove we both are human after all. This is not to say that promoting some sort of understanding remains impossible, for repeated basic interactions also knock down barriers of mistrust and suspicion.

For example, my first forays into the street market behind my apartment were met with the usual uncomfortable stares and comments. Now random strangers shake my hand with a friendly hello, and helpful shopkeepers ensure I pick out only the freshest ingredients at the local Vietnamese prices. Even my portions of barbecue beef and noodles have become larger and meatier when I squat on my tiny stool at an elderly woman’s food stand.

Over time we have met each other halfway, and I am becoming part of my neighborhood’s colorful fabric. The process did not happen overnight and still remains a work in progress. Even if only in this one tiny part of Vietnam, at least I feel I am carving out a small slice of home.

The American author and poet Maya Angelou succinctly observed, “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” As frustrating and unwelcoming as Vietnam can feel from time to time, living here has opened my mind to so many fresh ideas and great experiences. To recognize and celebrate our differences is to understand that spice is the variety of life. I have become friends with Vietnam.

[Lookgood]

Originally Posted by jackbl

Becoming Friends With Vietnam
====================================
Recently I found myself wandering through Binh Thanh District to bask in the color of a Vietnam thoroughly hidden from the usual expat trail. By now I am accustomed to locals gawking at my presence and whispering amongst themselves, and I just casually chalk it all up as the price of admission to living in Vietnam. What did catch me off guard though this particular day was one young mother’s unusually strong reaction to my “westerness.”.......

You have lot of story to tell...keep coming

[Tran]

Dear bros,

Can u guys please help me translate thank you.


Gio no van bat tao the la may ngay nay tao kg di voi trai , kg di chich voi trai kg ngu o khach san

[jackbl]

Vietnamese students experience tough internship in Singapore
================================================== ========

VietNamNet Bridge – The excellent students of the Hanoi University of Foreign Trade, who have been promised an internship period of working in a “modern international and professional environment,” have complained that they are assigned to do simple manual works.

In early February 2012, 48 excellent students of the third and fourth year of the Hanoi University of Foreign Trade, one of the most famous universities in Vietnam, were chosen for the one-year internship and working period in Singapore. 37 students were told to work at Changi Airport and 11 at Wingtai fashion retail chain.

The selected students were told that they would have the chance to work and practice in a modern, professional working environment, improve their foreign language skills. Especially, they were promised to enjoy attractive wages of 450 Singaporean dollars a month at minimum.

Just two months after leaving for Singapore, the students emailed to the school board of management, complaining that they are the victims of the “labor exploitation,” and “discriminatory treatment.” They also pointed out that the working and living conditions are quite different from what they were promised.

The selected students all are working at SATS, the company which provides land services to Changi international airport. The students’ daily work is pushing wheelchairs for disabled, while some of them have been forced to help undress passengers to relieve themselves.

Especially, the students have been forced to take the night working shifts, 1-9 am.

“We will try to bear the hard work, modest income, discriminatory treatment. However, working from one to nine o’clock would damage our health,” a female student said.

The student said that they had not been informed about the works and the provisions of the contracts signed with SATS until they attended a training course at the airport. Meanwhile, the partner has been usually late in paying wages and allowances. The utensils have low quality, while Internet access speed is very slow.

“I am studying at a leading university in Vietnam where we are taught the principles to avoid disadvantages when doing business with foreign partners. However, I am feeling that I am being cheated,” a student said.

While the problems of the students remain unsettled, the Hanoi Foreign Trade University is looking for other students for the next working trips to Singapore.

Dao Thi Thu Ha, MA, Deputy Head of the International Cooperation Division of the Hanoi University for Foreign Trade said on the afternoon of April 23 that some months before sending the 48 students to Singapore for the internship period, the President Hoang Van Chau himself and the advanced party flew to Singapore to check the places where his students would work.

Ha said the university joined forces with Singaporean Interisland, a job brokerage firm, to organize a workshop about the internship. Interisland said it would introduce laborers for SATS and Wingtai – the partners the university is cooperating for the first time.

Ha affirmed that the broker interviewed every student to test their qualification and explained to students about the works and the wages. “All the students, when asked if they are ready to push wheelchairs to help special passengers, answered “yes”,” she said.

Ha also said that working at night is inevitable, because the airport runs 24/24 hours a day, affirming that this was informed to students before they left Vietnam. However, facing the opposition from the students, SATS has agreed to remove the night shift from 1-9 am.

When asked about the commission Interisland pays to the school for the introduction of the students, Ha said that the commission is “inconsiderable,” about 100 dollars per student, adding that the school does not do this to make money, but just aims to create conditions for students to have internship periods in foreign countries.

Source: VnExpress

[RockViet]

30-04-1975
Độc lập 37 nam ky niem

Độc lập - Tự do - Hạnh phúc
独立 - 自由 - 幸福
Independence - Freedom - Happiness


không có gì quý hơn độc lập tự đó
有什么比独立自由更可贵
nothing more precious than independence and freedom

[jackbl]

The life of taxi drivers
=============================
Tan Son Nhat International Airport is the most crowded taxi assembly area in Ho Chi Minh City, with at least 10,000 cabs hurriedly going in and out and parking along nearby roadsides every day.


It is also the location to easily have most clients instead of driving around the city.

The airport’s parking lot is now able to accommodate only 360 of the taxi cabs from nine companies registered to operate there, not including a number of taxies from other provinces.

It was about 8am when several groups of drivers were having breakfast. However, they abruptly flocked to their cars that were parked on the roadsides. After a whistle was sounded, two policemen showed up and detained some of them. Each of the unfortunate drivers was fined VND800,000 ($38) and had their driving license revoked for one month.

Driver Tran Xuan Vinh said that the limited parking area has forced them to wait outside for up to four hours for their turn to enter the airport. The best place to wait is nearby roadsides, even though they might be fined at any time.

Amidst the parching heat, the taxi drivers were gathering at a makeshift shop near the airport to have some bread and play chess.

Nguyen Hai Son, who has driven a taxi for nearly 15 years, said that it is a hard job. “Married men face divorce, single men face life as a bachelor, and it is even more strenuous for women,” he lamented.

Son’s wife left him and their children after tens of years living together since the work forces him to be out all day.

Huynh Thi My, a female driver who has been working in a taxi for four years, said that previously she did various jobs but then to driving to make more money. She used to have a happy family but now lives alone in a rental room.

Taxi drivers are from various classes, including both errant and bachelor. For example, Doan Quoc Viet from Can Gio District said that after graduating from the HCMC University of Economics he and a friend opened a carpenter shop, which then suffered big losses and shut down.

Le Van Duong said he is tasked by his company to submit a fixed amount of VND500,000 ($24) per day, thus he tries to earn double to have an income for himself. However, it is more difficult as increases in petrol prices have led to a fare hike, resulting in fewer passengers even as are more taxi companies have opened.

Despite their hard work, many drivers have bought books to study foreign languages including English, Japanese and Chinese in their free time to be able to offer foreigners a ride.