This is the first phrase that I learnt in Vietnam and it is also an important and significant sentence for my two months attachment over there.

When I received the notice that I was selected for the WorkAsia 2001 program, I did not know how to react. In the midst of clearing several projects and preparing for exams, I managed to squeeze in time to attend the briefings for this trip. In one of the briefings, I met another undergrad from NUS who had been attached to the same company as me. Following that, things happened really quickly. The day after my last paper, I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). Even though this was my first 2-months trip abroad, I did not have enough time to make detailed preparations for it. In fact, I did not even have the time to savor the excitement that could have been built up for the trip!

Fortunately our manager was kind enough to show us around the city on our first day in HCMC. The first thought that came across my mind was ‘Wow! I’ve never ever seen so many motorbikes on the roads in my life! How am I going to get around this place?’ There were motorcycles all around us! Even though traffic lights were blinking, you could never know where the next bike would appear. Crossing the roads became our first challenge but things got better after a few trials.

I went to explore a wet market near our building on my first night in HCMC. I wanted to get some groceries, but I had no idea as to how I should start the conversation.  That was the moment I made up my mind to learn as much Vietnamese as I could from my colleagues. And on my first day of work, the first Vietnamese words I learnt was ‘ mot gai bao nhieu?’ which meant ‘how much is this?’ Since then, this has been the ‘most used’ Vietnamese sentence for my two-month stay. It remained the most useful phrase, but you would need to learn a few more phrases to keep the conversation going and to get a good bargain from the stall owners!

At Work…

We were attached to Saigon Centre (SC), which was one of the phases of a property development project by Keppel Land Watco Co., Ltd, a joint venture between Keppel Land and a local firm. Saigon Centre is strategically located in one of the busiest streets in HCMC District. It is on a piece of land bounded by Le Loi Street, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street (which leads to the airport), Pasteur Street & Huyuh Thuc Khang Street. The prime location of the company definitely helped me to get used to the traffic in HCMC. A detailed program had been planned by the company to make this attachment a fulfilling and fruitful experience.  I was given the chance to understand the property market in Vietnam and to gather information about the office market situation from Saigon Centre’s perspective. I gathered all the background information necessary to assess the future marketing of Saigon Centre’s office space.

Due to the requirements of my job, I was brought around to various competitors’ buildings for the office market that were located in Ho Chi Minh City during my first two weeks of orientation. This  gave me a chance to get to know the various streets in Ho Chi Minh City better. It also helped me to collect information on the competitors for a database. Subsequently, visited the buildings on my own for more information gathering. Some of the close competitors of SC included Sun Wah Tower, which was an office building located in the street next to SC, Metropolitan, one of SC’s strongest competitors which had excellent exterior and interior finishings. Another strong competitor was Diamond Plaza, which was an office- retail cum service apartment building.

With information collected from the visits and information culled from the competitor’s brochures, an Excel database was set up which could be used to update information in the future. Some of the information, such as the rental rates and services charges had to be obtained by making ‘disguised calls’ to the competitors. The tight security of some buildings actually presented some problems in accessing competitors’ tenants. In this case, we had to call the telecommunication service and asked them to provide us with the name and contacts of the tenants for a fee. In general, I was given a lot of freedom to exercise my discretion and make observations and to gather inputs for the final report. I was also an assistant to Miss Nhu, the marketing executive for SC’s office space,  one of the many helpful Vietnamese friends that I met on this trip. She spoke very fluent English and was my ‘guardian’ and teacher. She brought me to meetings with prospective clients and also gave me advice on how to deal with them.

In addition, I had to design a short presentation, which was emailed to prospective clients to provide them with an overview of what SC had to offer. Both of us also assisted Miss Baoha, the marketing executive for SC’s retail space, to come up with an advertising and promotions plan for their upcoming lucky draw event in July. This included the designing of the advertisements, the planning of the advertising schedule and the programme on the actual day itself.

With Colleagues…

Most of my colleagues spoke little English, and I had to speak slowly so that they could understand me. At this point, I regretted not taking Vietnamese as an elective in NTU. Everyone in the office was very helpful, and I made it a point to learn as many Vietnamese phrases as I could. My Vietnamese colleagues actually prepared local delicacies to welcome us on our first day of work. The luncheon was held in the office. It was then that I realized what a close-knit group the staff were, they were like a big family. Most of them had been working in the company since it was formed in 1996. After the meal, everyone helped with the cleaning up. Despite our language barrier, everyone was very warm and friendly; we actually had an interesting time trying to understand each other. My Vietnamese colleagues really did a great job in welcoming us into their family.

Throughout the two months, I managed to interact with other staff in SC building. Through our conversation, I realized that the women were very hardworking and intelligent, and they like to read and to constantly upgrade themselves. I actually learnt a lot about Vietnam’s history and political scene from talking to them. They told me stories about their life during the Vietnam War, and how much the locals wished they could migrate to the US. Some of them also shared photographs of Vietnam and pictures of their past achievements in foreign universities. I also managed to learn and practise what was meant by ‘slow and steady wins the race’. The pace of life and work in Vietnam is definitely slower than that in Singapore, but work was completed on time.

Every Weekend…

Even with a 5 ½ day week of work, we grabbed whatever chance we could to visit the provinces outside HCMC. We visited the Pham Ngu Lao Street, which was a popular street for backpackers. There were many travel agencies, Internet cafes and backpackers hotels located along this street.  Some of the more popular travel agencies were the Sinh Café and The Saigon Tourist. The latter provided more experienced tour guides, better packages, but was slightly more expensive. Both agencies organized trips to various parts of Vietnam. Open bus tickets were also available at very reasonable prices. They also had trips to Cambodia, and they could even help you to get visas done in one day!

We looked forward to every weekend. We actually made several trips to different parts of  the Mekong, including the Bentre Province and Mytho, which were famous for their coconut candy and fresh honey. We went to Vinh Long and Cai Be, where we saw the famous floating market and also hauled back bags of locally made rice and noodle pops. Apart from the Mekong Delta, we also visited some of the beautiful beaches on the east coast of Vietnam. Vung Tau was one of the popular local weekend hangouts for Vietnamese families. We spent one of the weekends there with our colleagues. They brought us to watch dog racing, and also gave us a treat to the fresh and great tasting seafood! We also spent one of the weekends at Phan Thiet and Mui Ne, which also had long stretches of beach with white sand.
Apart from sightseeing, we also did the famous crawl through the Cu Chi Tunnel. We tried baked tapioca (cassava) dipped in chopped peanuts in one of the ‘partially submerged’ kitchen and immersed ourselves in Vietnam’s war history. All the traveling also allowed me to make friends with other travelers from Europe and the Middle East. We exchanged travel experiences and I also gain insights into their country and culture. Although these were only short one-day trips, I learnt a lot about the country and the people.

On top of all the work and travel, Fridays were spent at Thao Dan, a local organization that strives to provide for and take care of street kids. They were the first street kids’ organization that actually sent their volunteers out into the streets daily to interact and take care of the kids. Located in a secluded corner along Hai Ba Trung Street in District 3, they accept volunteers from all over the world. I had a chance to be a teacher and had the most enjoyable time playing with the kids.

In conclusion…

The attachment was truly a fulfilling and enriching experience. Working abroad poses real challenges to an individual’s ability to adapt to local culture while being able to achieve set goals under an entirely different legal, industrial and economic environment. It also made me realize the importance of self discipline in working overseas. It is not easy to find the balance between fitting in to the host country’s customs and procedures, while maintaining a competitive edge. The experiences gained will definitely be useful for future decisions making in my career choices.

Now that the attachment had come to an end, I had friends who asked me ‘How much was this trip?’ ‘Mot gai bao nhieu?’-  To tell the truth, I don’t know! The worth and experiences that I have gained can never be measured in monetary terms. Although I know the amount I spent in dollars and cents, this amount can never be weighed against what I have gained from this trip. It was priceless!