Thursday May 12

The day's activities began with a Vietnamese culture class. We learned about some differences between South East Asian (S.E.A.) and Western cultures and how the differences impact relations between members of the two cultures.  SEA cultures traditionally value tranquility while Western cultures value upward mobility.  This basic difference between SEA and Western cultures implies that S.E. Asians view social change and disturbance unfavorably while Westerners actively seek to improve their lives.  The desire by S.E. Asians to maintain tranquility and avoid change along with the development of effective rice agriculture led to the creation of intimate farming communities that evolve little over time.  Many cultural differences between the West and S.E.A. exist that have the potential to cause tense or awkward situations.  Many of these center around the tendency of Westerners to be more direct in effecting the their desired changes while S.E. Asians tend to take a more roundabout course when getting what they want.  As is probably true when attempting to avoid negative cultural interactions in any society, it is probably best to be as polite, appreciative, patient, and level-headed as possible.
In language class today we learned how the basics of trading in the market.  First, we learned how to count.  Vietnamese counting makes more sense than English counting.  In Vietnamese all you do is string together the numbers 1-10 with the words for 100 or 1000.  Then we learned how to say "too expensive."  This is an important phrase because prices on many goods are not set.  If you want to pay a more reasonable price than their stated price all you have to do is use this phrase.
In the afternoon we went to the consulate for the U.S. Commercial Service.  What this organization does is help U.S. companies export to Vietnam.  This agency does market research for U.S. firms, sets up meetings between U.S. and Vietnamese firms, and uses its good relationship with the Vietnamese government to broker deals that the U.S. companies might not be able to get otherwise.