Professional Development

Ethical Issues in My Profession:
Business extend their facilities to Vietnam primarily for cheaper labor. A company may offer a "competitive" salary in Vietnam that would be far less than what it would be in the United States. The economy is inflated enough so that employees can earn their living on these salaries that would not be acceptable in the United States. As shown when visiting II-VI, the work was tedious and labor intensive, and people will accept these jobs in a market with limited options. Working conditions are becoming better in Vietnam, although the nation is still a far way off from American standards. With the "western" companies we visited, they conditions were favorable and employees seemed to be comfortable with their status. The companies we visited were primarily expat run with Vietnamese employees working at lower levels; this goes against the American ideology that if one works hard, they can make their way higher. Of course everyone wants to be successful, though I am unaware what level of satisfaction this working society can have. Overall, United States industries can expand globally in order to save money and thus offer competitive prices on a global market. Although this money saving occurs by paying lower wages, it is relatively comparable to those of the rest of the nation. These companies are also providing jobs for the Vietnamese working class and offer what seem to be decent working conditions. Although simple or menial jobs are leaving the United States, the management, design, and other education-required careers remain.

Educational Breadth as Professional Development:
Cross-cultural education is a must when working on an international level. The majority of management and leadership roles in companies were filled by Americans or other expats. The Chief Engineer at II-VI gave a prime example of not understanding Vietnamese culture; he lost a majority of his employees after the first Tet holiday in country. This is common in Vietnamese working culture, and he had to learn how to adapt the company to address this issue. Companies expanding into Vietnam, as well as other countries, also need to assess government interaction with industry. Communist, Capitalist, and every other philosophy in between has a different degree of regulation which companies need to factor into their business strategies. Students should take general courses in world history to understand global culture and interaction. Specialization in a particular continent or region could be helpful and can be done by taking classes related to that desired area of specialty. Classes in world politics or political theory can also be helpful when larger corporations are working with the foreign governments. To work in a specific country for a long period of time, learning the language would be extremely helpful and would break down gaps between business partners and investors from that nation. Although these classes are not required to be successful in an industry, they can be beneficial when working and performing on a global scale.

Lifelong Learning, Continuing Education as Professional Development:
Technology is always advancing, society is always evolving, and public need is always changing. Companies and their employees must grow and change with their environments to meet these demands and develop more and more. Glass Egg Digital Media was a prime example changing their company to meet new demands. The company started by only producing animations of cars for video games, which they became very good at. As the years passed and new markets opened, the company began to spread into objects, environments, and characters. The only way for the company to be competitive in these fields was to train their artists and allow employees to continue their education in different areas. Those in management roles also needed to learn more design areas they were entering and the companies to which they can accommodate. Mr. Wall from the US Commercial Service also had to continue his education as he worked in several different countries. He needed to not only learn about the countries and their culture, but then had to learn about their business practicing and how to be successful in these countries. Lifelong learning allows for change and expansion, and is a natural part of personal growth and professional development.

The Social Environment of Professional Life:
In Vietnam, there seemed to be strong connection between peoples' social life and their professional life. Miss Loan's entire life was effected by her father and his connection with the South Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. Because her family was on the "wrong side," she was not offered the same opportunities for success as some of her peers. Business culture is also very personal and about not only about working, but about relationships as well. Members of Glass Egg and the Chief Engineer from II-VI recommended establishments to us that were unrelated to their industries, but were just for the sake of fun and enjoyment. During our visit to the American Center, a striking question came up when a student asked, "What is racism like in American schools?" This was a shocking question, though looking back, makes a lot of sense. In a relatively ethnic homogeneous nation, racism is limited and does not have the same history as it does in the United States. The current issues in Vietnam are more related to working conditions, government interaction, and media censorship. These controversial topics were not discussed while in country due to careful consideration. As an engineer entering other countries, it is important to understand these topics and to know when some things need to be left unsaid.

Functioning on Multi-Disciplinary Teams:
Our group of students from the university was highly diverse not only in field of study, but in race, religion, and background as well. People have differences and it is very important to accept them and to appreciate their variety. Engineering and business students also have different strengths and perceptions on a lot of topics. An engineer may look at the manufacturing and specifications of a product, while a businessperson may look at how to market or sell the product. We had to acknowledge these strengths and utilize them when they were needed and to overcome weaknesses from others. I believe we were a successful team and managed to work effectively as a group. Touring both finance-related and engineering-based companies offered both types of students exposure to the real world application to the concepts taught in the classroom. It is also interesting that business student can learn from engineering companies and engineering students can learn from business companies. Students also needed to bridge gaps for peers that were lost or did not fully understand concepts by helping to explain or elaborate on practices. Challenges were minimal in the team and only limited to some lack of background knowledge and having to overcome that. It is important to consider all levels of knowledge and to make information understandable to a wide array of individuals.

Final Day

So... I went back to see my blog and realized this final post never uploaded, nor was it saved. Fortunately, it was a memorable day (and I can steal some events from other blogs) so I should be able to piece a final blog back together.

Another early start to our final day in HCMC and I began with a final breakfast (you'll notice a lot of "finals" in this post). We hopped on our bus and headed to a sports center for the annual UEF v. Pitt basketball and soccer match. Until this point, we thought this was going to be against the students we've spent time with over the course of these two weeks. We were in for quite a surprise when we saw the actual school team warming up on the court. We put together our ragtag team for basketball and got our butts kicked. They eased up pretty quickly, but our whole team was pretty terrible. The heat also got to us as we kept having to down water to keep going. Between the basketball and soccer matches, the UEF dance team took the court and showed off their awesome moves again, including bringing out the Pitt students at the end to show how terrible we are at dancing. Oh well! We continued with the soccer match, which went a little bit better. We had several actual soccer players on our team (and the UEF team went really easy on us), and we ended up winning. The girls ended by playing a quick game of soccer in which the Pitt girls completely dominated. Afterwards, all of the students exchanged gifts, a common custom in Vietnam. I gave away my Pitt hat and noticed the student photographer was just taking pictures. He had been with us the entire trip and felt bad so I gave a t-shirt to him, it was probably way to small, but hopefully it's the thought that counts. We went back to the bus and drove around looking for our restaurant for lunch. We stopped somewhere and got what I think was iced tea in massive plastic bottles. We waited to figure out where we were going, got back on the bus, and finally made it to our last lunch spot. This was more amazing food, this included another noodle and beef soup that was delicious, but a bit too hot after still coming off of the games. We had a gelatin, coconut milk, and ice desert which was pretty good, but not quite for me. I still had most of it because it was cold. We said some final goodbyes to some of the students, they've been amazing to us on this whole trip and I'll miss every one of them. We went back to the hotel and I took a quick, much needed shower. I went with a small group back to the market for a final time to finish buying some gifts and left on my own for the post office. I knew the general direction, but apparently not as well as I thought. I stopped at a café on the way to try to get directions. The man spoke zero English and did my best to pantomime catholic gestures so he would point me toward the Notre Dame Basilica, which is next to the post office. Thankfully, the café had decent enough wifi for me to pull up a picture of the Basilica and he could point me just two blocks over to where I was going. I walked into the post office and bought postcards and stamps to send to a few people, filled them out, and dropped them in a slot to be mailed back to the USA. I went back to the room and put on my suit for a quick photo-shoot. All of the Pitt students, plus a few of the UEF students, met in the lobby for pictures. Guys were wearing suits (with the UEF ties) and girls had on their ao dais (traditional Vietnamese dress). After the pictures, we changed and headed out for dinner. Our final meal was on a boat ride along the Saigon River. This was another delicious hotpot, though the food was quickly overshadowed by the ride and seeing the beautiful HCMC skyline. The skyline is still so young, as there's a defined street level of smaller buildings with just a few skyscraping pushing high up into the sky. We could even see one dark building under construction. It's interesting to think that this skyline will be drastically different in just five years. We took tons of pictures from the front of the boat to remember this view. A guitarist and flutist played some tunes (mostly recognizable) and were followed by a pair of what seemed like flamenco (yes flamenco) dancers. Kate brought out a cake that said "UEF and Pitt Friends Forever" and it suddenly became real how much this truly meant to them and how much it meant to all of us. After we got off the boat, we got back on the bus and had our final karaoke session of the UEF Song. We changed back into comfortable clothing at the hotel. Everyone took a short walk up the street to a small pedestrian pond, with winding paths and platforms above the water. We relaxed there for a bit and did some reflection and reminiscing over our time in Vietnam. We walked back to the hotel and I finally packed everything back into my suitcase and backpack, still underweight. We hung out and did everything we could do to stay awake before our trip to the airport at 3 am. It was a quiet bus ride, and when we got to the airport we had to say our final goodbyes to Vic, Bo, Ariel, Vy, and Kate. They've been with us the whole two weeks and have done so much for us. I'm always going to miss them and be grateful for everything they've given us. I sincerely hope to see them again someday, wherever we can meet in the world. We went through security and were quickly on our flight. HCMC: xin chao, hen gap lai. I was tired and out pretty quickly on this flight and before I knew it we were in Hong Kong. There, we said our first round of Pitt goodbyes as we went in a few different directions to get home. I was with the main group, and we quickly made it to our gate for our long flight to Newark. I really must've been tired, because I kept falling asleep. I tried watching several movies and made it through some, but not without a few winks. The food was pretty rough, so I just ate enough to keep me going. I was more tired than hungry anyway. We arrived in Newark, collected our bags (no issues), went through customs, said goodbye, and headed out to meet our awaiting parents. Finally back in the USA. I must say, it was nice to be back again. On the way home, I stopped at a rest stop and ate a nice stromboli, cheese had never tasted so good. We finally got home and I stayed awake for as long as I could. I crashed and slept like a rock that night, but what's jet lag without waking up 4:30 am full of energy?

This has been a truly amazing experience. I'm so grateful to have gotten this opportunity and to have met some incredible people. My horizons have been expanded and I know this won't be my last trip. The friends I've made on this trip with last a lifetime and the memories will never fade. Thank you everyone for making this trip so unbelievable. Xin chao!

Culture, Quiz, and the War

We had a historical day here in HCMC, but I'll get to that shortly. The morning started off fairly normal; I had some toast for breakfast (really liking the pineapple and orange jams). We went to UEF for our LAST culture class and language class which is really sad. The presenter today was Nguyen Ngoc Tho, Ph.D., Vice Dean of Faculty of Cultural Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. His focus was on the cognitive culture of the Vietnamese people and different beliefs they have had historically. He covered Yin and Yang and the dualism in life. This also leads to the three powers (the sun/sky, humans, and the earth) and the five elements (earth, fire, water, tree, and metal, each of which has a corresponding color). He shared several traditional stories, several of which included divorce and a woman with two men. He also talked about fertility and its hidden presence in art and sculpture, needless to say he got a lot of laughs. After class, we headed out for ca phe sua da, which was delicious as always. We went back to the classroom for our final language class: the test. We broke into teams and each person had to complete a different language task. We had to translate in both directions, read a conversation, and give a full spiel about ourselves. We didn't keep score... but my team definitely won. We took a bunch of pictures and said "chao co" to the teacher. We had lunch at Kent, delicious as usual, and took our three part trip on the Vietnam War. We started with the Xa Loi Pagoda. I have seen many beautiful catholic churches, but this Buddhist Temple was very different in style, inside and out. The pagoda was also a stronghold for the southern Vietnamese people who opposed the corrupt government put in place after the Geneva Accords. Thich Quang Duc was a Buddhist monk from this Pagoda and strongly opposed Ngo Dinh Diem and the South Vietnamese government. To show the world the pain their people were going through, he led a procession of monks to a street corner several blocks away. He poured gasoline over his body and lit himself on fire. He remained perfectly still through the burning, and the self mutilation was his final sacrifice for his people. We followed his footsteps from the Xa Loi Pagoda to the street corner where there is now a memorial in his honor. A large statue of him surrounded by flames is on the corner, along with a wall displaying that day. It's amazing to consider his great sacrifice by giving up his life in protest, and the will that some have to push for what they believe in. We continued walking and went to the War Remnants Museum; I should mention it was originally called the Exhibition House for US and Puppet Crimes. Outside are several US Army and Air Force tanks and aircraft that were captured by the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. We went inside to see three stories exhibiting violent acts from the US during the war, including bombings, Agent Orange, and the treatment of women and children. It was a very difficult museum to walk through and I fully understand why Dr. Berman doesn't go inside. The only comparison I could make would be to the Holocaust Museum from the former-Nazi prospective; it isn't a good feeling. Although, this museum only represents one side of the war. I know a lot happened on both sides. Moving on... We went back to the hotel where I finally took to time to catch up on my blog. I think I got most parts with the help of a few other blogs. We split up in a few groups for dinner. I went with a group for Vietnamese and I got some delicious shrimp wontons (although they were very slippery and difficult to grab with the chopsticks). We headed back to the hotel were I blogged a bit more and then participated in an intervention for one of the girls on the trip (don't worry, we got it covered). We then found a place to take some UEF students to give back to them for everything they've given us. It's been a very full day, and I definitely got a lot out of it. Tomorrow is my last day! It's sad and happy, but I'll talk more about that tomorrow. I'm just going to make the most out of the time we have left. Until then...

New World and Newport

We got to sleep in! I slept in enough to miss breakfast, so a Top'n Top (chocolate muffin thing) held me over until lunch. We hopped on the bus and arrived at a luxurious five-star hotel, the New World Saigon. This was quite a step-up from our Victory Hotel, but at two or three times the cost, I could see why. We sat in their main dining area and took a simple cooking class on how to make fresh and fried spring rolls. This was a lot of fun and was even better when we got to eat our "creations." We then enjoyed an incredible lunch from their buffet. Ngon qua! (So good!) We had fish, ham, sushi (this was actually my first), fruit, and a huge array of other food. There was also a huge desert selection with some hand made ice cream. Everything we've tried on this trip has been amazing, but this was a different kind of good. From there, we headed back to the hotel and changed for our last company visit to Saigon Newport Corporation (SNP). This was an interesting visit for myself specifically as it is a shipping company that is run by the Vietnamese People's Navy. I still don't understand the combination of commercial and military for this company, but I tried my best. Pham Thi Thuy Van, the Vice Director of the Marketing Department, talked to us about the company and how it functions as a port and offers shipping services to companies around Vietnam. The company has also recently allowed her to enter their navy (her rank was lost in translation, but after some quick research, I believe she's now an O-2). She still works for SNP, but is an officer in the Navy... like I said, I really don't know how it works. We went up to the control room for a great view of the dock, and then drove around to see thousands of shipping containers and several barges being loaded. This was a nice visit, and I'm glad we got a see the dock. We went back to the hotel and then quickly headed back out to the Ben Tanh Market where I finished up my shopping. After shops started closing, we went to the hotel and a group of us went for a swim. This was cut short by Dr. Berman telling us our suits were about to arrive from the tailor. We went down to the lobby, and after a few minutes, they were here. I tried mine on and it felt amazing! I'd never worn any kind of clothing that fit that perfectly. We went back down for the tailor to check the fit, and everyone was looking sharp. We changed out of the suits and a group of us went out for Dairy Queen; that really hit the spot on the hot night. This was another great day, though I'm realizing things are starting to come to a close. I'm going to make the most of my last couple days!

Industry

Sorry I've been seriously slacking on my blog! The UEF students have been keeping us up late and I keep falling asleep too quickly, so here's catching up. Also, sorry in advance that I may miss a few specifics...

This morning was an early start to make the drive out of the city to Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) in Binh Duong. VSIP is a large "one stop shop" industrial park that includes power, water, sewage, customs, and other amenities for operations in the park. Companies can choose to move into pre-built factories or buy land and build their own facilities. A variety of Vietnamese and foreign companies have factories in the park,E including Siemens, Nokia, P&G, Nissin Foods, and Foster. We also had a briefing from a Chief Engineer, David Baker, from II-VI (one of the companies in VSIP), a precision engineering company that is based in Saxonburg, PA. II-VI focuses in three main sectors: laser solutions, photonics, and performance products. The briefing also included information about the global expansion of the company and the benefits and challenges that come with growth. The company entered Asia to be price competitive with their products by using cheaper labor. We toured two II-VI facilities; one facility manufactured optics for medical instruments and laser application, and the other factory built electric thermoelectric coolers for aircraft, power generation, and telecommunication. It was interesting to see the processes of fabrication and how they utilize labor skills in Vietnam. Mr. Baker also informed us of the original difficulties with employee turn-over at the factory. It is common practice for people to work for several months leading up to Tet holiday, receive their bonus, stay at home until they run out of money, and then look for a new job. II-VI has developed strategies to prevent this from happening and has lowered the turn-over rate to less than one percent. Our visit to VSIP included a large rainstorm; the sky went from clear to pouring and flooding the streets within minutes. The storm settled down as we were leaving and we went to lunch at a restaurant nearby. The chef was actually from Hong Kong so the food was closer to Chinese, including sesame and orange chicken. We drove back into the city and to the hotel to wrap up our day. I went up to the pool for a quick dip and then went out with the group. Mr. Baker recommended an Australian sports bar that his son runs, so of course we had to check it out. I had a great milkshake and some onion rings for a little piece of home. The street had a host of other expat bars which we stopped in as well (found out I'm pretty bad at darts). We got a taxi ride home and everyone crashed for the night. This was a solid day.

All about the money (and how you spend it)

Today was a nice start back into the week from our day trips over the weekend. I woke up, had breakfast, and we headed for UEF. We started the day with language class in which we played a game to memorize numbers in Vietnamese: when your number was called, you would have to run to the front of the room and grab the ticket before other person. Fun and effect game! We then acted out some bargaining scenarios which were pretty fun, and apparently we have some pretty stingy salesmen in our group. We then got to put our skills to the test at the Ben Thanh market in downtown HCMC. I've been to a lot of markets, but this was by far the largest and most crowded that I've seen. We bargained with the merchants, buying souvenirs and gifts for back home. I got some good deals, but I definitely paid too much for my t-shirts (which are awesome anyway). We had lunch at the market, a noodles and pork(?) dish, then headed back to the hotel to change. We then took the bus back down town to have a brief from the VinaCapital Foundation. This is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that collects investments and puts them impoverished and disadvantaged children, specifically in the areas of health care and education. Rad Kivette, a North Carolina native, talked with us about the foundation and how they are one of the only organizations in which 100% of the donations go towards program work.This is made feasible by the VinaCapital Group that covers all overhead costs. We also got a talk from a member of this group, the largest investment firm in Vietnam. This was a very business orientated company visit, and I may (along with most others) have came close to drifting off during one of the speakers, but I held my own fairly well. It was nice seeing a good philanthropy in a country with over 20 million impoverished citizens; it's comforting to know that someone is there for them. I'm also excited that wealth from the company is being used for good purposes, skipping deep businessmen's pockets and going into the future of Vietnam. We came back to the hotel and I took a walk with a few others back towards downtown, looking for banh mi. We couldn't find a spot so we just ended up grabbing some snacks from the co-op. At this point, some UEF students arrived at the hotel and we headed for dinner: banh xeo. They Vietnamese call these pancakes, even though they come with different kinds of meat, you wrap them in lettuce and other greens, and then dip them in a spicy sauce. They were absolutely delicious. We then took taxis to a karaoke place, which was awesome. I'd never been to a place like it, but it was truly a great time. We wrapped our evening back at the hotel with hanging out in one of the rooms and enjoying the night. This was a nice easy day, though I continue to get more out of every day. Until tomorrow, goodnight folks!

Beach Day

Another long and full day in Vietnam. We got an early start today; I had a quick breakfast and we hopped on the bus for a three hour ride to Vung Tau, "a beach resort destination for vacationing Saigoners" (quote from Bryan). We drove to the base of a small mountain with a statue of Jesus on the peek. We climbed our way up 811stairs (there was a plaque) and were able to inside the statue to stand on his arms. It was a ridiculously hot hike, but the view 360-view from the top was absolutely worth it. We could see far out into the ocean to the front and over a beautiful village to the back. Breathtaking sight. After some quick and refreshing ice cream, we made our way back down and drove over to a resort. We changed, dropped off our bags, and ran right into the water. Amazing! The water felt perfect for the hot day, and it was actually warm, much unlike the Atlantic. I should probably mention that we were in the South China Sea, but the Vietnamese have disputed for its ownership and thus call it the East Sea. Anyway, we played in the water for a long time and slowly made our way back in for lunch. Clams, prawn, squid, cuttlefish (maybe?), and so much other delicious seafood. We went back down to the beach to relax under some umbrellas for a bit, and we also realized that many of us (including myself) forgot to put sunscreen on our shoulders, oh well. We got back in the water for a bit and then the UEF students decide to play a game similar to steal the bacon. Two teams stood a distance from a center object, in this case a plastic bottle, and when a person's number (later multiple people) is called they have to bring the object back to their side. The evolved as we continued to play, started as just tagging the person to stop them, to having to steal the object from them or fight them for it. I got the bottle a few times and ended up scratches and bruises on my arms from the girls' nails; apparently they know how to play rough. After showering off, we got back on the bus to make the trip home. We stopped part way at what the considered a truck stop... it was a small market. I got a peanut snack, and someone from UEF bought a bunch of snacks for everyone to try on the way back. We got back to the hotel, showered up, and headed out for dinner. A group of us, on the recommendation from Bryan, went to "Soul Food," and American burger joint. This was quite possibly the best burger of my life. After so much rice and other Vietnamese food, which is extremely delicious, a burger really hit the spot tonight. We got back to the hotel and I had a quick FaceTime chat with my mom and Heidi. Happy Mother's Day! It's nice knowing that things are good back home. I wrote my blog from yesterday and this one for today and called it a night. It's been an amazing first week and here's to week two!