Skip to main content

Meeting the team, Vietnamese food, and shopping

No pictures from today, but I had a really good day. Ate a nice buffet breakfast at the hotel restaurant, then got to the office around 9 AM via taxi. Today was extra special to me because I finally got to meet all of the team members that I only knew by name. I got to know them a bit better and they got to know me. I tried to give a welcome messege in Vietnamese in our team meeting and I think I did okay. They at least acted like they understood what I was trying to say. I've been studying Vietnamese for about 2 months now and it's fun to try it with my Vietnamese coworkers. I don't think I've ever been so nervous speaking in front of a group. Tu, our QA Manager, volunteered to help me learn more while I am here.

We had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant near the office and we split three dishes; fish soup, cubed beek, and beef kabobs, which was really slices of beef. It was all very good. You are served a little dish of a salt, pepper and lime mixture that is quite good and seasons the food well.

On the way back to the hotel from work we went to the Saigon Square market, which is an outdoor shopping market. The prices are unbelievably good and I was able to pick up several Christmas gifts. Can't tell you what I got because that would spoil the surprise.

After that we headed to the hotel to drop our bags and headed to a microbrewery for dinner. We had french fries, sliced pork (like our deli ham), and shrimp spring rolls for an appetizer. We then split grilled pork, Vietnamese beef and sauted shrimp for dinner. Sharing the meals seems to be the custom here.

Kevin (an FCG employee here for another project) and I dropped Scott off at the hotel and headed back out to the markets. Unfortunately they were all closed, which surprised us. Kevin and I went for a beer at the Rex Hotel before heading back to the hotel. I'm liking Saigon more and more given it's diverse offerings and environment.

I hope to snap some pictures tomorrow to share with everyone.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

No more trips to Vietnam

Well, last week was a big week for me. I decided to leave FCG and return to work for Coca-Cola Enterprises. I had been talking with the people I know at CCE since late last year about working with them and they finally had a position open up a couple of weeks ago. I'm excited to go back there and work on the business side of the company versus the IT side. I start on Apri l16. I will be working in the Revenue Management Department as the Forecasting & Planning Manager. Essentially I will be the business process owner, facilitator, and coordinator of all forecasting and planning activities within the company. That involves working with all of the regional and corporate business units to ensure that the tools and related processes are thoroughly integrated across finance, revenue management, supply chain, logistics and sales. I will also be responsible for managing all of the support tools and solutions, so I still get to be a Project Manager. This is a big job with lo
6 comments
Read more

Double Chocolate Chip Dream Cookies

If you love chocolate, these are the cookies for you. The name says it all...Double Chocolate Chip Dream Cookies. Indeed, they are a dream! It takes about 10 minutes to make the batter, then eight minutes to cook. You can be eating these in less time than it takes to watch an episode of The Office. To make them vegan:  Use 1/4 cup of applesauce (from Whole Foods in the UK) for each egg Replace the butter with margarine (make sure it's stick margarine) Use dark chocolate chips (you can get a 2KG bag of chocolate chips at Costco).  Unlike last time, when I used tub margarine and melted it too much, use stick margarine and let it come to room temperature to soften. This made a HUGE difference.  They're super delicious! Enjoy!
Post a Comment
Read more

Saigon Walking Tour

I was going to put the picture of me with the two Thai twins here, but I thought that'd probably not be the best idea. David, Jeff, Scott & I went on a walking tour of Saigon Saturday. Our goal was to hit as many of the historical places as possible. This will probably come as no shock to most of you, but I was the tour organizer. The pictures from our tour can be see here . - Hotel Continental: Built in the French colonial days, this was a common meeting place for journals and diplomats during the Vietnam War. - Nha Hat Thanh Pho (Municipal Theatre): Built in 1899 as Saigon's Opera House, it later served as the National Assembly (Congress) of South Vietnam until 1975 when it became a theatre again. - Nha Tho Duc Ba (Notre Dame Cathedral): Built in 1880 by the French on the site of an old fort, this is still an active Catholic church. - The Virgin Mary: This is the statue of that was reportedly seen crying. - Buu Dien Trung Tam (Central Post Office): Built by the F
4 comments
Read more