Labor law, English Zone, Tea Time, and Pageantry
January 6, 2017
Today began with soccer for some students, jet-lag recovery
for others- I admit I was among those who skipped the 7:00 am scrimmage. We all
gathered together at 9:00 am, however, for a class session covering Vietnamese labor
law. We were joined by TDTU Professor Triet, and one of the wonderful students,
Nghia, served as a translator. We discussed how Vietnamese labor law is just
part of the common law code, as opposed to our separate system in the US, and
focused on health and safety in the garment industry as well as some of the
details regarding layoffs, the rights and responsibilities of the union, and
wages and benefits. Mr. Triet had experience working in the steel industry and
construction, and it was great to be able to engage with TDT faculty. We went
to the cantine again for lunch, and managed to order on our own (a big
accomplishment, at least in our eyes, given our lack of Vietnemse language
skills).
 |
| Meeting with Mr. Triet |
In the afternoon we went back to the English Zone. The
students knew we were planning on stopping by, so after chatting for a bit with
students studying English, international business, and even electrical
engineering, we all played a game together. The team Julissa and I were on,
“Beauty Team,” had a bit of a competitive streak as we battled with the others
to correctly identify the name of a song a player would draw out,
Pictionary-style, on a whiteboard- bonus points if you could sing it! Sadly,
Clara’s team wasn’t quite as skilled and she received the punishment of eating
a durian candy (pictures below)!
 |
| At the English Zone |
 |
| Clara trying Durian Candy |
We then headed downtown to meet up with some Vietnamese
students who go to Cornell, who were in the city for the afternoon. We went to
a really lovely teahouse in district one.
 |
| Tea with other Cornellians |
We then returned to campus for the
TDT Beauty Pageant. We were expecting a small affair, but this was a serious,
high-production value spectacle to rival Miss America. Earlier rounds had
narrowed the contestants to 10 women and 10 men, who showed off beautifully
painted and beaded ao dais and performed dances and sang a
mix of Vietnamese and Western songs. It was really fascinating to see a
different side of the youth culture. We couldn’t really imagine a similar event
happening at Cornell, so it made for an exciting evening!
 |
| TDTU Beauty Pageant |
 |
| TDTU Beauty Pageant |
We ended the day at a
fantastic vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant in District 3, sharing dishes like
house-made tofu, spicy mushrooms, hot pot, and pineapple fried rice. Overall,
it was another invigorating, fascinating day in Ho Chi Minh City, and we can’t
wait to see what’s next. - Allison
No comments:
Post a Comment