Reflection

I refelect on myself from time to time to ensure that i am living to the life that i want and aimed for.This trip to Saigon has been a meaningful one. I told myself to come with an open heart,embracing my title as the future sociologist:)

I observed alot of things here which make me feel very contented as i had a chance to see how others live their life here.There are times which i feel very sumpathetic towards the people who live in poverty here,but i also tell myself that i should respect their way of life.They may be poor,but they have their own way of leading their life and they have their own ways of searching for happiness. I should not sympathize them but i should respect them because i believe that all human brings in this world deserve sme respects from others no matter how much money they have in their pockets.

Things are done differently here..and it took me quite a long to understand why people do certain things, and it actually frustrates sometimes since i am so used to the bureacratic system which emphasize on efficiency as the utmost important criteria for the country. Well, in Saigon, people are more laid back and slow in their daily activities. Sometimes people do things such as transfering your goods from one basket to another after its being weight, instead of giving you back. Yes, puzzled me BUT it is interesting. I laughed to myself as i looked at that guy who kept throwing my fruits into another basket without giving it back to me. LAter did i know that i was supposed to collect all those from the basket which was 3 persons away from where i was standing. And i asked myself, why cant he pass it back to me so that i can put it in my basket since he is just beside me?!Funny!!!!! Well, it shows that they do learn from countries like Singapore who emphasize on effeciency and effectivenesss in their bureaucratic system.Isnt this scenario look like what you encounter when you're asked to put your passport and documents inside the basket by immigration officers instead of giving him straight away? GOOD JOB!

Trust is very important in every reltionship-be it girlfriend and boyfriend, or businessman and employees. But, what happen if there is lack of trust in some of these relationships? Well, you do it black and white! So, here, you need to handwrite contract when you purchase goods like furnitures and computers,then you passs it to the dealer. The dealer will deliver the goods to you on the date stated in the so called contract and then only you pay them.Well, its funny but its useful coz you dont want your grey table to turn out to be green table a few days later upon delivery...and people here are very 'forgetful'. One day its USD100 and the next day you talk to them, it will be USD 200.The price will always go up..but never come down.So they are real SMART!And you have to show them the contract as a prove, else you will surelly lose in the argument.

Also, people here wont reply your email if they dont understand your enquiry. L actually went to this woman who's a government officers but she didnt send him any notification.So, he went to ask her and her answer to him is"I dont understand you email" and full stops.Thus, the moral of the story is to make sure, you write something your receiver can understand else, you can wait years and years for the reply! heee..funny!

to be continued...............