Ho Chi Minh City Skyline

Ho Chi Minh City Skyline
Ho Chi Minh City Skyline

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Day 5


This morning we went to the Vietnam Singapore industrial park. VISP is a government subsidized park that attempts to attract international business. It is the hope of the government that the businesses will employ citizens and strengthen the economy of Vietnam. VSIP has several unique features that make it a suitable location for international business. They have a local customs site, security force, grounds maintenance, and a governmental relations division. All of these features make locating an international business in VISP highly conductive of profitability.

After learning about VSIP itself, we went into II-IV (pronounced two six) to learn about their business. They are a precision engineering company focusing on optics. At this location they produce lenses for lasers. They have many plans for expansion and increased production. The chief engineer whongave us a tout is named Dave and he is an American expat in Vietnam. Never before have i found the things I learned in school to be so relevant. Producing the lenses requires a lot of math physics and chemistry. At one point we observed some workers with with quality analysis of a lens using a spectrometer. Thanks to chemistry class I know exactly what's spectrometer is and how to use one. Even more importantly I knew how to interpret the graph generated on the screen. So far II-IV was my favorite I company visit, what they do was so relevant to us engineers and we old rally appreciate their work.

Our friend Anh came with us today to our company visits in addition to Trân of course. Trân is so funny and I love having her around.  On the way home I spoke with Anh about the Vietnamese culture and I tried to understand some of our differences. We talked about taxes healthcare inflation and many more topics. In the afternoon we listened to a presentation by the US Economic Service in Vietnam. They assist American companies do business around the area they are located. They are responsible for collecting market data and analyzing it to undercover notable trends that may help American businesses.

Before Trân left us for the day I asked her to help me come up with a Vietnamese name for myself. She suggested several possibilities but we finally settled on Manh. I chose this name because It has a similar meaning to my English name. I will no longer be called "Alice", yay! The UEF students still address me by my real name though. They tried very hard to pronounce it tonight at dinner to no avail.

We had some free time in the afternoon before we went out with our UEF friends. They took us to a BBQ restaurant where the food was surprisingly American like although still Vietnamese. On the way to dinner I rode on my friend Tâm's motorbike. I took a video that I will post later in the week when I get enough free time to do so. I observed that we reached a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour. I believe that the motorbike method of transport is very safe, but safe is different from hectic. The American driving style is not used to this type of environment but I think that we could adjust quickly. I am incredibly tired so I'm going to leave it at that for tonight. 

12 comments:

  1. Again, some great insights. You are obviously tired, but happy. What is a "raker"? Grammy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I type these on my iPad and sometimes the words get messed up a little bit

      Delete
  2. I'm loving your posts, Alex! It sounds like you're seeing and doing so many interesting things! Make sure to get a picture with Tran!
    -Aunt Jill

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey, Manh! I'm so jealous of the motorbikes. Sounds like an amazing trip!
    Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Alex- Alice-Manh-
    Kind of meaningful that chemistry of all subjects would make the big first impression on you as so relevant in the real world of engineering. Hmmm...
    You are learning so much; it makes me happy! Love, Mom

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi, Manh: Uncle L. mentioned to me today about a company near Saxonburg called "II-VI". I told him that you had visited a company by that name in Vietnam. Same one?? Grammy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is the same company. This is their Vietnam branch!

      Delete
  6. Alex: Did anyone tell you that Abby was nominated for Best Actress for the Gene Kelly Awards competition? And OLSH got a ton of nominations, too. Hooray for Abby!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Alex!! Your trip sounds TOTALLY AMAZING so far!!! All of your experiences will remain with you forever and become a part of the man you are becoming!!! INVALUABLE!!!!!!!!!!! I love the idea of you riding on the motorbikes -- that is like us on Vespas in Italy!! SO FUN!!! I thought the same thing about the company II-VI -- the company of the same name is based in Saxonburg, PA. All of your new friends sound great..the food an adventure...keep on enjoying it all!! And yes -- Abby was nominated for Best Actress -- she was at a press conference at the benedum today after school!!!!!!!!!!!! Very exciting!!! Love you honey and we are so glad that you are having such a great experience. love, Aunt Karen xoxo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so happy for Abby, its awesome for her. One of the kids here has a Vespa but they're considered a luxury good so they have a huge tax. Over $9000 USD for a basic model. I wish I could come to the gene kelly awards to see her. Oh well. I can't wait to see you guys when I come back

      Delete
  8. Hi Alex, my main 'Manh' - it is easy to read that you are having a great time - how is the tailor made suite coming? Dad

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The suit should be ready on Wednesday Trân asked the tailor. I am having an awesome time!

      Delete