The last train journey?
Today will be something of a milestone. At 11pm tonight we get on the overnight "hard" sleeper to DaNang on our way to the annual VSO country conference. It seemed a good idea at the time, especially as flying involved paying the difference between the two fares, but as the time draws closer I do wonder..... Part of my trepidation is the fact that my ticket says I am in coach 4 berth 29 level 3. Ah, said Chung - you are close to the roof, cool with the skylight open. Another part of my discomfort is that this is the "hard" sleeper - their term not mine - hardly the best of marketing. And finally it has sunk in that this journey is 15 hours!
There is good news too though, when we get back we move to a new hotel which is near where I'll be working and supposedly has internet in the rooms, that will be a big advantage. AND we have just heard that we have secured a fantastic house in the centre of Hanoi which will be available the first week in July. It has four bedrooms, several storage areas, lounge, kitchen diner and two balcony gardens on the third and fourth floors. It is big and at the end of a cul de sac. I have my fingers crossed as I am still struggling to believe we have managed to get it. The asking price was above our budget, but we obviously have honest faces as the landlord has accepted our offer after an hour of face to face haggling.
Finally we spent the whole of yesterday in a workshop with our new employers discussing our roles and targets for the first six months. As expected the brief we got in the UK was not entirely accurate. In my case "Public relations" work turns out to be build a website - something I know nothing about. Still I've got until December to work it out.
I'm looking forward to starting, but it will not be without its challenges. The whole organisation works open plan, which is the way I like it, and the main communication medium is a full team all morning meeting each Monday - in Vietnamese! Hmmm.
I have another volunteer working with me for the first month. He is from England and has worked in development for over 30 years - a fanastic information source for me. He is also the first BESO/VSO volunteer in Vietnam. BESO being the old business executive scheme which sends managers out for between one and three months to meet a specific need.
Anyway this will be the last entry for a few days as the conference will require all my concentration and beer drinking skills.
One or two people have emailed me asking how they post comments on the blog, the answer is I don't know. Its taking me a long time to work out how this thing works. I think you have to register as a member of this blog, but I may also have got the settings wrong. When I work it out I'll let you know. In the meantime if anyone out there works it out first then please let me know!
There is good news too though, when we get back we move to a new hotel which is near where I'll be working and supposedly has internet in the rooms, that will be a big advantage. AND we have just heard that we have secured a fantastic house in the centre of Hanoi which will be available the first week in July. It has four bedrooms, several storage areas, lounge, kitchen diner and two balcony gardens on the third and fourth floors. It is big and at the end of a cul de sac. I have my fingers crossed as I am still struggling to believe we have managed to get it. The asking price was above our budget, but we obviously have honest faces as the landlord has accepted our offer after an hour of face to face haggling.
Finally we spent the whole of yesterday in a workshop with our new employers discussing our roles and targets for the first six months. As expected the brief we got in the UK was not entirely accurate. In my case "Public relations" work turns out to be build a website - something I know nothing about. Still I've got until December to work it out.
I'm looking forward to starting, but it will not be without its challenges. The whole organisation works open plan, which is the way I like it, and the main communication medium is a full team all morning meeting each Monday - in Vietnamese! Hmmm.
I have another volunteer working with me for the first month. He is from England and has worked in development for over 30 years - a fanastic information source for me. He is also the first BESO/VSO volunteer in Vietnam. BESO being the old business executive scheme which sends managers out for between one and three months to meet a specific need.
Anyway this will be the last entry for a few days as the conference will require all my concentration and beer drinking skills.
One or two people have emailed me asking how they post comments on the blog, the answer is I don't know. Its taking me a long time to work out how this thing works. I think you have to register as a member of this blog, but I may also have got the settings wrong. When I work it out I'll let you know. In the meantime if anyone out there works it out first then please let me know!
posted by Marvin.. at Tuesday, June 13, 2006
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