the reeyality blog

Day 10 and 11 were productive work days. We had a presentation on day 11 (Tuesday) highlighting our preliminary recommendations for Hue Frit. I am happy to report that the presentation was well received and the client was interested in most of our recommendations especially around employee morale and management training. We have now been tasked with putting together presentation materials to train their factory supervisors on working together, managing their employees, learning how to lead effective meetings and setting performance goals.

Lucky for us, IBM puts us through more than enough of this type of training and we have a lot of material to choose from. The hard part? Translating. Leadership training materials love to use analogies and colloquial phrases such as “greener pastures”, using a “parking lot” for irrelevant items, and even a variety of phrases such as “action items” and “following up” that do not necessarily translate clearly in Vietnamese.

In general, client meetings and conversations have been pretty difficult because translators tend to generalize or summarize the key points from the conversations, thereby causing us to miss out on many of the details. Meetings take longer and a lot of clarification is often required. On top of that, in the Vietnamese business culture, meetings are conducted differently from the United States. For example, in our meetings, silence – especially in a fact-to-face meeting – is awkward, and attendees are quick to fill in the gaps with more information or questions. In Vietnam, when our client is speaking, pauses are frequent, and are not a sign of misunderstanding, but instead a sign of respect – which makes it hard to know when the client is done and understand when we are able to ask questions.

Terminology and consulting jargon is also difficult to translate, so being cognizant of the way we speak, write our presentations, and present our recommendations is key. The language needs to be simple and the analogies need to be relatable.

Just another challenge to add to the list =) and one that most of us are not as familiar with. Regardless, we seem to be doing just fine, our translators are working hard, and I am excited to finish up our training materials for the client quickly!

Some pictures from our office:

Talk to you soon!

After the all-day tour yesterday, most of us decided to take it a little easy today and recharge for the long work week ahead.

We started the morning with a massage at the local institute for the blind. Unfortunately, I do not think my masseuse was blind, but either way, the money we paid for the services benefited the center and the students. (And of course, how could anyone turn down a $2.50 hour-long massage?)

Our next stop, shopping! A few of the girls visited the “Michigan Ave” (or for others “5th ave” / “Rodeo Drive”) of Hue to browse some clothing. I discovered while packing for this trip, that many of my clothes are made here in Vietnam and sure enough, I saw stores with brands like Express, Forever 21, Zara, and others present with their full tags. Price-wise, it was definitely cheaper here, but not cheap enough that I felt inclined to purchase the clothing. What I did like though was that most of the clothing here is made for smaller body types like myself, and tailoring, if needed, occurs on-site and is very cheap! I ended up purchasing four beautiful silk summer dresses for a nice price =)

In the middle of our shopping trip, we experienced our first Vietnam rain. We rushed inside a store and watched as the streets flooded quickly, the cockroaches scurried for higher ground, and saw how quickly the stores shut down and packed up their store-front displays. We were stuck inside a very small clothing shop for quite some time before it stopped. I have seen some harsh thunderstorms in both Texas and Chicago in my life, but nothing compares to the intense downpour and booming thunder that we felt here today.

Once it cleared, we ended our perfect Sunday with dinner at the local Indian restaurant. The food was amazing and it was really nice to have a wonderful and familiar break from the local cuisine:

=)

Day 8 – posting this a little late, but for the amount of the things we did and saw on our tour – this day still deserves its own post! The team took a full-day trip around Hue today. We braved the intense heat and visited some of the major tourist sites, took thousands of pictures (some of which are highlighted below), and received a healthy dose of Vietnamese history. We had a lovely tour guide and a private bus to maneuver around the city. Even though we spent over 12 hours on the road, I still feel that we barely hit the tip of iceberg of the vast cultural and historical sights in Hue!

1. Tomb of Emperor Tu Duc – the 4th emperor (out of 13) of Vietnam’s Nguyen’s Dynasty.

One of the many shrines

Gate to his tomb

Civil and warrior mandarin statues (they served the emperor during his reign)

His empty tomb, he is buried somewhere on the grounds but the location is a secret. The location of his body is at the optimal place per the feng shui technique.

2. Tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh – 12th Emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty – similar designs to the previous tomb, but with a more significant French / European influence.

His tomb is located on a beautiful hill

Steep steps on the grounds

Beautiful architecture

Colorful mosaic inside the shrine with pieces from all over world

Lotus flowers

3. Private Kung Fu performance – for our team and a few other tourist groups

4. Imperial City – the area was the site of some of the most intense fighting during the infamous Tet Offensive of 1968. The entire complex is currently undergoing restoration under the watch of UNESCO.

Vietnamese flag waving high

Beautiful architecture with a strong Chinese influence

Dragon statues

Renovations in progress as evidenced by this newly re-painted hallway

5. An Hien Garden House – one of the most preserved houses that belonged to a civil mandarin – lots of tropical fruit, most of which I had no idea what they were!

6. Thien Mu Pagoda – had the opportunity to listen to a Buddhist prayer from the monks

7. The last and final stop – boat ride across the Perfume River with traditional Vietnamese folk songs for entertainment

Hello all!

I went to bed pretty early on Thursday night, so I figured it would make more sense to combine these last two days for you. Of course the day I didn’t actually write a post, I found out that I have a sizable audience for this blog…and even had some requests for pictures  =) so I will address that first.

Request: What does your hotel look like from the street? What do the streets look like in general? I guess I take my surroundings for granted and was waiting until our full day tour tomorrow before taking these pics, but here you go:

Here’s one way to transport goods, need I remind you it is 100 degrees F?

The locals like to take a sort of “siesta” after lunch

Selling durian on the street

Definitely buying one of these before I leave

The tall, tan building is our hotel

Better view of Hue

Football (or “soccer”) stadium near the hotel

Please keep the requests coming!

What else to report? In regards to our project, we have been focusing on research and preparing for a presentation next Tuesday. We want to provide a preliminary look at our recommendations soon, so that we can 1) make sure that we are on the right track and 2) have enough time to work with the client to do some detailed planning. The content of the presentation will be centered around performance-based pay and how to implement such a system in their company.

As I had mentioned previously we had the amazing opportunity to speak to the students at the Hue University of Sciences about preparing for an interview, communicating effectively, and describing what is like to work for a large company like IBM today. Here are some pictures:

The 12 of us in the hotel lobby, about to leave for the conference

The stage for the presentation, note the IBM in the sign – I believe it says the name of our presentation

The team, post-presentation, we were sitting in the front row, so my action shots did not turn out too well – I will steal some from our CSC managers later =)

A picture of the campus, outside our lecture hall

The presentation went very well and was well-received by the students. We were happy to have a lot of questions during the Q&A. I was reminded of the significant culture differences between our countries during this presentation. In the USA we are taught how to write an email, create effective presentations, and prepare for an interview very early in our education. From the questions we were receiving, it seemed as if many of these topics were new to the students – we provided as much insight and as many tips as we could to address their questions – but, as I typically feel after any service event, I wish there was more that I could do…

After retuning, we took a quick break and met up for a a delicious dinner to end the day:

Tomorrow we will be on an all-day tour of Hue, so you can definitely expect a lot of pictures!

(As I am typing this I just heard a very loud “boom” and the sound of water outside of my room…which means, it is raining! This season is considered the “dry season” and we were told that is very rare for rain to come during this time…looks like a miracle =) Hopefully this means that the weather will stay cool for the tour tomorrow!!)

Goodnight!

#ibmcsc

It was so refreshing to work from the hotel today – very productive, so much cooler (and by that I mean because of the temperature) and even a little relaxing. We have created a comprehensive list of recommendations for the client…the details need a little tweaking, but I feel confident that we will be able them with a lot of their current issues.

Since the day was pretty uneventful (more heads down, work time), I will just skip to a quick story about dinner. We met with 20+ college students today (at another vegetarian restaurant, their choice not mine!) to just talk about work life, applying for jobs, the Vietnamese culture, etc etc. It was very informal and hopefully valuable to them to have the opportunity to network and discuss their ambitions with us. And of course, here are a few pictures to add some color:

My balcony, this is what I wake up to every morning =)

This is how far the restaurant was…I led the team there (after having eaten here once before) and got everyone lost…6 min of walking turned into 20…typical Reeya

Vegetarian hot pot for dinner

Trying the local brew – Hue beer – tastes like a Miller Light but slightly sweeter

Some of the students – the restaurant had no AC or fans, instead it was hotter there than outside because of the hot pot burners…

Pharmacy student – very intelligent young man, offered some great insight into the Vietnamese student culture and lifestyle

We have a long day at the factory tomorrow…so goodnight! =)

#ibmcsc

First things first…

Our translator surprised me this morning by wearing a UT Austin shirt! She’s amazing!

Today, we spent most of the morning continuing to gather data and asking our client detailed questions about their issues. We spent more time with our client managers and tried to understand a better view of worker responsibilities and their pain points. Our client suggested we put together our “wish list” of data requests and decided it would be best for them to prepare the reports for us. We agreed with their preference and decided to meet with them again on Thursday. At the same time, my partner and I will do some research on industry best practices and consolidate our recommendations, which means we will be working independently from our hotel conference room tomorrow.

Lunch was at yet another vegetarian restaurant – provided by the client! I am really loving the food here and was very happy with their selection of dishes. I actually tried something new today – a dish made of boiled jackfruit with spices and ground peanuts…it was interesting, but I think I will stick to my tofu =)

We returned to the hotel in the early afternoon, as did many of the other teams, and we spent the afternoon together in our conference room researching and discussing our ideas and experiences with each other.

Embarrassing action shot courtesy of my team members

We then made our way to the touristy part of Hue, or as our manager said in Vietnamese “the street of foreigners” for dinner. We ate a fancy French / Vietnamese / European restaurant, La Carambole. It is a very popular and more “high-end” restaurant, famous for its ambiance and delectable cuisine. The food was very good, and at this point, a fellow US team member and I had a craving for some western foods…

Some of the team trying to decide what to eat

Typical Reeya food – tofu and vegetables

And eating french fries with chopsticks

The food was delicious and satisfying. Before I’m off, here is the funny “lost in translation” story for the day:

Earlier today, two of our team members were eating lunch at the hotel and were served Vietnamese food with forks. All of the food here is typically served with chopsticks, so undersandably, they found this very strange. Wanting to be traditional and eat the Vietnamese food as it should be eaten, they tried to use hand motions and words to request a set of chopsticks. The waiters, confused, mistook their hand signals for this…

Apparently, we like to eat our food with scissors… =)

Goodnight!

Day 3:

Today was a very busy and longgg day! We (and the rest of the CSC teams) met our client executives this morning! Our team leadership kicked off the meeting with a quick presentation on the background of the CSC Program and I provided a short history of IBM. If you know me, then you know I tend to speak very fast…which doesn’t work well when someone is attempting to translate your every word after each sentence! After the introductions, we had the opportunity to sit with our clients for a few hours and discuss the scopes of work (SOW) and figure out the logistics for the week – we are to be ready at 7:15 AM…seems like companies in Vietnam like to start early!

For lunch, our translators introduced us to a delicious vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant that was less than 5 minutes away from the hotel! This means that I will be probably be eating there as much as I can over the next few weeks – the food was so tasty and healthy!

Our client came back and picked us up after lunch and took us to their office for the rest of the afternoon. We met about ten different managers and listened carefully to their needs and current issues. We then donned masks (to protect us against gases and dust) and  took a tour of their very impressive facility. We finally had the opportunity to witness and truly understand the frit manufacturing process first-hand. We saw how the raw materials were mixed, melted, and formed into different types of frit. We even saw a lab where the frits were applied as glazes on real ceramic tiles and tested for quality control.  Other things to note:

1. It ranges between 90 – 100 degrees F here every day…not to mention the humidity

2. The frit manufacturing process requires tanks to operate at over 1,000 degrees C (~1800 degrees F)

3. The factory is basically open– on one end coal furnaces burn to produce gas, which is then used to heat the tanks for producing frit

4. If it isn’t clear yet, IT WAS HOT THERE – like more than Texas summer hot!

Regardless, we learned a lot and already have some ideas and suggestions for improvement in their processes and tackling their wish list. The client team seemed very excited to work with us and, likewise, we cannot wait to provide some real value to their company!

But before we get a chance to get deep into brainstorming tonight, we have another presentation to prepare for on Friday. The entire CSC Team will be presenting to 200+ junior and senior college students at the Hue University of Science on career planning, resume building, interview etiquette, and what it means to work for a large technology company like IBM. We are meeting in about 30 minutes and hopefully the presentation will not take all night to build…but of course, in a room full of ambitious, experienced, and successful professionals…you never know =)

“Find something you love to do, and you’ll never work a day in your life” – Harvey MacKay

Note: no pictures today, per the client’s request, due to protection of their technology and processes

Day 2:

Not too many pictures to share today, because it was basically a travel / work day for the team. We spent the morning on a long, peaceful drive from Danang to Hue (3.5 hours) and experienced Vietnam’s natural beauty including tall hills, wide lakes, and long rivers. We also saw some small towns and a few farms growing various grains and rice. From that description, I guess it could sound like I am describing parts of Texas or even the Midwest…until you see how beautiful and GREEN the land is here:

Upon arriving to Hue, we took a short walk around the city in search of food. We chose a restaurant that served foods of a variety of cultures including American, Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Indian. After having had a somewhat upset stomach the night before, I opted to order spaghetti with pomodoro sauce and was pleasantly surprised with the taste and comfort of familiar food =)

After lunch we spent the next few hours discussing the logistics for our first week at work! I won’t bore you with the details…and will instead just skip over to the exciting part – our translators! We spent an hour with 7 different translators – all within 5 years of my age – talking about our backgrounds, the things we like to do in our free time, and of course, a little about our projects. My team was matched with the youngest translator…who had spent a year in an exchange program at The University of Texas at Austin! After obnoxiously flashing Longhorn signs around the conference room and yelling Hook em’ Horns to the team, we actually did some work =) We ended the day with a delicious Vietnamese dinner and came back to prepare our notes for our meetings with our clients tomorrow.

The full team + translators at dinner

Also, my team has graciously put me in charge of the IBM History portion of our kick off meeting tomorrow. I probably should start researching and memorizing some information for that…so, until tomorrow, good night!

What starts here changes the world.

Good Morning Vietnam! (yes, that was necessary =) )

First things first, breakfast. About half of our team had arrived by Friday night, so we decided to meet up in the morning and get acquainted over our first meal in Danang. After eating the not-so-vegetarian-friendly airplane food for the last 24 hours, I was actually pretty excited for some cereal and eggs! I had also heard great things about Vietnamese coffee, and was looking forward to a nice burst of caffeine to start the morning strong…that being said, you could imagine our surprise when we were greeted with pho, chili tofu, bread, dragon fruit, noodles, and bok choy at the breakfast buffet… Not to say that the food was bad, it was just not what we had expected! Note to self: don’t expect eggs at breakfast, unless it’s scrambled in the fried rice.

After a somewhat filling breakfast (I secretly snacked on a Fiber One bar for added nutrition) and a very caffeinated cup of black Vietnamese coffee (they weren’t kidding when they said it was good!) we piled 7 strong into a cab and headed for the beach! I had heard Vietnam had some gorgeous beaches…see for yourself:

If you squint you can see the tallest lady Buddha statue in the world  (white marble) in the background on the left

Local fisherman catching pretty much anything, including jellyfish!

A little bit of down time before the work starts!

After a peaceful walk on the beach and a nice cold drink, we headed straight to the famous Marble Mountains – a set of five steep mountains made of marble and limestone. The mountains housed beautiful and serene temples tucked inside the hollow caves and many pagodas.

One of the many aforementioned temples

Pagoda posing

A few of us decided to be adventurous and climb to the peak

Naturally, the mountains were surrounded by a marketplace of marble stores where you could find pretty much anything carved into the stone. You know those massive marble lions that the more wealthy people in the USA park outside of their houses? If you ever want 2…or 100…this is where you can find them!

Tomorrow…we are off to Hue!

-R

T-13 hours!

This week has literally been a whirlwind of emotions. Just this morning I was in Akron, OH – my second home for over the last 2 years of my life – wrapping up a project and saying goodbye to some very close colleagues.

My cake said “Best Wishes, Reeya” in “burnt” orange! We just ate it quickly =)

After hopping on my last plane from Cleveland to Chicago this afternoon, I rushed home to triple check my bags and run some last minute errands. Right now I’m feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness (this might be partly due to the stuffed poblano pepper I had for dinner), but I think that once our plane touches down in Danang, the nervousness will fade away. We had our final call with the team on Tuesday morning where we had the opportunity to talk to our in-country manager and run through our final checklist. After cross-checking that list with the many post-its I have collected over the last month – I think I can actually breathe easy. My flight leaves at lunchtime tomorrow…and after ~24 hours of travel, I will finally be in Vietnam!