Before I left Vietnam I had the pleasure of Mike Ryan's company for 5 days. We drank coffee, talked about the wonders of Viet Nam, took a day trip down down the coast to Long Beach for some swimming and surfing, and then a quick trip to the mountain town of Da Lat where most of our vegetables come from. Everything was pleasant except for the bus ride through the mountains. I was sure we would fall off the road and be killed. It was great to share the Vietnam experience with my childhood friend. (We've know each other since 1962 and little league and birthday parties and Cajun dancing.)
In other news, my girlfriend's company closed down when the husband and wife owners left town with billions of Vietnamese dong ( I'm guessing about $5 million) that they scammed investors from in a Berni Madoff type ponzi scheme. Right now they have the police and the Vietnamese mafia after them. Both the mafia and the police came to the office to take whatever they could. One employee, who was owed money, took off with all the office furniture. (I was offered the directors chair for $50, but didn't take it because it's not my style.)
My girlfriend, being the entrepreneurial type and having a degree in accounting, and having started two other businesses, walked off with the customer files and Rolodex. The next day she and colleagues rented office space and opened their own consulting services company. This is a good thing for me because the services they provide includes obtaining legal documents for foreigners, such as residency and work permits, visas, licences, and motor bike registration. The first week she registered my bike for me at cost. Nice, I now have my own foreigners plates. She also made more money her first week in business than her monthly salary working for the lawyers.
Here I am paying To Anh the money to register my motor bike in my name. A new law made it possible for foreigners to own bikes. Til then we had to put the bike in the name of a Vietnamese friend.
There is an added benefit here. Because I know a lot of foreigners and a lot about foreigners, she wants me to work with her in marketing the business. I'll get a commission. I like this a lot because I've been itching to get involved in some kind of business venture here and this is ideal. I'll help design and translate marketing literature and their website. It'll give me an excuse to talk to expats and put to use my business experience and education. (My own business, by the way, is surviving the great depression but not making any money these days.)
I don't plan on letting this interfere with my volunteer teaching or learning Vietnamese. I'll just have one more thing to keep me from being boring. (The Vietnamese always say boring when they mean bored.) Meanwhile, I'm trying to keep warm in chilly little Rhode Island with my family.
