Tieng Viet lovers club

[jackbl]

Kids gearing up for competitions for first grade
================================================== ====

VietNamNet Bridge – A lot of children do not have a “summer holiday” in the true sense of the word, because they have to learn hard to prepare for the exams to enter the first grade of prestigious schools.



Primary school entrance exam as stressful as university entrance exam

About ten private primary schools in Hanoi plan to organize exams to enroll students for the 2011-2012 academic year in order to choose the best students for the schools.

The number of students registering to study at the schools is clearly big, while the number of students the schools plan to enroll is limited. The Experimental Primary School, for example, plans to enroll 180 students for the first grade, but 600 students have registered to take the school entrance exam, which means that 420 students will be disqualified.

The Doan Thi Diem Primary School plans to enroll 400 students this year, but 900 students have registered to study at the school so far. Headmaster of the school, Nguyen Thi Hien said last year, the school enrolled 500 students, while there were 1600 applications. She thinks that the number of students registering to take the exam to the school, to be held on May28, will be the same with the last year.

The Le Quy Don Primary School has also reported that it is seeking 360 students for the first grade, while the number of registrations has been several times higher.

While other primary schools are still receiving applications from students, the Nguyen Sieu Primary School organized the exam already. Children were asked to spend a whole day at the school. They had to attend the tests which aim to find out student’s capability in language, mathematical thinking, English skills, and the ability to observe, remember, and express ideas. Also, they also had to go through the health examination. Meanwhile, the members of the jury board also gave marks to every student when they watched the students eating, sleeping and playing at the school.

A parent commented that the exam organized by the Nguyen Sieu School is as difficult as the contest to find out the “queen of the beauty”.

Minh, who has a daughter attending the school entrance exams on April 23 and 24, said that with the competition ratio of 1/5 (one student has to compete with other five in order to obtain a seat at the school), the primary school entrance exam is as stressful as the university entrance exam.



Gearing up for preparing for exams

A lot of students have failed to enter Nguyen Sieu Primary School. However, the exam results cannot discourage their parents. “Better luck next time”, a parent said, adding that his son will attend the exams to four other schools.

Another parent also said that her daughter will have to take many other exams to other primary schools, while she will only make decision about which school the girl will go to after she receives the exams results.

Parents have set up an ambitious goal for their children that the children need to pass the exams to the prestigious schools at any costs. Therefore, right after Tet holiday, many children have begun the difficult period of preparing for the primary school entrance exams.

A mother said that her child still has to learn even on holidays, but has to learn hard: solving the questions raised at the previous year’s exams, practicing writing and English skills.

My, who lives in Cau Giay District in Hanoi, related that her daughter goes to the exam preparation classes opened by some primary schools and she has to pay 3-4 million dong for the classes since February 2011. Besides this, the daughter is also learning with a private tutor, who is helping the girl practice writing.

Meanwhile, psychologists have pointed out that it is really a bad thing to put students under a hard pressure when they are still small. A woman related that her daughter feels ashamed because she failed to enter Nguyen Sieu School, because she was light in weight (18 kilos). Meanwhile, a father said that his boy dare not take other exams after he failed the exam to Nguyen Sieu School, because he thinks he is not capable enough to go to school.



Source: Tien phong

[AdGuy]

So long no stories about Vietnam

[AdGuy]

Apologies to the bros who have PMed me about the trial Vietnamese course.

There has been a slight delay and the course will be ready by end June.

I have all the names so dun worry, I'll keep you updated in due time.

On a separate note, the music forum is undergoing a major overhaul at the moment so things are seemingly slow. Please be patient with us and good things will be coming your way soon.

[jackbl]

Originally Posted by AdGuy

Apologies to the bros who have PMed me about the trial Vietnamese course.

There has been a slight delay and the course will be ready by end June.

There is also a long delay on the BBQ outing

[jackbl]

Vietnamese body language and what it means
================================================== =====

Angela SchonbergHaving lived in Vietnam for seven months now, I have to say I have learned a lot, especially, in the form of communication. With differences in language and customs I find myself having trouble even in the most simple of interactions.

In situations, mainly at a restaurant or a market, I tend to overcompensate my lack of verbal communication with hand motions. Most of the time, this works out. Unfortunately, just like spoken language, hand signals and body language have different meanings and have the ability to offend people. If you find yourself in Vietnam attempting to non-verbally communicate, here are a few things I have learned that could help you not send the wrong message.

When trying to get someone to come to you, let’s say a waitress at a restaurant, do not point your finger and flex it toward your body as we do in America. If you use this method to beckon a Vietnamese local they may get upset. This is because this is how you call for an animal or a small child. Furthermore, beckoning signifies that that person has a lower class than you, so it can be very upsetting to older Vietnamese. Instead, keep your palm down and flex your entire hand, this will keep everyone happy. With practice I have come to break this miscommunication.

I was recently attending a concert taking pictures of some friends, when I asked them to pose for the camera they stuck up their middle finger. I thought they were trying to ruin the picture because in America this is the most offensive hand signal that can be made. Commonly used by angry drivers it is a way to tell another person off.

In Vietnam, however, this is not the case. The middle finger is simply another counting number. The middle finger and index finger to them coordinate by taking turns as the number one. Commonly, Vietnamese people point to things and ask for one item of something by putting up their middle fingers. So, if you see a Vietnamese person giving you the finger, they likely have no idea they could be offending you.

Many times sitting on the side of the street, I have found myself approached by people selling things that I do not want to buy. When I moved to Vietnam, I would shake my head “no, thank you” and persistent sellers would continue to test my patience. Thanks to friendly observation, I quickly learned that unlike America, where a left to right shake of the head means no, the Vietnamese use a hand motion to communicate the word no. Using your open hand, palm up, simply twist it back and forth and the salesperson will get the message. While shopping, I’ve even received shopkeepers giving me two hands, when they don’t agree on selling me something for the price I ask.

Learning my way around this city has been an eventful feat in itself. One time I told one of my Vietnamese friends to “wish me luck” as I had to cross downtown during rush hour. Subconsciously, I simultaneously, crossed my fingers when saying this. My friend stopped me and asked, “Why did you cross your fingers?” I explained to her that in America crossing your fingers is a sign of good luck. We sometimes even cross our fingers for luck when we’re waiting for good news or the results of a test.

After repeating this to her, she laughed and continued to explain to me that in Vietnam, this is not the case. She told me that crossing your fingers is considered a rude, and disrespectful gesture that refers to part of the female anatomy. After learning this I was thankful she told me before I upset any other locals around me.

Public displays of affection between a man and a woman, such as holding hands or kissing, are generally accepted in the western world, and can seemingly go unnoticed. But while in Vietnam, I tend to notice less co-ed displays of affection. More often than not I will see girls and, or, older women holding hands or linking arms with their girl friends.

While most Vietnamese realize that westerners have different behaviors in public, and may not care if you and your significant other hold hands, kissing will still likely cause offense. Personally, this does not bother me, because I have never been a big fan of public displays of affection.

This brings me to my last gesture, the crossing of the arms. Back home when I am talking to someone with their arms crossed I tend to think they are mad at me or are trying to cover something up. However, I have learned that if you’re speaking to your Vietnamese friend and they cross their arms you may think the same, but fear not. The act of crossing your arms also has a different meaning in Vietnam. Instead of something that is done when someone is upset, here crossing your arms is considered a sign of respect.

Remember, communicating in Vietnam, especially when you don’t speak the language, is difficult for most westerners. But, if you remember these non-verbal differences at least you can save yourself some embarrassment and keep the inadvertent offending at a minimum.

Angela Schonberg (American, writer)

[KangTuo]

Originally Posted by jackbl

There is also a long delay on the BBQ outing

there will definitely be NO delay as long as there are vb

[jackbl]

Even the taxi drivers cheated, let alone the WLs


Taken for a ride
========================

Illegal taxis and aggressive vendors give tourists a rude welcome to Vietnam


Last week, Rasnita Mohd Rasid and her friend took their longest taxi ride.

In terms of geographical distance, it was not too long, as Rasid and her friend discovered when they took the return journey on the same route in another taxi.

From Tan Son Nhat International Airport to Ben Thanh Market, the taxi driver charged them VND150,000 (US$7.3), which is when the enormity of the swindle they were victims of really sank in.

The taxi driver who took them from the market to the airport had demanded $400 (more than VND8 million plus another 300 Malaysian Ringgit ($98.6)) and Rasid had ended up paying VND4 million, almost $200.

Worse still, they had been dropped far outside the airport in the rain, and made to walk after paying a colossal sum.

On May 13, three days after this incident, Rasid, a journalist with the New Straits Times newspaper in Malaysia – went to the office of the Mai Linh Taxi Company to lodge a complaint because the taxi that had cheated her was labeled the “M.Taxi Group.”

Officials of the Mai Linh Taxi immediately recognized that the cab she took was an illegal one that imitates the company’s brand.

The company took her to Ben Thanh Market, where Rasnita saw the exact car that she had taken, with license plate 51V-0160. The same driver, far from being frightened, managed to issue a few threats to the group before fleeing.

Do Kien Dat, an executive with the Mai Linh Group, said there have been a number of unlicensed taxis imitating the company’s brand waiting for passengers outside the Notre Dame Cathedral, Ben Thanh Market, Bach Dang Port and a few other places.

He said the fake taxis were still around despite the company cooperating with the Transport Department and traffic police to tackle the issue.

Rasid’s case is not an isolated incident, according to several members of a team of volunteers assigned to assist tourists. Taxi fraud and other scams and annoyances that tourists are being subjected to have assumed serious proportions, they say.

New tricks

Tran Duy Nguyen of HCMC Voluntary Youth Force’s community service unit said fraud committed by taxi drivers and vendors have increased over the past several months.

Nguyen’s unit, which manages the green-shirt tourist security force, has witnessed many cases of foreign tourists being cheated by unlicensed taxi drivers.

“Taking a detour to increase the fare is an old trick. Now they carry passengers straight to their destination but snatch some high value banknotes from their open wallet, when foreigners are not familiar with local currency and calculating,” he said.

“Sometimes, they refuse to give back change or just close the door and drive away,” he added.

On March 18, a foreign tourist was charged VND300,000 ($14.5) after taking a taxi from the War Remnants Museum in District 3 to the Independence Palace in District 1, which is only two kilometers away. The passenger saw the meter indicating VND30,000 and asked a nearby volunteer for help.

In another case, an unlicensed taxi charged a foreign tourist VND200,000 for driving from Tao Dan Park in District 1 to the Rex Hotel in downtown HCMC, three kilometers away. The hapless tourist should have been charged not more than VND40,000, some taxi drivers told Thanh Nien Weekly.

Nguyen said his unit had recorded many similar cases, but their force is thin and cannot prevent all foreign tourists from being fleeced.

According to a recent report that Nguyen’s unit sent to the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, there have been many cases when foreign tourists are hassled and cheated by street vendors. Even tourist security officials have been threatened by the vendors, the report said.

A travel agent director in HCMC said there has been a reduction in the number of Japanese tourists over the past years because of badgering vendors.

He said some vendors have followed Japanese tourists to their hotels or sightseeing destinations to sell poor quality souvenirs. Japanese tourists have become aware of the issue and these vendors now shifted their attention to tourists from Malaysia, Indonesia and Russia, he added.

A tourist guide said many tourists from France, Australia, US, Japan and South Korea have been told by other tourists from their countries not to buy souvenirs in Vietnam to avoid being victimized by street vendors.

Some vendors pretend to invite tourists to buy a souvenir, contrive to have it drop to the ground to ignite a quarrel and insist on compensation, another tourist guide said.

Lax management

An official from HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said illegal taxis and vendors who harass visitors have become a headache for the department.

“Because we are understaffed, the department’s inspectors rely on the voluntary youth force to protect tourists from such scams,” the official said.

She said many tourists now looked to the Internet for useful tips before visiting another country, including Vietnam, to avoid falling prey to such ploys and fully enjoy the trip.

On several forums about Vietnam, international tourists have warned against unlicensed taxis like Taxi Meter, Taxi Vinamet and Meter Taxi, she said.

One entry on virtualtourist.com noted that there were a lot of postings about taxis in HCMC that provided “sufficient” information to protect oneself. “This happens all over the world not just in HCMC,” the entry said.

On March 11, a Japanese tourist took an illegal taxi from outside the Ben Thanh Market to the airport. The car suddenly stopped and parked on the side of the road before it reached the airport.

“I was confused and tried to make him drive to the airport since I had little time to check-in. The driver, who I realized was a criminal, refused. I then gave him a VND500,000 bill and expected to get change back. The meter showed VND84,500 but he made it out to be VND845,000,” the tourist wrote in his entry.

“We got into a loud discussion and I tried to get out of the car, but the doors were locked... He shouted about the VND840,000 and finally I had to give him $20 more to make him open the door, so I could get out,” the entry said.

Peter Murray, who has been in Vietnam for 18 years, blamed the increasing scams on lax management by local authorities.

“For years the press has said that unlicensed cabs in Pham Ngu Lao and outside Ben Thanh Market are illegal. So why are they still there? Someone is clearly getting paid off to allow them to stay - so someone higher up should stop it,” he told Thanh Nien Weekly.

“There could be a taxi counter at the airport where drivers are guaranteed the going rate for an agreed destination, for example, VND80,000 to District 1, VND100,000 to Binh Thanh District, etc., and the passenger buys that token, and the driver does not get the money until they claim it at the airport.”

Reported by Tran Duy – Minh Hung

[lament]

Originally Posted by jackbl

Even the taxi drivers cheated, let alone the WLs


Taken for a ride
========================


Reported by Tran Duy – Minh Hung

this is nothing new ....the worse is in hanoi...

I was once taken for a scenic ride round hoan kiem lake, the driver keep on circling the lake a few times despite my repeated warnings to him.

what i do this days is to pay what I think is the fair fare and then get off the cab.

[jackbl]

Another news report....

The 6 million dong taxi ride arouses people’s indignation
================================================== =======

VietNamNet Bridge – The information about the exorbitant taxi ride, the shipwreck cases and the trouble at the Noi Bai International Airport which occurred recently; all have aroused the indignation from people, who have called on stopping the problems, to polish Vietnam’s images in the eyes of foreign travelers.

On May 13, Mai Linh taxi firm organized a meeting with three Malaysian travelers to clarify the issue relating to the “exorbitant taxi ride”. Prior to that, the three travelers came directly to Mai Linh’s headquarters to complain about the overly high and unreasonable taxi fees.

Nasniya Mohd Taib, one of the three clients, said that at 7 am of May 10, they caught a taxi with logo M.taxi Group and telephone number 08.39620620 to go from the Ben Thanh Market to the Tan Son Nhat Airport. When they arrived, the taxi driver forced them to pay four million Vietnam dong and 300 Ringgit (about 2 million dong), or six million dong in total. Meanwhile, the taxi ride actually costs 150,000 dong.

Nguyen Tuan Sinh, Chair of the Trade Union of Mai Linh Group, said that after receiving the complaint, security officers of the group and the three travelers came to the Ben Thanh Market area and discovered that this was a taxi which counterfeited the Mai Linh brand.

When the Mai Linh Group’s officers and the three travelers took pictures of the taxi, the taxi driver of the car with the number plate 52V-0160, the one that carried the three Malaysian travelers, tried to assault the people

Ms Nasniya Mohd Taib said that one of the members of the tourist group was a journalist, and he wanted to clarify the issue. The Ben Thanh Market is a well known tourism site, and any bad information would badly affect the tourism industry.

Nguyen Ngoc Hieu from Mai Linh Group said that more and more travelers have complained about the taxis that counterfeit the Mai Linh brand. Prior to that, many travelers, including foreign ones, also came and complained about overly high taxi fees.

Manh Tien, a reader of Saigon Tiep Thi, related that he once took a counterfeit taxi and he was asked to pay the fee which was higher than 30 percent over the normal rate. “I think the taxi driver did not dare to ask for more money, because I am a Vietnamese. However, I think that government agencies need to take actions immediately to stop the problem,” he wrote to the editorial board.

According to the representative from Mai Linh Group, there are a lot of counterfeit taxis which run mostly in the Ben Thanh Market area, Bach Dang station and the Notre Dame Cathedral. Especially, actual Mail Linh taxi drivers do not dare to go to the areas to receive travelers because they have been hindered by the counterfeit taxi drivers.

He said that in order to avoid counterfeit taxis, travelers should pay attention to the uniform of taxi drivers, the logo and telephone number on taxi cars.

The information about the exorbitant taxi ride has aroused indignation among Vietnamese people, who have called on to take drastic measures to stop the problem, or Vietnam will no longer be considered as an attractive destination in the eyes of foreign tourists.

“My foreign friends have warned that if the problem cannot be settled, no one would return to Vietnam any more,” Dang Nhat Vy, a reader, said.

“What do foreign travelers think about Vietnam? It’s to blame government agencies on the problem,” wrote Nam Thien to the editorial board.

“Why don’t relevant agencies try to settle the problem?”, a reader wrote from Handsome…@yahoo.com.

Especially, some other bad news also occurred in recent months, including the latest shipwreck at Ha Long Bay and the cracked septic tank at Noi Bai Airport which has annoyed Vietnamese people.

On May 11, the septic tank cracking led to the fact that waste was leaking to the aircraft packing area. One day ago, the Noi Bai Airport released a notice that the trouble was fixed after one hour, explaining that the water drainage system of the airport has become overloaded. However, the explanation has not been accepted by people.


Source: SGTT

[jackbl]

Why Korean man so brutal???

South Korean man kills Vietnamese wife
=============================================

A Vietnamese woman was stabbed to death by her Korean husband in eastern South Korea early Tuesday, just 19 days after she gave birth to a baby, Vietnam News Agency reported.

The murder of the 23-year-old woman, whose family name is Hoang, occurred in their home in Cheongdo County in North Gyeongsang Province, Kim Teok-hwan, Cheongdo’s police officer told VNA.

Following tips from the neighbors of the couple, local police arrived at the crime scene and arrested the 37-year-old husband, whose family name is Im.

The husband confessed to police that he stabbed his wife during an argument.

He said Hoang had repeatedly demanded a divorce and planned to run away with the baby on Monday night, which led to their fight.

Hoang arrived in South Korea in April 2010 and gave birth to the baby 19 days ago.

The Vietnamese Embassy in South Korea is verifying the victim’s identity.

Local police have carried out an autopsy on the woman under the witness of the embassy’s officers.

Last July, Jang Do Hyo, a mentally ill South Korean man killed his 20-year-old Vietnamese wife, Thach Thi Hoang Ngoc, just eight days after she arrived in the country. He was later sentenced to 12 years in jail.

Following the case, South Korea pledged to make Korean men looking to marry foreign women undergo a cultural education program and announced tougher rules for matchmakers arranging foreign marriages.

More than a third of South Korean fishermen and farmers who married in 2009 chose immigrant brides, some because they were unable to find local women prepared to lead a rural lifestyle, according to an AFP report.

Source: VNA

[jf66312]

Originally Posted by AdGuy

Apologies to the bros who have PMed me about the trial Vietnamese course.

There has been a slight delay and the course will be ready by end June.

I have all the names so dun worry, I'll keep you updated in due time.

On a separate note, the music forum is undergoing a major overhaul at the moment so things are seemingly slow. Please be patient with us and good things will be coming your way soon.

yo bro..u conducting Viet language cse & music cse as well?

[Ziron]

bros, i be heading to Vietnam next month. During this trip I will head to HCMC and will head south to Bac Lieu. May I ask, is there any prepaid mobile Internet service in viet? As I might need mobile internet for my ipad or for my iphone to check mails and internet during this trip.

If there is such service, any gd company to recommend and also roughly how much does it cost.

[AdGuy]

Originally Posted by jf66312

yo bro..u conducting Viet language cse & music cse as well?

Haha. Actually, I dun conduct any courses.

I'm just a learner like everyone here who just wants to share my interest.

[jackbl]

Originally Posted by Ziron

bros, i be heading to Vietnam next month. During this trip I will head to HCMC and will head south to Bac Lieu. May I ask, is there any prepaid mobile Internet service in viet? As I might need mobile internet for my ipad or for my iphone to check mails and internet during this trip.

If there is such service, any gd company to recommend and also roughly how much does it cost.

Yes I saw people using BBOM dongle in vn for laptop, but not sure the price and company. As for your ipad & iphone then i not sure how to subscibe the service for a short time.

[AdGuy]

Originally Posted by jackbl

Yes I saw people using BBOM dongle in vn for laptop, but not sure the price and company. As for your ipad & iphone then i not sure how to subscibe the service for a short time.

U only know how to subscribe to 'other services' for short time.