When living overseas, you begin to appreciate the most those people who send you care packages and gifts - those things you want the most in a material sense. With that in mind, one of my best friends here in Vietnam is Amazon, Amazon Dot Com. Amazon sends me stuff I want all the time, from dried fruit and nuts, to electronics and books. As a matter of fact, I receive more from Amazon than anyone else in the U.S. This isn't an indictment of friends and family, however, because we all know I am really the one sending these things to myself - I am sort of my Not-So-Secret Santa. Nevertheless, of all the services I appreciate on the internet, I would rank Amazon WAY up on the list.
But even with the great service that is Amazon, we have restrictions on what we can send through post to my location. Those restriction are related to lithium batteries and the restrictions are related directly to the way the batteries are packed. The guidelines are lengthy and sometimes hard to understand in intent. I am getting somewhere with this, so hang on. So, anyway, I wanted an expensive piece of electronic equipment that I felt fell somewhere in the middle on the guidelines and decided to give it a try. My shipment never made it to my location, and I got an email from the courier service stating the package was returned to sender. I was disappointed but figured I would get the refund to my CC in a few days and would just wait until my next trip to the U.S. to get the item I wanted. Anyway, time passed and the order was never refunded. I began to fret about the hassle of tracking down the returned package and getting my money back. I imagined in my mind the phone calls and lengthy emails... the waking up early to go to work and call during stateside business hours. Well, none of that happened.
Through the account section of Amazon, I sent a message explaining briefly the situation. In less than 24 hours I got an email stating I would be refunded in the next 2 - 3 days. While this may sound matter-of-course to anyone in the U.S., for me it is a small miracle exercised by Jesus Christ Himself. Nowhere in Vietnam would this ever happen. It is a matter of course to exhaust every ounce of energy to create difficulties for the customer in returning an item and getting a full refund. Not sure why that is, but in my time here I have learned to accept the statement, "It just is."
But this post isn't about bashing a society or business practice; rather it is about giving a big shout out to Amazon Dot Com: My best friend. Thanks!
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Monday, May 5, 2014
Don't Rip Your Dong!
For Americans, and probably most people outside of Vietnam, you usually don't think twice about the condition of the currency you use in your daily transactions. I am not sure of the specific guidelines, but I know that if you have around two-thirds of a bill the bank will change it for a new one in the U.S. It seems that these days it helps to have an account with the bank you are trying to exchange the bill from, but in genereal, it is not something we often fret over.
In Vietnam, most currency, and all currency of any real value, is made of polymer or plastic. The State Bank of Vietnam made the conversion about five years ago, though I don't remember the exact year. The first problems I read about the polymer dealt with people in rural / farming areas trying to dry out their plastic currency by ironing it. Needless to say,a hot iron and plastic don't mix well together, and people learned quickly not to do that.
Something an expatriate learns quickly, that all Vietnamese people already know, is don't accept Vietnamese money - the Vietnamese Dong - that has been ripped, or torn, even if it has been taped back together. It is nearly impossible to pass these along after you come into possession of one. As a matter of fact, you might as well just pocket it and take it back with you to your homeland as a souvenir.
It is almost a game here. People take every opportunity to pass these off to some other person, like a hot potato. It seems the easiest way to get rid of one is to pass it off to a taxi driver at night when getting out of the vehicle. But you better do it fast, because you don't want to get called back on it. Beware, that taxi driver is playing the same game with you, trying to pass you ripped bills in change in the same manner. The manner and method of passing on these cursed bills is endless, but one thing is for sure: It can't be easy to get the bank to trade them in for new bills. If it was, there wouldn't be this "game" going on.
Just another example of TIV - This is Vietnam.
In Vietnam, most currency, and all currency of any real value, is made of polymer or plastic. The State Bank of Vietnam made the conversion about five years ago, though I don't remember the exact year. The first problems I read about the polymer dealt with people in rural / farming areas trying to dry out their plastic currency by ironing it. Needless to say,a hot iron and plastic don't mix well together, and people learned quickly not to do that.
Something an expatriate learns quickly, that all Vietnamese people already know, is don't accept Vietnamese money - the Vietnamese Dong - that has been ripped, or torn, even if it has been taped back together. It is nearly impossible to pass these along after you come into possession of one. As a matter of fact, you might as well just pocket it and take it back with you to your homeland as a souvenir.
It is almost a game here. People take every opportunity to pass these off to some other person, like a hot potato. It seems the easiest way to get rid of one is to pass it off to a taxi driver at night when getting out of the vehicle. But you better do it fast, because you don't want to get called back on it. Beware, that taxi driver is playing the same game with you, trying to pass you ripped bills in change in the same manner. The manner and method of passing on these cursed bills is endless, but one thing is for sure: It can't be easy to get the bank to trade them in for new bills. If it was, there wouldn't be this "game" going on.
Just another example of TIV - This is Vietnam.
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Looking to the Summer
I guess it is no secret that the older you get, the faster times goes by. I don't know why that is, and I know that it doesn't matter how many times it is said, a young person will never believe it. I know I didn't. Of course, I never understood how Granny and Papaw Newell got up at 3:30am when I was a kid. The idea of getting up that early, at the time, seemed unfathomable. Now, however, I can totally see it. I must admit that I do not get up that early at the moment, but it wouldn't be hard to do. I get up on my own at 5am, and sometimes earlier. I start thinking about the things I need to do during the day; and I actually enjoy the me time when I get up before everyone else.
Anyway, that was way off the subject of this post, though somewhat connected. My point is that Summer may seem to be way off right now, but it is barreling my way rapidly. This Summer is special because we will be taking Megan back to the U.S. to begin her collegiate lifestyle at the University of South Alabama. I don't get excited about much, but I am happy for her and excited about the whole world that is opening up before her. We will be taking a little extra time this year to get her settled in and have a good vacation in the making, as well. Though I am sad to see her leave the nest, I think this will be the high point of the rest of her life.
Diep and I will probably start taking more mini-holidays to areas in the region after we get back. Megan has never been a third wheel, but it will be much easier to just pick up and go without worrying about someone being in school or some other conflict of who finds what interesting, or worth visiting.
In the meantime, I have a whole lot of work ahead of me. I can't remember the last time I was so busy, though it could just be my failing memory. Things are generally good right now and I don't see any storms on the horizon
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