This is the official website of the Business English Workshop specifically designed for B2BE GSS Sdn Bhd Vietnam. The training program as well as all training materials will be posted on this website from time to time for participants' references.
1. Idea Sharing and Discussion at Begining of the Session: Each participant is required to share and discuss ideas, thought, issue for about 10 - 15 minutes at the start of the session. 2. Listening and Comprehensive Skills:
Video # 1:
Audio Script:
Welcome to EF PodEnglish, brought to you by EF Education First and English Town. Learn anytime, anywhere.
PodEnglish Elementary 25: Office Party.
In this lesson, we'll find out how to ask questions like these (1):
You're going to the party tonight (2), aren't you?
It's a lovely day today (3), isn't it?
These are called tag questions. But first, let's watch the movies.
Dianne and Mark are talking about the office party. Dianne who is working in Human Resources or HR is organizing the party (4).
Dianne: You're going to the weekend party (5), aren't you?
Mark: I'm not sure. I haven't decided yet (6). Are you? (7)
Dianne: Yes, I'm on the planning committee. You should come. I've just talked to lisa from HR, we're finalizing those of events (8). It's going to be fun.
Mark: That's good. The last party was horrible (9). It was nothing to do. What do you think of it?
Dianne: Yeah, it was disaster!(10) I don't think everybody had a good time. But for this party, we have two bands coming. Have you heard about Wicked Souls? (11)
Mark: Yeah, they're very famous jazz band. They're going to be there, aren't they?
Dianne: Yes, and the Salt banb. You're a good dancer (12), aren't you?
Mark: Well, not really but I'll try. What else is going on?
Dianne: First, the jazz band is going to play. After that, we'll have a buffet and it's going to be award ceremony (13). Next, we're going to hand out prizes giving away a car (14).
Mark: You're kidding?
Dianne: No, finally the Salts band is going to play and we're going to give away prizes to the best dancers (15).
Mark: Wow! that begins to sound exciting! (16) It's OK if we're going to bring someone, isn't it?
Dianne: I think so. But I thought you were single (17). Who are you bringing?
Mark: Well, maybe my friend, Jessica. She's a great dancer (18).
Dianne: you should definely come (19). It's going to be a great party.
These are the questions from the movie. Listen then repeat after me.
You are going to the office party this weekend, aren't you?
Your voice should go up at the end of the sentence. Let's look at something else that mark said.
"It's OK if we're going to bring someone, isn't it?". Have a look at this sentence. "Isn't it?" is a tag question. It comes at the end of the question. How do we make a tag question? We use the opposite of the verb in the main question: "It's OK, isn't it?". "It's" is positive, so we use "isn't it?" at the end to check if we are right. You're confirming the information. This time, you'll do it. Make sentences into the questions.
It's a nice day,___________________? What comes next to make it a question?
It's a nice day, isn't it?
Jane will be here soon, __________? Let's make that into a question. Jane will be here soon, won't she?
Alex plays the piano,_____________? Alex plays the piano, doesn't he?
The weather was better than last year,________________? The weather was better than last year, wasn't it?
So what do you think? You like me? No...yeah? It's good....yeah, I'm happy.
We're only dancing (20), aren't we?
Well done! You can now practice making tag questions like those, can't you?
You are going to the office party this weekend, aren't you?
1. Practices of Listening and Comprehensive Skills:
Video #1:
Listen to the video below and fill in the missing words provided:
Welcome to EF PodEnglish, brought to you by EF Education First and English Town, learn any time, any where. PodEnglish Upper Intermediate 70: COMPUTERS
John: Is it the new computer? Today, you will be learning about computer and internet related terminology. John: "Oh, It always happens..." Make note of kind of languages used to explain how to find something on the internet. We're now going to watch a movie about someone teaching her friend how to use the internet. Christian: Jane, I want to find the weather forcast for tomorrow. What do I need to do? Jane: First, you need to be connected to the internet. Christian: Right. So use the mouse to click on the icon here at the desktop, right? Jane: Yeah. Then wait till the computer does it. Christian: Why is it taking so long? Jane: Because our modem only works on 64K. If you want faster connection, we have to upgrade. Christian: Ok. Now, I'm connected. What do I do next? Jane: Choose the search engine from the list of favorites and type in some key words. Christian: How about "weather forcast Chicago"? Jane: That should do and click on search. Christian: Ok. Right. Now, I have a menu of different states. Jane: Good, click on the link of most helpful. Christian: Oh, this one's good. It has a satellite map. But it looks like it's going to rain! John: I think I'm going to bring all of them. Now, take a closer look at the language they used. Jane is giving Christian direction on how to find the weather forcast online. As she takes Christian through the process step-by-step. She starts by saying "You need to be connected to the internet". The internet is a worldwide digital network that links more than networks to computers such as in schools, organizations and governments and individual computers such as your own PC, allowing information to be shared. Once internet is running, Jane said to Christian "Choose search engine from the list of favorites, and type in some key words".
A search engine is a program used to help search information on the internet. John: Oh ....I receive an email...
Spam is any kind of mail that you don't want. Spam is also called junk mail. John: Oh...It's a spam email...there are, you know, bad guys and they send many emails and...and I don't know it's...and they want me to send them 2 million dollars...I don't know...oh, oh...oh, ok...
Now, I want you to give me the term that fits my description of these things related to the internet. What's the name of a software program that lets the users view websites on the internet. That would be a web browser or just browser. What kind of program can let you look for information on the internet. Jane tells Christian to choose one from the list of favorites on her computer. That would be a search engine. And finally, what do we call a junk email that nobody wants? That's right, we call it spam. Companies can spam unwanted advertisements.
Well done! Today, we talk about terminology related to computer and internet. Some new terms that we learn today are: Web browser, search engine, spam. New terms are created all the time but hopefully now you understand a bit more. Thanks for joining me and see you next time. John: Bye bye...
Welcome to EF PodEnglish, brought to you by EF Education First and English Town, learn anytime, anywhere.PodEnglish, Upper Intermediate 76: OFFICE TOUR
"Hello, are you Erik? Hi, my name is John. I'm from IT department. I came to set up your computer and after you go on the office tour. So...yeah...it's quite complicated."
In today's lesson, we'll look at difference between the words "Quite" and "Rather". You'll also learn to answer the question, it starts with "Do you mind if...?"
John: "It's...it's one..."
Well, are you ready to watch the movie.
Caroline is a receptionist, she shows Kate around her office.
Kate: "Sorry, I'm a bit late. Traffic was atrocious." Caroline: "No problem. Well, I'll be showing you around today. Shall we get started?" Kate: "Let's do it" Caroline: "As you can see it's open plan office" Kate: "Yes, it's rather large. How many people work here?" Caroline: "We employ approximately 100 in this office alone. We also got two plans in the city with another 250 staff". Kate: "So, it's quite a large company then!" Caroline: "Very small company considered we are public limited company. I guess we are medium-sized" Kate: "So, what do they do down here?" Caroline: "They are sales department. They are marketing department." Kate: "This is reception, right?" Caroline: "Yes, this is main reception area. Oh, the phone's ringing. Might I answer it?" John: "It's quite opposite..." The usual way to answer question that starts with "Do you mind if I...?":
"No, go ahead". That means "No, I don't mind". There are other common phrases we use: "No, not at all""No, go ahead" and"No, of course not"
John: "They're very dangerous..."
Let's look at some examples:
"Do you mind if I sit down?" "No, not at all!" Do you catch what Kate was sorry for?
Kate: "Sorry, I'm late! Traffic was atrocious".
She said, "Sorry, I'm late! Traffic was atrocious". Atrocious is another word for terrible.
Now, let's look at closely the language Kate used to describe the office and the company. Kate said "the office is rather large". Then she said, "It's quite a large company!".
Note that "quite" is followed by "a" or "an": "It's quite a large company!". In these two sentences, "rather" and "quite" mean the same thing. We can use either of them to describe somehting that is "between a little and very". But there are a few small differences. Let's look at "rather" first, you can use "rather" to express someting unexpected or unusual. For example: "Your business plan is rather good. It's better than I'd hoped for." We also use "rather" when we want to express negative feelings. For example, "The network is rather slow today".
In contrast, we often use "quite" when we're feeling happy about something. For example, "I was able to download the file quite quickly".
One thing to be careful about, however, is that "quite" can sometimes mean "absolutely". For example, "Are you sure?", "Yes, I'm quite sure". This means "I'm completely sure". There are some sentences besides you should use "quite" or "rather" in each gap. Can you do this one? we use "rather", "It's rather hot today for winter time, isn't it?". We use "rather" because it's unusual or unexpected to be hot in winter. Can you do this one? "It's quite a large company". "That's quite an impolite question!" or "That's rather an impolite question!"."That's quite an achievement!" In this lesson, we learn correct answers for "Do you mind if...?". We learn the work "Atrocious" and you now know the differnces between "quite" and "rather". Erik: "Hello!..."John: ".....I changed it ...It's not working very well...It's faster! We already check..."Erik: "I don't care....can you really do this?"John: "...safety is really important..."Erik: "...."John: "I know.... Video #2:
Welcome to EF PodEnglish, brought to you by EF Education First and English Town, learn anytime, anywhere. PodEnglish, Elementary 28: OFFICE PHONE
Secretary: "Good morning,....Corporation. How may I direct your call?. Oh, isn't it English lesson? is that time already? My mind, sure it is. I'm going to hand it to your teacher for your English lesson. Enjoy your class!"
In this lesson, we're going to learn some useful phrases to say on the telephone, like we answer the phone: "Good morning! Can I help you?", "Hello, Could I speak to John Baker, please?". We also learn this very useful thing to say "Can I take a message?". We'll lear all these things and will have a quiz at the end.
But now it's time to watch the movie, Carl is trying to call Marty.
Secretary: Good Morning, Bold Tomatoes. How can I help you? Carl: Hi, can I speak to Marty Bickman, please? Secretary: Sure, one moment, please! ... Secretary: Oh, I'm sorry, but Mr. Bickman isn't here in office at the moment. Can I take your message? Carl: Ah...well, I really need to speak with him. Do you know when he'll be back? Secretary: He should be back in about two hours or so. Would you like his mobile number? Carl: I think I have it. It's 555679055, right? Secretary: Yes, that's right! Carl: Thank you very much! Secretary: My pleasure! Thank you for calling. Good bye! Carl: Bye!
....
Marty: Hello! This is Marty. Carl: Hi Marty, it's Carl. Marty: Hey Carl, how are you? Carl: Fine. Listen, I've just tried to call you in office but you weren't there. I'm afraid I cannot make to lunch today. Marty: Really? What's the problem? Carl: Well, my client has an emergency. I have to go and check it out. Marty: Ok...well, how about late today then?...say five o'clock? Carl: I really don't think I'll make it today. Marty: No problem, I understand. I'll see you next week. Carl: Thanks, bye.
Carl wants to speak to Marty. What did he say? "Hi, could I speak to Marty Bickman, please?". Carl said, "Hi, could I speak to Marty Bickman, please?". It's also correct to say "Can I speak with Marty Bickman, please?". But "Could" is more formal than "Can". It's better to say "Could" if you don't know the other person on the telephone. "Marty isn't in the office". Let's see what his secretary said. "Oh, I'm sorry, but Mr. Bickman isn't here in office at the moment. Can I take your message?". Marty is not there. So his secretary said, "Can I take a message?". You can also say, "I'm sorry, Marty isn't here. Can I help you?", "Can I take a message?".
In the end, Carl ring Marty on his cell phone. Why is Carl ringing Marty? Can you remember?
"I'm afraid I cannot make the lunch today.". "I'm afraid I can't make it". Say this when we can't go to anappointment. "I'm afraid" means the same as "I'm sorry". Let's do a few more examples:
"I'm very busy today" "I'm afraid I can't make it for lunch" "I'm sorry I can't make it to the meeting"
We're now going to have a quiz. Can you remember all those useful things we learnt to say on the telephone.
Secretary: I'm sorry. Mr. Johnson is not here right now. Can I take a message?...oh, can I let you hold, do you mind? Thank you. Secretary:....Corporation.
Marty is not in his office. What does Marty's secreatery say to Carl? "Marty is not here. Can I take a message?". She could also say, "Can I help you?"
Carl is ringing Marty to tell him he can't meet him. What does he say? "I'm afraid I can't make it" or "I'm sorry I can't make it"
You are on the telephone,you want to talk to Jack Smith. Someone else answers the telephone. What would you say? "Hello, could I speak to Jack Smith, please?"
Secretary: No problem. Why don't I just take your number down right now and I'll give you a call back?
Well done! I hope you feel more confident on the telephone now. We talked about useful phrases such as:
"Could I speak with Marty Bickman, please?" "Marty is not here, but can I take a message?"
Well, that's all we got time for today. I hope you enjoy today's lesson. Join us again soon, bye.
Secretary: Voice message...voice message...
Video # 3:
CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
Welcome to the opening day of 62nd Cannes Film Festival, normally the day French town of Cannes prepared for 2 weeks of clips and glamour, for more than 60 years now, famous stars and great new movies have been coming to the French...Era.
Well, the Festival's taking shape, the crowd is looking forward to the biggest film festival of the year. It's only morning, there is anticipation in the air of the fan wait.
We saw, of course, all the places where the people is going to watch films. They're getting ready for the grand opening up here. It's still probably just started a little bit earlier everything to get going.
I've been sitting here for one hour approximately. Because I know we never do (it) again, it's now or never. I hope to see Brat Pit, maybe also Lopez's coming, I hope. It could be very great and many others. Especially, I know that Sanchez's coming tonight, so I reckon (to) see them if it's not so crowded.
This year, 20 films during the competition to win the prestigious palm door with a total of 46 films from 32 countries premiering during the festival.
The ambient task of judging these movies rests on the shoulders of the Cannes Film Festival's Jury. And international group of directors, screen rotors and actors. This year's President is a beautiful French actress Isabelle Huppert. It's very difficult in general to explain and to express exactly why you love something. I think it's very old debate
since humanity exists. Why are you touched by the work of art? not only the films, why are you touched by a piece of music? Why are you touched by paintings? and it's a deep issue, you know. So I think it's away beyond judgements.
Last time, I think I saw 20 movies in 10 days or whatever it is, I was probably 19 years-old. And I have 15,000 kids now, so it's great excuse for people to watch these films. So I'm very personal reason,yes, because I love seeing beautiful points of view from all over the world. To me, judging part of it, it's kind comes second, I'm sorry to say.
The word "Judge" to me is so negative. Because I believe why we all are listeners the way we are, the expression we have poles. And the way films...and the lieraken side of the film touching that pole will be different to all of us. And therefore, I feel like we're going to share what those mean to us. And we will maybe disagree certain tones...but the beauty of it is to share with our hearts that feel.
All eyes turn to first Cannes events and the opening gala for this year's Festival. The stages are set to famous stares and the festival begins to come alive with glamorous actresses and super models including Academy award winning actress Christ Winston and Haynes Dress; with Winston wearing vintage and Asian agentle Amandy, with high fashion affair too.
From the first row, we can see everthing so was very worth waiting for a few couples of Paris. Yeah, I was....I was expecting much more famous actresses from U.S and...maybe the U.K and so on. I'm expecting to see more in a couple of days, that will follow actually.
The opening film for the first time is three animation films from the studio Pixar, up features in the French version of the voice of legendary French Chauteur...Avoir. It's been a glamourous star to this year's festival.
There will be a Listening and Oral Test on Monday, May 18, 2009. The objective of the test is to measure your progress after 16 sessions with a focus on Listening and Oral Communication skills.
The test consists of two components below:
1. Listening Skills:30 minutes
You will be given an office conversation video and are required to listen to the video and fill in the missing words in the empty spaces provided.
2. Oral Skills:10 minutes
In this test, I will play a role of a consultant in Australia and talk with each of you on the phone (SKYPE or YAHOO Messenger!).
From now on, each of you will have 5-minute talk at the beginning of each session. You can sit at your seat if you want. It is expected that all of you participate and contribute in the talks.
The talk could be anything and its objective is to share your thought or idea or issue to the rest of class. Who knows you may have solutions readily available and no need to look around somewhere else further.
Keep in mind that this is one of your opportunities to improve your oral communication skills on a professional level.
2. Listening and Comprehension: Office Talk
In this section, you are asked to listen to the video and fill in the missing words below.
Welcome to EF PodEnglish !
Yes, come in! Yup, have a seat. PodEnglish, Beginner 13, Office Talk.
"John, ------(1)-------?""...I'm really...really...happy with the job...and...and...you...Sir, yeah"
This lesson is all about past continuous questions and answers.
"---------(2)------------?""I was studying for my exam. -------(3)----------" "I want to say..."
First, we'll review some words about work. Who are the clients at your jobs? Clients are people who buy products or services. In your job, do you have to talk in front of many people? It's called presentation. Sometimes, we use pictures in the presentation. The projector shows the pictures on the wall.
"I've been...4 years. And...and I...""Hello...ahahaha...yup, I don't know how much I appreciated last Thursday. Great night! Oh, we can do it right now, I don't have anything urgent waiting for me..."We're going to watch the video..."See you later, bye bye"
Worker is talking to his boss.
"Lucy,...set up a meeting between him. Make sure to set up a lunch for them, I don't have to be there.
Boss came back from a trip.
"-------(4)---------?"
"Great, thanks."
"We're doing quite well."
"-------------(5)-------------------"
"Well, I was working pretty hard all week"."What were you working on mainly?"
"Well, I was working on the new account with Merry Walker most of the time and of course, I was preparing the presentation for last Friday""---------(6)-----------------?"
"He was helping me with the projector"
"What were the members of staff doing during the presentation?""-----------(7)----------""Where were the clients sitting?"
"They were sitting at the back of the room beside the window"
"-----------(8)-----------------?"
"Yes, they certainly did"
"So you had a good week then?""Yeah, very successful!"
"Yup, perfect! thanks, bye"
"So John, --------(9)-------------?"
"...do mine believe he was every sick and he...yup, I know...and so, yeah...for 4 years but now...so our...I want...ask for...for vacation"
Let's talk about the grammar. Sometimes, we talk about past actions that continued for some time. We show that they continue by using the past continuous. Read these sentences:
I was studying last week. They were studying last week.
Notice how they use "to be" in the past: WAS and WERE.
"Was" is for I, he, she and it.
"Were" is for you, we and they. We add ING to the main verb. This is the past continuous. It shows the action continuing in the past.
"Vacation next week?...ahhhh....I don't know how to start. The answer is NO. --------(10)-------------, John and everyone has to follow including me. And those policies include we ask vacation in advance. You cannot come now and ask for vacation next week. And how could you even dream of having vacation next week you know how important project that is going on right now"
I will show you sentences from the video with some words missing. Read these sentences, guess which words are missing.
Ready? let's watch:
"So tell me what were you doing when I was away"
"Well, I was working pretty hard all week."
You got it: "What were you doing". "I was working".
Try another. Ready?
"What was John doing during the presentation?""He was helping me with the projector"Good job! "What was John doing?". "He was helping me" "We have a really important meeting. The security or should our server goes down or anything breaks. ---------(11)------------?""I was thinking""You were thinking?""The problem is that you're not thinking. This company need IT security and it need IT staff and you're one of them. ------ (12)------------------------------------. Long nights over and over again. It's because you cannot plan your work and -------------(13)---------------. I don't care if you work day or night. We all have to do our tasks. "Today, we practice past continuos questions and answers:"What were you doing last week?""We were working all week" "Are you really...no discussion. ---------(14)------------. Get motivated work with your team mates and ---------(15)------------, ok? Cheers up. That's all what we have to do...yes""Ok...thank you...thank you...thank you very much for your time and...and have a nice day""And remember...play hard work hard but no vacation next week. Cheers"
3. Commonly Used Phrases at Workplace:
I'm lost = I don't follow what you're saying; I don't understand
I don't get it = I don't understand what you mean
Do you get it? = Do you understand what I just said?
Could you pick me up at the airport? = Could you go to the airport and take me home?
Though your difficult accent, I'm able to pick up what you're saying = I'm able to understand what you're saying even though your accent is not easy to understand.
Get lost ! = Go away !
4. Open Discussion:
5. Video for Entertainment:
You're Dustin Nguyen who was finishing the game last few years. 10 years already yes and you're back for the opening film this year. yes just ... film so it's good to be back yeah, really is actually... you know I see these familiar faces ... someone like big family get together over year. so it's always nice to be a part of sth like that yeah yeah, this is a great event you know I just love coming to the DGN and you know it's a good place to watch movie tell us a litle bit about what you've been doing in this past year.I actually just getting back from VN couple days ago so I've been over there pretty much just a working with the same producer who did the film called "The Rebel" also here last year... and so we're just in preparations for our next film over in VN... so that pretty much get my hands for that for now That time is a pretty busy schedule. Thanks, we try to make another film so maybe we can, you know, show it next year or something Hi, I'm Dustin Nguyen, Empower the desi in you
If Australia has a center of style, this must be it! Melbourne is built on old Greek passion of streets around Port Philips Bay and the Yarra River. But even its casual glads review restless activities behind that order. A sense that is made of American conservatism, the boundaries are constantly being pushed in art, food, architecture and life in general!
Sport occupies a major part of Melboure's spychy and visit to one of the iconicvenues is almost a must. Life in a big city has a special kind of intensity . In multicutural Melbourne, with many distinct precincts and personalities, it's the intensity unlike any other places on earth.
Hi, I'm Trace... Welcome to Chasing Time. Sydney is the biggest and the most cosmopolitan city in Australia; and home to over 4 million people. There are 40 beaches all easy reaches over the city centers. So it's hardly surprising the culture here is my work to live and live to work. Unsurprisingly, the city is set on the coach; boat and boating play huge part in life here. There are over hundred thousands boat, more marines situated around the city.
And you got the time and the money, you can spend everyday cruising Sydney base in harbor. Harbor is the famous landmark for Dannerson and Shark Island. For Dannerson, there served a prison before being turned into a force defense against Russian invasion in late 1800's.
The fish market is the largest seafood market in southern Hemisphere and sells 100 different species of fish kind of source in Sydney. Approximately 7,000 kilos sold over 100 registered buyers every morning.
Because patronage helps launch Australian cloth designers in the international catwalk. Many top designer stores can be found here in the city trendy and patronage areas. Harrington or Paddington is now the vigilance of the city where peeople come to hang out and being seen.
The powerhouse museum house which houses the Nicole's dress is the largest museum in Australia; containing to 380,000 items. The Moolaroo custom is part of the festival record exhibition.
The Bondi beach surf bathers life saving club, club is the oldest in the world from 1906. Today, almost 100 years later, life guards still patrol the beach saving unpecting swimmers from often stretching waters. Climbing Sydney Harbor Bridge is not difficult as it sounds. Since the bridge climb-up is the business since 1998, over 1/2 million people skilt 134 meters and 70 year-old structure and paid $125 Australian dollars for the privilege.
In Sydney, the new wine and new culture are in parralel; and trendy restaurants and wine bars like the wine banc. Since the 60's Australia settlers the emerging nation of beer drinkers and to emerge as one of the largest wine exporting nation.
Let's get started or if we are all here, let's get started = I can begin now...
I don't get it or I don't catch it = I don't understand what you said
I don't quite follow you = I don't understand you
Could you say it again or Could you repeat it, please = Since I don't understand what you just said, I like you to repeat it.
I may miss out your point. As I understand that... = What you're saying is wrong!
Thank you for rasing your points....However, I'll check them up and let clear them later...= I need time to check up if your points are right.
If you all don't have any more questions on this, I move on to...= I'm going to switch to the next topic
3. Video's for Entertainment:
Audioscripts:
Welcome to my world!
Two...got to go...two green salads...lamp chop...beef...come on, make a dessert...chocolate cake please...
(I'm) a cook, taste some smells in my memory...now I'm in searching for new ones. So I'm leaving New York city, hope to have a few hifonies around the world. I'm going to some length to do that. I'm looking for extreme emotions and experiences. I try anything, I listen everything, I have nothing to loose.
Hanoi, Vietnam, a beautiful landscape with a lot of history. Holding strongly on tradition with acknowledging inevitable changes with time. It has a ...more than a fair share of payment of turmoil. But it always maintain its characters more on its own. Vietnam is one of my favorite places on earth. The atmostsphere, the people, the food. I came back to where Linh lives with my friend the last time around. We became good friends, living with me his family home to celebrate TET, the Lunar New Year, the most important time of the year in Vietnam. I couldn't come at a better time.
I just arrived in Hanoi last evening. When arriving in at the hotel, fresh, woke up, arrived right to middle of the TET, the Lunar New Year. I came here to see pagodas and burning chopsticks, making offerings. Then I saw this place and thought it's just kind of place I like. How about a snail soup for breakfast, I got to have some of this. I know this snails involved and it's really good. I got big snails and it got little snails. In the middle there, we got crab meat, usual bean sprouts, some pickled chillies, a little garlic and of course, what it's all about of the day we find it again and again a new terrific stock.Oh,yes! luring colors here, it just pops out a great day in Hanoi. Look at this color, good...great. You know I would say that's regular good...but the food's always good here. Appetite. It's so exciting to be back here. You know you meet a girl in highschool you got a smell right to true love forever. That same kind of immediate sense of recognition when I arrive in this country. I've dreamed coming back to Hanoi for a long time. It's so cool Linh'd invited me to his house for TET.
Dam, it's good to be alive in Vietnam.Through TET Vietnamese vistors to pagodas to make offerings, they pray for their families and ancestors. And Linh is no exception. This is the place for people to rearrange to sacrify before they bring in temple. The offerings include green cakes, fruits and incenses. All the offerings take place at the...when the incense is burnt out, you tend to take back the offerings. They've been blessed and supposed to provide happiness for the new year. Offerings complete, Linh and I meet for food. This is what we get along so well, common ground before appreciate good food. Oh, yeah. I mean, look at this place, food is everywhere. This is rice, sticky rice, very sticky. It's not parking for ourselves for a table of the day, grab a bite try what the next guy's got to offer. Everywhere! TET holidays when indulging in food, it's a fever picture in Vietnam. Everyone's been fasted and now they're back for their favorite dishes with adventures. If you enjoy foody,you come to this country, you just go absolutely insane. I used to have this as a kid, same thing happened to them. They're floating at the top. This is traditional medicine, right? maybe tomorrow. Yeah!What of this? this is something different, corn pancakes, not too difficult, right? throw in a pile of corn a little flour, cooking oil to crisp and on a racket rock. Try everything, delicious. You know in the central difference between here, similar operation in America, you won't pass this food source. Every proprietor is beaming with fire, actually. They have big smiles on their faces, come on in, try this, this is the best, not yelling "what do you want?". You know you want fries with onion. You don't get that here. You know that's good. You can talk to me expression as proprietor that they're selling something really tasty and they know it. Take example, quel eggs, anything for quel eggs, just peel them, not there ... a little bit of salt, redy bean ...uhm, tastes delicious ...people's rolling people's coming...please. So I know Linh's family is a big taste of the land. I saw something on the market that I couldn't resist: shrimp cakes. I think just one...one...this is pretty straight forward operation. You got shrimp, your barter oil, cooking in oil, a quick sneak...we're ready to go... now for those of you who starve to the core, I dare you..dare you to find more scenic here. This is fresh water shrimp...yeah...fresh water...crispy,..., shrimpy and delicious!Uhm...Hanoi beer...this is bottled one, not the bubble one...right...bubble, not bubble...good to see you again...ok, cheers...how do you say in Vietnamese "cheers"?...ah..."Chuc mung"..."Chuc mung"...I really love this guy and I can't wait to meet his family.As the celebration of TET continues, the speed of the bust with activities, everyone dressed up for holidays, on the way to visit families, carrying foods, offerings, gifts. The Vietnamese looks ...very suspicious...I'm glad to wear my suit and I don't want to look slacked in front of his family.This is my grand father and my father in law now...Ok, meet the family...I'd been nervous since I met my own in-laws.Hello...this is my father...well, nothing suits the owner like Hanoi Vodka...no rules of toxication... Vietnamese rice wine...do you know this?...it's called fresh bite...it's actually from...not pouring it in correct...but I'm a good guest ...just in case I have any reservation that Linh briefed the benefits of the treat provided to me...digestive system...that's the frequent problem of the show ...cheers....the best best... Ok?...yeah... Unsurpisingly, action on fault with familiar logic...Happy New Year!...Ok, maybe I don't have Vietnamese calendar quite figured out yet... but my calendar we celebrated about New Year already...oh, here we go...re-enforcement...so we Linh family's festivity...Linh's sister, wife and other in-laws in the kitchen preparing the meal...alright, I know it may not seem fair...seriously, you a bunch of you guys arguing...for TET meal? ...as most Vietnamese kitchens keen rely on simple ingredients...but the key is how different flavors, colors and texture are put in together...presentation is important...this pancake is called "Banh chung"....goodness rice, fatty pork, been paste wrapped in "dorn" leaves, type of bamboo twine. It's steamed for 12 hours and a must-have TET cake in Hanoi...Ah...this is a Chung cake...we call it Banh chung....and this is very traditional one with the bean and the pork... it looks good, doesn't it?...yeah...meaning pork... I prefer...yeah, me too...Traditional extent most of these dishes...astonishing...again every table seems naturally ending up incredible colors and fresh...since we pull it out...we seem to have some serious damages to these...I think we try something ...some of these first then you try this...ok, this is the color of rice during TET holidays in Vietnam...
I'm an ordinary guy aspired to live an extraordinary life.
I'm a Vietnamese-born Australian having worked and traveled in several countries from Australia, U.S, France, Germany, Hollands to Singapore, China and recently, Vietnam. I've got about 15 years of experience in the corporate environment starting from software developer to project manager to senior managerial positions with multi-national companies.
I love teaching people what I know and am strong at.
I'm a private trader / investor on commodities, stock, option and currency markets worldwide.
What else can I offer next? "I'll be back!".
Cheers.
