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iTalk Recording: HTV Tech Song

March 2nd, 2010 5 comments


Listen on posterous

I’m busily preparing a lesson plan suitable for an English language TV class. I need to teach five tech words, and one of the requirements is to create a chant from those words.

Thought I’d post this my song idea quickly before I changed my mind because of the probable embarrassment I’d feel later. This was recorded on my iPhone after class today, with almost no pre-thought other than deciding that the depressing “low battery” lines had to be in a minor key before going back to major for the final great revelation.

This show will be filmed in the week of March 15, and will be broadcast later on HTV. I’ve watched a few of these English programs for beginners and pre-intermediates, and they’re good for a laugh. I guess a few of my fellow teachers & I are going to be the source of a little more laughter later in the year.

Recorded: 4:54 PM
Length: 0:23

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Understanding for effective communication

March 2nd, 2010 1 comment
A quote from Chris Harvey's blog gives me some information I wish I'd known a lot earlier than today.

"Of course, there are some cultural differences and it's important to be sensitive and pay attention to them.  An example is learning to interpret the indirect communication style of Vietnamese.  But now I'm familiar with it and I can read the tea leaves just fine.  [I've even learned a bit about the subtle art of how things left unsaid speak volumes.]"

I wish I was familiar with indirect communication, and I wish I could read tea leaves. Problem is I only drink coffee, and that's pretty direct. The caffeine in Vietnamese coffee goes straight into the veins.  But back to the reason for my post.

I used to think things left unsaid were the sign of someone lacking confidence or the ability to effectively express themselves. OK, now I can re-evaluate certain things in a new light. It's a subtle art, eh? I've never thought of myself as an artist, which is probably why I missed it.

Knowing these things now doesn't make it any easier to address day to day conflict or even minor disagreements. But it does help me understand why things are the way they are, and THAT is all I need to find the solution. Understanding is the key to everything.

Is there a course I can take on all this?



Steve McGrath


Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
rockportrait@gmail.com
www.channelsteve.com
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Which scooter?

February 25th, 2010 No comments

If all goes to plan I should be shopping for a new scooter in a month or two.  That and, possibly, a new apartment closer to work. In fact one of my fellow teachers pointed one out right across the road from VAS. That would be cool, being able to walk to work every day, but I don’t like the idea of living above someone else’s house.

Anyway, scooters are really hard to shop for. For starters, they never look as cool as bikes. So I’ve been struggling to find one that is cool, functional and with great performance.

The leading candidate is the SYM Shark, or possibly the current version of that, the VS. Only problem is the VS is only 125cc and I want 150. I’d prefer more, but apparently you have to sit a different, more expensive driver’s licence to do that. I’ll stick with easy, thanks.

To get either of these I need to buy second-hand, as the models have been superseded. That’s OK, it will save me money.

If any of you scooter experts out there can guide me towards other options that I should see, then here are my requirements:

  • 125-150cc
  • Foot space (to fit my large work bag)
  • Big wheels (for long, open-road trips and generally better grip)
  • Large under-seat storage
  • Comfortable rear seat and foot rests
  • Handles well, accelerates quickly and brakes effectively
    at all speeds.
  • Must look cool!!!

If I ever have kids, this is the safe way to transport them around town. Haven’t seen one of these on the streets, but I don’t have a problem being the first to do it. :-)

One of these could be a birthday present to myself come May.

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Going to the movies in Saigon

February 20th, 2010 2 comments
This is a direct extract from the blog "Saigon In A Cup". I wouldn't normally post in this way, but the author captures the feeling of going to the movies in Saigon so perfectly that I couldn't do it any better.
I'm about to go see Avatar 3D next week, so I'm hoping that the fervor associated with it to date will cancel out any poor behavior usually to be expected.
To read the full post go here. 

EXTRACT FROM SAIGON IN A CUP – "A night at the movies in Saigon"
When we first entered the (Cinebox Hoa Binh) theater, there were signs posted in Vietnamese listing the theater rules

1. No talking during the movie
2. No talking on cell phones
3. No cameras or filming equipment allowed
4. No outside food or drink allowed

These are some pretty standard rules for theaters in The States…and I was happy to see that the same type of conduct was expected in Saigon. I was a bit worried about movie etiquette in Vietnam because this country has such a “me first” attitude. You see it in the traffic…where everyone basically drives without any regard for anyone else’s safety. You see it in lines at the supermarkets, food stalls, etc. where most people just shove their way to the front to cut in line. You see it in the ubiquitous littering everywhere. I had hopes that the movie theater experience might actually be different because of the rules posted in the front. They also had pre-movie videos reiterating the same rules posted on the board.

My worse fears however were soon proven to be correct.

People were talking to each other, talking on their cell phones, eating their own food, etc. before the movie started, during the movie trailers and throughout the movie itself. I don’t believe there was one moment during the whole excruciating ordeal when I could just focus on the movie. The movie itself was in Chinese with Vietnamese subtitles…so I couldn’t understand anything anyways…but I knew the basic plot from the Disney version and would have liked to have been able to focus on the film without the constant blabbering.

Yes there are people that behave like that in The States too….but usually they are in the minority…and even then they usually only talk in spurts. Here, everyone acted if the theater was their own personal space. People not only answered their phones….but would initiate calls. If it was just a few people you can turn to them and tell them to “shut the f$%k up!”…but what do you do when the entire freaking theater is acting that way?

As we left…I told my Aunt that this was probably the first and last time I would ever watch a movie in a Vietnam cinema. When I relayed what happened to my cousin and her husband, they told me that the type of people that frequent the Cinebox Hoa Binh were mostly younger kids that use the theater as a place to hang out/make out and not for serious movie goers. They said that the nicer theaters in Saigon did not permit this type of behavior.

……..

The Megastar Cineplex is a much nicer looking theater than the Hoa Binh Cinebox. According to Phuong, the theater had just opened in the past year. The theater we were in was small in comparison to most theaters in the U.S…..but it had stadium riser seating….which the Cinebox did not….and the sound system and picture quality was excellent. However, all these qualities could not end up saving the whole movie going experience for me.

In spite of my my cousin and Phuong’s assurances people in the “nicer theaters” in Saigon behaved differently than the people at Hoa Binh….it was exactly the same. People here cannot ever keep their mouths shut. I tried to block them out but it was impossible for me to fully enjoy the movie.

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Rock at Seventeen Saloon

February 17th, 2010 No comments
IMG_3463
Image by Rock Portrait Photography via Flickr

Note: This post was written on February 5, 2010.

I was looking for a couple more drinks last night after Karaoke and a very disappointing Hard Rock Cafe fly-by, missing the new band because we stayed at karaoke for way too long. I hadn’t seen the inside of Seventeen Saloon since my arrival so decided this would be the perfect time to do so.

Unfortunately I had just missed the band, AGAIN! However, they were playing some pretty awesome hard rock over the PA so I stayed. After a couple of drinks I promised the typically over-attentive waitress that I’d return to experience the Filipino band tomorrow.

Well, right now is tomorrow and I’m sitting through some sickly sweet hard rock ballads while I wait for the good stuff. The first set rocked, but this one is definitely for the women so far.
The band is a gutsy 7-piece. Guitar, bass, keys, drums. There are two female and one male vocalist, all with monstrously powerful voices

Filipino band at Seventeen Saloon

Filipino hard rock band at Seventeen Saloon

Right now they’re playing the first of my requests, The Scorpions’ Still Loving You, immediately followed by my second request, Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin‘. Both requests were challenges to the band after considering what I thought their voices were best suited to, and they didn’t let me down. I feel like Klaus Meine has just graced the stage with his royalness. The male singer in this band has a perfect chameleon voice, and to my surprise one of the women played Steve Perry perfectly. I’m a happy little vegemite at this moment. Would be nice to share it with someone, though.

Klaus Meine's doppelganger

The band is taking a break and I’m suddenly feeling warmer, there’s a yellow light getting brighter and I can smell camphor.

Ready for the bar staff juggling fire show

It’s the bar show – barmen juggling lit bottles of spirits while the bar itself is encircled by more burning bottles. It’s a combo pyro / circus act, and it’s fun. It also takes the crowd’s attention away from the very drunk Vietnamese girl who is all over every passer-by and her poor female friend. Unfortunately, staff can’t throw her out as she knows the owner VERY well, judging by the greeting she just gave him. The staff really, really want to throw her out as it’s taking three of them to surround her and make sure she doesn’t break something – including the local laws.

Ah. She’s been convinced that Apocalypse Now is a much better option, and rolls out in the general direction of the door.

Happy staff juggler

Well, so far so good. This is classic rock heaven. In fact, it could be my new Rock City Phuket. One set to go and I know I’ll be back, exhorbitant beer prices or not.

Postscript – they let themselves down by wasting the last 15 minutes with modern Vietnamese pop. Not exactly the best choice in a bar mostly frequented by foreigners and westernized locals. Fairly successfully removed my buzz though, making sure I prepare to leave for home at a relatively early hour.

Woops! I take that back. It’s Friday night and they had no plans to go home early. Back came Europe, Queen and … Metallica!!! And they absolutely smoked!
Looking forward to finding more requests for them.

Check out my video highlights on Youtube.

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