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Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Debit Fraud, Water Puppets, House Traveling Mani/Pedicurist, Work Dinners, more MMA Conditioning, and Factories – OH MY!
Debit Fraud, Water Puppets, House Traveling Mani/Pedicurist, Work Dinners, more MMA Conditioning, and Factories – OH MY!
Another week, more excitement! I’m sure you all wouldn’t expect anything less of that from my by now – LOL. Even I am still in awe that so much is packed into a week here. I’m so used to it that I can’t think of it any other way.
This past weekend was great! Friday night Pam and I went to a Tapas restaurant which was pretty decent. Although, I liked what I had to order more than Pam. I tried a mango stuffed swordfish and it was really very tasty. A jug of sangria also complimented the meal. After dinner we went to meet up with my friend Quincy. I met her in my MMA class and she’s actually from MA, she goes to Suffolk Law School and had an internship in HCMC during the summer. We went to some bar called Voodoo. Luckily, no one performed any voodoo on me!
Saturday I got to enjoy a nice and relaxing day by the pool. The weather was perfect and I was more than content lounging poolside. I had a recommendation from the Taylor-Made business manager whom I met on Friday to try a visiting mani/pedicurist. She was even nice enough to set up an appointment for me on Saturday. I was warned that Mai is known for showing up late. If my appointment was for noon, she’d be there by 12:30. Well all of a sudden its 1:30 and still no Mai. I called Karen, who set it up for me and it turns out she gave her the wrong address. There are two Somerset locations in the city…So Mai showed up with her “well loved” back pack full of nail polish, lotion, files, clippers, and all other nail paraphernalia at 5:00. Better late than never! It was totally worth the wait. The pedicure ended up costing only 50,000 dong which converts to $2.82. You can’t get someone to come to your house and give you a pedicure for $20 let alone $2.82!
Side note: it was awesome getting to learn about the Taylor-Made golf program on Friday. The footwear and apparel is actually under the Adidas Golf label. Taylor-Made is the label used for all the actual golf gear like clubs and balls. Anyway, the business is very different. It is much leaner and runs very efficiently. The main offices are in a factory called TMI. Originally I though TMI stood for Taylor Made Intl, but it’s really the name of the factory which means something else. TMI is exclusive to the Taylor-Made business; they have no other customers, which is really nice. You walk in the office and immediately feel one with the product. Karen’s office is even a “driving range” the floor is green grass with golf balls scattered around and golf nets hanging all around the walls. Pictures are up everywhere with people golfing wearing the product. You can’t help but be motivated – there is energy all around you. You don’t even feel like you are in a factory, it is so modern. I loved it!
Ok, now I am back on track…After my pedicure it was time to get ready for dinner. My manager here had invited a small group over to his families for dinner. After dinner I had planned on meeting up with a co-worker from my team. She was going to a “bar club” as she likes to call it and had invited me along. Well, when we finally left dinner it was already 2AM, I could not believe how late we all stayed.
Luckily I had planned on having another relaxing day by the pool on Sunday and got to sleep in. Nothing is better than not setting your alarm on a Sunday morning! Again, it was another gorgeous pool day and I soaked it all in!
When I had enough of the sun I was doing some odds and ends on line. I’ve been regularly checking my bank account to make sure there is no odd activity. Thank goodness I have gotten in that habit because someone hacked into my account and was aimlessly spending my money! The bank was really helpful and canceled my card instantly. They even have emergency services that my wonderful mother (thanks again!) found out about. I already got my new card! I got it in the mail last night, activated it today and am a happy camper again, it’s almost like it never happened… I can totally deal with that and I keep telling myself, it can always be worse! Just a small bump in the road but it’s all cleared up now J
That evening Pam and I finally made it to the historical and famous Vietnamese water puppet show. We tried to go last Wednesday and what an ordeal that turned out to be. We were already running late, the cab dropped us off 5 long blocks away so we began sprinting towards the theater. We had 5 minutes to get there, buy our tickets, and find seats. After building up a bit of a sweat, we made it to the theatre to find out the 8:00PM show was canceled! We weren’t meant to be see it that night (maybe we should have listened more carefully to all those signs…)!
So this time we ordered our tickets ahead to confirm there really was a show. This time when we showed up there were people outside waiting to enter, the bright neon lights were on, and the cab dropped us off in the right spot! Much better. I have to say the show itself was very interesting. I’m glad I saw it but will not be seeing another one in my lifetime. It was the most random thing I have ever seen. I was cracking up most of the 50 minute show because it was just so absurd!
As you can imagine, it’s these wooden operated puppets above water that are manipulated by people behind temple looking structure over the water. The scenes came one after another and had no flow whatsoever. There were 3 people along one side of the stage and 2 on the other screaming, singing, and playing music. Of course I had no idea what they were saying because it was all in Vietnamese. I can’t imagine being a kid watching this. I’d probably have nightmares the rest of my life. The noises were so loud and harsh. As were the movements of the puppets – they were so violent and scary!
Before I knew it the weekend was over and a new exciting week began. This week I’ve been spending the majority of the time at Esprinta. I’ve been able to work on my projects and have a more in depth training and understanding of how their factory operates. The whole experience has been eye opening as you can imagine. I’ve been seeing lots of duplicate processes that go on here and then again at our HQ back home. I’m excited to share all of my findings with the team when I head back home.
Monday at Esprinta, I spent the morning really understanding the size set process. For those of you who don’t know what it is – its right before a style goes into bulk production after the approved development stages. A full size set is made to see how the grading of that style came out. It’s also good to see if there are any major problems with the other sizes that aren’t the standard sample size. It was nice to see how detail oriented the team is at really making sure the style is as is should be with trim cards, sketches, and specs to reference. They spend about 45 minutes per garment, inspecting the measurements, fabric that was used, stitch quality, logo placement, everything. I mean we hope they do this at home so it was comforting to see that they really do!
Lingo, who is our direct contact at Esprinta, took us out to this really nice Japanese restaurant in the middle of another industrial park. I still cannot believe how many industrial parks there are, and they are so huge. I can’t help what wonder what all the other factories look like on the inside, how they operate what they make since I’ve been working so closely with the 4 factories here. Lingo explained that each industrial area has one popular restaurant to go for lunch.
Here we were in the middle of nowhere, in an industrial park, and the restaurant was so modern and upscale! Honestly, I felt like I was in a place I would have gone to when living in NY. I am still not used to people around you smoking while eating. I don’t understand how people enjoy that. So I thought it was going to be a great experience here but I felt like we were in an episode of the twilight zone.
The wait staff seemed to only pay attention to the large parties of men (who were also chain smoking at their tables). Our order took an hour to get to the table and there were only 5 of us. When they did bring orders to the table, they brought them one by one and the timing was scattered, I am talking about 10 minutes between each person. It took them 2 x to make what I ordered because they kept making it was soy sauce! But once we all got our food, it was great. Just one of those funny experiences that make the entire trip that much better.
After lunch, I got to work with Sephen (pronounced like Stephen, without the “t”). Not to be more confused Sephen is a she and she talks so quietly on top of her heavy Taiwanese accent I had to basically put my face up to hers in order to understand her. She is so petite and quite, but really nice to work with. I had 8 styles to work on with her and the rest of the afternoon fly by. I’ve really enjoyed working directly with the factories on projects. I knew I was going to like it, but it’s so much better than I had ever imagined!
Monday ended perfectly with my MMA class, it’s just so much fun. And instead of it getting easier, it’s actually getting harder. You learn a new technique and continue to add onto it, all of a sudden your punches and kicks have more power and your body reminds you that it’s working harder! Once I got home I could barely pick my arms up above my head! Oh and of course it was great to see my instructors too ;)
Tuesday was another busy day! The first half of the day I spent with Brandy (not to confuse you more, it’s a he) who is the head of the pattern room. He showed me their process of creating new patterns at the start of a new season, and how they uploaded patterns that were already sent to them from the patternmakers at HQ. All I have to say is a shout out to my girl Kendall for working with me in Gerber before I left! It was a bit of a challenge to follow Brandy on his computer that was half English/half Chinese. There was also a distraction with his fingernails that are longer than mine, even with UVA gel! Apparently it is good luck to have long nails in the Chinese religion and you shouldn’t trim them if there is not a reason….So thank you Kendall – I had an idea what he was explaining to me because of our little lessons before I left!
Lingo and I had a nice lunch at a Chinese restaurant right near the factory. She knew I had just a few dietary restrictions and ordered a great spread of food. It came out super fast and was delicious.
Again, the rest of the day FLEW by. Now that I’ve really dug into my projects here the work days fly by between working on the projects and sitting in on meetings or presentations. I still cannot believe how much I have learned in such a short period of time!
That night, I tried another MMA class offered where I go. The one I had been going to on Monday and Thursday’s is cardio conditioning. Tuesday and Wednesday they offer a technique class. Holy Moly is all I have to say! After warming up, we basically spar the entire time. Of course I was the only girl and I was sparring with these ripped guys. They were all really nice and patient with me, helping me out, telling me what to do. At first I was really timid and reserved but by the end I was having so much fun. Those punches were flying and I was fighting. Maybe I’ll be a UFC fighter by the end of this….MMMM, not really but I am having a great time with it all.
Wednesday I had a very busy day at DTVN working on more projects there. I also had to start getting my presentation ready for Monday. I get to present on my first months experience on my birthday – what a way to celebrate!
After work, I went for some laps in the pool, that’s my other new thing to do. Pam and I checked out this restaurant I had wanted to try – it’s called Garden BBQ. I am beginning to think we should start paying attention to these signs…We get in the cab, I say “xin chao” which means hello and show him the address. By now I pretty much know my way around. Well to start the driver pulled the wrong way out of our apartment complex. I thought ok, maybe he’ll just loop around. No…He was headed in the total opposite direction, toward where our Operation Center is at DTVN. So I started saying Ben Than, which is close to Garden BBQ and showed him the address AGAIN! So then he starts going the right way….We finally got there after a bit of a delay.
The place is really cute; it’s outdoors with these huge trees that have lights dangling down from them, almost like a fairy tale land. They have a convertible roof, so if it starts raining they take these poles that pull the roof over above you to shed you from the rain. It was off and on rain all night. But instead of keeping the roof closed they would open it when it stopped and then it would start up again and it would take about 5 minutes to close the roof. It was king of comical to watch.
There were so many different kinds of skewers to order. They bring them to you and then you cook them on a mini grill that is on the table. I got shrimp, fish fillet, and pineapple; shrimp and coconut; and vegetable skewers. So yummy at the time…Then we go to leave, hop in a cab and about 7 minutes later the cab is slowing down and going over to stop on the side of the road. He got pulled over by two Vietnamese cops on mopeds…Pam and I kind of looked at each other, like you have got to be kidding me! We decided it best if we snuck out. The driver noticed we were leaving and was waving for us to stay. We kept walking, found a new cab and finally made it home! By then I had to take 2 Pepto-Bismol tablets. The food that was yummy turned out to not agree so well with my tummy.
We had an interesting meeting here with all of footwear, apparel, accessories and gear for Reebok, Adidas, and Taylor-Made. They are rolling out a new “fast and lean” initiative and big changes will start to take place. It will affect footwear more than apparel right now and the biggest impact will be in China and the HQ’s in Herzo and Portland. A bit of a relief…It was all still very interesting to hear about.
I just got home from my class and feel great after it. I had a horrible headache all day but I think I sweat it out and finally feel much better.
I’m headed to Singapore this weekend to see one of my best friends Ellen. She is there for work as well. She has a whole fun weekend planed for my big birthday weekend and I cannot wait. Now that I have rambled for a bit, I will let your eyes rest! Have a great week and stay tuned for my update next week!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Adventures in the Cu Chi Tunnels
Last Saturday I ventured to Cu Chi solo. I am so happy I made this trip. The 75 mile underground maze known as the Cu Chi tunnels are one of the most famous battlegrounds of the Vietnam War. I went on this trip through the same tour company I used for the Mekong Delta trip. Since I had been so happy with them, I knew this tour should be good as well.
I boarded the bus around 8:30 AM. At around 10 we stopped at a handicapped handcraft center. We walked through their workroom and watched as workers with missing limbs, and abnormalities painted, glued, and constructed beautiful pieces of art. The showroom had everything from card holders, chop sticks, framed art, mirrors, you name it – they sold it and for a hefty tourist price.
We re-boarded our bus and headed towards Cu Chi. Our tour guide Tom took us to a hut in the middle of the war grounds where we received some more info on Cu Chi. You have to love technology these days, here we are in the middle of nowhere and there is a working TV in the hut to replay what Cu Chi once looked like.
After Tom explained the map to us the TV came on and the narrator starts talking “Cu Chi, the land of many gardens, peaceful all year round under shady trees…” There are Vietnamese women picking flowers, city folk coming to Cu Chi for an enjoyable picnic, the viewers couldn't help to feel relaxed. And then all of a sudden the scene quickly changes to that of war planes, grenades going off, explosions….it is now war time.
Suddenly it hit me….here I was an American being welcomed in this country on a tour of where such violence took place, where I was the enemy. It just goes to show you how pointless war is. Luckily I am warmly welcomed here today but it's so ridiculous what happened here!
Next we got to explore the actual war grounds. Tom took us to see how the “Cu Chi Guerilla” hid in underground tunnels to kill the enemy. We also saw many deadly traps that the guerilla set up. They sure were crafty. In their underground tunnels, they set up a well system and kitchens so they would not have to come above ground for days, weeks, and months at a time. They even constructed a chimmeny so that the smoke would evaporate before reaching the air. They did this so the enemy could not find them!
We then came to the shooting range where we were able to shoot an M-60. My Aussie friend Adam and I shot away. I couldn’t believe the power of the gun. I shot five bullets and each time I fired I felt the shock waves throughout my entire body! INSANE!
Then we reached an actual tunnel we could crawl through. They made the tunnel entrance more tourist friendly than the original entrance. We stepped into this little room and came to another opening that you kind of slid down…Suddenly I was in the tunnel and there was no getting out until I reached the end. You were totally trapped in this little hole that was no more than 2 ft high. I squat walked all the way to the end and was happy when I saw the light at the end of that tunnel! I couldn’t even imagine living in something like this for weeks at a time. I guess in war times you have no choice if you want to survive…
Since all the land had been destroyed during the war, they have since re-planted the forest. It’s amazing to see how much the trees have grown back. Even though the tour itself was pretty quick, I felt like I had spent the entire day there. I learned show much, things that I will never forget.
By the time I got back to the city, I was pretty wiped out. All I wanted to do was take a nice dip in the pool. Of course right when I was in my suit and heading to the pool it started torrential down pouring. Instead I sat undercover at the resuraunt that is poolside and wrote in my journal. Even though it was raining, I still felt like I was in paradise.
I boarded the bus around 8:30 AM. At around 10 we stopped at a handicapped handcraft center. We walked through their workroom and watched as workers with missing limbs, and abnormalities painted, glued, and constructed beautiful pieces of art. The showroom had everything from card holders, chop sticks, framed art, mirrors, you name it – they sold it and for a hefty tourist price.
We re-boarded our bus and headed towards Cu Chi. Our tour guide Tom took us to a hut in the middle of the war grounds where we received some more info on Cu Chi. You have to love technology these days, here we are in the middle of nowhere and there is a working TV in the hut to replay what Cu Chi once looked like.
After Tom explained the map to us the TV came on and the narrator starts talking “Cu Chi, the land of many gardens, peaceful all year round under shady trees…” There are Vietnamese women picking flowers, city folk coming to Cu Chi for an enjoyable picnic, the viewers couldn't help to feel relaxed. And then all of a sudden the scene quickly changes to that of war planes, grenades going off, explosions….it is now war time.
Suddenly it hit me….here I was an American being welcomed in this country on a tour of where such violence took place, where I was the enemy. It just goes to show you how pointless war is. Luckily I am warmly welcomed here today but it's so ridiculous what happened here!
Next we got to explore the actual war grounds. Tom took us to see how the “Cu Chi Guerilla” hid in underground tunnels to kill the enemy. We also saw many deadly traps that the guerilla set up. They sure were crafty. In their underground tunnels, they set up a well system and kitchens so they would not have to come above ground for days, weeks, and months at a time. They even constructed a chimmeny so that the smoke would evaporate before reaching the air. They did this so the enemy could not find them!
We then came to the shooting range where we were able to shoot an M-60. My Aussie friend Adam and I shot away. I couldn’t believe the power of the gun. I shot five bullets and each time I fired I felt the shock waves throughout my entire body! INSANE!
Then we reached an actual tunnel we could crawl through. They made the tunnel entrance more tourist friendly than the original entrance. We stepped into this little room and came to another opening that you kind of slid down…Suddenly I was in the tunnel and there was no getting out until I reached the end. You were totally trapped in this little hole that was no more than 2 ft high. I squat walked all the way to the end and was happy when I saw the light at the end of that tunnel! I couldn’t even imagine living in something like this for weeks at a time. I guess in war times you have no choice if you want to survive…
Since all the land had been destroyed during the war, they have since re-planted the forest. It’s amazing to see how much the trees have grown back. Even though the tour itself was pretty quick, I felt like I had spent the entire day there. I learned show much, things that I will never forget.
By the time I got back to the city, I was pretty wiped out. All I wanted to do was take a nice dip in the pool. Of course right when I was in my suit and heading to the pool it started torrential down pouring. Instead I sat undercover at the resuraunt that is poolside and wrote in my journal. Even though it was raining, I still felt like I was in paradise.
Sunday was pretty low key. The country manager had invited Pam and me to his families for a BBQ. After that we went for some nice reflexology. Again, I wanted to go swimming but it started raining again!
This week is flying by as well. Lots going on here in the factory. Tonight I am going to a water puppet show. I have no idea what to expect but will of course fill you in!
I went back to my martial arts conditioning class on Monday and will go for my third time tomorrow night. Those two days may be my new favorite days of the week :)
I heard you all back home are finally getting some summer weather! Whoo Hooo!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
This week in HCMC
Hello there everyone and sorry for not having posted a new blog entry sooner, I’ve just been so busy! This has been such a productive week – work wise and personally!
Monday was my tech training day! What a load of knowledge I learned that day. I think by the end of the day my head was spinning with new understandings and processes that I was able to link together. Andrew the head of tech services here really gave me a lot of insight on what the tech team is responsible for: grading and quality. This team really does a lot. In the second half of the day Andrew took me through the factory with a new set of eyes on things to look for when walking the floor.
That evening I took my first Bollywood dance class. I figured, why not! In the middle of class I started hysterically laughing. I was having an outer-body experience. Here I was, the only American taking a Bollywood dance class in Vietnam surrounded by Vietnamese girls with and Indian instructor. I just had to laugh about it; never in a million years would I think I’d have been in that situation. It was at that moment I knew how lucky I was to have such an amazing opportunity. I mean I had been telling myself that from day one but it really hit me at that point, I am truly lucky and extremely blessed.
I wasn’t that good at Bollywood but am so happy I tried it out.
Tuesday was another busy day at the factory – we went to Esprinta and I got to meet a whole new team of people. In the morning I sat in a hand off meeting where all of the development for SS10 is complete. Once the development is complete and fit approved the garment is then handed off from the factory merchandising team to the Quality Controller. Here they check everything to make sure all of the comments match up with the sketches. The Quality Controller then hand’s it off to the Quality Assistants (QA) who are on the production floor when it goes through mass production. The QA’s know what to look for when they are on the floor so this meeting is extremely important. At this stage size sets are made as well.
We had a huge feast for lunch at a great Chinese restaurant right across the street from the factory. As you see in the above picture we had these huge prawns that looked as if they were still alive. I was daring and ate it; it was just like lobster and so yummy. We also had a fresh fish with lemongrass, eggs with tomatoes, beef with peppers and onions, mushroom/chicken soup, sweet potatoes, and steamed broccoli. Such a treat!
I particularly enjoyed the factory tour at Esprinta. The capabilities are great and I was able to sit behind a flat lock machine and construct two pieces of fabric together. By the end of the day I was pretty pooped. After I worked out I went to this great little market called Veggy’s that has really good veggy’s and fruit. The fruit here is just so fresh and flavorful I can’t seem to get enough of it.
Wednesday was my lowest key day in the office I’ve had so far. We were at the LO in the morning for a staff meeting and then headed back to DTVN – the factory we are mainly based out of. After work I worked out and then headed down to Ben Than market again with Pam to do some gift shopping. As soon as the big market closed down many of the shop owners moved there little areas to the streets right outside of Ben Than, they just keep going! It was amazing to watch them rush closing one shop to run to the street with their goods and re-set everything up…After a very successful shopping trip we had a great dinner at Skewer’s. It was a Mediterranean restaurant that I had read about and couldn’t wait to try. My chicken skewers with grilled veggies were yum yum yum.
Today started off on a sour note. We got word that our head of Global Operations resigned. He’s such a great guy and has been really supportive to the team. He’s a rock in the foundation that is now gone. It was strange to be here hearing the news; I can’t even imagine how everyone took it at HQ. After that, I got to see the third factory out of four I will be working with; QMI. QMI is a much older factory. We drove up and they had a huge Welcome Jennie Rosman sign outside, I felt very VIP!
Today I got to really see how all the factories have the same processes they go through. Fabric comes in from the mill and goes to the Warehouse; the fabric is inspected and then cut. From there the fabric either goes off to get embroidery, heat transfers, bonding, or printing. Then all the fabric is bundled together before it hits the production floor. Each “operator” is charge of only sewing one part of the garment. One sews shoulders together all day, another sews the cuff of a sleeve, etc…In a well organized factory, the line will be set up in order and every operator will always be busy. Once the entire shirt, short, pant, or whatever it may be is fully constructed together one of the workers inspects it to make sure everything is perfect. During this whole process there are targets displayed on a dry erase boards to do x amount of pants in an hour. There are also QA’s and line managers walking around making sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to be doing.
If the garment is approved for inspection, it is then steamed and folded. All the labels are also added and it is then packaged to go through the metal detection room. Every single item has to go through the metal detector to make sure nothing has been tampered with. It would be a huge problem if a needle or something that shouldn’t be in the box got to the retailer or wholesaler. Each box has the PO info on it and the garment goes in its designated box with every other size in its order and goes into the backroom. From there all the boxes are shipped out to its final destination.
So each factory goes through this same process but it’s very interesting to see how different they are in there housekeeping, setting the lines up, and being lean and efficient. Once you know what to look for it’s so obvious how things should be improved. The challenge is getting these points across to the factories; they are very comfortable in their habits and sometimes are resistant to suggestions.
After the work I day I had really been looking forward to taking my first mixed martial arts conditioning class with a UFC fighter instructor. I had read great reviews about this place and figured why not give it a shot. The cab ride was a bit interesting; the fight studio is in a different district than I live in. I’m in D1 and the studio is in D4, I had looked it up on the map to see where it was and knew it would take a bit of time to get there. The cab driver was taking me in circles thinking I didn’t know where I was going and I was getting so frustrated. I was talking to him in English pointing at the map I had and again showing him the address of where I wanted to go and he kept yelling at me in Vietnamese. Finally I made it there.
I walked in to this studio with a bright yellow matted floor, mirrors in the front, and a small ring to the side and of course racks of gloves, punching bags, and a weight training area. I know you already think I was in heaven, but it gets better. Instantly this really hot guy wearing only his shorts to show off his amazing body who was practicing his technique comes over and greets me. I think he could tell I was trying to figure out the place. He showed me around and made me feel instantly comfortable and part of the group. Soon more people started trickling in and class was about to start. Two French IFC fighter brothers run the place. Did I mention they are both really hot too? They both speak English but with French accents…
They pumped up the music and a 10 minute jumping rope warm up began. The class was all mixed ethnicities, everyone understood English. The hour and a half flew by and my ass was kicked the entire time. I was hooked on this class within just having walked in, lol! What made it even better was that Elizze kept complimenting me on my conditioning! I cannot wait until my next class on Monday, what a great thing to look forward to on Monday and Thursdays. Until now I forgot how nervous I had been about going, I just didn’t know what to expect, it was so awesome! I’m sure I will wake up and feel it tomorrow.
This should be another great weekend. Pam and I plan on checking out the Cu Chi tunnels on Saturday. These are tunnels Vietnamese soldiers hide out in during the war. Sunday our country manager invited us to his house for a BBQ. I’m sure there will be lots of other stuff in between.
Thanks for keeping up on my travels and stay tuned!
xxoo
Monday was my tech training day! What a load of knowledge I learned that day. I think by the end of the day my head was spinning with new understandings and processes that I was able to link together. Andrew the head of tech services here really gave me a lot of insight on what the tech team is responsible for: grading and quality. This team really does a lot. In the second half of the day Andrew took me through the factory with a new set of eyes on things to look for when walking the floor.
That evening I took my first Bollywood dance class. I figured, why not! In the middle of class I started hysterically laughing. I was having an outer-body experience. Here I was, the only American taking a Bollywood dance class in Vietnam surrounded by Vietnamese girls with and Indian instructor. I just had to laugh about it; never in a million years would I think I’d have been in that situation. It was at that moment I knew how lucky I was to have such an amazing opportunity. I mean I had been telling myself that from day one but it really hit me at that point, I am truly lucky and extremely blessed.
I wasn’t that good at Bollywood but am so happy I tried it out.
Tuesday was another busy day at the factory – we went to Esprinta and I got to meet a whole new team of people. In the morning I sat in a hand off meeting where all of the development for SS10 is complete. Once the development is complete and fit approved the garment is then handed off from the factory merchandising team to the Quality Controller. Here they check everything to make sure all of the comments match up with the sketches. The Quality Controller then hand’s it off to the Quality Assistants (QA) who are on the production floor when it goes through mass production. The QA’s know what to look for when they are on the floor so this meeting is extremely important. At this stage size sets are made as well.
We had a huge feast for lunch at a great Chinese restaurant right across the street from the factory. As you see in the above picture we had these huge prawns that looked as if they were still alive. I was daring and ate it; it was just like lobster and so yummy. We also had a fresh fish with lemongrass, eggs with tomatoes, beef with peppers and onions, mushroom/chicken soup, sweet potatoes, and steamed broccoli. Such a treat!
I particularly enjoyed the factory tour at Esprinta. The capabilities are great and I was able to sit behind a flat lock machine and construct two pieces of fabric together. By the end of the day I was pretty pooped. After I worked out I went to this great little market called Veggy’s that has really good veggy’s and fruit. The fruit here is just so fresh and flavorful I can’t seem to get enough of it.
Wednesday was my lowest key day in the office I’ve had so far. We were at the LO in the morning for a staff meeting and then headed back to DTVN – the factory we are mainly based out of. After work I worked out and then headed down to Ben Than market again with Pam to do some gift shopping. As soon as the big market closed down many of the shop owners moved there little areas to the streets right outside of Ben Than, they just keep going! It was amazing to watch them rush closing one shop to run to the street with their goods and re-set everything up…After a very successful shopping trip we had a great dinner at Skewer’s. It was a Mediterranean restaurant that I had read about and couldn’t wait to try. My chicken skewers with grilled veggies were yum yum yum.
Today started off on a sour note. We got word that our head of Global Operations resigned. He’s such a great guy and has been really supportive to the team. He’s a rock in the foundation that is now gone. It was strange to be here hearing the news; I can’t even imagine how everyone took it at HQ. After that, I got to see the third factory out of four I will be working with; QMI. QMI is a much older factory. We drove up and they had a huge Welcome Jennie Rosman sign outside, I felt very VIP!
Today I got to really see how all the factories have the same processes they go through. Fabric comes in from the mill and goes to the Warehouse; the fabric is inspected and then cut. From there the fabric either goes off to get embroidery, heat transfers, bonding, or printing. Then all the fabric is bundled together before it hits the production floor. Each “operator” is charge of only sewing one part of the garment. One sews shoulders together all day, another sews the cuff of a sleeve, etc…In a well organized factory, the line will be set up in order and every operator will always be busy. Once the entire shirt, short, pant, or whatever it may be is fully constructed together one of the workers inspects it to make sure everything is perfect. During this whole process there are targets displayed on a dry erase boards to do x amount of pants in an hour. There are also QA’s and line managers walking around making sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to be doing.
If the garment is approved for inspection, it is then steamed and folded. All the labels are also added and it is then packaged to go through the metal detection room. Every single item has to go through the metal detector to make sure nothing has been tampered with. It would be a huge problem if a needle or something that shouldn’t be in the box got to the retailer or wholesaler. Each box has the PO info on it and the garment goes in its designated box with every other size in its order and goes into the backroom. From there all the boxes are shipped out to its final destination.
So each factory goes through this same process but it’s very interesting to see how different they are in there housekeeping, setting the lines up, and being lean and efficient. Once you know what to look for it’s so obvious how things should be improved. The challenge is getting these points across to the factories; they are very comfortable in their habits and sometimes are resistant to suggestions.
After the work I day I had really been looking forward to taking my first mixed martial arts conditioning class with a UFC fighter instructor. I had read great reviews about this place and figured why not give it a shot. The cab ride was a bit interesting; the fight studio is in a different district than I live in. I’m in D1 and the studio is in D4, I had looked it up on the map to see where it was and knew it would take a bit of time to get there. The cab driver was taking me in circles thinking I didn’t know where I was going and I was getting so frustrated. I was talking to him in English pointing at the map I had and again showing him the address of where I wanted to go and he kept yelling at me in Vietnamese. Finally I made it there.
I walked in to this studio with a bright yellow matted floor, mirrors in the front, and a small ring to the side and of course racks of gloves, punching bags, and a weight training area. I know you already think I was in heaven, but it gets better. Instantly this really hot guy wearing only his shorts to show off his amazing body who was practicing his technique comes over and greets me. I think he could tell I was trying to figure out the place. He showed me around and made me feel instantly comfortable and part of the group. Soon more people started trickling in and class was about to start. Two French IFC fighter brothers run the place. Did I mention they are both really hot too? They both speak English but with French accents…
They pumped up the music and a 10 minute jumping rope warm up began. The class was all mixed ethnicities, everyone understood English. The hour and a half flew by and my ass was kicked the entire time. I was hooked on this class within just having walked in, lol! What made it even better was that Elizze kept complimenting me on my conditioning! I cannot wait until my next class on Monday, what a great thing to look forward to on Monday and Thursdays. Until now I forgot how nervous I had been about going, I just didn’t know what to expect, it was so awesome! I’m sure I will wake up and feel it tomorrow.
This should be another great weekend. Pam and I plan on checking out the Cu Chi tunnels on Saturday. These are tunnels Vietnamese soldiers hide out in during the war. Sunday our country manager invited us to his house for a BBQ. I’m sure there will be lots of other stuff in between.
Thanks for keeping up on my travels and stay tuned!
xxoo
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Mekong Delta fun
Today was definitely the best day yet! Yesterday we purchased tour tickets to see the Mekong Delta, My Tho, and Ben Tre. It’s a cluster of three islands we got to travel to by boat to see various things being made.
First we took a boat ride to Con Phung Island where we first saw some local Vietnamese making hand carved pieces like spoons, boxes, and other goods. We also got to see how rice paper was made.
Then we had a lunch along the Mekong River in a hand made hut. After lunch we got back on the boat and traveled to another island to have honey tea. On the same island we traveled along foot to see how coconut candy is made. It is so yummy and was fun to watch them make. They also made one of my favorite snacks, banana chips! Let me tell you these chips put any banana chip I’ve ever tried at home to shame! Hehehe.
After the candy making we got back on the boat to get to the next island. It was about a 40 minute boat ride and it felt like I was in paradise. Total relaxation and the breeze felt fantastic.
Once we reached out next stop we took a horse ride through a village to listen to folk music. Our tour guide Tom told us that folk songs vary from where you are in Vietnam, the Northern songs are different in tune from the Southern. We also go to eat tropical fruit like pineapple, lychee, dragon fruit, and I don’t know what it’s called – it looks like a porcupine but once you peel it and enjoy – it is so good! The fruit here is so amazing, every bite has so much flavor and is so fresh. I’m getting so spoiled!
Luckily we made it to the folk singers in one piece though. This poor little horse that is totally overworked and abused carried six of us in a wagon of sorts and was not happy to be pulling us. He kept bucking at first, the man who was controlling him was not doing a good job despite us being on it and made the horse kept going. Until I got off the wagon I was trembling, even after I was walking for a while…But – it’s all about the experience and it has been an incredible one so far!
Once we finished our fruit and entertainment we boarded row boats that held 4 of us while a Vietnamese rowed us through a beautiful landscape! Everything is so plush! I felt like I was in heaven. Every turn we took was another photo op and I found it fascinating to see how these people live. Life is so simple for them. All of this made me extremely grateful for what I have. I am truly blessed.
After about a half hour ride we returned to our bigger boat to head back to the tour bus that would take us back to Saigon, about a 2 hour bus ride. The bus ride was long but totally worth it! After a beautiful day out of the city we got back around 7PM and went to a great Indian restaurant. The food was so good!
One of the things I love most about being in Saigon is how every turn you take is another great picture opportunity! Everything has so much character. It’s not like seeing Starbucks, CVS, Stop and Shop, GAP, gas stations on every corner. Each building, store front, everything is different from its surroundings and it’s all so great to take in.
It’s funny even though today is a Sunday and I was out all day, I feel more refreshed and alive than I would spend a Sunday at home. There is something about seeing new things and experiencing new situations. I am so excited for this week and what it brings!
First we took a boat ride to Con Phung Island where we first saw some local Vietnamese making hand carved pieces like spoons, boxes, and other goods. We also got to see how rice paper was made.
Then we had a lunch along the Mekong River in a hand made hut. After lunch we got back on the boat and traveled to another island to have honey tea. On the same island we traveled along foot to see how coconut candy is made. It is so yummy and was fun to watch them make. They also made one of my favorite snacks, banana chips! Let me tell you these chips put any banana chip I’ve ever tried at home to shame! Hehehe.
After the candy making we got back on the boat to get to the next island. It was about a 40 minute boat ride and it felt like I was in paradise. Total relaxation and the breeze felt fantastic.
Once we reached out next stop we took a horse ride through a village to listen to folk music. Our tour guide Tom told us that folk songs vary from where you are in Vietnam, the Northern songs are different in tune from the Southern. We also go to eat tropical fruit like pineapple, lychee, dragon fruit, and I don’t know what it’s called – it looks like a porcupine but once you peel it and enjoy – it is so good! The fruit here is so amazing, every bite has so much flavor and is so fresh. I’m getting so spoiled!
Luckily we made it to the folk singers in one piece though. This poor little horse that is totally overworked and abused carried six of us in a wagon of sorts and was not happy to be pulling us. He kept bucking at first, the man who was controlling him was not doing a good job despite us being on it and made the horse kept going. Until I got off the wagon I was trembling, even after I was walking for a while…But – it’s all about the experience and it has been an incredible one so far!
Once we finished our fruit and entertainment we boarded row boats that held 4 of us while a Vietnamese rowed us through a beautiful landscape! Everything is so plush! I felt like I was in heaven. Every turn we took was another photo op and I found it fascinating to see how these people live. Life is so simple for them. All of this made me extremely grateful for what I have. I am truly blessed.
After about a half hour ride we returned to our bigger boat to head back to the tour bus that would take us back to Saigon, about a 2 hour bus ride. The bus ride was long but totally worth it! After a beautiful day out of the city we got back around 7PM and went to a great Indian restaurant. The food was so good!
One of the things I love most about being in Saigon is how every turn you take is another great picture opportunity! Everything has so much character. It’s not like seeing Starbucks, CVS, Stop and Shop, GAP, gas stations on every corner. Each building, store front, everything is different from its surroundings and it’s all so great to take in.
It’s funny even though today is a Sunday and I was out all day, I feel more refreshed and alive than I would spend a Sunday at home. There is something about seeing new things and experiencing new situations. I am so excited for this week and what it brings!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
And the fun Continues!!!!!
What an amazing last couple of days it’s been! I’m trying to think of where I last left off…
Thursday I went to the factory we are based out of in Vietnam and am still in shock at how fast Thursday and Friday went. The team here is really great and I have to say how impressed I am with the factory facilities. Adidas and Reebok are the only brands this factory supports, so it almost feels as if I am at Adidas, they have there banners, stripes, logos everywhere and the floor where all the offices looks no different than any office building. The difference is when you realize the sample room is right off the office and you can continue going up the stairs to the actual production line, up again to printing, and up once more to embroidery. The bottom floor is where all the fabric comes in and gets organized, approved, and ready to be sent upstairs to start the production line.
Everyone at the factory takes a lunch break from 12-12:30 and eats together. There is a loud siren type of noise that goes off and within seconds all the workers are swarming the streets with umbrella’s to avoid the strong sun on their way to lunch. The other thing that happens at lunch is all the lights are shut off and people actually take naps under their desks. Once it is 1:00 the lights are turned back on and you see people popping up from under their desks to start working again. The first time I witnessed it, I thought it was quite a sight! I go with my team to what’s called a “canteen lunch” the factory actually feeds us lunch for free. It’s a Taiwanese run factory and with that we get a Taiwanese lunch. The two times I’ve been there I have managed to find some stuff I can eat – mainly consisting of steamed bok choy and peppers.
Over the course of Thursday and Friday I was given lots of presentations on the processes there from both the Reebok group and the factory. All very interesting and all a lot to take in. I can say my time here is really going to fly by, I can already tell. When I’ve been getting home from work, I’ve really been enjoying the city and getting to know it. There is just so much to see and do! Last night Pam and I went to have the meal of Vietnam, it’s just a soup basically and then we went for massages – 70 minutes for $10. Across the street from the massage place we found our new favorite place that makes the best fresh smoothies. So dinner, massage, and smoothie cost all less than $20 total, I am still amazed.
Today we really took advantage of a full day of exploring and we got to use the company driver so that really helped! First we went to a travel place to pick out a tour to go on tomorrow. I cannot wait for the tour! We’ll be going to Mekong Delta, My Tho, and Ben Tre. I’ll wait to tell you all about the tour for when I’m actually back from it…Then we went to the famous Ben Than market. What a scene and what a hot mess I was. With in an instant of setting foot in that chaotic, crazy place I was dripping sweat. It was so fun but took a lot out of us by the end. This place sells everything under the sun and everyone runs after you to buy stuff from them and grabs your arm. You have to really bargain with them which can get tiring by the end but it’s so worth it.
My boss here was telling me about a gym he joined here that is 9 floors. I knew it was right near the market so we went to check it out. Much better than the sad gym here. So I got a 7 day free week pass to check it out. I’m very excited about that. I also found some great yoga studios, rock climbing place, and martial arts place that I want to try at one point before I leave.
We then headed off to grab a nice bite at a spot called ZanZBar, very good food and then we continued on to the Art Museum which is in this old mansion that has not been kept up at all. It’s sad this beautiful building has not been kept up because one day it must have been an amazing place. I thought the museum was going to have AC, I was wrong and felt more than dirty walking around, again sweat dripping everywhere! I think today was the hottest day so far!
Pam really wanted a pedicure so we found a “spa” to go to. I tried a hot stomach wrap and will never get it again, not a fun experience. But if you never try – you never know!
Now I am getting ready for our busy tour day tomorrow, I know it’s going to be hot and want to cool down before getting back out there! I promise to post more pictures very soon as well!
xxoo
Thursday I went to the factory we are based out of in Vietnam and am still in shock at how fast Thursday and Friday went. The team here is really great and I have to say how impressed I am with the factory facilities. Adidas and Reebok are the only brands this factory supports, so it almost feels as if I am at Adidas, they have there banners, stripes, logos everywhere and the floor where all the offices looks no different than any office building. The difference is when you realize the sample room is right off the office and you can continue going up the stairs to the actual production line, up again to printing, and up once more to embroidery. The bottom floor is where all the fabric comes in and gets organized, approved, and ready to be sent upstairs to start the production line.
Everyone at the factory takes a lunch break from 12-12:30 and eats together. There is a loud siren type of noise that goes off and within seconds all the workers are swarming the streets with umbrella’s to avoid the strong sun on their way to lunch. The other thing that happens at lunch is all the lights are shut off and people actually take naps under their desks. Once it is 1:00 the lights are turned back on and you see people popping up from under their desks to start working again. The first time I witnessed it, I thought it was quite a sight! I go with my team to what’s called a “canteen lunch” the factory actually feeds us lunch for free. It’s a Taiwanese run factory and with that we get a Taiwanese lunch. The two times I’ve been there I have managed to find some stuff I can eat – mainly consisting of steamed bok choy and peppers.
Over the course of Thursday and Friday I was given lots of presentations on the processes there from both the Reebok group and the factory. All very interesting and all a lot to take in. I can say my time here is really going to fly by, I can already tell. When I’ve been getting home from work, I’ve really been enjoying the city and getting to know it. There is just so much to see and do! Last night Pam and I went to have the meal of Vietnam, it’s just a soup basically and then we went for massages – 70 minutes for $10. Across the street from the massage place we found our new favorite place that makes the best fresh smoothies. So dinner, massage, and smoothie cost all less than $20 total, I am still amazed.
Today we really took advantage of a full day of exploring and we got to use the company driver so that really helped! First we went to a travel place to pick out a tour to go on tomorrow. I cannot wait for the tour! We’ll be going to Mekong Delta, My Tho, and Ben Tre. I’ll wait to tell you all about the tour for when I’m actually back from it…Then we went to the famous Ben Than market. What a scene and what a hot mess I was. With in an instant of setting foot in that chaotic, crazy place I was dripping sweat. It was so fun but took a lot out of us by the end. This place sells everything under the sun and everyone runs after you to buy stuff from them and grabs your arm. You have to really bargain with them which can get tiring by the end but it’s so worth it.
My boss here was telling me about a gym he joined here that is 9 floors. I knew it was right near the market so we went to check it out. Much better than the sad gym here. So I got a 7 day free week pass to check it out. I’m very excited about that. I also found some great yoga studios, rock climbing place, and martial arts place that I want to try at one point before I leave.
We then headed off to grab a nice bite at a spot called ZanZBar, very good food and then we continued on to the Art Museum which is in this old mansion that has not been kept up at all. It’s sad this beautiful building has not been kept up because one day it must have been an amazing place. I thought the museum was going to have AC, I was wrong and felt more than dirty walking around, again sweat dripping everywhere! I think today was the hottest day so far!
Pam really wanted a pedicure so we found a “spa” to go to. I tried a hot stomach wrap and will never get it again, not a fun experience. But if you never try – you never know!
Now I am getting ready for our busy tour day tomorrow, I know it’s going to be hot and want to cool down before getting back out there! I promise to post more pictures very soon as well!
xxoo
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Safe Arrival!!!
Greetings everyone from Ho Chi Minh City! I'm happy to report the trip out here was seamless, no surprise overnights in Chicago or Alaska like last time. The whole trip took 27 hours. All of our transfers worked out perfectly and have nothing noteworthy to report except we both arrived in one piece and all of our luggage made it here as well. Pam and I are getting by just fine. I think we are running off of pure adreniline at this point.
Getting out of the airport was crazy. There was such a mob of people waiting for other people. Luckily we spotted our driver holding a sign with our names and soon we were off.
By the time we left the airport and checked into our apartment it was after midnight. Of course we both wanted to get somewhat settled and managed to unpack everything. We like our apartment, it's a two bedroom, two and a half bathroom, decent sized living area, balcony, kitchen, and has a washer/dryer unit. There's also a great pool, gym, and resturaunt. I don't think we'll be spending much time in it though, we plan on seeing and doing as much as possible while we're here. Once we started planning where we wanted to go, we realized how fast these next two months will really pass us by.
I passed out sometime arond 1:30 AM and woke up at 5ish to get in a morning workout before our first day of work here. Both of us were ready by 8AM as instructed to be in the lobby for our pick up. It's 8:30 and no one has shown up so I called my contact...Come to find out, they changed the itnerary for us and were giving us the day as a rest day to get settled. So nice, we just wish we had known before we woke up.
We ventured out into the streets and suddenly felt very overwhelmed. I'm not even joking we were the only American's walking around. Everyone drives a moped with at least two people on a seat made for one, some have bath tubs on the moped, some have people carrying parcels, it's insane! And the traffic is absolute chaos. I'm amazed there aren't more accidnets. Everyone seemed nice though. After about an hour of walking around, we decided to head back home and set up an action plan. Luckily we both brought a lot of tour guides and soon came up with some solid plans and places to go. One of the guides had some great reccomendations for lunch spots. We took a taxi over there and it was great.
After lunch we had to make our way back home again because we were being picked up at 2 to go into the Liason Office to meet the HR team there. The location of the LO is awesome, lots of great shops, resuraunts, and cafes. It's really not that far from our apt but seems like a whole other world. After we met some of the staff there we walked around a bit and made our way back home to relax. We're both still a bit jet-lagged and tired from not that much sleep. I'm making myself stay up for at least two more hours - which will be around 8PM so I can hopefully sleep through the night.
That's all for now! Hopefully the weather has stayed somewhat decent back home!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Only One More Day....
And I'll be on my way to Vietnam for 9 weeks! I'm all done packing, in fact - I think I have more than enough and am definitely prepared! At least it was a sunny and somewhat warm weekend here to get me used to the 100+ temperatures and humidity!
I'm so excited about this amazing opportunity and plan on using this blog to keep everyone in the loop! I hope you enjoy my entries - have a great summer!
I'm so excited about this amazing opportunity and plan on using this blog to keep everyone in the loop! I hope you enjoy my entries - have a great summer!
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