GPC-Vietnam

GPC Travels to Laos

2010-06-19T03:33:00.000-07:00

Wow! Well, it has been sometime since I updated the blog, but in my defense it has been a busy but amazing couple of weeks.

I finished up my time at the International Kindergarten and Primary School in Buon Ma Thuot, Viet nam. I was so excited to be able to complete the English language website for the school, and to begin utilizing it as a tool for more successful foreign teacher recruitment and retention. My last weekend in BMT was great, as one of GPC's partners in the International Kindergarten and Primary School venture Dale Watkins traveled up from Sai Gon. Dale speaks amazing Vietnamese, and has been living in Viet Nam for nearly a year doing a diverse mix of teaching, market-entry strategy and furthering his passion for Vietnamese culture and language.

After I left Buon Ma Thuot, I got back to Sai Gon for one night, and the following day started a 5-day tour of Laos. It is one of the few countries left in the region I have not seen, and the trip was absolutely amazing. Laos has a population of only around 6.5 million people, and it was clear by the dense forests I saw during my flight. I spent 2 days in the capital Vientiane exploring pagodas, museums, and the beautiful Mekong River (the lifeblood of Southeast Asia). After, I flew to Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for a really amazing tour. My guide had spent ten years as a monk, and had great insight into the highly religious Buddhist culture of Laos. In Luang Prabang I took a two hour boat trip upstream on the Mekong and saw some mysterious and remote Buddhist pilgrimage caves. Really an amazing experience. Check out some of the photos below!

Vientiane's largest Stupa

Vientiane's "Arc de Triumph"

Mekong River, View from Luang Prabang

Taxi in Laos='Tuc Tuc"

Our family's friends in New Orleans Dwight Marshall and Ingrid Lucia have kindly put me in contact with their skilled musician friend Davis Zunk living here in Sai Gon, and I am heading out this evening to hear him perform and meet many of his friends. Davis has been living in the region for a number of years, and as a music and English instructor he has an amazing network throughout all of Southeast Asia. I look forward to getting to know him better, and check back for pictures of his gig!

Nick

Update from Trường Mầm Non Quốc Tế

2010-06-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

I am back in Buôn Ma Thuột after a wonderful trip to Nha Trang with the teachers from IKS. It was a great experience, and allowed me to really get to know the staff here that GPC's future teacher recruits will be working with. We had a great time visiting Việt Nam's equivalence to Cedar Point, an amusement park on an island off the coast of Nha Trang called Vinpearl. We took a beautiful boat tour to many of the other uninhabited islands around Nha Trang, and spent some much needed relaxation time on the beach.

Nick with some of the teachers from IKS in Nha Trang

What this trip also showed me is the quality of leadership here at IKS. GPC's friend and colleague Điền Nguyễn, chairman of IKS, generously sponsored the trip as a gift for a year of hard work from his staff. The appreciation for quality work is clear, and in speaking with the staff I am learning that it is a real pleasure to work at IKS and have a leader and mentor like Điền.

I am back at work here in Buôn Ma Thuột finishing the website and foreign teacher orientation packet. Additionally, I have been collaborating with Clarence Rivette at GPC's US office to develop a series of marketing brochures that feature our diverse range of services in Việt Nam including English language instruction, GPC's unique leadership and globalization seminars, and the possibility of hosting business trade missions for Vietnamese executives traveling to the United States.

I will be finishing my contract here at IKS next week, and after I am planning to visit Laos for a long weekend. It is one of the few countries left in Southeast Asia I haven't visited, and with its close proximity to Việt Nam, it could have great potential for future tours that GPC hosts from the US like the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of Saginaw Valley State University trip that my dad Clarence led in March 2010.

Check back for details on the completion of my work here at IKS and my adventures in Laos. Thanks for reading!

Graduation at Trường Mầm Non Quốc Tế BMT (International Kindergarten School)

2010-05-26T07:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of yesterday's closing ceremony for the first school year at the International Kindergarten School (IKS). The oldest students (pictured in their caps and gowns) will be remaining here next year to begin their primary grade school studies, as IKS opens its new first grade classes. It was a wonderful ceremony, despite the heavy rain. It reminded me of my kindergarten graduation back at Hemmeter Elementary in Saginaw, MI (not that I remember much, but I know I have seen pictures...) Lots of proud parents and plenty of cute kids. Enjoy the photos!

GPC's colleague and friend Điền Nguyễn handing out certificates

With their diplomas!

Nick and IKS's art teacher staying out of the rain

Nick's neighbor and friend, one of the proud parents!

GPC's colleague and friend Điền Nguyễn with school principal Cô Hạnh

Tomorrow I am heading to Nha Trang and the beach to celebrate a successful year with the teachers of IKS. It will be a great chance for me to get to know the people that our future teacher recruits will be working with in the future. Thanks to GPC's friend and colleague Điền, investor in IKS, for inviting me on this trip and having me as a guest at the closing ceremonies!

Please keep visiting, it means so much to GPC and my friends and colleagues here at the International Kindergarten School of Buôn Ma Thuột to know we have friends around the world, and it captures the global vision of the school.

Nick

GPC in Buôn Ma Thuột

2010-05-20T23:08:00.000-07:00

I left the bustling and overwhelmingly hot Hồ Chí Minh City on Monday and hopped on the old Russian model prop-jet to the central highlands, and I was reminded how beautiful the short flight from Sài Gòn to Buôn Ma Thuột was. The rainy season here in Việt Nam has been particularly mild this year, and from overhead the miles and miles of rice paddies seemed unusually dry. But the hills and valleys of the central highlands were a familiar and welcoming sight, with lush jungle interrupted only by the occasional village. Being the only foreigner on the flight to Buôn Ma Thột, I could't help but laugh as the flight crew struggled to read the emergency instructions in English, I assume, just for me.

As I mentioned in the last post, Im heading to Buôn Ma Thuột for a consulting project with the International Kindergarten School opened here last year (Trường Mầm Non Quốc Tế BMT, and for any Vietnamese speakers their website is mamnonquocte.edu.vn). GPC's primary goal here is to assist the school in developing a website and related marketing materials to secure western teachers for their English language program on a yearly basis. Along with this project, GPC is working with one of the school's investors, Dien Nguyen, to build a curriculum and strategy for offering specific English language courses for business and finance and leadership training for executives in the area. We have had preliminary meetings with Vietcombank and Vietin Bank here in Buôn Ma Thuột, both of whom are eager to pursue a relationship with GPC.

The International Kindergarten school offers classes for age groups ranging from 18 months all the way to 6 years old, and in the coming year the school will begin offering primary school courses so that students can remain here for their studies. The quality of care and education for the students is truly amazing. I would have never dreamed of learning a foreign language at such a young age, but in the classrooms I have visited in the past few days, students are already singing English songs to me like "Hello Teacher" and "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." To have such dedication to an international curriculum in early childhood development demonstrates the long-term vision of the school's leadership, and GPC is excited to help the school further their goals.

Class at the IKS

Personally, these few days here in Buôn Ma Thuột have already been an amazingly enriching experience. I am making fast friends with many of the school's staff, and I am working to become as apart of the culture here as I can (I survived my first motorbike lesson yesterday). Additionally, being immersed in the culture is doing wonders for my comprehension of Vietnamese, and I have so many opportunities to practice what I have learned at U of M.

Please visit again for updates on my activies and meetings with the school's leadership and teachers, as well as more of my experiences here in Buôn Ma Thuột.

Nick

GPC Returns to Vietnam

2010-05-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

As an introduction for those visiting my blog, my name is Nick Rivette and I am presently in Việt Nam working as the in-country representative for Global Perspective Consulting (GPC). My interest in Việt Nam began years ago when my family and I traveled here as tourists. I was immediately enamored with life in Việt Nam, from the bustling streets of Hồ Chí Minh City to the quiet countryside. The uniqueness of the language, people, and history greatly appealed to me, and inspired my family and I to continue traveling to Việt Nam. Now, I am studying Vietnamese language and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Michigan, and working with Global Perspective Consulting to explore exciting new opportunities in Việt Nam's rapidly growing and diversifying economy. As the GPC representative for Việt Nam, my plans for this summer include networking in Hồ Chí Minh City, initiating a consulting project for the International Kindergarten School of Buôn Ma Thuôt, Đak Lak Province, and continuing to develop my language skills.

I arrived yesterday in Việt Nam with a combination of eagerness and anxiety. Already, I can tell that my time here will be uniquely different from any of my previous four trips, and I will be challenged to use my Vietnamese language skills and consulting experience. Last summer, I spoke hardly any Vietnamese and stayed in Hồ Chí Minh City's primarily tourist friendly neighborhood, District One or Quận một, where most locals spoke english to me. Now, I am spending my first few days in Việt Nam in District Five, Quận năm, near GPC's newly opened office shared with our partner Nguyễn Hữu Việt. Already my language skills have been put to the test, but there is no better way to learn!

Viet and Nick in GPC's HCMC Office

On Monday, Việt and I will be traveling to Buôn Ma Thuôt where I will be staying for the remainder of my 6 weeks here. There on behalf of GPC, Việt and I in cooperation with GPC founder Clarence Rivette in the U.S., will be initiating a consulting project for Việt's brother Điền. Điền opened an impressive International Kindergarten School last summer in Việt Nam's Central Highlands, and GPC is eager to assist the school in recruiting western teachers for English language instruction. I had the pleasure of attending the grand opening of the school last summer, and was truly impressed at the quality of the facility and faculty, and I am eager to begin working with them.

Please visit my blog again soon for details of the successes of our consulting project with Việt, Điền, and the International Kindergarten School of Việt Nam. Additionally, Việt and I will be meeting later today with Oliver Meeker, another American like myself who has fallen in love with Việt Nam. Oliver is here in Việt Nam as a Fullbright Scholar doing research on Việt Nam's emerging entrepreneurial class. GPC looks forward to collaborating with him in the future, as well as sharing some of his research findings.

On behalf of GPC, I thank you for reading and I hope you visit again!

Nick