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We HAVE used this and it was pretty fun.
9 months agoWhile on-line, it can be quite fun to use the audio function with Google translate for conversations. . Push the microphone button : once the participants get the idea, it can be a riot, especially when it gets lost in translation.
9 months agoThank you Betsy. We actually did download Vietnamese in the way you mentioned but I was finding that it still didn't work unless I had a wifi connection. But I just tried it now and it worked! Weird things happen when we are traveling and I'm not surprised by any of it anymore. And it could very well be something I'm doing that messes things up. I just go along being happy when things do work.
9 months agoI love this common theme in your journals and appreciate every story that illustrates the magic of being open, curious, and kind.
And most important (and impressive!) here is your willingness to sit through the discomfort of first impressions.
Thank you for every reminder you give us that things are not always as they seem!
That IS one idea, and not without merit. But Andrea proposed a plan that seems a little better suited to the situation.
9 months agoIt's really best for everyone.
9 months agoI am enjoying your reports! Just an FYI - when you have a good Wi-Fi connection, you can download Vietnamese to both your phones in the Google Translate app. Then you won’t need to use cellular data. Click on the language, then on the download icon (down arrow).
9 months agoRichie,
Well, you are sort of in luck. Andrea said she wouldn't mind carrying it for you but she won't ride back the 111 miles to get it.
I can give you detailed directions right to that guy's shop so you can give yourself a birthday present. When you are there could you buy the second one for me? I want the one in the photo I posted. Thank you.
9 months agoGuess we’d better turn around then.
9 months agoToo late.
9 months agoWhat a great story. I'm disappointed you didn't get the stool. I birthday is coming up (October) and it would be perfect.
9 months agoWhat could possibly go wrong?
9 months agoI agree- the sun sleeves are really effective in the heat.
9 months ago
Bruce,
9 months agoMy experiences left me with the firm belief that the quality of Vietnamese education was very very good. When we were in Vn I worked for a large western firm where my western colleauges were from Universities that would be instantly recognizable and very well regarded. Our local Vietnamese staff were equally well educated (and in general a lot more industrious!). My experience is somewhat dated , but this recent article from the Economist would indicate that this is still the case.
https://www.economist.com/asia/2023/06/29/why-are-vietnams-schools-so-good
Another anecdotal inference as to the quality of Vn education: in 2006 while we were there, Bill Gates and a Microsoft entourage paid a visit to Hanoi (and were feted like rock stars!) to scope out Vietnam as a potential MS research hub / campus. At that point MS had three research hubs outside of the US.
The Economist article also notes the gender equality of the Vn education system, something I can also vouch for. In fact, although many, if not most, businesses would appear to be headed by a patriarch, the real power and decisions, in particular the purse stings, were under matriarchal control.