Mamma mia the time is coming closer and closer. The weeks go by, the nights draw in, the excitement and the anxiety builds (and the spending too..). Our little baby will be a girl. Maybe she’ll get her mother’s good looks, or her father’s horrendous nose. No matter what Chi says, I am sure we could not see Louisa’s nose on the ultra-sound scan. Definitely not. November the 27th is the precise date we are expecting. In preparation for her arrival my wife has proved to be as useful wielding a credit card as a Charlies Angel with a knife caught in a tight spot (once again if you are reading honey just joking). So far we only have the baby bath, 6 bodysuits, some pjs, a tiny hat and tiny gloves, a fistful of T-shirts, some nappies, a pushchair (complete with car seat travel system), a moses basket (with stand), a ‘baby gym’, a changing mat, a changing bag, oils and lotions, a small tub for splashing baby, some pink flannel sized things for putting on your shoulder when baby is puking, and on and on….

I have yet to buy the earplugs and the Valium. Ahh what the hell, I’ll only have to get up in the mornings and go to Britain’s finest state schools to learn my trade. Just what you want after a night of green liquid poo, a classroom full of adolescent British males.

One things for sure, it’ll all be worth it.

I began the process with Bernie Rosenbloom, one of the writers, some time ago. It was with pleasure that I recieved the published copy of the guide just last week. Connections can be found on page 119, one of only two companies specially dedicated to activities in Ho Chi Minh City (the other being Sozo Cafe on Bui Vien Street). 

Some extracts from the book : 

The experience: For travellers to Ho Chi Minh City who are seeking to get deeper under the city’s skin, Connections Vietnam offers four cultural tourism services that present a closer look. Each involves local people, especially students who are looking to practice their English skills. It also brings locals in closer contact with foreign visitors. 

How it helps: Connections Vietnam’s four cultural tourism options provide foreign visitors and locals the opportunity to interact to create a better cultural understanding between the host and the tourist. Ho Chi Minh City students benefit by having the chance to practice their language skills and earn money from part time work. 

You can read the entire entry here. 

We’ve had a lot of satisfied customers — in fact all of them, and it is thanks to the hard work of our part time students (who are fantastic) and the chef’s knowledge, skill and hospitality. Here are some shots and some of the feedback we have received. All the pictures are from customers themselves.

One of our first customers :

Not blowing our own trumpet, but:

Dear Connections,

I was one of your first customers and sampled a market excursion / cooking class. I would like to take this opportunity of congratulating you on what was a highly enjoyable and rewarding experience. The family who hosted the class could not have been more hospitable in welcoming us into their home. The class was efficiently and professionally conducted with a range of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. The finale was sharing a delicious meal together at the conclusion. I will recommend your company highly to all and any vistors to Saigon.

The “Cook” session was an absolute delight! From the visit to the local market (where we were able to photograph unfamiliar ingredients!) to the warm welcome from the very talented Nghia and her family. We learned so much, laughed a great deal, enjoyed a delicious lunch and can’t wait to try out our Spring Roll recipe and our new-found skills here at home. Many thanks.

Love it or hate it, Facebook is one heck of a powerful tool. There are nearly 16,000 people in the Vietnam network now, so it makes sense to create some kind of presence. The best way to find out ‘what’s on’ in Saigon is through the Vietnam network…especially now the most popular expat mag has gone out of business (allegedly). I am still just skimming the surface therefore, with 118 members in my Connections Vietnam group. What happens is this : I created the group and invited all my friends. They of course joined not wanting to offend me, then the group shows up as a popular one in the Vietnam network. Networkers, socalites and business people browsing these groups then join to, well, ‘Network’. And nothing against these people, I do the same thing. It is marketing and networking without leaving your living room. Of course, getting off your arse occasionally helps a lot too, I really must consider that sometime. See you at the next Saigon networking event people!

Now, in Gladiators style, students……ready?

Visitors……ready?

Our group, these from RMIT University, started with a presentation on Vietnamese history, from long, long ago until today. Nguyen headed this one.

It became apparent there were some mistakes in the presentation, this being the first time we’d all seen it, me included. Of course Nguyen was disappointed and understood the need for historical facts (especially dates) to be absolutely spot on. One thing the audience did like was the fact that they heard about recent Vietnamese history from a Vietnamese perspective. A slightly delicate situation maybe, all my guest were American and it only dawned on me a little late. We moved on to the food demo.

Thao showed the audience how to make spring rolls with pork, vegetables and fish sauce, then invited them up to try it themselves.

After this, our latest star Vu from International University gave a presentation on TET holiday, with some interesting background and legend (Vu I do have a picture just at home, I will edit it in later…).

The concept of ‘Learn’ is one I am determined to work with. I like the idea of a one hour workshop which includes these presentations and demos. There are some practical difficulties with Learn however. The content is no problem, it can be refined and perfected, and the students are so enthusiastic. The difficulties I see are these:

• It is not worth doing unless there are at least 8 people signed up for a session, therefore we need to target tour groups rather than independent travelers. However, I’d love to offer it to anyone at a daily time.
• We need a better location than present. The roof was leaking.

I thank you.