Legal Associates and Ho Chi Minh City
Posted by Gabrielle on June 24th, 2009
Allright, so I have been in Vietnam for more than a month now. When I arrived in Ho Chi Minh city, in the South of Vietnam, I thought I’d be working for an environmental law NGO. But surprise, the organisation was actually a law firm who did business law! There was my first lesson: be flexible and know how to adapt to situations… So even thought I was surprised, I think working for Legal Associates will be a good experience for a law student like me. Many foreign investors are coming to Vietnam to establish branches of theirs entreprises, and every country has its own rules for that. Also, many foreign businesses may not speak Vietnamese! That’s where my biggest work comes in. I’m doing a lot of contracts, investment certificates, and general legal papers revision so the English versions match the Vietnamese ones. Even though most people I work with speak English, it’s sometimes a challenge to figure out what the document is about…
I’m also doing a research on environmental law in Vietnam, and the difference between the legal theory, and the reality of it all.
Outside from work, I live in the huuuuge city of Saigon, in the South of Vietnam. I’m the only volunteer in Ho Chi Minh, and I think this makes it a more unique experience… Actually, there’s two ways of seeing it: one is being, well, alone, and having almost only have “Occidental” contact only with families and friends. But on the other side, I discover Vietnamese at its best (or worse?), anyway, I discover A LOT! And I love it! The friends I’ve made are really helpful in understanding the vietnamese culture, to get around and help with food, buses, or anything I need. They even helped me in registering to a Vietnamese cooking class in a women’s center. The class is only in Vietnamese, so understanding is a great challenge, but I manage to do fine!
Another great thing is the fact that my boss is so flexible and allows me to get off work to travel and discover Vietnam. She even took me and people I work with to a trip to the center of Vietnam, so that was a pretty interesting experience, and the beaches are great!! And I’m actually going tomorrow to Nha Trang to go scuba diving, and to Dalat, which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful cities in Vietnam!
Until next time!
Gabrielle
