There's a certain sort of Vietnamese man that I really dislike. He's usually middle-aged, fairly well-off (probably through some sort of illegal means), crude, and, perhaps most annoyingly, has this really loud grating voice. . .and somehow they always seem to be drunk and chainsmoking. There's a group of these men, more or less fitting this description, sitting directly behind me at this cafe. Fortunately because I'm using my own computer, I'm able to listen to music turned up really loud and tune them out to a minimal extent. However, if I end this email abruptly, it is probably because I'm fed up with these assholes and need to leave. Especially this guy who just unapologetically patted the waitress's butt as she passed. Also this cafe has, quite possibly, the best drink I've ever tasted. It's really strong vietnamese coffee with a little bit of milk and bailey's irish cream poured over ice. For two dollars (32,000 dong), it's a little pricey for Vietnam, but it's well worth every dong.
So I'm still trying to figure out my visa situation. I entered the country on a tourist visa because I wanted to enter the country before my work visa permitted entry in order to begin studying. I've been in touch with CTU about this for the past couple of months, but rather than doing anything about my visa, they've just assured me time and time again that I can pick up my visa at the airport on the 18 of August. As yesterday was the 18th, I went to the airport and tried to pick up my visa. It took me a while to find the tan san nhat immigration office which was inconspicuously stowed between the clinic and the janitor's closet. When I got there the officer was AWOL and I had to wait around, chatting it up with the cleaning ladies until the officer finally arrived. I was able to explain my situation within a few minutes and he told me that I needed to go to another office on the other side of the city. . .on the edge of chinatown. After class that afternoon, I went to said office, spoke with the receptionist, and was sent to desk number 9 in the immigration office. There I encountered a series of comically short tempered immigration officers. These guys were like the soup-nazis of immigration (and immigration officials don't exactly have a reputation for tolerance). I had to speak with them on three separate occasions to try to figure out what exactly I needed to do, and on each occasion, the official I spoke with yelled at me. One of them telling me he never wanted to see me again. I finally got some sort of an answer out of them. They kept telling me that the University needed to take care of everything, and I kept telling them that the University didn't know the procedure (which they didn't) and they needed to tell me what they needed from the university. It turns out I just need a couple of forms from the school sent to the immigration office in HCMC and all I need is a visa extention and not an entirely new visa. I got in touch with the guy at the University who's arranging my visa and gave him the information, but I couldn't figure out the number of the office from looking around, so I had to go back and ask for it from the same disgruntled official who told me that he never wanted to see me again. When he saw me he did one of those exaggerated wilting-body-expressions, as if seeing me caused him physical distress. "What do you want now?" he asked with exasperation. I smiled at him with the warmest smile I could muster, and asked for the phone number.
I have decided that there is far too much beaurocracy in this world and that goes for America as well as Vietnam. Of course stating that the beaurocracy is a bit thick in Vietnam is sort of like saying that trees are made of wood. It's a truism. It occurs to me that, at least regarding the case of the the officials at the immigration office, they didn't want to see me there because I was bringing them no benefit. Officials in vietnam make between $50 and $150 / month (most on the low end of the scale). In HCMC, $50 isn't enough for a single person, much less a family to survive on. They don't like dealing with people like me because there's no way that they can ask for bribes. I saw a number of people who worked for tourist companies who were treated respectfully. It's my intuition that they all have arrangements with these officials. Beaurocracy is what makes this state tick, and in some ways, if you know the unspoken procedure, it works.
America, on the other hand, likes to institutionalize it's corruption. You don't give money to lowly officials, you pay taxes that bail out multinational corporations with political connections. Or, more imminently relevant to my life, you have to pay for justice. Before I left for Vietnam, I was pulled over for speeding. I only drove my car on a couple of occasions this summer, and mostly, for the purpose of trying to sell it. Because I only drove the car a couple of times before selling it, I didn't bother renewing the insurance or registration, so when I was pulled over for speeding, I was hit with 3 charges. Now because the city of knoxville still uses a inefficient, archaic system of paper tickets, I was unable to speak with the court before leaving the country (it takes the court system 2-3 weeks to enter the charges into the system). I am also not allowed to send a letter, or send a friend or family member to the judge to explain my position, and my only option is to pay the entire three charges. However, according to TN state law, even if you pay the fees for an insurance or registration violation, you must still show proof of registration and proof of insurance to the court within a certain period of time or your license will be suspended. So, somehow, I've got to show the court proof of insurance and registration on a car that I no longer own while I'm halfway around the world. Maybe I could explain to an insurance company that I'd like to buy a policy for some one who will not be in the country in which the insurance policy will be issued and doesn't own or drive a car. At this point, it looks like I either accept $350 in fines or try to call a lawyer. . .which I guess is what I'm going to have to do. I don't like it though. Why is this system so needlessly complicated that I need to pay legal fees to straighten out such nonsense. America likes to point out the beaurocratic nightmares in other countries, but in my experience, the beaurocratic bullshit I've gone through in America is not so far from what I've got to deal with in Vietnam. . .but you know, in Viet Nam, I just could have slipped the cop $10 and been on my way.
I guess I shouldn't have been speeding.
So I'm still trying to figure out my visa situation. I entered the country on a tourist visa because I wanted to enter the country before my work visa permitted entry in order to begin studying. I've been in touch with CTU about this for the past couple of months, but rather than doing anything about my visa, they've just assured me time and time again that I can pick up my visa at the airport on the 18 of August. As yesterday was the 18th, I went to the airport and tried to pick up my visa. It took me a while to find the tan san nhat immigration office which was inconspicuously stowed between the clinic and the janitor's closet. When I got there the officer was AWOL and I had to wait around, chatting it up with the cleaning ladies until the officer finally arrived. I was able to explain my situation within a few minutes and he told me that I needed to go to another office on the other side of the city. . .on the edge of chinatown. After class that afternoon, I went to said office, spoke with the receptionist, and was sent to desk number 9 in the immigration office. There I encountered a series of comically short tempered immigration officers. These guys were like the soup-nazis of immigration (and immigration officials don't exactly have a reputation for tolerance). I had to speak with them on three separate occasions to try to figure out what exactly I needed to do, and on each occasion, the official I spoke with yelled at me. One of them telling me he never wanted to see me again. I finally got some sort of an answer out of them. They kept telling me that the University needed to take care of everything, and I kept telling them that the University didn't know the procedure (which they didn't) and they needed to tell me what they needed from the university. It turns out I just need a couple of forms from the school sent to the immigration office in HCMC and all I need is a visa extention and not an entirely new visa. I got in touch with the guy at the University who's arranging my visa and gave him the information, but I couldn't figure out the number of the office from looking around, so I had to go back and ask for it from the same disgruntled official who told me that he never wanted to see me again. When he saw me he did one of those exaggerated wilting-body-expressions, as if seeing me caused him physical distress. "What do you want now?" he asked with exasperation. I smiled at him with the warmest smile I could muster, and asked for the phone number.
I have decided that there is far too much beaurocracy in this world and that goes for America as well as Vietnam. Of course stating that the beaurocracy is a bit thick in Vietnam is sort of like saying that trees are made of wood. It's a truism. It occurs to me that, at least regarding the case of the the officials at the immigration office, they didn't want to see me there because I was bringing them no benefit. Officials in vietnam make between $50 and $150 / month (most on the low end of the scale). In HCMC, $50 isn't enough for a single person, much less a family to survive on. They don't like dealing with people like me because there's no way that they can ask for bribes. I saw a number of people who worked for tourist companies who were treated respectfully. It's my intuition that they all have arrangements with these officials. Beaurocracy is what makes this state tick, and in some ways, if you know the unspoken procedure, it works.
America, on the other hand, likes to institutionalize it's corruption. You don't give money to lowly officials, you pay taxes that bail out multinational corporations with political connections. Or, more imminently relevant to my life, you have to pay for justice. Before I left for Vietnam, I was pulled over for speeding. I only drove my car on a couple of occasions this summer, and mostly, for the purpose of trying to sell it. Because I only drove the car a couple of times before selling it, I didn't bother renewing the insurance or registration, so when I was pulled over for speeding, I was hit with 3 charges. Now because the city of knoxville still uses a inefficient, archaic system of paper tickets, I was unable to speak with the court before leaving the country (it takes the court system 2-3 weeks to enter the charges into the system). I am also not allowed to send a letter, or send a friend or family member to the judge to explain my position, and my only option is to pay the entire three charges. However, according to TN state law, even if you pay the fees for an insurance or registration violation, you must still show proof of registration and proof of insurance to the court within a certain period of time or your license will be suspended. So, somehow, I've got to show the court proof of insurance and registration on a car that I no longer own while I'm halfway around the world. Maybe I could explain to an insurance company that I'd like to buy a policy for some one who will not be in the country in which the insurance policy will be issued and doesn't own or drive a car. At this point, it looks like I either accept $350 in fines or try to call a lawyer. . .which I guess is what I'm going to have to do. I don't like it though. Why is this system so needlessly complicated that I need to pay legal fees to straighten out such nonsense. America likes to point out the beaurocratic nightmares in other countries, but in my experience, the beaurocratic bullshit I've gone through in America is not so far from what I've got to deal with in Vietnam. . .but you know, in Viet Nam, I just could have slipped the cop $10 and been on my way.
I guess I shouldn't have been speeding.
posted by D. White at 12:56 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home