Getting Down to Business in Vietnam

BRIAN RAYNOR, VIETNAM:

Dear Dean Brand,

Vietnam is a blast, largely because Paige is not here. Thanks for
sending her to another country.

Also, they don't play Superman on HBO here. Please look into that for me.

Thanks,
Brian

Vietnam really is a blast. Hanoi, where I stayed during my first week
in Vietnam, is a bustling, cramped and stiflingly hot bundle of
energy. It has a real charm about it, and the people go out of their
way to make you feel more than welcome. Ho Chi Minh City, on the
other hand, is downright genteel, open and pleasantly warm by
comparison (take that with a grain of salt, because it's still
freakin' hot and your life is at risk whenever you are within twenty
feet of an intersection). Because this is my first trip to Southeast
Asia, I have no way to know whether HCMC is on its way to becoming a
Singapore or a Hong Kong, as some observers have suggested. I can
report that HCMC offers many more western conveniences, high-end
restaurants and general comfort than I was expecting. The city is
growing exponentially, and in every direction you can find high-rises
with giant neon signs on them. Despite their differences, you cannot
go wrong in either city; Hanoi for its quaint (authentic?) charms,
HCMC for its cosmopolitan zeal.

I do, however, have one small qualm applicable to both: eating from
street kitchens would be far more enjoyable if I was not sitting on an
8-inch-tall plastic stool. For the record, I have already one of
them. I love the food at these joints, and have become adept at
conveying what I would like, cleaning my chopsticks appropriately and
generally not seeming completely like a foreigner. But nothing ruins
a good meal like crashing to the floor and throwing your chopsticks
across the table. I think I need to start carrying a fold up chair
around with me. Or drop a hundred pounds.

Work has been good so far. My co-workers are a great bunch of people
and I am really enjoying my placement. The projects I am assigned
range from tedious translation work to interesting research. The
latter especially has given me a chance to engage with the law and get
a feel for the burgeoning Vietnamese legal system.

In general, I am struck by how similar much Vietnamese legislation is
to American law. Nonetheless, the socialist objectives of the state
still manage to infiltrate pretty much everything. For example, to
enter into a contract in Vietnam, the parties must have capacity to
contract, the objectives of the contract must not contravene the law
and offer and acceptance must be voluntary, all notions that American
law students learn in a first year contracts course. In addition,
however, there is a requirement that the terms of the contract not
contravene "social morals," adding a high degree of subjectivity to
whether a given contract can be enforced. What these morals are and
who determines whether they have been breached is not stated in the
Civil Code – or anywhere else. This might not be a problem if there
were some interpretative body to decipher the meaning of the law. But
no such body exists.

One would imagine that many foreign investors (and their lawyers)
would be scared off by such a clause because of the uncertainty it
creates as to the enforceability of contracts. This is especially
true because there are plenty of other examples of subjective criteria
to allow or disallow particular acts, such as one which found its way
into Vietnam's WTO commitments, on the list of "Import Prohibitions."
You can find items, many of which are likely on a similar list in the
U.S., like opium, guns, bombs, tanks, environmental pollutants (not
stuff that creates pollutants, mind you, just the pollutants
themselves) and asbestos products. You will also find that you cannot
import "depraved and reactionary cultural products." Now we're
talking!

So, you ask yourself, "what cultural products are depraved and
reactionary?" Well, most likely pornography falls into the depraved
category. I would probably throw in Lady Gaga, British rom-coms,
tighty-whities and vegemite as well. What about reactionary? Photos
of Dubya, perhaps? Films with Mel Gibson? Sleep Number beds
(endorsed by Rush Limbaugh)? The Teletubbies? Well, definitely not
the last one; after all, there was allegedly a gay Teletubby. They
probably go into the depraved category. Facebook on the other hand?
Let's just say the Vietnamese government thinks Mussolini would have
had a lot of friends.

Whatever you or I think is depraved and reactionary doesn't matter,
however. Such decisions are subject to the whims of various customs
control officials. These types of subjective loopholes would usually
scare the bejeezus out of prudent business people. But business in
Vietnam is booming, and foreign investment is driving the growth. In
fact, there are foreign businesses moving operations into Vietnam from
China. Why you ask? Frankly, I'm not entirely sure, and hopefully it
is something I will more fully understand the longer I am here. What
is clear is that the government is actively courting foreign
investment, and foreign investors seems to take the government at its
(spoken) word. For the largest investment projects, the government
will go out of its way to ensure that foreign capital finds its way
into the country, written laws be damned.

But when it comes right down to it, decisions to invest in Vietnam are
based on thorough cost-benefit analyses. Is it a legal risk to invest
in Vietnam and open, say, a manufacturing plant? Sure. If the wrong
bureaucrat gets his hands on your investment certificate request, the
party is over, take your losses, and go home. But the benefits of
cheap workers, relaxed (or unenforced) labor laws, unbelievable tax
incentives and nonexistent regulatory enforcement are a potent and
winning mix for foreign investors.

So Vietnam will continue to boom, so long as it continues to offer
investors attractive incentives and despite the arbitrariness of some
(most?) of its legal enactments. At least all of the socialist
rhetoric makes legal research fun. And just imagine the memos to
clients:

Dear Dean Brand,

I regret to inform you that an official at the Ministry of Labour, War
Invalids, and Social Policy has determined that American law school
deans are generally considered "reactionary," contravening Article __
of Decree __ regulating visa issuance. Our law firm cannot,
therefore, assist you in obtaining a visa to Vietnam.

Have a great day.

Week 1 in Cambodia: Orientation + Adjustment

Getting off the plane in Phnom Penh, groggy but full of anticipation, the first thing to hit you is the heat. It's like stepping into a sauna. With all your clothes on. The sweat just starts trickling down your back. Thank God for air conditioning.

Tuk-tuks are pretty interesting. It's a motorcycle that pulls an open buggy that you sit in. The driving here is ridiculous -- tuk-tuks, cars, motorcycles, pedestrians all in the same place at the same time, honking left and right, passing within an inch of each other to maneuver, riding both lanes and cutting each other off... I'll never complain about SF traffic again! I give Jamal major props for having the guts to drive a "moto" (motorcycle) out here. I guess you get used to it though - the locals have their babies and even dogs driving with them on their motos.

The city itself is an eye-opener. There are beautiful and ornate buildings -- all with pictures of the Queen on them. There is a gorgeous river and some very fancy-looking hotels. Juxtaposed and adjacent to some of these are run-down structures with garbage on the curb. Yesterday there were a whole bunch of people gathered in the square by Independence Monument all learning some kind of dance. Chickens were also walking around on the street, just chilling and minding their own business.

Besides the culture-shock, it's been absolutely amazing learning about the Cambodia legal systems. It's just really different from everything we're used to in the U.S. And it's really hard to believe everything these people have been through: war, genocide, famine, political instability and national rebuilding of culture and infrastructure. The speakers have all been really great. They are so knowledgeable. The people here - especially the students we've met at RULE (Royal University of Law and Economics) - are so nice! I'm really excited to see a Cambodian court today.

Must get ready for breakfast before we tuk-tuk out to lecture! Food in Cambodia is so flavorful -- I am not going to lose any weight out here as planned.

Beach Party Vietnam - 1/2

Dear Dean Brand,

We're now back in Phnom Penh and beginning to work at our various NGO's. We're in our slacks and collared shirts; blouses and pencil skirts and uncomfortable shoes. We're hot and pretending not to be and find ourselves again using impressive language like "adverse", "organic law", "regime" and "what's on HBO?"

While we certainly aren't unhappy, it is inevitable that we look back on our short vacation with nostalgia and glee.

To wit, this video.

Paige "I heart PP" Fowler and I rented motos and toured around the Russian vacation spot Mui Ne in Vietnam. I taped my camera to the handle bars of my red and black Yamaha Nuovo RS-X which was WAY not as cool as than the black Nuovo RS-X bike Paige Fowler rented.

Anyway, here's a clip of highway driving down to one of the lesser beaches we found.

-DJC

Classes and Touring Cordoba Province (6/14 - 6/19)

It has been quite the busy and tiring week here in Cordoba. On Monday we met up with Professor Adler at our hostel in the morning. There we met our coordinator for the trip, Estela, who is an attorney in the province and incredibly nice. After some discussions about the upcoming classes and internships to follow in Buenos Aires we were joined by Mariana who would be showing us around the city and taking us on day trips out of the city when we were done with classes. She is exceptionally nice as well with a great sense of humor. After discussing our plans for the week, Estela showed us to where we would be doing our classes at the Universidad Catholica de Cordoba, a Jesuit University located in the center of the Jesuit block (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) in the city. We took the opportunity to have an informal class session to discuss the differences between the common law system the United States uses and the civil law system used in Argentina.

On Tuesday we started the day with a tour of the Nueva Cordoba section of the city where we were staying. Mariana our guide showed us where all the nightlife was centered and was able to explain to us the unique nature of the bars in Cordoba. Essentially, no one goes out until 2am. They stay out at the bars and discos until 5am when the after-hours clubs open. It’s quite different from all the cities I’ve lived in where all the bars are required to close at 2am. We then checked out some of the amazing churches in the area. Most of them are of a baroque style and all of them, despite their age, seemed to have ornate and gilded details just dripping off of every surface. In many ways it reminded me of the cethedrals I had seen in Europe of a similar style. We then went to the Palacio Ferreyra which is somewhat comparable to the White House in that it is an entire city block in the middle of a busy downtown area with a huge mansion and lawns behind a tall iron fence. However, this French inspired stone mansion was a private residence until just a few years. The government had only recently purchased it from the family the built it and lived in it for generations and converted it into a museum to house part of the national art collection. The house itself was a work of art, blending the original elements with new and modern additions (e.g. a staircase covered in cow hides). The collection there was outstanding with a fantastic mix of South American artists from a variety of ages. One of the rooms dedicated to art reflecting the “Guerra Sucia” and the kidnappings and killings of the period was especially powerful and moving.

After lunch we regrouped at the university for a class where we discussed themes of constitutional law and distinctions between the judiciaries of the U.S. and Argentina. The class was taught in Spanish, and although we had Estela there to provide translation for us as needed, we surprised ourselves with how well we were able to understand and participate in Spanish. We barely even needed her to translate and would often chime in to supplement the information in Spanish. It was incredibly fascinating to learn that the Cordoba Province is the first and only in Argentina to implement a jury system to their judiciary. However, here the jury functions more as a single vote in addition to the votes of a panel of judges that hears criminal cases. When the class ended, an official from the university came to bestow on us gifts of UCC swag. He then generously brought us to the bookstore where he loaded us up with books about topics we had expressed interest in, as well as many books on Cordoba and its history that he simply would not let us leave without. So much for traveling light. That night we decided to splurge a little on fancy steak dinner, where the meal included some of the best empanadas I’ve ever had, steaks the size shape and weight of building bricks, and local malbecs to wash it all down.

On Wednesday we started the day at the university taking a class with a different professor regarding issues of international law which, while incredibly relevant to our internships, would not make for very enjoyable blog material. That afternoon after class our guide Mariana took us to the nearby town of Alta Gracia where we toured the local estancia. The estancias in Argentina were like estates/plantations that the Jesuits built to help support their universities and churches financially. The old architecture was beautiful and it was nice to get out of the city and explore a smaller town. Alta Gracia was also where Che Guevara grew up and we were able to tour his childhood home. That night the power in the city went out and we prayed for the sake of public safety that it would be restored by the time Argentina’s World Cup match started the next day.

On Thursday around 8:30am we awoke to the sounds of fireworks, car horns beeping, cheering, and cheap plastic horns blowing. We immediately knew that Argentina must have scored in their match against South Korea and hastily dressed and joined the rest of the hostel watching the game downstairs. Looking outside the streets were completely deserted. However, whenever Argentina scored a goal (4 in total this game) the streets would erupt as people would run outside to cheer, chant, set of fireworks, and blow horns. Then as quickly as everyone had appeared they would disappear back inside once play resumed. Mariana arrived as soon as the game ended and took us out. We all got some Argentina flair to wear and fought out way through the celebrations in the street into the Jesuit block. She showed us around the churches and other universities in the block. The churches there we equally as ornate and beautiful as the others we had seen in the city, but all unique in their own ways. We then toured a building that was formerly a detention center for those that were arrested during the “Guerra Sucia.” It was a very moving experience and a well put together museum now, that included scrapbooks made by the family members of the desaparecidos. Right from the museum we went to a class that focused on the human rights issues relevant to the time and helped explain some of the things we had seen and left us wanting to learn even more about it.

Today (Friday) we took a long bus ride out of the city into the hills where we toured small towns started by German immigrants. The bus ride out led us up winding switchback roads through the foothills in fog as dense as any I've experienced in San Francisco. The combination of the winding roads and not being able to see more than an inch or two outside the windows was a perfect recipe for car-sickness for some of us, but fortunately there were no casualties. It was great to get out of the city and do some hiking. It was odd being in towns that had almost all alpine style architecture and German themes everywhere. If many of the signs weren’t in Spanish it would be very easy to forget altogether that we were in South America, not Germany or Bavaria. Even the place where we stopped for lunch specialized in German food. It was a long and tiring day but just what we needed before heading into the bustling city of Buenos Aires for a month.

Arriving in Cordoba, Argentina

I didn't quite realize how far away Argentina is until I had to get here. I left my apartment around noon on June 9 to head to the airport. Flying to Dallas the views of the canyons and deserts were gorgeous, almost like a an extremely cursory tour of the Grand Canyon. After a layover in Dallas I took off for the next stop, Santiago, Chile. Leaving Dallas there was a huge thunderstorm system moving in. This made for quite the show with lightning flashing through the clouds every few seconds. Soon the sun started setting and the lightning kept going as we made our way south. The storm system must have been huge because the lightning continued for hours. As the sun went down it began the flashes of lightning became red and made it look as if I was flying over a fireworks display. I was actually only sure it wasn't fireworks after I realized it would be impossible since I had been watching it for so long. Eventually I tried to sleep (no success, but did get to watch Avatar finally).

As the sun came up I realized the Andes were right outside the window. Watching the sun break over the mountains and the red-orange glow from behind them was indescribably beautiful. We descended into Santiago which was hidden completely by fog until we were a few feet off the ground. After a few hours layover I flew over the Andes (which were so high they got lost in the clouds and made flying a little nerve-racking) and landed in Cordoba. Extremely thankful my checked luggage made it no problem I hopped in a cab and drove through Cordoba to the hostel, arriving a mere 28 hours after leaving home. I did a little exploring before passing out for 12 hours, even managing to sleep through the infamous nightlife of Cordoba.

The rest of my group was not arriving for two more days so I had to explore the city on my own. I checked out the Jesuit block, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, full of fantastic old Jesuit churches, statues, plazas, memorials and the Catholic University of Cordoba. Cordoba is a university town with most of the colleges in Argentina within the city. This means the population is young and the nightlife is vibrant. Most people here don't eat dinner until after 9pm, and don't go out to bars and clubs until 2am. Many clubs don't close until hours after the sun comes up.

The next day was the first match for Argentina in the World Cup. I was rudely awakened at 6am as the sounds of cheap plastic horns and singing/chanting filled the streets. Once I made it outside everyone was dressed in Argentina jerseys and was wearing flags as capes. I went to a bar down the block to watch the game. I got the last seat in the house and soon the people who came in after me were sitting on the floor of the bar. The energy in the bar rivaled that of any major championship sporting event I had ever watched (this coming from a Red Sox fan who experienced the 2004 World Series win). After the victory over Nigeria, the people I had befriended during the game told me to join them for a celebration in the streets. Seemingly everyone in the city simultaneously made they're way to a major intersection in the middle of town and within a few moments it was mobbed with thousands of people singing, chanting, beating drums, shooting off flares and fireworks and waving hundreds of flags. It literally became a sea of people in every direction and down every street. Despite the crush, somehow the city buses managed to continue running their routes (albeit very slowly) through the crowd and miraculously managed not to run over anyone. Me and my new found friends returned to the same bar to watch the US-England game. We were the only ones in the bar (same one that 2 hours before had people sitting on every available space on the floor) at that point as the rest of the city stayed out celebrating in the streets for the next few hours.

After barely being able to sleep through the noise of the celebrating and nightlife that night, I was excited to meet up with Geoff and Jersey at our hostel nearby in the morning, and relieved when the first thing they wanted to do was nap. After some much needed rest we met up with Professor Adler and his lovely wife Mary Margaret for a fantastic steak and Malbec dinner capped of with Dolce de Leche desserts. After such a crazy few days, a nice quiet meal and conversation was just what we all needed. Between me surviving the first World Cup victory in Argentina, Geoff and Jersey just arriving by bus and plane that morning, and the Adlers having just flown in after a rafting for a week in the Grand Canyon I'm sure we were quite the pathetic looking table of diners. Despite our tired states and extremely different experiences over the past few days, all we could talk about was how beautiful the city is and excited we are for the things to come.

Dean Brand Eats a Tarantula

Dear Dean Brand,

I don't know if you remember the Tarantula dish at last night's very enjoyable dinner with the group of Cambodian alums, but just in case, here's the video to remind you:

The Choices Men Make

Dear Dean Brand,

As others have said before, Cambodia is both familiar and unfamiliar. More so than anywhere I've been, the people here are simply genuinely polite. I'm sure the choice to smile and laugh (sometimes nervously) can be attributed in part to the mask the poor and the weak don to placate the rich and the strong but unlike with other peoples I've encountered, when the membrane of societally obligated niceties is ruptured I find myself confronted with simply more kindness and warmth - leading me to believe it's really just rather genuine.

I have to admit it is completely disarming and, therefore, unnerving. Normal people aren't nice and welcoming. Normal people are suspicious, cliquish and protect their psyches, their family dinners, and their motos with phobic vigor.

While I like it here, I will much more enjoy this country when someone instructs them in the propriety of social paranoia. I noticed the other day that "24" and "CSI" have been exported here. The developmental road which terminates at a properly atomized modern society begins, as always, with one step. I'm glad to see they've had theirs pushed in front of their feet for them.

Our primer course on the Cambodian "genocide", as it is popularly termed (the quotes are a necessity, I'm afraid, as I'm a member of the defense team for next week's moot court exercise), is almost over. It's been a great course, both as an introduction to the issues surrounding the founding and functioning of Democratic Kampuchea and as an object lesson in understanding these seemingly endless and inevitable incidents of terrible human devolution - I mean, those that happen in other countries and which have been unjustly compared to the heroic nation building in which my clients engaged.

Hey, listen, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs right? As such, Pol Pot and his cohorts are no different than Emeril Legasi: They took all their years of training and learning and endeavored to make something wonderful. Unfortunately they found themselves woefully under-prepared and while their creation languished, they turned to gimmicks and inane and ill-conceived additions to their creation to hopefully obfuscate their missteps. If their omelet then turned unpalatable, it wasn't for a lack of trying.

So I ask you, is Emeril Lagasi a war criminal? Please don't answer that due to the potentially devastating effects it might have on my clients' case.

In any event, and divorced from my role as Defense Counsel, I'm very much looking forward to taking what I've learned and applying it during my upcoming internship with Legal Aid Cambodia, helping further their work with the Extraordinary Chambers and promoting general justice for the many, many, aggrieved here.

I can think of no better way to guard against partisan conflict than the promotion of an integrated and just pluralistic society.

Truly, I can think of no better application of the Law than in the pursuit of that goal.

Yours,

DJC

P.S. Okay yeah, you got me, application of the Law to celebrity drug charges and international debt transactions leads to something nice too - undue and very very enjoyable wealth. As Commander Maddox said while attempting to deprive Commander Data of his status as a living thing (See: Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 9, "The Measure of a Man"), what about what I want, what about my rights to pursue what I want?

Good Charlotte once sang in their proper deconstruction of American society, "Boys and Girls" - "Girls don't like boys, girls like cars and money."

I'm the product of the self-obsessed first-world (and also, humanity in general). The choice between justice for distant Others and the existence of a lingerie model in the back of my Maybach is, in truth, not entirely an easy one.

I think if we're true, then we must admit that basic human selfishness, if not to destroy it, then at least to engage it knowingly - only that way can it be tempered.