![Picture](/uploads/7/5/9/7/75974783/image-1377576524_1.jpg?484)
Ethnography - Christmas Bazaar (First draft)
Every year, I set out a must for myself; I participate in a charity activity organized by a civil association to raise funds for the betterment of the community which I am living in. I join the Consular Club that includes spouses of the consuls general who are working in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The consul general’s term of office normally lasts three or two years. During that time, their spouses take part in projects of charity to collect money to help disadvantaged children, needy women in far remote regions in Vietnam. It seems people in these regions are marginalized due
to the lack of the local authorities’ support in terms of education, health care, livelihood. Thus, the generous support is meaningful to them, particular help children pursue their educational path to the bright future where they may become a good citizen to serve their homeland.
Every time the greeting seasons come at the corner, it is time to think of poor people that don’t have material conditions to celebrate Christmas and New year. Many civil associations hold many events to draw financial support, generous donations to fund projects of charity. In a similar vein, the Consular Club organizes a Christmas Bazaar to attract the attention of high-profile businesses, high-rank officers, philanthropists, expats and lots of others that want to join hands to improve poor people’s life. The Christmas Bazaar organizes the first day of December, in the downtown of the city where people easily access it. We hold this event early, if not, many foreigners will leave for their family reunification on the week of Christmas in their native countries. Then the turn-out must be decreased dramatically.
The organization of the Christmas Bazaar starts very early, nine months prior to December. This club consists of spouses of consul general of more than 30 consulates. We vote who a chair-woman, a secretary, and a treasurer that will run the association for one year. Each member takes turn to hold a meeting at her private house. The meeting normally starts at 9a.m. We are served with cakes, cookies, coffee, tea, and juice. In the meeting, we discuss what projects we already funded last year and the results that come up to our target audience. We feel hilarious to hear from the progress of educating children.
Next, we think of how to call for the sponsorship, donation from companies. We request the support from print, online and TV media as well to put an ad on the fair to raise awareness about it among the public. We also consider how to use the influence of a consulate to encourage the corporate sponsorship. The meeting includes a representative of each nation and I am a delegate of Canada. Each representative has a duty to transfer the information in the meeting to their volunteers who want to know the progress of the organization, Additionally, we assign who to come to companies, international organizations to sell entry tickets of the Christmas Bazaar
During meetings, the Chairwoman listens to every member to present their ideas on last year’s fair organization. Some present their advantages and drawbacks in building their booths at the bazaar. Others list their difficulties in the participation. Everyone shares ideas to solve current problems and develop the strength. Then we discuss what this year’s brochure looks like, what color, where to put a logo. Sometimes, the meeting happens effervescently and people forget lunch time as the problem is not solved yet. However, we have to stop then and leave it to the next month.
I have a responsibility to supervise the organization of a booth in this fair. My booth includes selling items and taking photos with Santa Claus, which seems to be children’s idol. To man my booth, I need volunteers who help me to set up a booth, run it during the bazaar. I use my website to call on some expats and university students. The students want to join this event as they want to experience how to organize an event that is useful for their resume to apply for a job. They also want a certificate of the Consular Club in this regard. To streamline the operation of a booth, I make a schedule of volunteers including local students and expats who want to do something for their community they are living in. The schedule begins from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., every shift takes two hours, each shift includes two sellers and two persons to take photographs and develop negatives. I have to work the whole day as I supervise what they work and give help when many clients come to the booth at a one time.
Time flies quickly. The Christmas Bazaar comes. The bazaar starts at 8:30, however, I come very early with some volunteers who do the first shift to set up a booth, put a cloth over tables, display selling items on the tables. The person who will play the role of Santa Claus wears his suit, boots. and beard. He will sit a chair next to a Christmas tree whose foot is full with balloons and candies to draw children’s attraction. We set up a backdrop including a reindeer dragging a Santa Claus sitting on a sled. Every one of us works hurriedly because the opening ceremony is coming soon.
I am honored to be invited to participate in the ceremony as I am a representative of Canada’s booth. The honored guests include high-rank officers, big corporate sponsors. A group of international elementary school children in a lovely uniform comes up to the stage to give a perfect-pitch singing performance of Christmas carols. The whole ambiance of the fair sinks into silent, every eye move to the stage to enjoy the sweet voice of children. When they stop singing, hand clapping stirs up the atmosphere. Then the chair of the fair organization slowly walks to a platform to deliver a speech in five minutes to give special thanks to generous sponsors, tireless volunteers. The fair would not have been successful if there had not been this support. After the speech, an orchestra with international high school students come to play joyful music to make a musical background. The chair leads all distinguished invitees to visit every booth in the fair. At each booth, she introduces items, products to invitees or the representative of the booth present their goods. I am proud when this group stops at my booth to take photos with Santa Claus as a souvenir. Taking photos and developing negatives take a half an hour to have photos in hand.
At 8:30 a.m., hundred people take a long line to buy a ticket to enter the fair. It is time for people to buy Christmas items to decorate their front door, living room. When clients come to my booth to buy items, their children are interested in Santa Claus, balloons, and mint, stick-shaped candies. They insist their parents take photos with Santa Claus. When they take photos, we offer them some candies and balloons. Many children take a long line to take their turn to take photos.
In addition to shopping at booths, clients also participate in drawing lotteries. A lottery ticket cost $US 5. Winning awards include a motorbike, a fridge, a washing machine…The atmosphere in the fair is stirred up when the chair starts to draw winning tickets. Everyone listens, watches their tickets in hand. Next to a shopping area, people find many food booths. The owners of booths are well-known restaurants, hotels that want to join the fair to contribute the profit of selling foods to the charity projects. However, they want to promote their brand as well, because clients include businesses, expats, and high-level authorities officials.
Many corporate sponsors offer most of the selling items in the fair. Some companies want to sell goods in stock or promote new products by donating them to the fair. For this reason, all booths expect to sell out all items because the fair takes place in one day and they know how to deal with the selling items left over. Thus, the price of items goes down amazingly less than a half of the initial one. It is really peak hours, many clients come to the remaining goods, even they negotiate the price.
We feel tired when selling out goods but hilarious as we collect a big amount of money. The fair closes down at 4 p.m., we sell out everything at 2 p.m., so we have two hours to dismantle our booth to bring to the stock for next year’s use. At this time, I schedule more volunteers to help out.
A week later, we have a meeting at the chairwoman’s house. Every representative of booth reports their revenue to the committee. We present our difficulties, drawback in the organization of a booth, or transportation of goods to the fair. We also give the feedback of clients on parking lots, location of the fair, booths. Then we decide what date we will choose to be the next fair, its location when the first meeting is to vote the chair of the club.
In the following meeting, we discuss what charity projects should be selected to fund. Normally, during a year, we call for civil associations to submit proposals for funding with a report which justify its legitimate need. We weigh the importance, the urgency of need. Our policy focuses on education, healthcare, and livelihood. The debate takes many days to come to a decision as everyone wants to fund the project they suggest.
When we complete everything and it's time to take a rest. I take this opportunity to interview the chairwoman about this event. As a principle, I speak to her this interview is for my writing project and it is posted on my e-portfolio. She is willing to present her feeling about this annual activity. Along with her husband who is assigned to work in a country, she wants to do something to improve the disadvantaged people in terms of education, health care, and livelihood. These projects give positive impacts on them: poor people can do a small business to earn their living, children are educated to be a good citizen. She herself can't pursue a long-term project, her successors take on this noble path.
In conclusion, I think I am lucky to enjoy living in a happy family. Many people in the society have suffered the poverty, hardship. They need the support, help from other people. We can’t ignore their unhappiness. Nowadays, our world has suffered natural disasters, calamities, wildfires, terrorism. We don’t know our destiny in future. We have a responsibility to join together to do charity projects to appease the misery of the poor, the victims to contribute the betterment of the world. Everyone who does a good thing deserves another.
-----------
To know the activities of Christmas Bazaar in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Please visit the website: Consularclub.com
Below is the photo of a class funded by the Consular Club
Every year, I set out a must for myself; I participate in a charity activity organized by a civil association to raise funds for the betterment of the community which I am living in. I join the Consular Club that includes spouses of the consuls general who are working in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The consul general’s term of office normally lasts three or two years. During that time, their spouses take part in projects of charity to collect money to help disadvantaged children, needy women in far remote regions in Vietnam. It seems people in these regions are marginalized due
to the lack of the local authorities’ support in terms of education, health care, livelihood. Thus, the generous support is meaningful to them, particular help children pursue their educational path to the bright future where they may become a good citizen to serve their homeland.
Every time the greeting seasons come at the corner, it is time to think of poor people that don’t have material conditions to celebrate Christmas and New year. Many civil associations hold many events to draw financial support, generous donations to fund projects of charity. In a similar vein, the Consular Club organizes a Christmas Bazaar to attract the attention of high-profile businesses, high-rank officers, philanthropists, expats and lots of others that want to join hands to improve poor people’s life. The Christmas Bazaar organizes the first day of December, in the downtown of the city where people easily access it. We hold this event early, if not, many foreigners will leave for their family reunification on the week of Christmas in their native countries. Then the turn-out must be decreased dramatically.
The organization of the Christmas Bazaar starts very early, nine months prior to December. This club consists of spouses of consul general of more than 30 consulates. We vote who a chair-woman, a secretary, and a treasurer that will run the association for one year. Each member takes turn to hold a meeting at her private house. The meeting normally starts at 9a.m. We are served with cakes, cookies, coffee, tea, and juice. In the meeting, we discuss what projects we already funded last year and the results that come up to our target audience. We feel hilarious to hear from the progress of educating children.
Next, we think of how to call for the sponsorship, donation from companies. We request the support from print, online and TV media as well to put an ad on the fair to raise awareness about it among the public. We also consider how to use the influence of a consulate to encourage the corporate sponsorship. The meeting includes a representative of each nation and I am a delegate of Canada. Each representative has a duty to transfer the information in the meeting to their volunteers who want to know the progress of the organization, Additionally, we assign who to come to companies, international organizations to sell entry tickets of the Christmas Bazaar
During meetings, the Chairwoman listens to every member to present their ideas on last year’s fair organization. Some present their advantages and drawbacks in building their booths at the bazaar. Others list their difficulties in the participation. Everyone shares ideas to solve current problems and develop the strength. Then we discuss what this year’s brochure looks like, what color, where to put a logo. Sometimes, the meeting happens effervescently and people forget lunch time as the problem is not solved yet. However, we have to stop then and leave it to the next month.
I have a responsibility to supervise the organization of a booth in this fair. My booth includes selling items and taking photos with Santa Claus, which seems to be children’s idol. To man my booth, I need volunteers who help me to set up a booth, run it during the bazaar. I use my website to call on some expats and university students. The students want to join this event as they want to experience how to organize an event that is useful for their resume to apply for a job. They also want a certificate of the Consular Club in this regard. To streamline the operation of a booth, I make a schedule of volunteers including local students and expats who want to do something for their community they are living in. The schedule begins from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., every shift takes two hours, each shift includes two sellers and two persons to take photographs and develop negatives. I have to work the whole day as I supervise what they work and give help when many clients come to the booth at a one time.
Time flies quickly. The Christmas Bazaar comes. The bazaar starts at 8:30, however, I come very early with some volunteers who do the first shift to set up a booth, put a cloth over tables, display selling items on the tables. The person who will play the role of Santa Claus wears his suit, boots. and beard. He will sit a chair next to a Christmas tree whose foot is full with balloons and candies to draw children’s attraction. We set up a backdrop including a reindeer dragging a Santa Claus sitting on a sled. Every one of us works hurriedly because the opening ceremony is coming soon.
I am honored to be invited to participate in the ceremony as I am a representative of Canada’s booth. The honored guests include high-rank officers, big corporate sponsors. A group of international elementary school children in a lovely uniform comes up to the stage to give a perfect-pitch singing performance of Christmas carols. The whole ambiance of the fair sinks into silent, every eye move to the stage to enjoy the sweet voice of children. When they stop singing, hand clapping stirs up the atmosphere. Then the chair of the fair organization slowly walks to a platform to deliver a speech in five minutes to give special thanks to generous sponsors, tireless volunteers. The fair would not have been successful if there had not been this support. After the speech, an orchestra with international high school students come to play joyful music to make a musical background. The chair leads all distinguished invitees to visit every booth in the fair. At each booth, she introduces items, products to invitees or the representative of the booth present their goods. I am proud when this group stops at my booth to take photos with Santa Claus as a souvenir. Taking photos and developing negatives take a half an hour to have photos in hand.
At 8:30 a.m., hundred people take a long line to buy a ticket to enter the fair. It is time for people to buy Christmas items to decorate their front door, living room. When clients come to my booth to buy items, their children are interested in Santa Claus, balloons, and mint, stick-shaped candies. They insist their parents take photos with Santa Claus. When they take photos, we offer them some candies and balloons. Many children take a long line to take their turn to take photos.
In addition to shopping at booths, clients also participate in drawing lotteries. A lottery ticket cost $US 5. Winning awards include a motorbike, a fridge, a washing machine…The atmosphere in the fair is stirred up when the chair starts to draw winning tickets. Everyone listens, watches their tickets in hand. Next to a shopping area, people find many food booths. The owners of booths are well-known restaurants, hotels that want to join the fair to contribute the profit of selling foods to the charity projects. However, they want to promote their brand as well, because clients include businesses, expats, and high-level authorities officials.
Many corporate sponsors offer most of the selling items in the fair. Some companies want to sell goods in stock or promote new products by donating them to the fair. For this reason, all booths expect to sell out all items because the fair takes place in one day and they know how to deal with the selling items left over. Thus, the price of items goes down amazingly less than a half of the initial one. It is really peak hours, many clients come to the remaining goods, even they negotiate the price.
We feel tired when selling out goods but hilarious as we collect a big amount of money. The fair closes down at 4 p.m., we sell out everything at 2 p.m., so we have two hours to dismantle our booth to bring to the stock for next year’s use. At this time, I schedule more volunteers to help out.
A week later, we have a meeting at the chairwoman’s house. Every representative of booth reports their revenue to the committee. We present our difficulties, drawback in the organization of a booth, or transportation of goods to the fair. We also give the feedback of clients on parking lots, location of the fair, booths. Then we decide what date we will choose to be the next fair, its location when the first meeting is to vote the chair of the club.
In the following meeting, we discuss what charity projects should be selected to fund. Normally, during a year, we call for civil associations to submit proposals for funding with a report which justify its legitimate need. We weigh the importance, the urgency of need. Our policy focuses on education, healthcare, and livelihood. The debate takes many days to come to a decision as everyone wants to fund the project they suggest.
When we complete everything and it's time to take a rest. I take this opportunity to interview the chairwoman about this event. As a principle, I speak to her this interview is for my writing project and it is posted on my e-portfolio. She is willing to present her feeling about this annual activity. Along with her husband who is assigned to work in a country, she wants to do something to improve the disadvantaged people in terms of education, health care, and livelihood. These projects give positive impacts on them: poor people can do a small business to earn their living, children are educated to be a good citizen. She herself can't pursue a long-term project, her successors take on this noble path.
In conclusion, I think I am lucky to enjoy living in a happy family. Many people in the society have suffered the poverty, hardship. They need the support, help from other people. We can’t ignore their unhappiness. Nowadays, our world has suffered natural disasters, calamities, wildfires, terrorism. We don’t know our destiny in future. We have a responsibility to join together to do charity projects to appease the misery of the poor, the victims to contribute the betterment of the world. Everyone who does a good thing deserves another.
-----------
To know the activities of Christmas Bazaar in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Please visit the website: Consularclub.com
Below is the photo of a class funded by the Consular Club