Todd Weber – VNA COMM Department’s English Consultant. (Photo: Todd Weber).

Hi Todd! Can you briefly introduce yourself? What’s your work at Vietnam Airlines?

Sure thing! My name is Todd Daniel Weber, and I am 34 years old. I come from a state in the USA called Colorado, made famous by its Rocky Mountains. I am married and have one child. My wife is 3/4 part Vietnamese and 1/4 part French, and my daughter is…ummm…3/8 Vietnamese, 1/8 French, and 1/2 American, although – like most Americans – I descend from 3 or 4 European countries, so my daughter has a very mixed genealogy.

I have been living and working in Vietnam, off and on, for about 11 or 12 years now.  I first came to this country in 2003 at the age of 17. I have seen the country undergo remarkable changes since that time. When first visiting, I immediately fell in love with the people, the food, the culture, and the overall character of the city I was staying in – Hanoi.  After my initial visit, every time I returned back to my home in the US, I would have this hollow feeling as though I left a piece of my heart behind in Vietnam. I would miss all of the good (and bad) smells – the delicious street-food advertising itself as I walked along the road.  I would miss the appearance of the city, how the architecture varied wildly from the buildings in my hometown – Hanoi, specifically, struck me as a city that had so much unique personality. 

I started working at Vietnam Airlines in September of 2019, so I am still a newbie. My official role is “English Consultant,” but I work out of the Corporate Branding and Communications Department. The majority of my work is editing PR and internal communications content, website content, Spirit web and printed magazine content, plus helping my colleagues with whatever they may need – be it marketing materials, MC scripts for events, social media, announcement/signage boards, etc.

Together with his daughter Cadence. (Photo: Todd Weber).

My wife is a chief purser and has been working as a flight attendant at VNA since before we first met ten years ago. In a way, my relationship with the airline dates back to when I first met her as I already knew so much about her work and the company. It was very coincidental that I ended up working for the same company as her. I caught word that the airline was looking for an editor, and I saw the opening as a great opportunity. Oddly enough, I think it sometimes annoys her that I know about things directly relating to her job before she knows (laughing). Our friends and family now joke that we are a “full-fledged VNA household!” We have a beautiful and sweet daughter named Cadence (Xoai is her Vietnamese name), who is 2.5 years old, and she loves airplanes.

At work, I strive to be flexible and to make my coworkers’ jobs easier whenever I can. I want to be a resource that helps the overall functionality of my department and the greater VNA Group. Additionally, whenever I am writing or rewording something, I try to ensure that the image and brand of VNA comes across with integrity, virtue, awareness, and a sense of social responsibility.

You can occasionally see Todd going around the COMM Department area to review his work. (Photo: Todd Weber).

You are most likely the only foreign staff in VNA’ headquarters building. How do you feel about that? What are some of the challenges, and how do you handle working with the people around you?

I am told that this is indeed the case, but I don’t think about it often as I know there are many other foreigners conducting business in and out of the office with great frequency…so hopefully I don’t stick out too much! To be honest, working in an atmosphere with such a big team of back-office personnel has taken some getting used to. However, before even starting my first day on the job, I had a warm and comfortable feeling about the people whom I would soon be working alongside. Sure enough, everyone was really amazing in welcoming me and trying to make me feel like a part of the team – from my first time meeting the CEO Mr. Duong Tri Thanh, to my boss helping me settle in (Mr. Le Truong Giang – Director of my department at that time), to all my other managers and colleagues across the board.

Todd is actively taking Vietnamese classes. (Photo: Todd Weber).

With that said, there have still been some hurdles, and continue to be – but these are essentially obstacles within myself or impediments that I simply need to put more work into to overcome. As with anyone who has ever worked in a business environment where they don’t readily know the common language used in most of the day to day communication (in this case, Vietnamese), it can feel isolating at times. Although most of my colleagues have very good English skills, 99% of the office business and banter is in a language I don’t fully understand. I take full responsibility for this issue, as it is up to me to learn the language of the office and of the country I choose to reside in.

To expand on this, humor has always been a big part of my life, and I get immense pleasure out of making people around me smile and laugh. A big factor for a joke being funny is the listener’s point of reference and their connection to the joke. Often times, these things don’t translate as well as you might hope cross-culturally.

I sometimes wish I could just implant a microchip into my brain and automatically speak perfect Vietnamese. I would be able to absorb things more quickly about the work my colleagues are doing with no language barrier getting in the way. I think they would have a better sense of what I am all about too.

Though I am actively taking classes, learning Vietnamese has been a huge hurdle for me. It is a beautifully deep and rich language – and I do know some odds and ends – but it can also be a very intimidating language to speak. Tone, intonation, and pronunciation have to be nearly perfect when speaking. Any small errors in pronunciation can leave the listener feeling completely lost and confused. I’m always happy when I learn a new word or phrase, then I try and speak it, and I am often met with blank stares (laughing).

Tell me about a time where you had to deal with conflict on the job. What techniques and tools do you use to keep yourself organized?

Good question. I think there are many days where my work is of a to-be-expected nature, and there are times when there is a large influx of items or documents that require added sensitivity, expertise, or care. I enjoy it when unexpected or “new” things are required of me because I find new challenges to be exciting opportunities to learn. I didn’t step into this job as an aviation expert, so learning more about the industry, the terminology, and how airlines function and conduct their operation has been fascinating. I still have a long way to go, but in less than six months of working, I have already learned SO much.

To try and minimize opportunities for error, I do have a process for everything I do in my editing work, which I developed over time (and am still developing). I think it is a bit boring to discuss, so I will spare you most of the details.

But, I do want to take the time to give a “shout out” to all the amazing people who do the translations from Vietnamese to English and vice versa. This is no easy task as some concepts or ideas just don’t translate between the languages, and these people have to try to make sense of everything. So, “Good job, and my thanks to the translation team!” I am laughing to myself right now because I know that they will have to translate everything I am currently saying. Ironic.

Todd’s little family. (Photo: Todd Weber).

What are some of your favorite things about living in Vietnam?

Food. Coffee. Karaoke. Coffee. People.

– Food: I love, love, love Vietnamese food. My favorites are Sot Vang, Banh Xeo, Banh Canh Ghe, Bun Dau (with nuoc mam, I can’t eat mam tom), and most of all Gia Cay (my father-in-law makes the best).

– Coffee: I was always a big coffee drinker growing up in America, but when the very first drop of Vietnamese coffee hit my palate, my life changed forever. I think I fell in love with Vietnamese coffee so passionately that I would drink 3 or 4 cups of “nau da” a day. I was “luon luon say café.”

– Karaoke: I never sang karaoke before coming to Vietnam. I think it is one of the best-shared activities with friends. It also serves to get out stress better than almost anything other than exercise.

– Coffee: YUM. It deserves to be mentioned twice!

– People: I’ve always found Vietnamese people to be warm, welcoming, and delightful – especially true when they aren’t stuck in traffic (laughing)

How do you want to improve yourself in the next year?

I want to continue to learn more about the overall operations of VNA; this includes a focus on the work handled by my department, but reaches further to other aspects and departments of the Group. The more I read, the more I learn. The more I ask my colleagues, the more I learn, and I love learning!

Can you list out 3 character traits you would use to describe yourself and why?

Hmmm, I don’t often think about my own personality traits, but I would say “detail-oriented,” “empathic,” “self-exacting.” Some of these traits have both positive and negative connotations, but I believe that knowing yourself, good and bad, is what leads to self-improvement. To expand:

Detail-oriented: I pay close attention to the small things. I think this trait is very applicable to my work, but it can also be bothersome outside of work.

Empathetic: My closest friends and family all know that I am a sensitive person, and I try to be a good listener who is understanding and able to put myself “in the shoes” of other people. Lots of people who know me well think I would’ve been a good therapist…or used car salesmen (joking)

Self-exacting: Again, this can be considered more of a negative trait, but it can have positive applications as well. When I make mistakes, I tend to be much harder on myself than anyone else is. Even if I do something incorrectly which is fairly small and insignificant, I can sometimes fixate too much on mistakes. The positive is that I believe mistakes are the greatest tool we as humans have to learn from. Doing and failing and working hard to do again correctly, eventually leads to success – though it can be a frustrating and demanding road at times.

Playing music has always been a passion for Todd since childhood. (Photo: Todd Weber).

What is your greatest achievement outside of work? 

That is an easy question for me: my family, my wife, my daughter. Of course, they are people and they are not “achievements,” but the love, commitment, and nurture to make these relationships as strong as possible, is an achievement.

What’s your hobby? What do you do in your spare time?

My absolute favorite thing to do is to play music live. I play guitar, I write songs and poetry, and most of all, I love playing drums. I have been playing drums since I was 12 years old, and nothing gives me more pleasure than playing live concerts and seeing people dance to my drum beats. I get a feeling of euphoria I can’t find anywhere else when I play music. I do sometimes worry that my incessant “tapping” annoys those around me, but to me, the best thing about drums is that I can play them anywhere! (laughing)

Along with this, I am a huge fan of sports, generally speaking, popular American sports like basketball, baseball, American football, and hockey, but I can appreciate any sport as I think it is incredible what humans are physically capable of.

I also like to unwind by listening to music, drawing/painting, and watching movies or reading.

I would like to thank you for taking the time to sit with us and share!

Of course! It has been a pleasure! Thanks.

Nguyen Xuan Nghia – COMM