03 July 2006

After several trials of communicating with the frontliners of Big 1 One,now iIn my hand is the address of Ocean Plaza’s Head Office. Thanks to the very accommodating employee of BIG 1 ONE! He is very patient with me. With this I instantly decided to walk the front door and present the product am carrying. I had a bus ride to Phuket Town and from there took a motorbike ride up to their main office. Total travel time would have been an hour, 30minutes on bus and another 30mins on the motorbike. That’s how far the place was.

Upon entering the front door, I found shoes lined up outside. So, I slid off my shoes and entered the office as I believe is their custom. The front desk smiled and greeted me. As usual I would greet them back and tell them that I don’t speak Thai. She doesn’t even speak English well, and pulled out 3 more to try and understand my purpose of visit.

I figured that basic English is necessary. Better to say bring to stores rather than distribute. But even with basic English I still have difficulties explaining them my purpose. It could have been my intonation that makes it difficult for them to understand. Without sign language, I don’t know how else to tell them my purpose. It felt like I am playing charades, but this time around you can say the words while acting it out. In a gist, I was asked to go back with a sticker at the back of the package in Thai language. I would have learned a lot in that meeting if I only understood every word that they say; why they are requiring me for such. I cant help but be angry of myself.

Language barrier my worst enemy right now!

Met with Ruel in the afternoon and introduced me to a Filipino lawyer working in a law firm at Phuket Town. Lyn, the lawyer accommodated me and even joked that she wont charge me for our 2hours of exchanging ideas. She was glad to meet another Filipino. Although her field of expertise si in Real Estate, she has little knowledge in some areas such as Trademarks and Product Registration procedures. I really appreciated her effort in extending her assistance for free. She promised to get back to me regarding the possible approval of the product for sale.

I am very grateful to all the Filipinos I have met.