Consular Officers can play Tennis

A Consul General playing tennis with his Vietnamese staff as teammates is the beautiful image showing meaningful friendship between international friends and the Vietnamese taken at FOSCO Tennis Tournament II - 2017 - an event organized for Consular Officers in HCMC.

Mr. Richard Bale (on the right) and Mr. Dmitry Alekseev (second on the left) - Photo H.Đ.

There were 70 participants this year, many of those are Leaders and staff from different Consulates in HCMC. The event therefor welcomed a lot of international friends from around the world.
It was a hot day the 8th of July, just like many other days during this summer. Many Vietnamese players seemed exhausted for sweating too much, and yet Mr. Dmitry Alekseev - Third Secretary of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation to HCMC - looked especially joyful as he was resting after an intense tennis match. This man who preferred to be called by his first name Dmitry used to work in Hanoi for years (1990-1993) before coming back to Vietnam and started working in HCMC 1.5 years ago. Although the time doesn’t seem that long, Mr. Dmitry already feels like Vietnam is his second home where he’s adapted with the weather pretty well now.
“Back home I lived in Moscow, which is a very cold place, but I never liked cold weather. I prefer this hot humid weather. Even the cold weather in Hanoi would bother me, so I really enjoy living, working and especially playing sports in HCMC. I play tennis 2 to 3 sessions every week at Hồ Xuân Hương Sport club, besides I also go swimming” - said Mr. Dmitry.
Although not speaking Vietnamese as well as Mr. Dmitry, Mr. Richard Bale - Consul General of Canada to HCMC - appeared to be extremely friendly to the Vietnamese friends. Before officially coming to Vietnam to work in 2015, this 61-year-old Consular Officer used to work in many Asian countries like Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, etc. Like Mr. Dmitry, Mr. Richard Bale doesn’t have any problems dealing with the Vietnamese weather.
“In Canada, I often went jogging and skiing. It is a bit more difficult to play outdoor sports like tennis or football in the kind of weather there, especially for an aged man like me. I started playing tennis in Pakistan. Coming to Vietnam, I do it more often. The biggest difference when it comes to playing sports in Vietnam is that here it is more sociable. People come not only to play sports but also to make friends and socialize, which I really like. In Canada, sports can be quite competitive”, said Mr. Bale.
As a very friendly man who enjoys the company of Vietnamese natives, Mr. Bale chose to play tennis with his Vietnamese staff as teammates. A lot taller than his Vietnamese female teammates, Mr. Richard Bale didn’t seem to have any problems and always left impressive moments to the audience. “There is no problem at all, they speak English very well and we understand each other just fine. We even hang out together. Besides tennis, I also play football, of course the kind that there are only 5 players each team and we only play once a week, because I’m already 61” - said Mr. Bale.
An event to enhance friendship
Mr. Nguyễn Tương Minh - Head of the Organizers - said that the number of people participating in this FOSCO Tennis Tournament has grown from 40 as in last year to 70 this year. “We simply want to create more opportunities for international friends to play sports in HCMC - who might have found it a bit difficult to do so by themselves. Especially in the field of consular affairs, people always want to make more friends and extend their connection. Before deciding to choose this sport, I had done a small survey and most consular officers chose tennis”, said Mr. Minh.

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