Betel TrayMicrosoft Chairman Bill Gates visited Viet Nam in April at the invitation of Prime Minister Phan Van Khai. According to an official government web page, Microsoft marked 10 years operation in Viet Nam by launching a series of programmes, including Windows XP Starter Edition, a programme to upgrade and build community technology centres in 64 provinces and cities, and Partners in Learning, a cooperative programme with the Ministry of Education and Training to help schools access new teaching methods.
During his two-day stay, Mr. Gates visited the Bac Ninh University of Technology, where he received a «rock star» welcome.
From Elmoooh's blog [http://www.elmoooh.blogspot.com/]: «Several thounsand of students scrambled to catch a glimpse and later broke security line for a touch of the richest man in the planet. Gates really had to make ways to get inside of the auditorium where he spent nearly two hours talking and taking queries from students.In Vietnam, where the baby IT industry is on its way drawing international attention with Intel's earlier last month declaration of building a chip factory in economic hub HCMC, Gates is a God to the youth. Legend revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, few years ago was topped in a poll in his own land by Gates as number one famous man.Not only young people are crazy about him but also farmers, most of whom may have never touched a computer or heard of the word Windows in their entire life. Ignoring the fact, hundreds of them, young, old and even infants surrounded Tam Son cultural center in Hanoi's neighboring province of Bac Ninh to wait for THE man.»
As a welcoming gesture for such distinguished guest, Bill Gates was offered and bravely agreed to a degustation of the traditional «trâu» or «betel quid». The betel quid is composed of betel leaves which are chewed together with mineral lime and areca nut. The lime acts to keep the active ingredient in its alkaline form, thus enabling it to enter the bloodstream via sublingual absorption. The areca nut contains the alkaloid arecoline, which promotes salivation and is itself a stimulant. Tobacco is sometimes added, and the whole combination gives the chewer a powerful buzz and abundant red-tinted saliva.
During his two-day stay, Mr. Gates visited the Bac Ninh University of Technology, where he received a «rock star» welcome.
From Elmoooh's blog [http://www.elmoooh.blogspot.com/]: «Several thounsand of students scrambled to catch a glimpse and later broke security line for a touch of the richest man in the planet. Gates really had to make ways to get inside of the auditorium where he spent nearly two hours talking and taking queries from students.In Vietnam, where the baby IT industry is on its way drawing international attention with Intel's earlier last month declaration of building a chip factory in economic hub HCMC, Gates is a God to the youth. Legend revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, few years ago was topped in a poll in his own land by Gates as number one famous man.Not only young people are crazy about him but also farmers, most of whom may have never touched a computer or heard of the word Windows in their entire life. Ignoring the fact, hundreds of them, young, old and even infants surrounded Tam Son cultural center in Hanoi's neighboring province of Bac Ninh to wait for THE man.»
As a welcoming gesture for such distinguished guest, Bill Gates was offered and bravely agreed to a degustation of the traditional «trâu» or «betel quid». The betel quid is composed of betel leaves which are chewed together with mineral lime and areca nut. The lime acts to keep the active ingredient in its alkaline form, thus enabling it to enter the bloodstream via sublingual absorption. The areca nut contains the alkaloid arecoline, which promotes salivation and is itself a stimulant. Tobacco is sometimes added, and the whole combination gives the chewer a powerful buzz and abundant red-tinted saliva.
Betel leaves and areca nuts play an important role in Vietnamese culture. There is a Vietnamese saying that "the betel begins the conversation", referring to the practice of people chewing betel in formal occasions or "to break the ice" in awkward situational conversations. The betel leaves and areca nuts are also used ceremonially in traditional Vietnamese weddings, where the groom offers the bride's parents betel leaves and areca nuts (among other things) in exchange for the bride. Betel leaves and areca nuts are such important symbols of love and marriage that the expression "matters of betel and areca" (chuyen trau cau) is synonymous with marriage.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betel)
Bill Gates chewing a betel quid and wishing he was back homeThe thing is, chewing a betel quid stimulates the production of saliva, which is normally spit out in a spitoon or some other container. Obviously, nobody told Bill Gates what to do, so he was stuck with a mouthful of trance-inducing chewing quid and blood red saliva. The richest man on earth came all the way to Vietnam to pronounce a extremely important speech, followed by a question/answer period, and he couldn't just take out the frigging betel quid and stick it under a chair like a wad of chewing gum. Rumour has it that he took a deep breath and swallowed the whole damn thing.*
* I'm kidding... He spit it out.
* I'm kidding... He spit it out.
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