Years ago, I was forced to agree to a business trip to Vietnam. Where is this Vietnam in world map? What is its capital? I landed in Vietnam before I could find answers for these questions. But it soon happened that the richest stage of my life was when I was in Vietnam.

1 USD will give you a handful of 2l,000 VND(越南盾). When I visited, it was somewhere around 26,000. You have currency notes (纸币) of 100,000, 200,000 and 500,000. A trip to market would cost you 200,000 and taxi charge would be 500,000. There’s where I held 50 lakhs(十万) worth the money in single hand and felt rich.

On my first day in client(客户) office, I realized this is the place I wanted to be. I entered the client’s office at 12:40 and saw someone sleeping on his desk. Then in the next room many more people were sleeping. I wondered whether I stepped into a dormitory(宿舍) by mistake!

Later I came to know that their lunch time is from 12:00 to 2:00 and during that time they can officially sleep. This afternoon nap (小睡) is supposed to be for increasing productivity.

We went for sight-seeing to a scenic place called “Perfume Pagoda”, organized by one of few tourist operators who speak English. At lunch, I asked them for vegetarian food as I’m a vegetarian.

Spot came the question, “Vegetarian? What does that mean?” As that was the first time I was posted with such question, I told him that I eat only vegetables and fruits.

Once he shared this information with cooks in the restaurant, I understood how zoo animals would feel. They looked at me as a different species and handed me a full uncut cabbage for lunch!

I have received many Christmas gifts over the years. The best gift I ever received was presented to me by a stranger. I never even knew his name and I only had contact with him for less than 60 seconds. His Christmas present to me changed the way I think about people and about Christmas.

I hate Black Friday sales. It’s often a gathering of people who are there for many different reasons. Some are looking for a deal on that one item for their loved one, or perhaps themselves. Their purposes completely have nothing to do with the festive time of year, and can just be summed up with one word, “Cheap!”

It was several years ago when my wife asked me to meet her at the local department store on Black Friday morning. They had advertised a child’s bike that she wanted to purchase for our son. We stood with a very large crowd, waiting for the manager to blow the whistle(口哨). I told my wife that if we got a bike, fine, but if we did not, I was OK with that too.

As the number of bikes began to gradually decrease, I saw my “polite” opportunity to reach my hands around the corner of one of the boxes. I lifted it and suddenly felt some mild resistance(阻力). I looked up to see one of the largest gentlemen I had ever seen in my life. Frightening was not the word to describe his appearance. He was wearing lots of straps of metal spiked leather(带有柳钉的皮带) around both arms and even his neck. Still, tattoos(纹身) were an obvious love of his.

I started to return the box but he gently pushed it back in my direction and back into my hands. He then directed it into my shopping cart. He looked at me, smiled, and said, “Merry Christmas.” All the way home I was thinking that this moment was by far the best Christmas gift I had ever received. The kindness of a stranger that broke all prejudice(偏见) I may have had of certain types of people. The softness of a human heart can be seen in a simple act. I will never forget it.

Bill Cosby is one of the world’s most well-known entertainers and comedians. William Henry Cosby, Jr. was born on July 12, 1937, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Anna Pearl, a maid, and William Henry Cosby, Sr., a U. S. Navy sailor. After tenth grade, Cosby joined the Navy and completed high school through a correspondence course. He later took up an athletics scholarship at Temple University, supporting himself during his studies by tending bar, where his easy-going style and witty joking with the client prompted suggestions that he try stand-up comedy. This he did and was soon to be discovered by the legendary Carl Reiner.

In his early twenties, he appeared on many well-known variety programs including Toast of the Town (1948). His big break came in 1965 when he appeared as “Alexander Scott” in I Spy (1965), winning numerous Emmys for his performance. He then created a Filmation cartoon based on many of his high school buddies including Weird Harold, Dumb Donald, Mushmouth, and others: the show was, of course, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972). In 1984,’Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids’ stopped production，and The Cosby Show (1984) commenced(开始). It was originally rejected by ABC, accepted by a then-floundering NBC, and was an almost instant success. From 1985 to 1987 the show broke viewing records. Despite this great success, he arguably created his own downfall. The Cosby Show led what was considered by many at that time to be the best night of television: the line-up included Night Court (1984), Hill Street Blues (1981), and Family Ties (1982), which all followed The Cosby Show.

Cosby was dissatisfied with the way minorities were portrayed on television. He produced the TV series A Different World (1987) and insisted that this program should follow the Cosby Show, rather than Family Ties. Impact was felt on the show immediately; at its peak, the Cosby Show logged an estimated 70 million viewers. Cosby was riding high in the early nineties until massive competition from The Simpsons (1989).