Day 12: The End

Day 12

Today we started the day with a soccer match against the UEF students. Although it was very very very hot we still did pretty well. The game ended in a tie. Can't say my soccer skills are still too good but it was fun. We then played basketball which also was so fun even though I am even worse at basketball than soccer. 

After I took a quick nap then went out to lunch with some Vietnamese students. I will definitely miss them so much!!!  I then packed and left for our final good bye dinner which was on a boat. The dinner was very nice and so was the boat, with entertainment from swallowing fire to different kinds of dance. It was definitely a sad moment since we all won't see eachother for awhile.

This last day is very bittersweet. I am sad to be leaving but happy to be going home. I am so lucky and blessed to have had this opportunity. Not only was I able to come to Vietnam but to come with a program that allowed me to meet first hand with businesses and be able to understand the culture even better by meeting with students near my age here. In addition to all this, I was able to visit a country that America has had so much history with with a Vietnam War veteran. This trip has helped me to grow in many different ways. I can not say how lucky and thankful I am for this life changing experience. 

Day 11: Last Day of School!

Day 11

Today started off with our last day at UEF. We started out with culture class. This class just made me so much more sad about leading. We then had language class where we had our final test. Learning Vietnamese is a lot harder than I had expected. I do not think I did too well but I still feel as if I have learned a lot through this short 2 week period! 

Once we left UEF we went to the War Remnants museum. This museum was basically a museum for the Vietnam-American war. It was very weird seeing propaganda against America but it did not upset me extremely because thats what war is and its a bad thing that will always exist. The thing that I found most uncomfortable was how everyone just stared at us. However, this is the first time we had experienced any different type of treatment or stood out with relation to the Vietnam war which I found to be understandable. Picturing the same type of situation but flipped and having a Vietnamese person in America at a same type museum still may feel a little awkward for that person I can imagine. 

We ended the day was a final dinner at the Rex hotel with everyone. It was nice but sad that my stay in Vietnam was closing. The Rex hotel was beautiful and gave us a great view of the city and some delicious food. We then went out with one of the business men we had met and it was fun, yet I am very ready to leave and go to America.

Day 10

Day 10

This morning we did not have to meet until 9:30 a.m. which is later than our normal time of 8:15 a.m. because of this we decided to go somewhere else for breakfast instead of just the hotel. There is this street vendor people had been talking about that I guess was on No Reservations, which is a show on The Travel Channel. Getting there was slightly difficult since it was kinda down a dirt alley and this was my first time eating at a street vendor since honestly they seemed a little unsanitary to me. However, this was easily the best food I have had all my stay in Vietnam!! I was sad to have to leave and stop eating.

Our first company visit was the Saigon Newport Corporation. This is one of the largest shipping ports run by the Vietnamese Navy. This was neat because I had never seen a shipping port up close, only from a distance.

After this we went to our second company visit which was at a Kein A apartment complex. This complex was developed very nicely with all of the customers needs in mind. However, when viewing the apartments the first view out the window was the small handmade homes of people who seemed to be living in poverty. It was weird seeing such 2 different lifestyles in such close proximity. This is definitely different than America where it seems the wealthy and poor are more divided. This just highlighted the different lifestyles and people in Vietnam to me even more.

After this we went back to the hotel where I cleaned my room, showered, and then left to adventure more. First we stopped in a German bakery which was delicious. Their free samples were like full meals. They all laughed when I was so surprised it was free.

We then went to a lounge that was really neat and had a little bit of food and drinks. Then we went to an Italian restaurant, which online was said to be authentic Italian and one of the top 20 restaurants.... but I did not really like it too much. However, that might be because this has been my third night in a row eating pasta carbonara but I don't care I still love it. 

Vietnam has been so fun and I am not looking forward to leaving because I feel like I still have so much to do although I am excited to get back to America.

Lastly, a few things I have learned through my stay in Vietnam: Vietnam does not have 1. pandora 2. netflix 3. hulu 4. tampons

Day 9

Day 9

Today was a very laid back day. First we had culture class where we learned about transportation and other things. Then we had language class where we learned some more questions and adjectives. Language class is very hard but I hope I am doing well.

Our company visit today was to a bank. This bank was a joint stock bank which is something I was not too familiar with. Therefore, it was interesting to hear about although it was difficult to follow along  because the presentation was given through a translator who was a student at UEF. 

This company visit ended early which gave us time to explore. I went shopping and found a lot of neat things. I had to go on an adventure because Brian decided to be very specific with his gift of a Hemingway or F. Scott Fitzgerald book in Vietnamese. Luckily somehow I found him one and in the mean time also found a lot of cool stores and restaurants. After all this though I was very tired and fell asleep early. 

Day 8: So thankful

Day 8

After experiencing what I felt like was one of the best parts of Vietnam yesterday, today felt like a large contrast. Today we started out with language class as usual and then continued the day in a low key way just experiencing the city. 

First, we visited the Reunification Palace. The architecture, interior design, and view of this building was beautiful. It was nice to freely be able to walk around although it felt as if getting lost was going to be extremely easy. The part that I felt was most interesting was seeing the bunker in the Palace. Since I had seen an American bunker in the past it was very weird comparing the two. 

After this we went and visited the market in China town. At this point the inner tourist in most of us was ready to just souvenir shop, however China town was not a tourist place. The way the UEF students described it is it seems like the sellers at China town sell items in bulk to other retailers. Other items they sold were just cheap knockoffs or clothes that seem like they came straight from the Salvation Army. Therefore, I was very uninterested in this visit. In addition to all this, the market was extremely dirty and smeller and the sellers were mostly half naked picking at their toes, being very dirty, and seeming to have unusual medical defects. Initially this just grossed me out and made me want to leave ASAP, but after awhile of seeing these people sitting on the ground eating unsanitary food and sleeping on bags of clothes and seeing the Vietnamese students as grossed out as I was, the experience really just made me thankful to be an American. I felt so bad for the market sellers that they didn't seem to have them same medical benefits as people in America or the same service of housing or food stamps. All things that I had never had the need to use to be thankful for until now. I was also thankful for the FDA for all their health regulations so I would never experience something so dirty in American or eat food that had been sitting outside all day. 

When we got back to the hotel I went shopping down the street from the hotel to stores that were much more expensive. After buying a few things I was even more overwhelmed with thankfulness to be able to buys things that I wanted and not be a child at the market begging people for money. Although I am still regularly reminded of how lucky I am to be able to swipe a credit card for things I need even in America, experiencing such a large scale contrast of the daily life I am used to has been the largest culture shock I have experienced and I hope I will never forget this and will never take everything I have from the hard work of my family and from being lucky enough to be born in America for granted!!!!!

Day 7: Best day!

Day 7

Today when I woke up I was very tired but was excited because today was the day we went to the beach! After a short bus ride, we got to a shuttle looking type boat that took us to the beach. Before swimming we went on a hike. This hike was very interesting because we climbed up a hill firstly displaying the story of the stations of the cross, then to a buddhist temple, and lastly to a large Jesus statue watching over the town. This was very cool seeing Catholicism in such a different country and seeing it for the first time on such a large scale versus just statues at church at home.

Although I love hiking and it was very neat, this adventure felt as if I could be on the show Survivor since the heat was gruesome and I felt I had already gone swimming from all the sweat. On the bright side this felt like a good detox sweating out all the bad American food I had eaten. 

Getting to the beach literally felt like getting to paradise. The water was soooo refreshing after such a hot day. Being in the water finally gave me the chance to see Vietnam in a different way, not just as being irritated and annoyed from the heat, but as such a beautiful place. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to come here and experience such amazing things!

Day 6: Tunnels

Day 6

Today we went and visited the Chu Chi tunnels. This so far I think is one of the most interesting things we have done. Just driving to the tunnels was an experience, seeing all the farm land and houses. Even seeing all the chickens and water buffalo walking around was neat. 

When we got to the historical site we walked through the jungle. Seeing all the different place and trees while sweating from the humid heat I could help but compare my experience now to Forrest Gump. We watched a video what was provided that really portrayed the Vietnamese opinion of the war, referring to Americans as devils. This was truly a unique experience since this is the first time hearing propaganda first hand against America. 

Crawling through the tunnels was so interesting. I am so impressed how normal civilians were able to craft such an intricate tunnel system. I also was impressed at how the Vietnamese military lived in them. Just crawling in them I was terrified of all the bugs and bats. I definitely would not be a good military member.... 

It was so hot that we were all so tired at the end of the day that I immediately showered and took a nap when we got back. We went out to dinner at a "French" restaurant, aka a restaurant that served pasta. It still had its own Vietnamese twist and can 100% positively say I miss American food!

I took a lot of pictures that I will post later!

Day 5

Day 5

Today we started the day off with Vietnamese culture class. It was interesting to hear about the Vietnamese history and their traditions. We then had language class and finally learned how to bargain. 

After lunch we had a cultural exchange with the UEF students. It was really fun playing games with them and really was a strong reminder of how similar we are.

We got VIP access to a night club owned by one of the companies we had visited and had a really good time. It felt like we were in a movie with all of the attention and service. I have been able to adjust to a lot of things in Vietnam but standing out has not been one of them yet.

It is so hard to believe I have already been in Vietnam for almost a week and am looking forward to the rest of the upcoming events!

Day 4: Sick

Day 4

Today we had scheduled a lecture, language class and a company visit to Glass Egg, a computer engineering company. However, when I woke up I did not feel well and was getting sick so I had to go back to the hotel after the lecture. I knew I would get sick eventually from the different food and water but I was sad to miss Glass Egg because the company sounded really interesting. Besides that I just slept all day and feel much better now. 

Day 3: First Company Visit

Day 3

Today we had 2 company visits. First, we went to the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP). This was the company that I had prior researched. I think it is very interesting especially how the management board is made up of government officials helping the companies within the industrial park; however, it was very difficult to understand the woman presenting.

After, we had a company visit at II-VI , a company in VSIP. II-VI is a company that makes lasers and optics that are used in cooling for products from computers to medical devices. I liked this a lot because it was the most engineering related thing we have done. It was so interesting watching the assembly line.

Last, we went to a different university, the Eastern International University (EIU). The students there were so nice and friendly. It was fun. 

Day 2: Hot hot hot

Day 2

Today was a very long day. We started with a lecture at UEF about Ho Chi Minh City's city developments and economy. A guest speaker talked to us about issues within Vietnam and their plans to solve issues such as reducing traffic and increasing public transportation. This was very interesting to hear yet made me feel bad because I don't even know about those issues in my own city. The economics portion I found to be confusing and happy that I'm not a business major.

We then had another language class which was more active then yesterday! I feel I have made more progress although it is still a large struggle. We also got a larger tour of UEF. The school is very beautiful. 

After class we went to the same place for lunch as day 1. The food was good but this was my first time experiencing a bathroom what was described before the trip as a Vietnamese public bathroom and it was just as gross as expected with no toilet paper or soap. 

After this we had our first company visit. We went to Phu My Hung with some students from UEF. Phu My Hung is a is basically a developing company helping to improve Vietnam. The Phu My Hung township is what I would expect Westlake to look like if someone was given endless amounts of money to renovate it. It seemed like a little mini utopia suburb within the city. Although this idea seemed very cool, I was very confused on where such a large amount of money came to build such a place when Cleveland can't even repave its roads. Also, it seemed like a weird distribution of wealth and was weird drive through Phu My Hung then within minutes seeing people living in shacks in fields. It seemed like it could lead to long term issues with the wealthy moving leaving and moving into places like it. 

This day was exceptionally hot. It was very difficult, I had never experienced heat so bad. When we got back to the hotel we all immediately went to the pool although we were all already soaked in sweat. The pool is really cool and on the roof top of the hotel.

Once we were all cooled down we went out to dinner with out friends from UEF. This restaurant was really cool. People were constantly cheering and it was someone's birthday so they turned off all the lights and gave sparklers. Everyone there seemed to be having such a good time and were dancing along to the music like the Macarena. It was very funny. The food came raw and we had to cook it on little grills on the table. Very fresh... people's shrimp were still moving.. Although this was very fun it also was very crowded so we were all very hot and decided to get ice cream. We went to a mall that also felt very American. It was filled with stores like Chanel, Ralph Lauren, and Lacoste. I was extremely exhausted and fell asleep the moment I got back to the hotel. 

Day 1: Xin Chào!

Day 1

Waking up this morning was very refreshing. I was happy to have had such a great sleep and a looonnnnggg day of flying. I was nervous about breakfast since I am usually a very picky eater and was not sure if I would like the food, but it was very good! I am looking forward to breakfast again tomorrow already!

This morning we met all of the UEF students. UEF stands for University of Economics and Finance. When our bus pulled into the University it did not look at all as I had expected. It looked like a Vietnamese version of a fancy vacation house with a lot of plants and a large fountain in the middle of the entrance behind a large gate leading up to a large white building that was surrounded by motor bikes. The school was just as beautiful inside. The main difference between UEF and other universities I have been to is that it felt very outdoors-y and the halls were outside but a lot of buildings are like that here.

They were all very friendly and excited to see us. They had two dance performances to show us that were cool. Talking with the Vietnamese students made me realize how similar they were to us which I really did not expect initially; we were similar in ways that varied from having the same phone to not liking to dance. I really enjoyed the ceremony and it made me even more excited for my stay in Vietnam.

After the ceremony, we had our very first language class. Speaking Vietnamese is definitely as difficult as I had expected it to be if not more! A large difference is that Vietnamese words mean different things with different tone. Each vowel had about 3 different tones that were indicated by accent marks. It was very funny attempting to pronounce them all for the first time because we all struggled so much. It also was exhausting changing the tone of your voice so much. It made me very confused about Vietnamese singing since if you changed your tone for a song it would change the meaning of the word. I am anxious for more classes and really hope I will be able to say some common phrases correctly before I return to America!

We went to lunch after class at a restaurant just down the road. At this restaurant there was a pond in the middle so customers could catch their own shrimp to eat, which were very large... However, it really did not seem like anyone was too successful with catching their lunch. We already had our lunch set up for us. The food looked like nothing I had ever eaten before but it was sooo delicious! I had pork, beef, rice, vegetables, and a sauce. So far I like Vietnamese food a lot!

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel and had a little break. During this break I walked to the Co-Mart which is very similar to a Walmart back home I think. This was my first time paying in Vietnamese money (Dong) which was very exciting. Going out in public in Vietnam is very funny because people are are always staring and so friendly, waving and smiling. We also stand out a lot which will definitely take some getting used to. 

We then changed into our business casual clothes and went to the U.S. Consulate. This is very neat going through security and seeing all the scanning and searching taking place. Talking with foreign service diplomats was very interesting because prior I had not know nearly anything about a foreign service and the process of becoming a part of it. It sounds like a neat job but I don't think I'd be able to move around to different countries so many times. We then received a tour. We were shown where the Tet Offensive took place. It was so weird seeing the exact place I had read about online that had pictures of dead bodies scattered. I was very lucky to have visited such a place and learn about such an important event in American history with a Vietnam war veteran.  God bless America! 

Today has been fun and I can't wait to see what the next days are like!