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!