May 16: Goodbye Vietnam!

Today was our last day in Vietnam.  We started off the day at an indoor stadium where we played the UEF students in soccer and basketball.  The stadium wasn’t air conditioned, so it was as hot inside as it was outside.  I had never played in heat that brutal before, so I was losing my breath almost as soon as I started playing.  It was really impressive to see how good of athletes the Vietnamese were because they seemed almost unaffected by the heat, while all of us were really struggling.  So, with this in mind, the Vietnamese students kicked our butts in both sports.  They were really good!  After the games were over we all went back and relaxed for a little while because we were all so tired.  Once we had rested for a while, we met up with some of the Vietnamese students and went to a coffee shop again.  I am going to miss the Vietnamese coffee, it is so much better than the coffee in America.  Then, the UEF took us to a secluded road where they let us try out their motorbikes under their supervision.  It was really cool to try them out and see the differences from driving a car in America.  When we came back, we had to check out from the hotel because we were leaving at 3 AM in the morning. Checking out was a pretty sad moment because it started to set in that we were actually leaving.  After we checked out we said goodbye to most of the UEF students, which was another pretty sad moment because we knew we probably weren’t going to see them again.  We do at least have Facebook to keep in touch, so I will at least be able to talk to them when we’re halfway across the world from each other.  To end the night we went to a restaurant on a boat in the river.  It was the perfect place to end the trip because we ate on the boat and then it rode around the river so we could see the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh.  I will never forget the views that I have seen here, they are amazing.  So, that’s it. We leave soon and the last ones with us are Tin, D, and D’s cousin Krystal.  They are coming to the airport with us and we will say goodbye to them there.  So until next time, xin chao Vietnam!

May 15: Last Day in Class

Today was the last day at UEF.  We had a language class, which was a lot of fun because we split up into teams and played some games testing our overall knowledge of the material we learned.  My group won, mostly thanks to Scott, who knew the answer to pretty much every question.  It was weird because I was not going to see some of the students after this day, and it is now starting to sit in that we are about to leave.  After leaving UEF, we went to the post office and the market again where I bought a few more things.  The post office was really cool because it looked like a palace on the outside, and on the inside there were a lot of different souvenirs and other things you could get there besides just a post card.  The market was the same as last time, I must just not be a good bargainer because I couldn’t get a great price on anything.  To end the night we went to the club Apocalypse Now, which was pretty fun.  We spent most of the time there dancing, but it was a little weird because no one else in the club was really dancing.  Finally, when we left we made our way to the river and just watched it flow for a little bit before going back to the hotel.  I really will miss Vietnam, I wish I had some more time here.

May 14: Museum Day

Today we started off at the shipping port.  I was not expecting to enjoy it because I didn’t think that there was much to see or do at a port; I thought there were just a bunch of boxes sitting there and being moved.  However, it was much more interesting than that.  The organization in this company was unbelievable.  They moved thousands of boxes to and from their port every single day and are extremely efficient.  We went up to their control tower and everyone there had to do a job to ensure the safety and swiftness of business.  Overall, I was very impressed by the company and I wish I could’ve stayed longer to learn more about it.  Following the company visit, we went to the War Remnants Museum.  This was the most humbling experience that I have had while in Vietnam so far.  It focused mainly on the Vietnam War, but the war between the French and the Vietnamese was covered as well.  It was very interesting to see the war from the Vietnamese point of view and to see how much the war affected them.  You would not notice it now, but during the war much of the Vietnamese land was destroyed and burnt to the ground.  The thing that got to me the most was the affect that the toxin Agent Orange, which was dropped throughout Vietnam during the war, has affected future generations.  There were many babies with birth defects because of this.  They showed pictures of the victims, and I could barely believe what I was seeing because it was so sad.  This entire museum helped me learn a lot and I am happy I went.  After we got back, some of us went to an authentic coffee shop with some of the Vietnamese students.  It was awesome because they had you sit on the ground when you were drinking it, and they had many games you could play while you were there.  We played Jenga which was really fun and the coffee was some of the best and strongest coffee I have ever had.  At night, we went to a bowling alley, which was really cool because you would not expect to see one in Vietnam.  And to finish the night we went to a place where they had live acoustic music, which was awesome because they sang American music and it was really relaxing.  Overall, even though today was filled with a lot activities, I enjoyed every single one of them.

Things I learned:

No one should ever be allowed to use chemical weaponry.

Vietnamese coffee is amazing.

May 13

Today was probably the easiest day that we’ve had so far in Vietnam.  We started off at UEF where we had a culture lecture and language class.  In language class, we played a bunch of games to make sure we had perfected our number speaking ability.  It was fun even though we got very close to tackling each other in order to win one game.  Our day was cut short because the company visit we had scheduled was cancelled, so we were able to just hang out for the rest of the day.  It was nice to have all of that free time because we were able to just relax and rest, and I think we all needed that.  We went out with the Vietnamese students to a club again at night.  The club was called Apocalypse Now and it is the most popular one in Ho Chi Minh.  It was a lot of fun, and we danced most of the night.  I think I like the first club that we went to better because this one seemed just a little bit sketchy with all of the people there.  The music was really loud as well, and so many people were smoking cigarettes that you could tell that you were inhaling a lot of secondhand smoke.  Overall, it was a pretty cool adventure but I think we can find much better places to go and have fun.

Things I learned:                                                                                    

People will do anything to win in something, even if there is no prize to it.

Many old guys were at the club again.  However, at this one many young women accompanied them.  I don’t understand why someone would like to date a girl that is probably the same age as their daughter.

May 12

We went all over Ho Chi Minh today.  We started off at UEF where we had language class.  We went over some bargaining skills because right after we went to the Ben Tanh Market.  The market is huge and a very popular site for tourists staying in Ho Chi Minh.  Almost anything you could think of as a souvenir was at the market, but you had to be ready to bargain with the price or you would get ripped off.  I originally was by myself, where I was completely ripped off by the first vendor I saw.  I was sold a  t-shirt for 100,000 dong (about 5 USD), while you could easily get one for 50,000 dong (about 2.50 USD).  It was a good learning experience though because after that I realized that in order to get a somewhat fair deal, you had to cut the price of whatever you were buying at least in half.  So, for the rest of the day I was able to get better prices on the goods with the help of some of the Vietnamese students like Vy and Lan.  After the market, we went to a pagoda in Ho Chi Minh.  That was the first time I had ever been in a pagoda and I was blown away.  My favorite part was when we were in a room full of rocks that one man collected over a period of thirty years.  His philosophy was that he did not find the rocks, the rocks found him.  He had interpreted their meanings and they were all beautiful. It was just so hard to believe that one man could do so much with things that we believe are so simple.  Following the pagoda, we stopped at the memorial of a Buddhist monk who lit himself on fire in protest to the Vietnam War.  It was an awe inspiring sight because many people still visit his memorial to pay respect for what he did.  It shows how much of an impact his sacrifice made on the Vietnamese. 

For dinner we went to a seafood place in the back alley of a street.  That was the best food I had here and I did not know what I was eating half of the time (the only thing I recognized was clam).  Then to end the night we walked around Ho Chi Minh again.  We ended up at a river which was extremely peaceful.  We just watched the water on a dock for about 15 minutes and it was a great way to end the night.  I hope to go back there again before I leave.

Things I learned:

If one of the Vietnamese students tells you to eat something, it will be really good no matter how gross it looks.

The people in Ho Chi Minh are always willing to help you find where you are trying to go.

One Week Down

Today was probably the most tiring day we’ve had here.  We went to Vung Tau beach for the day and were able to see a huge statue of Jesus as well.  We went to the statue first, which is on top of a huge hill that you can only walk up.  The walk was brutal; it was 90 degrees already and I barely made it up the hill.  It was completely worth it though because we could walk into the statue of Jesus and go up the stairs and stand on top of his arms.  From the top, we could see all of the surrounding city along with the beach.  It was the most breathtaking view I’ve ever seen; words cannot describe how awesome it was.  After going to the statue, we ate lunch and went on the beach.  The beach was a lot of fun, but it was really hot and if you didn’t apply sunscreen at least two or three times you were guaranteed to get burnt badly.  The water was nice and warm and all of the Vietnamese people there were really friendly and wanted to hang out with us.  Three kids from our group, Seth, Greg, and Morgan, were even asked to take pictures with some of the locals.  I think the locals were so intrigued by us because the further you get from the main cities, the less likely the people are to have ever seen people from America.  Everyone was pretty tired after the beach, so most people just relaxed when we got home but Atharva, Ben, Jared and I went on a walk around Ho Chi Minh.  It was cool to explore and experience the city a little more.  The more time I spend here the more I feel that it will be very hard to say goodbye to the city and the people that I’ve met here.

Things I learned:

Most of the Vietnamese spend their day at the beach out of the sun, which is completely different from America.

Christianity is widely accepted as a legitimate religion in Vietnam even though Buddhism is the most popular one.

No matter how much you travel within a city, there are always going to be new places to explore there.

Halfway Done!

We spent our day in Cu Chi today and went into the tunnels there that are from the Vietnam War.  We were able to go through and see what their general layout was and how the Vietnamese operated in them.  Fun fact: there were 250 kilometers of tunnels throughout the area that were built from the war! The Vietnamese had underground hospitals and meeting rooms so that they could fully operate and would not have to expose themselves.  Also, the entrances to the tunnels were completely camouflaged so they were extremely hard to find for Americans.  And it was so hard to go through the tunnels too! They were so small at points that I had to crawl to get through them.  The crazy thing is the tunnels were enlarged to make it easier for tourists to get through them, so I can only imagine how small they must have been back in the war.  It really makes you think how much guts the American soldiers had who went down into the tunnels to flush out the Vietnamese.  After we went through the tunnels, we ate lunch on a river.  It was really cool because we were on a boat and we watched a bunch of leaves float by on the water which made you think you were moving.  We also heard a folk song about the Mekong Delta which was really relaxing and peaceful.  At night, since it was Jared’s birthday we went to the same club we went to on the first night.  The owners happen to be the CEO and CFO of Glass Egg, so we were able to get a table and a couch to sit on while there, and it made us feel really fancy.  It was awesome because we were able to all hang out as a group in our own place in the club and celebrate his birthday.  I hope we get to go there again.

Things I learned:

I finally realized how small Vietnamese people really are compared to Americans.

The gutting of a pig is a surprisingly clean and efficient process.

At lunch we watched a group Vietnamese people chant “mot hai ba yo” (one two three cheers) before they drank together.  It’s their version of a huge cheers.

May 9th

We spent most of today at UEF and hung out with the students.  First, we heard a lecture on the Mekong Delta, which is a crucial part of Vietnamese culture and agriculture.  Almost half of the agriculture in Vietnam and much of the fishing industry comes from the Delta, but all of this is in danger due to many different factors.  The Chinese damming of the river up North and climate change are two huge factors that can deeply hurt the Delta and the Vietnamese economy.  We had language class as well, where we learned numbers and how to bargain because in Vietnam bargaining is a very big part of their culture.  Following that, we had an activity with the English club at UEF, where we did a variety of activities including the chicken dance.  They were all so lively and excited to have us there, it was so fun to dance and play games with them.  We were given gift baskets at the end of it where I was able to try lychee for the first time and it was really good.  After that we went back to the hotel and just relaxed for the rest of the day.  It was nice to have a day mostly to ourselves so that we could catch up on sleep because we haven’t gotten much this trip.

Things I learned:

“Mot, hai, ba”- 1, 2, 3

“bot di”- lower the price

Day 4!

Today was probably the most fun I’ve had in Vietnam.  First, we had a lecture on the history of Vietnam.  I did not know how much the Vietnamese had to go through in order to get their freedom and I now understand why they have such a proud culture here.  Then, we had language class where we learned how to introduce ourselves and say we go to Pitt.  The more we practice and repeat the words, the easier it is to understand them and the structure of the language.  After that we left UEF and went to Glass Egg Digital Media, which is an outsourcing computer company.  They design many characters and maps for video games, and their specialty is designing cars for video games.  I did not realize how expensive and time consuming it is to complete these designs; one car takes 200 man hours to complete and costs $30,000!  The two people who gave us the tour were the CEO and the CFO and they were some of the coolest people I’ve ever met.  They let us into their office where there was a beautiful view overlooking Ho Chi Minh City.  We were able to see the tallest building in the city from the office as well.  The CEO and the CFO also own the nightclub that we went to the second night and they said they could give us preferential treatment there.  I could not believe how nice these guys were to us even though we had just met them.  This was by far the best company visit to date because the people were so great and because I could see the workers using some of the things from computer programming that I learned this year, which was really cool.  When we got back to the hotel we went to dinner at a restaurant close by.  I wasn’t there for it, but Jared, one of the kids on the trip and my roommate, ate pigeon brain which is awesome but disgusting at the same time.  To end the night we went out with the Vietnamese students again and it was a lot of fun.  We met people from all over the world and hung out with them for most of the night.  They were from Israel, China, Australia, and Amsterdam and they were all really nice and awesome people.  We walked home and on our way we came across city hall.  It was a really nice building and in front of it there was a garden with a statue of Ho Chi Minh in the middle of it.  They call Ho Chi Minh “Uncle Ho” because of all the things he did for Vietnam.  I thought it was really interesting how much they admire him here.  I really like seeing all of the staples of the city and I want to explore a lot more of it.  There is so much to see here, and I hope I have time to see it all before I leave.

Things I learned:

The Vietnamese are some of the most forgiving people in the world.  They’ve been wronged by many countries but are always willing to forgive when the conflict is over.

Crab spring rolls are delicious.

“Cam on”- Thank you

Day 3

We had another eventful day in Vietnam today.  We went to the Industrial Park where VSIP (the owner of the industrial park) talked to us about what their business does in general.  It was really cool hearing how they deal with the government in Vietnam and to see how quickly industries are going to Vietnam to make their products.  Then we heard a presentation and went on a tour with II-VI, which mainly produces lasers, thermoelectrics, and optic materials.  It was really awesome because they took us through the factory where they made the products and they showed us the process behind the materials that they were making. This has been my favorite company visit by far to this point because it pertains to engineering and everything was so interesting to see how they went from the start to the finish of the product.  After we finished the company visits, we went to a porcelain shop, which was really cool because they had things of all different shapes and sizes and everything was beautiful.  I was able to get onto the roof of the building, which overlooked the city.  It was a breathtaking sight that I will never forget.  We went out to dinner with the Vietnamese students again and I actually had French fries at the restaurant.  That is the first time I had American food since I had been here, but I don’t miss some of the American food as much as I thought I would.  Following dinner we went to a karaoke bar, which was a lot of fun.  Sweet Caroline came on and we all sang it together.  That was my favorite part of the day because we all took part in it and everyone had a fun time singing the song together.  It is really awesome seeing how much closer we are becoming as a group on a daily basis.

Things I learned:

No one in Vietnam actually owns their land. It all belongs to the government and the government can do what it wants with it.

Nothing is ever free.

Motor bikes are awesome.

Day 2 in Vietnam

Another day goes by in Vietnam.  We have done so much already that it’s hard to believe that I was in the U.S. just a couple days ago.  Today was another good and fun day, but it was long and wiped me out.  We started off at UEF again, where we heard a lecture on the economic development in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh specifically, that was really cool.  For example, there are about 630 motor bikes per 1000 people in Ho Chi Minh.  That’s insane!  If you’re here though it is definitely believable because EVERYONE has one.  My goal is to go on one by the end of the trip; we’ll see how that goes.  After the lecture we had language class which was another fun lecture.  I actually enjoy going to these classes and trying to learn their language, even though I thought I would hate it originally.  We got lunch next and got to eat a purple soup, which was surprisingly really mild tasting and pretty good (I had pho for the first time at dinner as well and it was awesome).  I want to try more odd foods, like frog legs that my dad always likes to joke about eating.  After we were done with the school, we went to Phu My Hung, which is a development company that is responsible for the construction of south Ho Chi Minh.  It was pretty cool, but it was creepy at the same time.  They like to call their work “The Master Plan” and the part of Ho Chi Minh that they built is a lot like a utopia.  Anything titled “The Master Plan” seems just a little sketchy to me.  One really cool thing about the trip, though, was that the huge rubber duck that was in Pittsburgh in the beginning of the school year was actually right outside of Phu My Hung’s main building as well.  It’s just one of those odd coincidences that you would never expect to happen.  Finally, we went out to dinner and then went to a Vietnamese club with some of the UEF students.  The club was a lot of fun and it was cool experiencing what a Vietnamese club was like.  The funny thing was that they played a lot of American music that was not very current.  I specifically remember them playing “Low” by Flo Rida and it immediately brought me back to middle school when it first came out.  Overall, the club was a lot of fun and I think everyone in our group is becoming a lot more comfortable with each other already.  Also, the UEF students are awesome.  I really feel like I got to know many of them today and they’re all great people.  It’s so cool to see in what ways they are similar and in what ways they are different from people in America.  For example, many of them listen to American music (one girl, Julia, even likes country music which made me so happy), but they don’t eat a lot of fast food.  I look forward to getting to know them even better over the next couple of weeks.  

Things I learned:

There are exercise parks in Vietnam that have stationary bikes at them.

“Chao ban.  Minh ten la Conor.”- Hello, friend.  My name is Conor.

Too many old creepy guys like to go to clubs and dance awkwardly in the back.

First Day!

Today was our first full day in Vietnam and it was awesome.  We started off with breakfast, where we had food such as dumplings and rice noodles with vegetables.  It’s weird how in America dumplings and such are strictly lunch and dinner foods, while here they are eaten for breakfast on a daily basis.  We then went to the University of Economics and Finance to meet the students and the associate professors.  We all joined together in singing Michael Jackson, and Abe was pulled out of the crowd to sing along to a song by Jason Mraz.  He did not know the words but he had fun with it, and it made everyone laugh.  Then, we were taken to Vietnamese language class where we learned the vowels and different tones of the language.  Vietnamese is easily one of the hardest things I’ve ever tried to learn, especially since I tend to mumble a lot.  The tones are so hard to distinguish, and saying something in a different tone will completely change the meaning of the word.  So, even though I think I may be learning how to say thank you, for example, I could be saying something completely different.  The Vietnamese students were really helpful with learning the language though.  Even though they had fun laughing at our horrible pronunciation of the words and vowels, they were so patient with us and helped us out a lot.  We also took pictures with the students, which was awesome too.  They love to take selfies, which made me crack up, and to throw up the peace sign while taking pictures.  After that we went to the U.S. consulate in Ho Chi Minh and they gave us a tour of the grounds and its history, especially with regards to the Vietnam War, along with a description of what they do there.  I did not truly realize how much of an influence the U.S. tries to keep over Vietnam, and the world until today.  Finally, Dr. Berman and our friend Tin Tin took us out to dinner, where we made our own Vietnamese wraps filled with all kinds of different Vietnamese food.  All of the food is completely different from anything I’ve had in America and I can’t wait to try more.  I’m really excited to see what the rest of the trip will be like.