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.