Wednesday, May 13, 2015
May 13
This morning we got to have a bit of a later start to the day for a change. Our Vietnamese cooking class did not start until 10:30 so we had a nice morning off. I used this time to miss breakfast at the hotel and take it upon myself to go find a nice café to get breakfast before class. Class today was held at one of Ho Chi Minh City's nicest five-star hotels. From their sous chef, we learned how to make fresh spring rolls (rather successfully I might add). Then we were treated to one of the best lunches ever. A friendly mix of Vietnamese food and American food, all of which was fantastic, had most of us repeating the phrase "what did we do to deserve this". Dr. Berman repeatedly told us that we were not living in the real world for the few hours that we were in the hotel but that didn't matter to us. After returning to the real world though we went off to our final site visit of the trip. We traveled to the Saigon Newport Corporation's Cat Lai Terminal, one of Vietnam's largest ports. In the briefing at Saigon Newport, we learned about the interesting organizational structure of the company, partially owned by the navy, and the growth and various lines of business for the company. Following the briefing, we were given the opportunity to go up into the control tower and get a view of the port's operations, seeing freighters and containers covering a massive plot of land and sea. Upon our return to the city, we took another trip to the market to do some more bargaining and get more souvenirs. Next, we grabbed some more bahn mi for dinner, after being thoroughly impressed by it just the night before. Just a few minutes after starting our pool party for the night, Dr. Berman came in and surprised us by saying that our suits would be arriving this evening instead of tomorrow. When the suits came, we naturally had to try them on and get a look at the incredible craftsmanship. The delivery of the suits was a very exciting moment for all of us. By the time we were done trying on our suits, time was almost up for our planned Dairy Queen run for ice cream to close off the night. We ran a couple of blocks (maybe more than a couple) to the Dairy Queen and treated ourselves to ice cream that was a fraction in both price and size of the American version. With only two days left here in Vietnam, it is sad to be running out of time but great to be enjoying every day.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
May 12
For today, we had an early morning wake up to head to the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP). After an hour outside of the city, VSIP is one of the country's premier industrial parks and attracts companies from all around the world. In a presentation at their headquarters, we saw models of the park and heard about the past, present, and future projects of VSIP. Additionally, we had a presentation by David Baker, the chief engineer for II-VI in Vietnam. II-VI is a diversified manufacturing company based in Saxonburg, PA right outside of Pittsburgh, with significant factories in Vietnam based at VSIP. We learned about the company history, their unique product line, and their reasons for doing business in Vietnam. After the briefing, we were able to tour their factories and see how some of their high tech products were made. Most of the tour was over my head, but seeing the factory was still pretty cool to see. Leaving VSIP, we went to another great lunch at a restaurant nearby. Returning home after lunch, it was a good time to take catch up on some sleep for a few hours before going back out with our Vietnamese friends for the evening. We got some bahn mi, a very good Vietnamese sandwich, and then headed to a Vietnamese fast food restaurant for French fries and ice cream. After dinner we headed out as a group for the night to check out some local places recommended to us downtown and had a great time.
May 11
Today we returned to our normal schedule, starting our day with Vietnamese language class. In class today, we reviewed our numbers by playing a game in order to prepare for our trip to the market. After class we went to the famous Ben Thanh Market for a few hours. I tried my hand at some negotiation in Vietnamese but had much more success with English. Vendors would grab you and pull you into their shop to try to sell you things. It was a hectic place in close quarters and very cool. We picked up some souvenirs and lunch at classical low Vietnamese prices. Following our market trip, we had a meeting downtown with the VinaCapital Foundation. We learned about the work that is done by the VinaCapital Group, one of the largest investment firms based in Vietnam, and specifically at the VinaCapital Foundation, a NGO that donates to help Vietnamese healthcare and education. Talking about the great work that they do at the foundation, we heard of the poverty that is experienced in some of the more rural regions of Vietnam and how $1000 is able to provide a life-saving heart surgery for a child if they can get access to appropriate medical care. After a few hours to relax after VinaCapital, we went out with our Vietnamese friends for some dinner and fun again for the evening.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
May 10
For the second half of our weekend day trips, we went to Vung Tau beach, about two hours south of Ho Chi Minh City. Our first stop at Vung Tau was to the giant statue of Jesus on top of a mountain. From the beach we made the long journey up the steps to the statue. The views from the top were absolutely incredible as we could look out over the city, into the mountains, and onto the sea. Next, we climbed into Jesus himself, through a very tight staircase, to get an even better view. The view from the statue was worth both of the challenging walks up to the top. After that, we went to the beach and swam in the warm and wonderful East Sea. We played games and relaxed in the water and on the beach for the afternoon. Lunch was fantastic, family style meal of mostly seafood that we ate faster than anything we have yet (I'm pretty sure the calamari was gone in 45 seconds). I managed to avoid sunburn while at the beach, but not everyone was so lucky (causing me to lose a friendly wager with Bryan). Upon returning to the city, some of us decided that burgers and fries sounded like a great idea for dinner. So with some advice from Bryan and research, we found the best burger place in Ho Chi Minh City and decided to try it out for dinner. We were all very satisfied with our decision as dinner concluded another awesome day in Vietnam.
Saturday, May 9, 2015
May 9
Starting off our weekend here in Vietnam, we went to the Cu Chi Tunnels for the day. The Cu Chi Tunnels were an elaborate tunnel network set up by the Viet Cong in the Cu Chi district outside of Saigon that were very effective in fighting the American forces. Getting up bright and early, we took a nearly two hour bus ride through the Vietnamese countryside to Cu Chi. Driving through the country, we saw a different side to Vietnam than what we have been able to see in Ho Chi Minh City. We saw some stereotypical images of Vietnam driving through rice paddies and small villages, but also saw some very nice houses and modern industrial parks out in the country. Arriving at Cu Chi, we prepared ourselves for what was certain to be an unforgettable experience. To start the tour, we saw some artifacts and a short video (from the 1967 Vietnamese perspective of the war) to explain some of the background of the tunnels. We then walked through the forest, which has completely regrown since being destroyed in the war and is still lined with craters from bombs, to the tunnels. I crawled through all of the tunnels available to us, including some extremely small ones. Given a glimpse into a completely different time and mindset of history, this was an incredible opportunity that I know was only possible here on this trip. After spending time at the tunnels, we went to lunch at a restaurant right on the river near Cu Chi. Here we could see some images of completely untouched (or at least rejuvenated) nature. Additionally, we went to a temple honoring those who fought in Cu Chi for the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong. In a building approximately the same size as the Lincoln Memorial, three of the four walls were covered with the names of the men and women they lost in the fighting. We also spent some time at a cemetery to see the scale of people who died in the fighting at Cu Chi. Returning to the hotel, we went out for our first dinner without any Vietnamese students or Dr. Berman or Bryan, and somehow arrived at a great restaurant and enjoyed a good meal. After dinner, we had our final fitting for our suits and went out for a fun night with some of our Vietnamese friends.
Friday, May 8, 2015
May 8
Today I was back in good shape and ready to take on Vietnam. As per the usual routine, we started our day at UEF, this time with a class in Vietnamese Culture, focusing on religion today, and our language class, in which we learned numbers today to prepare for our trip to the market on Monday. A quick lunch was followed by our trip to the US Consulate here in Ho Chi Minh City. This historic site is the location of the former US Embassy to South Vietnam. In our briefing at the Consulate, we learned about what it is like serving in the foreign service and some interesting information about American activity in Vietnam. Our briefing was followed by a tour of the grounds. Here we saw the place where Viet Cong guerilla fighters attacked the embassy during part of the Tet Offensive in 1968 and stood by the plaque commemorating our men who lost their lives defending the embassy. We also heard stories about the evacuation of the embassy in 1975 right before the fall of Saigon. After the tour of the Consulate, we headed to the American Center for what Dr. Berman described as a short half-hour favor for our hosts at the Consulate. What ensued in next two hours we stayed for turned out to be one of the coolest parts of the trip so far. We got to meet with some more Vietnamese students interested in learning more about America in small groups. I fielded questions on everything from study habits of American students and most common majors in America to "how do you buy a house in America" and "have you ever met President Obama." In return, I learned how their college educations are much less expensive than ours but also how in one university the doors to the dorms locked at 10 PM and if you weren't inside it was tough luck. You win some, you lose some I guess. It was truly a fascinating experience. For dinner, we had a guys night out on the town with one of our Vietnamese friends. We headed for barbeque-esque restaurant and sampled various dishes, including one that boiled right in front of us on the table as we added the ingredients. After dinner, we went to a nice café for some late night ca phe sua da (iced coffee) and enjoyed walking around the city at night. Strolling the streets shortly after ten, it is clear that Ho Chi Minh City is a place that can not just rival but definitely surpass Oakland in terms of excitement on the streets on a Friday night. A one of a kind day in this one of a kind place. More greatness to follow.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
May 7
Unfortunately today I became the next student to be afflicted with some kind of illness here in Vietnam. I had to take the morning off to recuperate and get ready for the afternoon. Today's experience goes to show that for every 25 incredible things here in Vietnam, there's something not so cool. By the time the afternoon came around, I was feeling somewhat better and was able to go on our company visit for the day to Glass Egg Digital Media. The visit to Glass Egg was very fascinating, and I am definitely glad I was able to go. We toured their facility where their talented artists were working on art for some video games. Talking with the CEO, Phil Tran, after the tour we learned about the company's start and his story. In the evening, the tailor came for our fitting for our suits, which will look awesome once they are completed next week. Although my day was abbreviated, today was still a good day in Vietnam.
May 6
On our third day of the program, we started our day at UEF with a lecture on Rural Planning and Development in the Mekong Delta. The professor taught us about the history, culture, and economics of the Mekong Delta and explained future challenges for the region. Following the lecture, we had a short break and went out for an incredible iced coffee. Returning to UEF, we had language class again, and today we got the chance to have some good time one on one with the Vietnamese students to get personal teaching on vocabulary and pronunciation. After going to lunch, we went to our site visit for the day at the US Commercial Service. At the visit, Patrick Wall told us about what he does at the US Commercial Service, helping US companies conduct business successfully in Vietnam and promote American exports to Vietnam. This was an extremely interesting way to learn about how business is really done in Vietnam from an American perspective. In the evening we went out for some barbeque with our fearless Vietnamese student leader Kate and had a great time. After dinner we grabbed some desert and headed for a very cool café. So far, another great day in Vietnam.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
May 5
Day two of our trip proved to be just as interesting as day one. Again starting our day with classes at UEF, we heard a lecture on Urban Planning and Development in Ho Chi Minh City as preparation for our site visit for the day. We learned about the rapid development of Ho Chi Minh City in the last few decades and the city's efforts to manage this growth responsibly and convert rural areas to new urban areas. Following the lecture, we had our second language class in which there was some improvement from the first day in our conversational skill. We had our same delicious lunch before heading off to our first company visit at Phu My Hung Corporation. Phu My Hung is the development company responsible for the master planning and construction of Saigon South, Ho Chi Minh City's new city center that is essential to its growth. We got to view the master plans and see the amazing work that they have done so far. When we got back from the visit we went out to dinner with our Vietnamese friends. First we tried some great traditional pho. Then we went down to the courtyard in front of the cathedral and had some authentic street food. After dinner, they showed us around downtown. Seeing all the people and sites in the city was incredible and made me even more excited to spend time in this great city.
Monday, May 4, 2015
May 4
This was our first real day of Plus 3, and it certainly lived up to expectations. We arrived at UEF around 9:00 AM for the welcoming ceremony. I think our excitement as a group was surpassed only by the Vietnamese students, an amazing group of people that I was so happy to meet. After being treated to several examples of Vietnamese dance at the welcoming ceremony and getting to know our Vietnamese friends, we went off to our first language class. Some things were easy to keep track of (greetings) while others not so much (six tones, which can make the same word mean six different things). All in all it was a lot of fun. Next we had a great family style lunch and got to enjoy some nice views of the city before going to HUTECH for a presentation on the Vietnamese economy. Upon our return to the hotel, we went to the Co-Op (a local grocery store with fantastically low prices on everything) and the pool. Our first day ended with an awesome dinner at Nha Hang Ngon. Here, we got to walk around and see how all the food was prepared at over a dozen individual stations before being treated to a variety of different foods. Relatively exhausted given our short recovery from our long day of travel, I went to bed shortly after returning from dinner to get ready for another exciting day tomorrow.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
May 2/3
Today we started on our journey to Vietnam. Leaving the wonderful Litchfield Towers complex shortly after 6:00 AM, we headed to Pittsburgh International Airport for our flight to Chicago. Everything went smoothly all the way to Chicago, and we ate our last meal in America before heading onto the daunting 16 hour flight to Hong Kong. The flight went much better than I think anyone predicted. Movies courtesy of United kept me entertained for a large portion of the flight, and I was also able to sleep a little on the plane. After arriving in Hong Kong, we got some dinner and turned around for our last leg of the journey to Ho Chi Minh City. Around 11:20 PM local time, we touched down in Vietnam, ending our long travels and starting our new adventure. Clearing immigration and customs, we met Dr. Berman outside the airport and got on the bus to head for the fantastic Victory Hotel. Traveling through the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, we got a glimpse of the sleeping giant that we now belong to. We saw storefronts that were simply garage doors, only a few feet from the street, soon to be filled with customers. We saw a family of four riding the same moped. We felt the 84 degree heat and over 70% humidity (actually feels kind of nice to start). All were just signs of life in the new and exciting place that we can call home for the next two weeks.
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