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.