Today I slept for 9 hours! It felt awesome, and I do not
think I have had that much sleep since before the trip. I gave my family the
souvenirs I had purchased for them, and it reminded me of the fun times I had
had in Ben Than Market while buying them.
My nanny came over to visit, and I showed her the pictures of my trip. I
remembered a lot more details than I thought I would remember. The experience I
had in Vietnam is infinitely more than what can be described with pictures and
words though. I talked to my one friend who went on Chile Plus3, and our
conversation furthered my reasoning and thoughts that Plus3 Vietnam truly had
the best Plus3 experience! My stomach is still shrunk; for I couldn’t even
finish my burger at dinner. Tomorrow will not be as easy as today because my
family will be at work and school, and I will be left to entertain myself,
which is a complete change from the enduring energy I exchanged with my friends
on our trip! Our group has already discussed getting together for a reunion in
the next month! When I look back, it is hard to choose a favorite memory from
Vietnam, but some of my favorite memories were as follows: the Vung Tau Beach,
shopping at Ben Than, spending nights as Lush, our Vietnamese language class,
hanging out with the UEF friends, the soccer match, and climbing through the Cu
Chi Tunnels. In that case, it looks like I enjoyed myself every minute of my
trip, and I truly did. I would also like to thank Dr. Berman and Bryce for
organizing this trip and agreeing to travel half-way around the world with 12
college students. We had the best weeks because of our hard work and
dedication. I would also like to give a shout-out to TEAM YOLO! You guys became
my family and I couldn’t have asked for better friends to laugh with as we
experienced Vietnam! Love you guys! J
Monday, May 21, 2012
Day 13: I DON’T WANT TO GO!
May 19, 2012
Our flights got messed up early this morning. Instead of
going to from Hong Kong to Chicago, our group go split on flights to San
Francisco and New Jersey. Mine and Elliott’s flights so extra messed up for
some reason when they double switched my flight, and then one flight got
overbooked. We honestly wouldn’t not have minded at that point to take our
original flight to Chicago, which was delayed 6 hours, because then we knew we
would miss our flight to Pitt from Chicago, elongating the trip. But there we
sat, sitting next to each other on our way to San Francisco. Neither of us
wants to go home, at all! We do not miss anything from home to be honest, and
we probably would have been fine living in Vietnam for the rest of the summer!
That is how much we loved our trip to Vietnam! I know my Plus3 Program trip to
Vietnam was the best to two weeks I am going to have this summer! I am so
thankful for the opportunity to study abroad in such a unique and different
culture. I definitely hope to return to Vietnam, especially HCMC, in the near
future!
Later, when we got to San Francisco, Elliott and I made an
obvious effort to get a burger! I didn’t realize how good a cheeseburger
tasted, and we were both stuffed after eating it! Other groups missed some of
their connections to get home at different points, but everyone ended up in
Pittsburgh Saturday night at some point, even into the middle of the night. It
was a little sad to finally land in Pittsburgh because I knew my trip had
actually come to an end! My family was excited to see me at the airport, and I
put on as much of a smile as I could after the whirlwind of the last 48 hours I
had. I am going to need some sleep now!
Day 12: Hen Gap Lai!
May 18, 2012
This morning we headed to UEF for our final culture and
language class. It was so sad to know that this was our last day in the usual
school routine in Vietnam! Over the last two weeks Vietnam has become my home
and my Pitt and UEF friends have become my family! After our culture class,
reporters from the news came to the school. I had volunteered the first week to
be interviewed, so I was one of four people to be interviewed. We just had to
talk about what we thought about our trip, the Plus3 Program, our Vietnamese
classes, and Vietnam as a country. We are treated like celebrities here
sometimes, which we find humorous.
Next, in language class today, we had an oral test! I was so
nervous, but we all knew the teacher would grade us very easily. We had 30 minutes
in class to review with our teacher and UEF friends before the test. During
those 30 minutes, we had to memorize a paragraph where we would talk about
ourselves in Vietnamese. For the test,
we were paired up with someone else in the class, and our pairs would then
choose a slip of paper that told us what subject of conversation we would be
tested on. Our group would have two minutes to prepare, then we would have to
go up to the front of the room and carry on a small conversation with our
partner in Vietnamese. Afterward, each person in the pairs would have to repeat
the paragraph about ourselves we had just memorized in Vietnamese. It all may
sound harder than it actually was. I am actually really glad I got to learn
more than just 30 words of Vietnamese, but instead learn to actually
communicate in Vietnamese. The paragraph said something like:
For dinner, we went on a dinner boat cruise on the Saigon
River with the faculty from UEF. The weather had cooled off to be pleasantly
warm by then and the food was delicious. They serviced chicken soup, coconut
carrot shrimp salad, shrimp crispies (shrimp with fried rice surrounding them),
and noodles with pork. There were also two traditional Vietnamese dancers who
performed, as well as live Vietnamese musicians. The view was beautiful along
the river, and it made not want to leave the city even more! Small gifts were
exchanged at the table, as well as our group presenting our trip guide, Tran,
with a picture of our group, which she loved! If I have not discussed Tran yet,
she is our awesome trip guide, who goes everywhere with us and helps us
communicate in Vietnamese. She is so small and so sweet, and she has even begun
to joke with us Americans while we were there. 
When we got back to the hotel around ten, our UEF friends
were waiting for us. We all were sad they could not attend our last dinner in
Vietnam, especially since we have had dinner with them almost every night and
they have warmly introduced us to secret places in HCMC. They had decided to
spend the last few hours we had in Vietnam with us though, even though it was
the middle of the night. Our plan was to leave the hotel at 3 for the airport,
so the UEF students came and hung out with us the hotel since us Pitt students
had decided not sleep. (I am writing this blog entry as I sit on the plane to
San Francisco.) The UEF students then gave us small gifts in the hotel room!
Some of them were bracelets of key chains they had made or bought. Most of the
gifts had something to do with Vietnam, which also made them special. The room
was bursting with friendship and smiles! Around midnight I decided to finish
packing. It was so sad to think of everything we were leaving. The students had
planned to ride their motorbikes to the airport as well to say their last
goodbyes to us! Tears were shed from both parties at our group and the UEF
students/Tran said goodbye to each other! We actually were saying “Hen Gap
Lai,” which means “See You Later.”
This morning we headed to UEF for our final culture and
language class. It was so sad to know that this was our last day in the usual
school routine in Vietnam! Over the last two weeks Vietnam has become my home
and my Pitt and UEF friends have become my family! After our culture class,
reporters from the news came to the school. I had volunteered the first week to
be interviewed, so I was one of four people to be interviewed. We just had to
talk about what we thought about our trip, the Plus3 Program, our Vietnamese
classes, and Vietnam as a country. We are treated like celebrities here
sometimes, which we find humorous.
Next, in language class today, we had an oral test! I was so
nervous, but we all knew the teacher would grade us very easily. We had 30 minutes
in class to review with our teacher and UEF friends before the test. During
those 30 minutes, we had to memorize a paragraph where we would talk about
ourselves in Vietnamese. For the test,
we were paired up with someone else in the class, and our pairs would then
choose a slip of paper that told us what subject of conversation we would be
tested on. Our group would have two minutes to prepare, then we would have to
go up to the front of the room and carry on a small conversation with our
partner in Vietnamese. Afterward, each person in the pairs would have to repeat
the paragraph about ourselves we had just memorized in Vietnamese. It all may
sound harder than it actually was. I am actually really glad I got to learn
more than just 30 words of Vietnamese, but instead learn to actually
communicate in Vietnamese. The paragraph said something like:
Xin Chao. Toi ten la Jackie, nou’gi My. (Hello, My name is
Jackie, and I am American)
Toi la sinh vien hoc la Dia hoc Pittsburgh. (I am a student
at the University of Pittsburgh)
O My, toi la song Pittsburgh. (In America, I am from
Pittsburgh)
O Viet Nam, toi di dau Vung Tao, Cu Chi. (In Vietnam, we
went to Vung Tao and Cu Chi)
Rat sau nhung thu vi voi va vo…(something like that) (I am tired, but it was
interesting)
Xin Chao, Hen gap lai. (Goodbye, see you again)
We were graded on a scale of 1-10 based on our memory of the
language and pronunciation. I got a 9/10. 2 people get 8’s, 5 got 9’s and 5 got
10’s. Our teacher said our class learned the language quicker than the Pitt
students who came last year.
For lunch at UEF, I had grilled pineapple and rice! I am
definitely going to use the chop sticks I bought here when I go home. After
lunch was our futbol game against the UEF students/soccer team! I was so
excited to get outside, run, sweat and have fun! We actually beat the UEF team
3-2! We had to wear our UEF polos during the games, which made the 100 degree
weather even hotter, but I did not care after a while. We played on a mini
soccer field with 5 people (2 girls and 3 guys) including a goalie! Our first
shift, which consisted of me, Elliott, Tim, Ricky and Hailee, did a really good
job! I contribute my effort to the team to Elliott, who patiently practiced
with me over the week at the hotel! During the game, locals gathered along the
fences to watch us play! We also played a few games with the UEF students after
the soccer game and ended by learning a traditional Vietnamese dance. Prizes
were awarded at the end and each team received a box of our favorite local
fruit and cookies, which we devoured on the bus on the way home! When we got
back to the hotel, Elliott and I went swimming because we were so sweaty and
gross from the day. We also went swimming because we did not want to pack and
think about going home.
For dinner, we went on a dinner boat cruise on the Saigon
River with the faculty from UEF. The weather had cooled off to be pleasantly
warm by then and the food was delicious. They serviced chicken soup, coconut
carrot shrimp salad, shrimp crispies (shrimp with fried rice surrounding them),
and noodles with pork. There were also two traditional Vietnamese dancers who
performed, as well as live Vietnamese musicians. The view was beautiful along
the river, and it made not want to leave the city even more! Small gifts were
exchanged at the table, as well as our group presenting our trip guide, Tran,
with a picture of our group, which she loved! If I have not discussed Tran yet,
she is our awesome trip guide, who goes everywhere with us and helps us
communicate in Vietnamese. She is so small and so sweet, and she has even begun
to joke with us Americans while we were there. 
When we got back to the hotel around ten, our UEF friends
were waiting for us. We all were sad they could not attend our last dinner in
Vietnam, especially since we have had dinner with them almost every night and
they have warmly introduced us to secret places in HCMC. They had decided to
spend the last few hours we had in Vietnam with us though, even though it was
the middle of the night. Our plan was to leave the hotel at 3 for the airport,
so the UEF students came and hung out with us the hotel since us Pitt students
had decided not sleep. (I am writing this blog entry as I sit on the plane to
San Francisco.) The UEF students then gave us small gifts in the hotel room!
Some of them were bracelets of key chains they had made or bought. Most of the
gifts had something to do with Vietnam, which also made them special. The room
was bursting with friendship and smiles! Around midnight I decided to finish
packing. It was so sad to think of everything we were leaving. The students had
planned to ride their motorbikes to the airport as well to say their last
goodbyes to us! Tears were shed from both parties at our group and the UEF
students/Tran said goodbye to each other! We actually were saying “Hen Gap
Lai,” which means “See You Later.” Day 11: Cu Chi Tunnels and More Adventures
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Today started off early as we gathered for the bus at 7 am!
We then rode the bus for an hour and a half to the Cu Chi Tunnels. We had a
tour guide on the bus that called us all his “family” for the day, which is what
we refer to each other as anyway. The Cu Chi Tunnels were designed during the
Vietnam War for the Viet Cong to hide in as they fought in the dense Vietnamese
jungles. There are 150 miles of tunnel in the jungle, and we got to crawl down
into them! The space that we crawled in was about 2.5 - 3 feet by 2.5 -3 feet!
It was also pitch black in the tunnels, which made it more difficult to see
where you were going and where the person in front of you was going. While we
were in the jungle, we also got to see the different types of traps the Viet
Cong set-up in the jungle. It was very hot today, as usual, so we were all
drenched by the end of the day, but we are used to it. We also learned more
about the tactics the Viet Cong had in the jungle and the lives they lived
while fighting.
Next, we drove another 45 minutes out into the rural country
to a temple. On the way there, we passed multiple rice patty fields, and it was
cool to see the landscape of how people outside the cities live. We were not
told specifically what religion the huge temple was for, but the traditional,
religious sect of the temple combines Confucianism, Hinduism, and Christianity.
We got there as little before noon so we got to see one of their services
begin. There was a balcony around the top of the inside of the temple where all
the spectators could watch. The temple was so ornately colored and decorated,
and everyone there was dressed in white. We all to take our shoes off before we
entered the temple; and when you left the temple, you were not allowed to walk
in front of the front side of the temple for hundreds of meters, so we had to
back through to get to the other side. For lunch, the tour drove us another
half hour to a street-vendor restaurant. My table all ordered sweet and sour pork
with rice, and it was delicious! That was the first meal I had probably fully
eaten in a few days, which made it even more delicious. As my drink I ordered a
big water bottle (1.5 liters) which only cost me 12,000dong (appx. 60 cents)!
Surprising a lot of prices are like that here in Vietnam. Finally, we had a 2
hour bus ride back, where everyone slept! 
Today started off early as we gathered for the bus at 7 am!
We then rode the bus for an hour and a half to the Cu Chi Tunnels. We had a
tour guide on the bus that called us all his “family” for the day, which is what
we refer to each other as anyway. The Cu Chi Tunnels were designed during the
Vietnam War for the Viet Cong to hide in as they fought in the dense Vietnamese
jungles. There are 150 miles of tunnel in the jungle, and we got to crawl down
into them! The space that we crawled in was about 2.5 - 3 feet by 2.5 -3 feet!
It was also pitch black in the tunnels, which made it more difficult to see
where you were going and where the person in front of you was going. While we
were in the jungle, we also got to see the different types of traps the Viet
Cong set-up in the jungle. It was very hot today, as usual, so we were all
drenched by the end of the day, but we are used to it. We also learned more
about the tactics the Viet Cong had in the jungle and the lives they lived
while fighting.
Next, we drove another 45 minutes out into the rural country
to a temple. On the way there, we passed multiple rice patty fields, and it was
cool to see the landscape of how people outside the cities live. We were not
told specifically what religion the huge temple was for, but the traditional,
religious sect of the temple combines Confucianism, Hinduism, and Christianity.
We got there as little before noon so we got to see one of their services
begin. There was a balcony around the top of the inside of the temple where all
the spectators could watch. The temple was so ornately colored and decorated,
and everyone there was dressed in white. We all to take our shoes off before we
entered the temple; and when you left the temple, you were not allowed to walk
in front of the front side of the temple for hundreds of meters, so we had to
back through to get to the other side. For lunch, the tour drove us another
half hour to a street-vendor restaurant. My table all ordered sweet and sour pork
with rice, and it was delicious! That was the first meal I had probably fully
eaten in a few days, which made it even more delicious. As my drink I ordered a
big water bottle (1.5 liters) which only cost me 12,000dong (appx. 60 cents)!
Surprising a lot of prices are like that here in Vietnam. Finally, we had a 2
hour bus ride back, where everyone slept! 
When we got back to the hotel, we had a quick turn around
because we had planned to go to Ben Than market again with the UEF students
again. We like to take them with us because they guarantee we don’t get ripped
off sometimes. We usually don’t get ripped off because we have learned how to
bargain in Vietnamese from our language class, which often impresses out
vendors from which we buy stuff. We go some more souvenirs, and I got another
nonla (the traditional rice hat that they wear in Vietnam) because I love them!
A few of the students in our group went to the Adidas store in Vietnam after
this to get shoes for our soccer match tomorrow. Also, we tried sugar cane
lemonade from some street-vendors, and it was really good.
Tonight, we decided to pay for our UEF friends when we went
out to dinner because they have been so kind to drive us on their motorbikes
and take time out of their schedules for us every day of the trip. They decided
to go to a European restaurant, which was so good because they had barbeque
chicken and most tender steak I have ever tasted. It was also really cheap,
about 50,000-70,000 dong ($2.50-$3.50) a meal!
Later in the evening, our group decided to go to Lush again
to celebrate technically our last full night in Vietnam, which is so sad! I
cannot even begin to describe the amazing and unforgettable memories and
experiences I have had in this place! Lush was not packed as usual, but our
group still had an awesome!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Day 10: I don't want this dream to end!
Last night at Lush was a lot fun; we got a VIP table on the
upper level of the club! Our group had an awesome time, and we have bonded into
such a small family. I cannot think about leaving Vietnam, its people, its
culture, and the unforgettable times I am having here.
This morning, we had a company visit at Saigon New Port
Corporation, which is a terminal operator and holding company in Vietnam. SNP
counts for 50% of the import-export container services in Vietnam. They have
seventeen ports strategically located throughout Vietnam, and seven ports
located in and around HCMC to interact with each other. We then took a tour of
the Cat Lai Terminal, which was where we were having the briefing already. It
was cool to see how they organize the cargo and the giant cranes that operate
there, especially when we went to the top of the control tower.
The UEF students picked us up again for dinner, and we first
went to a street-vendor to get ice cream. The ice cream was made of some fruit,
covered in some small peanuts, and tasted delicious. Next, we went to a moving,
Japanese buffet, called Hot Pot. It was such a cool set-up, where a conveyor belt with food on
it moved in front of you. You had a pot of flavored boiling water in front of
you, so you were to pick up containers of meat, fish, vegetables, and noodles
from the belt and put them in your water to cook. It was delicious, yet again!
Now we are just chilling in the rooms and playing soccer because we have an
early start tomorrow!
This morning, we had a company visit at Saigon New Port
Corporation, which is a terminal operator and holding company in Vietnam. SNP
counts for 50% of the import-export container services in Vietnam. They have
seventeen ports strategically located throughout Vietnam, and seven ports
located in and around HCMC to interact with each other. We then took a tour of
the Cat Lai Terminal, which was where we were having the briefing already. It
was cool to see how they organize the cargo and the giant cranes that operate
there, especially when we went to the top of the control tower.
For lunch, we stopped by UEF to eat. We got iced coffee,
which was delicious. The iced coffee is so good here for some reason! For lunch
I had the usual rice with some meatballs, but also on the table were squid,
fish, and vegetables. Sometimes I wish I was like Nino, who can try everything
and usually like it. In the afternoon we had another company visit to TMA
Solutions. First, we got a briefing on the software development park in which
TMA Solutions is located. The software park was similar to VSIP except it was
smaller and only used for software development. We then went to TMA solutions
and toured the mobility solutions rooms, where we saw employees coding the
programs that are used on cell phones.
The UEF students picked us up again for dinner, and we first
went to a street-vendor to get ice cream. The ice cream was made of some fruit,
covered in some small peanuts, and tasted delicious. Next, we went to a moving,
Japanese buffet, called Hot Pot. It was such a cool set-up, where a conveyor belt with food on
it moved in front of you. You had a pot of flavored boiling water in front of
you, so you were to pick up containers of meat, fish, vegetables, and noodles
from the belt and put them in your water to cook. It was delicious, yet again!
Now we are just chilling in the rooms and playing soccer because we have an
early start tomorrow!
At Hot Pot for dinenr.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Day 9: Lush
Our day started off with culture class at UEF. We learned
about the life-organizing culture in Vietnam, which contains aspects of
fertility worship, natural worship, human worship, weddings, funerals,
performing arts, fine arts, food, clothing, and housing. Fun fact: 80% of
Vietnamese are Buddhist. Also over history, Vietnam’s culture has been
significantly affected by India and now by westernization. This class was two
hours long and dragged on, but thankfully we had language class after. We
learned more conversations in Vietnamese today, and we have a mall test on
Friday. On Friday we will be tested on how well we can speak/ hold conversation
in one of the topics we have learned this week. I am so glad we got to learn
Vietnamese even though it is a very difficult language. Despite having the same
grammatical set-up as English, Vietnamese is difficult to learn because every
word could be pronounced with six different tones, which denote completely
different meanings to the word. Lunch was at UEF again, but I had rice, some tomato
slices, and a few bites of pork. They also served beef with French fries and
shrimp with yams.
View of part of Ho Chi Minh City from Glass Egg
In the afternoon, we went to a company visit to Glass Egg
Digital Media. This company creates and produces video games. We got to tour
the offices and see some of the workers designing characters and coding the
programs. The two CEO’s that talked to us were really cool. They started the company
themselves after working for Vietnamese companies for some time. They were
saying how they do not make any extra profit when a video game them produce for
someone sells millions, but this is also okay to them because 1/3 of the
companies they help go bankrupt at some time. They also said they started their
company by designing car racing video games because cars are easier to make.
Later, they started making video games with imaginary figures because this
required more designers. The companies also own Lush, the club we went to on
Saturday. They said Tuesday’s are ladies’ night with free drinks and they would
hook us up tonight, so we are headed out soon to go there, which is exciting!
For dinner the group went street-vendor hopping, but I did
not want to eat this plus the dessert we were all planning on getting after.
Elliot and I then stayed behind and practice soccer in the hall to get ready
for our game on Friday against the UEF students. I learned a trick and am
excited for the game. Then some UEF students came and picked us up from the
hotel, and we went to New York Dessert Company. I got a double, chocolate ice
cream cake slice, so good! We then went across the street and looked around a
really expensive mall with our UEF friends before returning to the hotel. Well that’s
all for now!
Millions of Dong!
In the afternoon, we went to a company visit to Glass Egg
Digital Media. This company creates and produces video games. We got to tour
the offices and see some of the workers designing characters and coding the
programs. The two CEO’s that talked to us were really cool. They started the company
themselves after working for Vietnamese companies for some time. They were
saying how they do not make any extra profit when a video game them produce for
someone sells millions, but this is also okay to them because 1/3 of the
companies they help go bankrupt at some time. They also said they started their
company by designing car racing video games because cars are easier to make.
Later, they started making video games with imaginary figures because this
required more designers. The companies also own Lush, the club we went to on
Saturday. They said Tuesday’s are ladies’ night with free drinks and they would
hook us up tonight, so we are headed out soon to go there, which is exciting!
For dinner the group went street-vendor hopping, but I did
not want to eat this plus the dessert we were all planning on getting after.
Elliot and I then stayed behind and practice soccer in the hall to get ready
for our game on Friday against the UEF students. I learned a trick and am
excited for the game. Then some UEF students came and picked us up from the
hotel, and we went to New York Dessert Company. I got a double, chocolate ice
cream cake slice, so good! We then went across the street and looked around a
really expensive mall with our UEF friends before returning to the hotel. Well that’s
all for now!
Monday, May 14, 2012
Day 8: Another Caramel Freeze
Today we had a company visit in the morning about the Viet
Thai International and Highland’s Coffee. We went to the Highland’s Coffee
Training Center for a presentation on both companies. Viet Thai is a joint
stock company that owns Highland’s Coffee as well as many other branches of
food, consumer lifestyle and distribution companies in Vietnam. They own
branches of Highland’s Coffee across Southeast Asia. The offices they have in
the many countries have to work very closely with the local people to
understand their culture, the labor market, and the things the people of that
area value. The other thing about
Vietnamese and Southeast Asian companies is that they build relationship before
they even consider building a partnership and conducting business. We also got
to order Highland’s Coffee drinks again while the representative of Highland’s
Coffee talked to us; I got a Caramel Freeze again! The Highland’s
representative said how he found the coffee market interesting, has always has
jobs involving coffee, and he even used to work for Maxwell Coffee in Canada.
During the presentation, Bryce (our program assistant) pulled me aside and said
there was a magazine writer from HCMC that had pictures from us on the beach
the day before and wanted to interview a student for his article. I went out in
the hall with our guide, Tran, who translated, for the interview. I talked
about how I was enjoying the excitement and welcoming-warmth of Vietnam and its
people. I also mentioned how Vietnam is more welcoming to foreigners that the
US is, and that I was learning so much about international business and
engineering from Vietnam as well.
For lunch, our group went to the Hard Rock Café, which is
also owned by Viet Thai International. Our stomachs were so happy with the
foods, and I think the guys almost died when a huge plate of ribs were brought
to the table. I had some awesome nachos and a fruit smoothie. We call our group
Team Yolo (You only live once), so we took a Team Yolo picture before we left
while the rest of the restaurant watched.
For lunch, our group went to the Hard Rock Café, which is
also owned by Viet Thai International. Our stomachs were so happy with the
foods, and I think the guys almost died when a huge plate of ribs were brought
to the table. I had some awesome nachos and a fruit smoothie. We call our group
Team Yolo (You only live once), so we took a Team Yolo picture before we left
while the rest of the restaurant watched. 
In the afternoon, we went to the War Remnants Museum, which
is a Vietnamese museum about Americans during the Vietnam War. Our leader, Dr.
Berman, who fought in the Vietnam War, said he was skeptical to take us to the
museum but felt we should see it while we were in Vietnam. We understood his
hesitation after we toured the museum. It was shocking and eye-opening.
The UEF students picked us for dinner, and we went to a
Japanese sushi restaurant. The seating was cool because we had to take our shoes
off, and we sat on the ground around a lower table which had a hole below it
for us to put our feet in. I ordered some sesame chicken and edema, which was
delicious. Other students had sushi with seaweed, tuna and other fish. Afterward,
we went to Snowee, the ice cream store that we went to the first week. I had
some banana with vanilla ice cream, which topped off dinner. Tonight we are
just chilling and laughing in the rooms and finishing blogs!
Day 7: Do you want some rice to go with your rice?
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Today we started off our day by heading to the beach at Vung
Tau. We had to take a an hour and a half long hydrofoil river boat ride down the Siagon River to get
to Vung Tao. Along the river, we saw the dense jungle of Vietnam, as well as
some fishermen in boats along the shore. Vung Tao is a harbor-town with many
tourist attractions. It felt so nice once we got to the beach: the water was
warm, the sun was shining, we could relax, the sand was warm, and smiles were
beaming on our faces. There were organized games planned for us on the beach,
but it was really funny to see the locals stand around and watch us play them.
It is common here for the locals to treat us like celebrities, wanting to watch
us and take pictures with us. There was even a news reported taking pictures of
us look like idiots as we played the games. We then got to swim in the ocean,
which was so warm and fun! Later in the morning a group of us played soccer on
the beach to prepare for our soccer match at the end of the week. I am working
on a trick where I can pick up a moving soccer ball with my foot and balance it
on my foot. 
Alex and a purple squid!
After lunch, we climbed a giant hill to see a huge Jesus statue. There was a group of us that took that steps two at a time the whole way but everyone was drenched with sweat by the time we got to the top. Its over 90 degrees every day with a real feel around or above 100 degrees! There were cool gardens at the top, but we were not allowed to go inside Jesus and climb to the top because we were told we were dressed unholy (no pants and no sleeves). Some Vietnamese started taking pictures with us, too. I wore my rice hat the whole time too because it’s awesome and I love it!
View of Vung Tao from the top of hill by the Jesus statue.
We then took the long boat ride back to HCMC, and we all
slept most of the ride home. We hung out for a few hours when we got back
before going to the Black Cat as a group for dinner. The Black Cat is known for
their huge burgers and was ranked by CNN as one of the top ten best eating
experiences in the world. It definitely lived up to that award! I got a plain
burger and it even tasted like America! We all were stuffed after eating only
our burgers, but the feeling was so good. Next, our group went to GO2 for the
roof bar and had a fun time hanging out before heading back to the hotel.
Today we started off our day by heading to the beach at Vung
Tau. We had to take a an hour and a half long hydrofoil river boat ride down the Siagon River to get
to Vung Tao. Along the river, we saw the dense jungle of Vietnam, as well as
some fishermen in boats along the shore. Vung Tao is a harbor-town with many
tourist attractions. It felt so nice once we got to the beach: the water was
warm, the sun was shining, we could relax, the sand was warm, and smiles were
beaming on our faces. There were organized games planned for us on the beach,
but it was really funny to see the locals stand around and watch us play them.
It is common here for the locals to treat us like celebrities, wanting to watch
us and take pictures with us. There was even a news reported taking pictures of
us look like idiots as we played the games. We then got to swim in the ocean,
which was so warm and fun! Later in the morning a group of us played soccer on
the beach to prepare for our soccer match at the end of the week. I am working
on a trick where I can pick up a moving soccer ball with my foot and balance it
on my foot.
We went to a seafood restaurant on the beach for lunch, and
they served us lots of traditional and exotic seafood courses. I ate my small
bowl of rice and green beans, but a few kids ate squid, fish, and other
Vietnamese foods. Sometimes we have seconds on the rice when we feel like living
on the edge. My stomach has definitely shrunk since being here because I do not
usually get really hungry and can now eat half the food I ate home and not feel
hungry.
Alex and a purple squid!After lunch, we climbed a giant hill to see a huge Jesus statue. There was a group of us that took that steps two at a time the whole way but everyone was drenched with sweat by the time we got to the top. Its over 90 degrees every day with a real feel around or above 100 degrees! There were cool gardens at the top, but we were not allowed to go inside Jesus and climb to the top because we were told we were dressed unholy (no pants and no sleeves). Some Vietnamese started taking pictures with us, too. I wore my rice hat the whole time too because it’s awesome and I love it!
We then took the long boat ride back to HCMC, and we all
slept most of the ride home. We hung out for a few hours when we got back
before going to the Black Cat as a group for dinner. The Black Cat is known for
their huge burgers and was ranked by CNN as one of the top ten best eating
experiences in the world. It definitely lived up to that award! I got a plain
burger and it even tasted like America! We all were stuffed after eating only
our burgers, but the feeling was so good. Next, our group went to GO2 for the
roof bar and had a fun time hanging out before heading back to the hotel.
Happy Mother’s Day Mom! I love you!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Day 6: Defining Tourism
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Today was our first day off! Woo hoo! Our day started with a
tour of the Reunification Hall, which was the palace of the president of
Vietnam started in the 60’s. A bomb had damaged the original palace during the
scuffles of the Vietnam War between the north and south of Vietnam. A new palace, The Reunification Palace, was
ordered to be built in its place, and the palace served as the home and war
workplace for the president during the Vietnam War. It was super hot during the
tour, but it was still really cool. The basement was designed a bomb shelter
area, and it housed a lot of the war plan meeting rooms. Multiple presidents
lived in the palace; the shortest was for 43 hours. Next, we went to the Notre
Dame Cathedral and the biggest post office in HCMC. Inside the post office,
there was a giant gift shop that gave us our first taste of the arts and crafts
of Vietnam. We did not buy a lot because we planned to go the market later.
Today was our first day off! Woo hoo! Our day started with a
tour of the Reunification Hall, which was the palace of the president of
Vietnam started in the 60’s. A bomb had damaged the original palace during the
scuffles of the Vietnam War between the north and south of Vietnam. A new palace, The Reunification Palace, was
ordered to be built in its place, and the palace served as the home and war
workplace for the president during the Vietnam War. It was super hot during the
tour, but it was still really cool. The basement was designed a bomb shelter
area, and it housed a lot of the war plan meeting rooms. Multiple presidents
lived in the palace; the shortest was for 43 hours. Next, we went to the Notre
Dame Cathedral and the biggest post office in HCMC. Inside the post office,
there was a giant gift shop that gave us our first taste of the arts and crafts
of Vietnam. We did not buy a lot because we planned to go the market later. 
The beautiful souvenirs!
Next, we went to a Buddhist Pagoda. The architecture and
decoration was so unique. When we went inside we had to take off out shoes and
we got to see the place where the monks pray. There was a huge statue of Buddha
and lots of different flower, food and drink offerings on the alters. Finally,
We came back to the hotel for lunch and an afternoon swim in the rainstorm on
the roof of the building, which was sweet.
Alex and I outside the pagoda
Later in the
afternoon, we went to the Ben Tan Market with our friends from UEF. We had
learned from our language class how to barter in Vietnamese, so I was very
excited to put my skills to the test. The UEF students said we came out pretty
successful with our bartering by the end of the shopping trip. You can find
almost anything at the Ben Tan Market, including: food, flowers, clothes,
jewelry, suitcases, dining utensils and other souvenirs. Some Vietnamese
phrases we used were: Cai Nay Bo Nhieu (Pronounced Guy Ni Bo New) = How much
does it cost, and Mac Qua = too expensive. When we would barter, we would start
by cutting the asking price in half, which was what our language class teacher
taught us to do. I got some really pretty and CHEAP souvenirs!
Eric, Elliot, and I in our rice farming hats!
In the evening, the UEF students took us to a karaoke bar,
where we had a private karaoke room. I did not do sing karaoke though because I
cannot sing and that would have been embarrassing. We had a blast though! Later
that night, our group went to a club called Lush. Lush is owned by Glass Egg, a
company we will visit on Tuesday. We had a lot of fun hanging out as a group!
Friday, May 11, 2012
Day 5: Mac Qua
Friday, May 11, 2012
Today began with breakfast at the hotel as usual. I had some
delicious watermelon and banana cake. We went to UEF to have our culture and
language class. In culture class, we learned the significance and balance of symbols
and the Yin and Yang to Vietnamese and other Oriental cultures. Yin means
female and Yang means male, and all things in the world are supposed to operate
around the rules of these interacting and balancing opposites. Language class
involved learning more conversations in Vietnamese, such as asking how our
friends are feeling, what they are doing, and what they thought about certain
events. We also learned a list of adjectives and reviewed our previous lessons.
It is so exciting to be able to talk to Vietnamese people I come across during
the day. Lunch was awesome at the school! They had pepper and tomato omelets
and watermelon! The omelets were better than omelets in the US, and I was so
happy to get some decent protein in 3 days and feel full!
The UEF students picked us up for dinner and we went to
DOMINOS PIZZA!!! It was awesome pizza, and we all had been looking forward to
eating it for days! The funny part was that because we had not been eating a
lot of food in the past few days, our stomachs were smaller than we expected
and everyone got so full from the pizza very quickly. We thank our UEF friends
so much for taking us for pizza! Cam on! We went to see the bridge at Crescent
Mall in South Saigon afterwards. The bridge is illuminated by neon lights at
night, which are solar powered. It is the hot spot for Vietnamese student
couples to hang out at night. When we got back to the hotel we all hung out in
our room for a group blogging session, which is still occurring as I write
this. My abs hurt from laughing with the group so much! Well that’s all for
now! Xin Chao (Goodbye)!
Today began with breakfast at the hotel as usual. I had some
delicious watermelon and banana cake. We went to UEF to have our culture and
language class. In culture class, we learned the significance and balance of symbols
and the Yin and Yang to Vietnamese and other Oriental cultures. Yin means
female and Yang means male, and all things in the world are supposed to operate
around the rules of these interacting and balancing opposites. Language class
involved learning more conversations in Vietnamese, such as asking how our
friends are feeling, what they are doing, and what they thought about certain
events. We also learned a list of adjectives and reviewed our previous lessons.
It is so exciting to be able to talk to Vietnamese people I come across during
the day. Lunch was awesome at the school! They had pepper and tomato omelets
and watermelon! The omelets were better than omelets in the US, and I was so
happy to get some decent protein in 3 days and feel full!
After lunch, we had a company visit at ASCENX Technology.
The company was really interesting. The story of the CEO who talked to us was
even cooler! ASCENX designs engineering equipment that companies need replaced
but cannot be produced by larger manufacturing companies. It operates in San Francisco
and Ho Chi Minh City. The CEO established the company himself even though he
was a refugee from Vietnam when he was 9 years old. He told us how his uncle
helped him escape on a boat to America, which makes him one of the “boat
people.” His company is slowly and organically growing and expanding. His
company proves to be the perfect example of how perseverance and determination pays
off in the end, and his business plans and goals for the next year are the
perfect business models for any young professional, especially us students in
college. Finally, we went down to the Highlands Coffee shop at the company and
enjoyed some awesome coffee drinks with the CEO. I had a caramel coffee float
that tasted so good.
The UEF students picked us up for dinner and we went to
DOMINOS PIZZA!!! It was awesome pizza, and we all had been looking forward to
eating it for days! The funny part was that because we had not been eating a
lot of food in the past few days, our stomachs were smaller than we expected
and everyone got so full from the pizza very quickly. We thank our UEF friends
so much for taking us for pizza! Cam on! We went to see the bridge at Crescent
Mall in South Saigon afterwards. The bridge is illuminated by neon lights at
night, which are solar powered. It is the hot spot for Vietnamese student
couples to hang out at night. When we got back to the hotel we all hung out in
our room for a group blogging session, which is still occurring as I write
this. My abs hurt from laughing with the group so much! Well that’s all for
now! Xin Chao (Goodbye)!
Day 4: Fun and Games!
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Today we started off the day with a presentation on Vietnamese culture and history at UEF. We started off by learning about how the local people of Vietnam were formed from regional migrations of people from Western Asia. The Chinese also contributed in numerous ways to the culture of Vietnam in ways such as Confucianism and farming techniques. An interesting difference between Vietnamese history and American history is that Vietnamese history goes back to the BC era with nomads, sects, and kingdoms. In language class, we learned the Vietnamese alphabet, which consists of 29 letters. Ten of these letters are vowels, and each vowel has 6 tongues (tones or pronunciations), which denote different meanings for their use in the same word. We also learned how to carry on a simple conversation in Vietnamese while using proper pronouns. I really enjoy Vietnamese class; it is fun to learn and speak in such a different and difficult language. Also, we get some good laughs out of language class when we learn how to pronounce new words and phrases. Our teacher is awesome and really patient, which makes learning Vietnamese much easier. For lunch, we ate rice and beef stew at the school.
In the evening, the UEF students came and took us to get Pho
(pronounced Fa) for dinner. It is a famous soup in Vietnam, which consists of
beef, noodles, and chives. The noodles were good, and reminded me of Ramen
noodles. Later at night, a group of us went a rooftop restaurant, which had a
awesome view of District 1 in the city! It was fun-filled day!
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Day 3: Where's the pizza?
Last night we went out with our Vietnamese friends from UEF
(University of Economics and Finance). They picked us up around 6:30 pm, and
they had brought us smoothies when they picked us up. They were freshly made
from mangos, coconuts, or strawberries. Next, they took us on the back of their
motorbikes to a Vietnamese pancake restaurant. The motorbikes were awesome! We
had to wear helmets and masks because of the fume pollution when driving, but
no one cared! At this point in the week, we were starting to long for
non-Vietnamese food, but we were still up for something new. The Vietnamese
pancakes were made form rice flour and filled with vegetable meat. You then
were to wrap and piece of the pancake in a piece of lettuce and dip it in fish
oil. I did not use the fish oil, but did not care for this Vietnamese meal at
all. So I had some spring rolls instead. There were also some beef and peanut
wraps, but the smell of them also made me sick. After dinner, we rode on the
motorbikes to an ice cream shop! The ice cream seemed perfect at that point! I
had coconut ice cream with strawberry syrup! So good! We ran a few blocks back
to the hotel next because a tailor had come to the hotel. He came because some
of the guys were getting CHEAPP tailored suits, which cost about $150. We went
to the pool on the roof of the hotel for a little then and went to bed early
around 11. 
Happy to be at the Ice Cream Shop!
Eric, Tim, Elliot, and I went to the workout room at 6 this
morning. It was already over 80 degrees when we got up there, so we were all
drenched in sweat after running a mile since the windows were open in the gym,
making it over 80 degrees inside the room. We then jumped in the pool to cool
off before heading back down. Who would have thought you could swim in a pool at
6:50 in the morning without freezing. Breakfast did not go over so well since
all I found good to eat at the buffet was a banana, so I had a granola bar a
little later.
After breakfast we went to Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park
(VSIP) which was the company that my group had researched before our trip.
First, we got briefed about the industrial parks in Vietnam, and then we took a
tour of the main industrial park by Ho Chi Minh City. VSIP has four industrial
parks which serve as a location for new companies in Vietnam, assisting the
companies to get permits, workers, buildings, and government approval. After,
we toured II-IV, which is a Pittsburgh-based company in VSIP that produces
optic lenses and other laser equipment used in Lasik surgery and military
weapons. The tour was so cool, and our guide explained things so clearly. It
was interesting to learn how the American company has to adapt their policies
to be more conscious of the culture of its employees.
For lunch, we ate at the hotel again, which had a variety of
Vietnamese foods. We were starving when we got to lunch, but I did not find
much food appetizing, especially after the last few days of straight Vietnamese
food. A group of us then headed to the CO-OP (a smaller version of Walmart)
behind the hotel to grab some familiar snack foods for lunch.
In the afternoon, we had a presentation on the US Commercial
Services in Vietnam. Our speaker, Frank Joseph, discussed how his job involves
helping American companies find profitable markets in Vietnam to market and
sell their products. He has to consider current issues and future projects when
helping the companies. After the presentation, we went back to the hotel and
swam for the rest of the afternoon. We were planning on out Vietnamese student
friends taking us to a restaurant again tonight at 7, but we were starving by 4:30
pm, especially for American food. We then spent the next hour trying to order pizza
from the Domino’s Pizza in Ho Chi Minh, but we only found out that they do not
deliver to the District our hotel is in! Such a disappointment! The students
took us by taxi and motorbike to a barbeque restaurant which was really good. I
also had a mango for dinner which was awesome! We’re all pretty tired right now
and just blogging together at the hotel before we go to bed, so goodnight!
Maybe the food will be more appetizing to me tomorrow.
Chillin' like the Vietnamese do it!
Fun Fact: When crossing a street in Vietnam, the trick is to
walk slowly and let the cars go around you! The motorbikes and cars do not stop
for pedestrians, but they will move around you slightly. We called it playing
“forger” across the road. Also, women have to be extra careful when walking in
the road because people on motorbikes sometimes drive my and snatch purses.
This has not happened to our group though, especially since we hold our bags
and wear them over the opposite shoulder.
Our student friends!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Day 2: So much fun!
I'll start by describing hat we did last night for our welcome dinner. We went to a restaurant called Wrap and Roll. At this point in the day, we were all pretty tired and hungry from the jetlag, so we all ordered Pepsi for some caffeine. There was so much food at dinner though! In my words, it was enough food to feed an African village for a day. There were spring rolls made with lettuce and rie paper that were filled with rice noodles, pork, shrimp, lettuce, carrots, and/or cucumbers. There were so delicious. We were also taught how to roll our own spring roll wraps that we filled with rice noodles, pork, beef, cucumbers and bananas. They also brought out rice wraps and chicken on a bamboo stick. At this point we were stuffed but little did we know two more courses were to come. Next, they brought out a fondue type pot with vegetables and a variety of seafood. I did not cook any seafood to eat, but other kids in the group got to eat jellyfish, shrimp and squid. For dessert they brought out some watermelon and a giant citrus fruit. Finally, we all hung out when we got back to the hotel and had a great time!
Our language class today was awesome! We learned how to seriously barter when we got to the market. We leared how to say the numbers 1 through 1,000,000! The numbers 1-10 are mot, hai, ba, bon, nam, sau, bay, tam, chin and muong. Language class was an hour and half today, but it was so much fun, especially since our teacher is great. We had the typical Vetnamese food for lucnh again, which was rice, pork, bananas and shrimp.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Day 1: A New World
May 7, 2012
So today has been so exciting! I can hardly believe I am
half way around the world!
The journey here was interesting to say the least. We
basically ate and napped the whole way because we had no relevance to what time
it was. We certainly bonded as a group during that time as we took loops around
the plane aisles. We met an interesting man on the plane who was from Vietnam
and he gave us a lot of handy facts about Vietnam, such as:
·
They do not use water bottles or cups, but will
give you a drink in a baggie with a straw
·
Sometimes toilets are holes in the ground
·
A barbeque sandwich should cost under a dollar…so
do not get ripped off
·
The exchange rate is currently 20,600 dung to 1
US dollar
·
1000’s of mopeds will try to cross an
intersection at one time
·
The police will take your moped from you on the
street if you do not have its registration with you
When we got to Hong Kong airport, I bought my first beer
(Heineken)! So exciting since the drinking age in Hong Kong is 18 and they
didn’t even card us! We got into Ho Chi Minh City around midnight last night
and got back to the hotel around 1:30 am. Two kids lost their suitcases, but they
should have them by today or tomorrow. This morning we went to UEF (The
University of Economics and Finance). They had a welcome ceremony for us, where
they performed puppet show and sung songs for us. We were paired up with
Vietnamese students from the school. My student friend was named Tian
(pronounced Ton), he was an economics major, which honestly sounds like easy
math classes to me. Next, we exchanged gifts with the people at the school.
Well we basically got gifts from them, and we gave them some Pitt stuff.
Next, we had our first Vietnamese language class! It was so
exciting to learn some phrases. ‘Bang den a ye’ means ‘What’s your name?’ when
you are talking to a friend, and you would respond with ‘Doy den la Jackie.’ Hello
is ‘sin chao.’ Thank you is ‘gam on’ and sorry is ‘sin loui.’ ‘How much does it
cost’ is ‘guy ni beau new’. (All of the previous spellings correspond to the
Vietnamese pronunciation.) The student that helped me during this class was
named Tu, but she went by Lizzie. She and her friend invited us to go out with
them tomorrow night as well.
The lunch they gave us was really good too! We had rice with
vegetable soup on top, pork covered in fried rice (which looked like rice
crispie balls), chicken, cauliflower, and cherries (they looked like mini
apples). It was interesting to learn to eat with chop sticks and try new foods.
This afternoon, we went to the US Consulate in Vietnam. We
learned about the politics and economy situation in Vietnam. During our
briefing we learned that Vietnam has little crime, and most crime occurs from
purse theft…we were very careful about keeping a hand on our bags even if they
were over our shoulder for the rest of the day. It was raining a little while
we were there, but we took a tour of the grounds, which holds significant landmarks
to incidents from the Vietnam War. Part of the old embassy’s groundwork can
still be scene at the consulate’s location.
Tonight we have a welcome dinner planned at a traditional
Vietnamese restaurant. Our guide, Tran, says you have to roll the food with
your hands to eat it. I could also use a nap right now, but I have dinner in 30
minutes…
One more comment is the absurd amount of mopeds that are on
the streets! You have to be careful not to get hit, even when it is you’re turn
to cross a road or you are on the sidewalk. Well that’s all for now!
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