Well this is it. My final day in Vietnam (for now :]). I can't believe how fast this trip flew by. It feels like just yesterday I was unpacking my bags, having small chit-chat conversations with my fellow Plus 3ers and attempting to remember and pronounce all of my new Vietnamese friends' names; and now here I am, just finishing hanging out with Anh, Ha, Chi and D for the last time and starting to pack up my suitcases at 1:30 in the morning for our 3:00 AM departure to the airport. But let's rewind to the beginning of the day.
I woke up without a voice and feeling worse than the days prior. (With my luck I did not expect anything less). I had the same mentality as yesterday and I knew that if I just stayed in bed all day I would be really mad at myself later on, so I tried to make the best of it. Anyway, we started off with breakfast at the hotel for the last time. I actually think it was the best breakfast yet. The noodles were tasty and the watermelon was fresh. (Man, I'm really going to miss that watermelon.) We then boarded the bus and headed over to a soccer field by UEF.
Earlier in the week Dr.Berman said that we would be having a friendly soccer match with some UEF students on Friday morning. (Okay, no big deal). We come to find out that we are actually playing THE CLUB SOCCER TEAM. Not to mention it has been the hottest day yet since we have been here. So here we are, 13 engineering and business students (more then half of us didn't feel well to begin with so we actually had about 5 healthy people) playing practically professionals. Even though I did "play" (if could even call it that) soccer when I little I had no talent. (Just ask my Dad, he was my coach. He was probably the only reason why I got any playing time, now that I think about it...). But to my surprise we actually held our own (well maybe not 'we', mainly Jake just carrying the team on his back as he played goalie and center forward). We ended the game in a tie 4-4. Not too shabby for a bunch of kids thrown into a game.
Next we headed over to the basketball court for a 5 on 5 basketball game where we played, you guessed it, UEF'S BASKETBALL TEAM. Now, if you know me you know that I had a traumatic basketball experience when I was little. (If you want to know more about this you can read about it in my autobiography hitting stores in 2045). I only 'played' for one rotation and then I just sat on the side doing what I do best: talking with Julia, Ha, Chi, Anh and Hong Kong. After the game we took a bunch of pictures and some Pitt students gave out their gifts to some UEF students there. They were so appreciative of the T-shirts! I have never seen anyone more excited receiving a gift before.
After the festivities Ha had invited Jeff, Brian, Jake and myself to her house for lunch along with a bunch of UEF students. THE FOOD WAS SO GOOD. We had octopus, this really good beef and potato pho and rice. We then taught them how to play Mafia which was hilarious. (Julia did not initially understand the concept of the game and we had to restart at least 4 times because of her.) Afterwards we headed to the post office for some last minute souvenir purchases and then headed back to the hotel by 3:30. Julia and I went to the business center in the hotel for an hour or two so I could catch up on some work and she had finals to study for. Then Tracey came over to our hotel to say goodbye. She is the sweetest thing ever! She made me an adorable friendship bracelet and a cute little origami shirt out of Vietnamese money. (I am wearing it as I type. The bracelet not the mini origami T-shirt. Just to clarify).
At 6:30 we got all dolled up and met in the lobby for our farewell dinner on a boat the travels along the Saigon River (kinda of like the Spirit of Philadelphia). Before we left, our language teacher came to say goodbye. She was also the cutest thing ever! She kept taking pictures with all of us and saying how much she loved us. She started to tear up at the end when she was saying her final goodbyes (she almost made me cry but I stayed strong).
The restaurant was really pretty. There were lights hanging everywhere and the view was the beautiful Ho Chi Minh City skyline. The food was of course delicious. Each course came from a different country. It was a mixture of Thai, French, Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine. They had shrimp stuffed with crab meat with an almond crust; on point my friend! (My mouth is watering just thinking about it). They also had dancers perform. (Brain and I were trying to figure out what culture it was from so we came to the conclusion that they were obviously Vietnamese flamenco dancers with an Indian twist.) Later on they had a guitar and flute player which was very nice. Overall, it was a great way to end a very busy trip with a nice relaxing dinner on the water. (SIDE NOTE: One of the things I will miss is the fact that we are like celebrities here. Random people on the boat kept snapping pictures of us like paparazzi. Everyone else seemed to be a little annoyed by it but I kinda liked it :])
We got back to the hotel around 10:30 and Ha, Chi, Anh and D were sitting there in the lobby waiting for us, bearing gifts for Jake, Jeff, Brain and I. I got THE cutest next pillow ever for the plane ride home. It looks like a strawberry and has a cute little green stem. They also gave me a pink mug (which is my favorite color) with pictures of us on it. That was the most thoughtful gift ever. I also got the most adorable little key chains of these cute little cartoon Vietnamese people dressed in tradition clothes from Thanh. (They seriously listen to everything that you say. She had the same key chain and I complimented her on it last week and lo and behold she got me a matching one). They also gave me a card and said I wasn't allowed to open it until I got home. I can't wait to read it! The Pitt people are supposed to meet at 3:00 AM in the lobby so we can leave in time for our 5:00 AM flight, and Anh, Chi, Ha and D kept saying that they were going to come to the airport with us to say goodbye. (Hopefully they are just kidding because they do not live very close and they have finals at 8:00AM! I would feel bad if they came all the way over here when they should be sleeping!)
In conclusion these past 2 weeks have been the best 2 weeks of my life and I am so grateful that I had this opportunity to travel to the opposite side of the world! The swollen feet, headaches, stomach aches and ear aches to get here were totally worth it!!! I would do it all over again in a heartbeat! I honestly don't want to leave but at the same time I am excited to go home and see my puppy (and I guess my family too). I really want to thank everyone associated with the Plus 3 program, especially Dr. Berman and Bryan for planning such a phenomenal trip and experience that I will cherish forever!! A giant thank you to all of the friends that I have made here and your generous and kind hospitality. I will miss you greatly!!! I will certainly take you guys up on your offers to come back to Nam and stay at your house :D. I just have to conjure up a plan to convince my family (mainly my Dad) that we should have a family vacation here.
Well I guess that is it. It is officially over. Now I have to figure out how to get all of this stuff back into my suitcases. This should be fun.
Xin chào hẹn gặp lại
P.S. Now I think that I have been bitten by the travel bug, next stop: AUSTRALIA.....hopefully. ;]
UPDATE: Ha, Anh and D came to the airport. They are too much. Love you guys!!
No comments:
Post a Comment