First Day in the New Land!

May 12, 2013
Well, we are here in VIETNAM! I can't believe it. It still hasn't sunk in yet that I am on the other side of the world. We landed in Ho Chi Minh City around 10:00 PM Vietnam time on Sunday. The flights were pretty rough for me to say the least. (Not gonna lie, I cried during every take off on each flight). The first flight from Pittsburgh to Chicago was the toughest for me personally even though it was only 2 hours long. This flight really messed up my ears, which set the stage for the next two flights. The 13 hour flight from Chicago to Japan wasn't too bad, though my ears were still in pain, it wasn't nearly as bad as the first flight.

About two hours into the third flight I thought to myself, "Wow I'm really doing well! No ear problems, I can finally fly in peace". Sure enough I began to feel nauseous and had to call the flight attendant over to my seat to get me a bag for air sickness. She then took me to a different row in the back of the plane. The crew on the plane was very nice. They brought me washcloths, water and kept asking me if I was okay. (I am now BFFs with all of the Japanese flight attendants).  Needless to say, I was VERY happy once we landed.

Talk about hot and humid! As soon as you stepped out of the airport, the heat hits you like a brick wall! Tin, (our Vietnamese buddy from UEF who is the most adorable thing you've ever seen), came and picked us up along with Dr. Berman. We were all checked into the hotel a little before midnight.

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May 13, 2013 (Today)

It was a loooooooong day, fun but long! Carly (my roommate) and I woke up early for breakfast at the hotel before our 9:15 departure to school. The breakfast buffet had a bunch of different noodle based dishes with pork and beef, fried rice, an omelette station, steamed rice, the best watermelon you've ever had, and tons of other dishes and fruits.

After this we loaded the bus and headed to UEF. This traffic is CRAZY! I probably only saw one traffic light total. The roads have taxis, a few private owned vehicles and about a million and one motorbikes. Now these motor-bicyclists load everything onto these tiny scooters, and I mean everything! I saw four people on one bike, a giant skid of goods on another, a man holding what looked like a sheet of plexiglass, then people strapped these enormous statues to their bikes; you name it they had it connected to their bike somehow!

The UEF welcoming ceremony was really awesome! All of the students were really friendly and eager to talk. I met this really nice girl named Julè. She is also studying business which is pretty cool.  There were two dance performances (Julè was one of the dancers) and then they brought us to the front of the class to try the moves. (*SIDE NOTE: Get this, the first song they danced to was a Pitbull song, which was AWESOME because I love him. I told Julè that I am going to see him in concert and her eyes lit up because she loves him too. So weird right?!) After the dances and introductions, the students presented us with gifts, which was really nice. We received UEF polo shirts and information about the school. After this they passed out the lyrics to Heal the World by Michael Jackson, put on the music and we all sang along.

Next came Vietnamese language class. That was something. There are 6 tones that they use and each tone gives the same word different meanings. It's really hard! Luckily though they use the Roman alphabet so I don't have to worry about learning all of these different characters. I learned how to say hello/good bye, my name is Danielle and letters of the alphabet. The UEF student that helped me in this class was also really nice and answered all of my questions on pronunciation.

After this we went to lunch at Tham Luong Quan. You can fish for your own shrimp at this restaurant but we didn't do that. The pork and rice was really good! I also liked the shrimp which I did not realize until after I ate it that it was the entire shrimp; head and all. If I would of known that prior to I probably wouldn't have even touched it but I'm glad that I did try new things. I also think I had pho with potatoes, carrots and beef, but I'm not entirely sure.

After this we had about a 45 minute break to get changed for the U.S. Consulate. That was really surreal. It had very tight security; you needed your passport in order to enter, no cameras or phones allowed and you had to be escorted the whole time. Dr. Berman set up a meeting with employees to learn more about what the Consulate actually is. (They mainly process visas). We had a really interesting Q&A session. The whole process to get a job there is really intense. They said that it takes almost 2 years to process everything and get assigned. Bryan then took us on a tour of the building and outside area (which lies where the U.S. Embassy was). We passed by this beautiful tree that resembled the one in Animal Kingdom that was there since the Vietnam War so it saw everything that happened. If only trees could talk right? Also the Vietnamese have a monument outside of the enclosed yard, on the side walk, honoring those Vietnamese men that were killed. On the Consulate side there is also a monument honoring the American soldiers.

After this we had some down time so Carly and I went to the Co-op which is like Vietnam's Walmart. That was really neat. However we couldn't find cases of water so I asked a woman that worked there. I have never felt so helpless. The woman just smiled and had absolutely no idea what I was saying. Hopefully I will start to learn some phrases in class that will help me out! (SIDE NOTE: I crossed the street for the first time. Didn't go as bad as I thought but still really terrifying playing human frogger! Just walk in a straight line with purpose and you should be good to go)

After this we went out for dinner. There was soooooooo much food! The waiters kept bringing plate after plate after plate. I tried everything, some things were better then others. I felt rude not finishing any of my food but I was so nauseous that just the site or discussion of food made me sick. (Oh and having the waiter spill his tray of iced tea on me was not helping the situation).

The city looks really cool at night! It's interesting because you see a really new, modern looking building all lit up and then right next door is a rundown little store. You can see all of the improvements that they are making. We passed by Chanel, Ralph Lauren, Gucci, and a bunch of other hoity-toity stores that I was surprised to see.

Well, I better go to bed and try to get out of this sick slump. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

Xin chào!