Well Carly and I didn't start off the day on the right foot. We were supposed to be in the lobby ready to go by 8:00 AM and we woke up to a loud knock on the door at 8:07 AM from Bryan (our program assistant adviser, whoops!!). We both set multiple alarms and neither of us heard a thing! (I looked at my alarm later and saw that I it for 6:45 PM not AM, my bad).
Anyway we all boarded the bus and were on our way to the Cu Chi Tunnels. The Cu Chi Tunnels are a very extravagant network of connecting underground tunnels more than 250 kilometers long that the Vietnamese used for the American-Vietnam War. Prior to the trip I had ideas in my mind of what to expect. I thought that it was just going to be like a museum with a model of the tunnels. I also thought that it would just be replicas of the tunnels that you could walk in standing up and not actually the real deal. Boy was I wrong! I actually crawled in the same tunnels as the Vietnamese soldiers (well they expanded it slightly so Westerners can enter, but essentially the same thing). It was VERY difficult! (By the time the day was over I was filthy and covered in dirt literally from head to toe, and yet no one else was dirty.) I have no idea how they were able to do it between the cramped space and the 'trapped' feeling of being underground for an extended period of time.
However, before we got to climb into the tunnels. they did show us a video of the war. This was hard to watch because it had a lot of Vietnamese propaganda. They showed a woman and called her an "American Killer Hero" which was hard to hear. They also had all of the weapons and tactics that they used on display. There were example traps and tricks of how they caught Americans. Overall, it was a once in a lifetime experience to be standing on the same grounds as the US and Vietnamese Military.
Next we went to lunch at a restaurant in the vicinity of the tunnels. The restaurant was on water and over looked a river. The food was pretty tasty! They had rice, fried tofu and fish, sauteed noodles with beef and beef with vegetables. (Like the other day, I don't know if it was actually good or if it was good because I was just so hungry since I did not eat breakfast).
We got back to the hotel around late afternoon and I was sooooooo exhausted to say the least. Everyone had different dinner ideas in mind so we broke off into our own little groups. My friend Anh invited me to go shopping with her Chi and Ha so I took them up on their offer and they picked me up around 6:30. We actually didn't even end up shopping (which was fine) because the restaurant that we went to took so long! We went to a hotpot place which is very common in Vietnam. Talk about being the center of attention. I don't think I have ever been the only American in one room before. It felt weird being watched but I did not let it get to me. (It also didn't help that I was about 2 feet taller then everyone else)
After this we went to the park and met up with some more of their friends. But this park was packed! It reminded me of central park but the neat thing is that there are waiter like people that come and give you news paper to sit on and then they come and get your food and drink order. There was music playing and people walking around selling their goods. It was a really neat experience!
Another tiresome day and I have a feeling that tomorrow will be too!!
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013
Fun, fun, fun, fun, looking forward to the weekend!
I have come to the conclusion that I need to think of more/better introductory sentences for these blogs. Hopefully this introductory sentence will separate this blog from the rest. Anyway, unlike every other day, Carly and I decided to eat breakfast at a different spot. We got these DELICIOUS sweet buns that were right out of the oven. I think I might have to get them everyday now.
We arrived at UEF around 9:00 AM for a lecture about the culture and history of Vietnam. The lecturer also had us listen to some current Vietnamese rock music which was pretty neat. It sounds just like American heavy metal, just a different language. In the presentation, he discussed the yin-yang symbol. The yin and yang represents the masculine and feminine side of the human and how they interact. We also discussed the importance of numbers. Even numbers are considered bad luck and odd numbers are good luck. If you were to give an even number of flowers (lets say a dozen roses) to your girlfriend she would assume that you would want to break up or want her to leave. Overall the presentation was really interesting! In our language class we learned key phrases in bargaining like, "excuse me, how much is this?" and "too expensive! can you discount?". I have a feeling that I will be paying full price when I go shopping. After this we headed to lunch at the usual place and had shrimp, beef and pho. The flies were VERY annoying and were everywhere!
After lunch we went back to UEF and played games with the students. This was really fun! They separated us into four teams and we had mini games to play. The team in the end that had the most points won. The rounds included a free style dance competition, a game similar to million dollar pyramid, a challenge where you had to blow balloons and tie them to a person's head and a challenge where you had to pop the balloons without using your arms. The next game, they tied our arms and legs to a partner and brought out a giant mat similar to Twister's, along with two dice. This was an intense game. Some one would roll the dice and a pair from each team would have to literally dive to the part of the board that had the picture of what ever was rolled. (Our team won that round woohoo!) This was a really nice way to spend the afternoon!
We returned to the hotel where we scheduled a tailor to come and measure us for custom suits! I was measured for a suit jacket and pair of dress pants. I am super pumped to get it back and try it on!! And to top it all off it was only 1.8 million dong (which is about $86 US dollars. Unreal!) We then hurried up and got ready for our dinner at the Black Cat. This was rated having one of the best burgers in the world, and it lived up to that expectation! IT WAS SO GOOD!! Literally the best burger ever. (Dad you would have loved it). After dinner we headed over to the night club Lush. It was interesting to say the least. The flashing lights were neat and there was a wall of tvs with artsy graphics which was pretty cool. Other then that nothing really peaked my interest. (They did however play a lot of Pitbull songs which made me happy. But water bottles were so expensive!! It was nearly $5 US dollars, which doesn't seem that bad, but the fact that it is like $.50 cents everywhere else for the same size was annoying.) We got back to the hotel around 2:00 AM and I am EXHAUSTED!
Overall, it was a really fun day!!! Well considering I have to wake up in 4 hours I should probably go to bed! Xin Chao!
We arrived at UEF around 9:00 AM for a lecture about the culture and history of Vietnam. The lecturer also had us listen to some current Vietnamese rock music which was pretty neat. It sounds just like American heavy metal, just a different language. In the presentation, he discussed the yin-yang symbol. The yin and yang represents the masculine and feminine side of the human and how they interact. We also discussed the importance of numbers. Even numbers are considered bad luck and odd numbers are good luck. If you were to give an even number of flowers (lets say a dozen roses) to your girlfriend she would assume that you would want to break up or want her to leave. Overall the presentation was really interesting! In our language class we learned key phrases in bargaining like, "excuse me, how much is this?" and "too expensive! can you discount?". I have a feeling that I will be paying full price when I go shopping. After this we headed to lunch at the usual place and had shrimp, beef and pho. The flies were VERY annoying and were everywhere!
After lunch we went back to UEF and played games with the students. This was really fun! They separated us into four teams and we had mini games to play. The team in the end that had the most points won. The rounds included a free style dance competition, a game similar to million dollar pyramid, a challenge where you had to blow balloons and tie them to a person's head and a challenge where you had to pop the balloons without using your arms. The next game, they tied our arms and legs to a partner and brought out a giant mat similar to Twister's, along with two dice. This was an intense game. Some one would roll the dice and a pair from each team would have to literally dive to the part of the board that had the picture of what ever was rolled. (Our team won that round woohoo!) This was a really nice way to spend the afternoon!
We returned to the hotel where we scheduled a tailor to come and measure us for custom suits! I was measured for a suit jacket and pair of dress pants. I am super pumped to get it back and try it on!! And to top it all off it was only 1.8 million dong (which is about $86 US dollars. Unreal!) We then hurried up and got ready for our dinner at the Black Cat. This was rated having one of the best burgers in the world, and it lived up to that expectation! IT WAS SO GOOD!! Literally the best burger ever. (Dad you would have loved it). After dinner we headed over to the night club Lush. It was interesting to say the least. The flashing lights were neat and there was a wall of tvs with artsy graphics which was pretty cool. Other then that nothing really peaked my interest. (They did however play a lot of Pitbull songs which made me happy. But water bottles were so expensive!! It was nearly $5 US dollars, which doesn't seem that bad, but the fact that it is like $.50 cents everywhere else for the same size was annoying.) We got back to the hotel around 2:00 AM and I am EXHAUSTED!
Overall, it was a really fun day!!! Well considering I have to wake up in 4 hours I should probably go to bed! Xin Chao!
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Karaoke, Karaoke, KARAOKE!
Another jam packed day in Vietnam! We started off with breakfast at the hotel (like every other day). Once again the food was delicious! (They had these cute little pork sausage thinggys that tasted like hot dogs. Real classy). We then loaded the bus and headed to UEF. The bus was SOOO HOT!!! Literally everyone was just in a pool of sweat. (Again, real classy with our business casual clothes on).
In the morning we had a lecture about the history, culture and economics of the Mekong Delta. It was really interesting, just slightly on the long side! It was also slightly difficult to understand Professor Le Quang Minh. However, I did not know that shrimp production is dangerous to the environment and pollutes the water with over 200 chemicals. The professor said that the government is trying to regulate this contamination and provide subsidies to those who abide by the regulations. They are trying to use more biochemicals such as algae to act as a natural water filter in order to decrease the amount of toxins.
Next we had language class where we learned numbers and how to count to 20. The tones are so hard! I thought I knew what I was doing but when the teacher came to me to recite it out loud, she corrected every single number. (Whoops, looks like my dream career of announcing the lottery numbers in Vietnam is over). She said that tomorrow we are going to learn how to bargain for when we go to the market. She said that we should haggle them down to at least half (that should be interesting). After class we went to lunch at the usual place. They had fried shrimp which was AMAZING. We even got to see a bunch of people catch shrimp from the pond. (I didn't realize how huge and scary they are! The shrimp not the people).
Around 2:00 pm we left for Glass Egg Digital Media. Now this place was awesome!!! Even better then what I thought when I researched them prior to visiting. Glass Egg is an outsourcing game developer and art production facility. They mainly create the cars in racing games and some levels. Their clients include Microsoft, EA games, Kuju and Ubisoft. Their office is set up really cool! There is a wide open floor plan and it doesn't have the stuffy little cubicles. Also, when designing the characters and cars, the artists have this mouse pad with an electronic sketch pad that hooks up to the computer so they are able to draw it on the computer. Pretty awesome right? The presenters were the head hanchos in the company so it was very generous that they took time out of their schedule to meet with us and give us a tour. When the presentation was over, 2 of the 3 owners said that they also have another investment project: a night club. They told us that tomorrow night (Friday), they reserved us a table to come and hang out. This should be interesting considering I've never to to one....
Around 6:30 about 15 UEF students picked all of us Pitt students up and went to a karaoke bar. This was SOOOOO FUN!!! (Apparently Celine Dion and Mariah Carey are the go tos in Vietnam). I told a few of the students early on that I liked Nicki Minaj and sure enough they forced me to sing 'Star ships'. I think everyone had a good time. Around 10:00 pm we finally got dinner! By that time a lot of people had already left so ended up going to Tokyo town (which is right down the street) for Japanese food. It was really good!! (But I don't know if it was good because it actually was tasty or because I was just so hungry!) We got back to the hotel just before midnight!
So yeah another busy day down and I'm sure there will be more to come!
In the morning we had a lecture about the history, culture and economics of the Mekong Delta. It was really interesting, just slightly on the long side! It was also slightly difficult to understand Professor Le Quang Minh. However, I did not know that shrimp production is dangerous to the environment and pollutes the water with over 200 chemicals. The professor said that the government is trying to regulate this contamination and provide subsidies to those who abide by the regulations. They are trying to use more biochemicals such as algae to act as a natural water filter in order to decrease the amount of toxins.
Next we had language class where we learned numbers and how to count to 20. The tones are so hard! I thought I knew what I was doing but when the teacher came to me to recite it out loud, she corrected every single number. (Whoops, looks like my dream career of announcing the lottery numbers in Vietnam is over). She said that tomorrow we are going to learn how to bargain for when we go to the market. She said that we should haggle them down to at least half (that should be interesting). After class we went to lunch at the usual place. They had fried shrimp which was AMAZING. We even got to see a bunch of people catch shrimp from the pond. (I didn't realize how huge and scary they are! The shrimp not the people).
Around 2:00 pm we left for Glass Egg Digital Media. Now this place was awesome!!! Even better then what I thought when I researched them prior to visiting. Glass Egg is an outsourcing game developer and art production facility. They mainly create the cars in racing games and some levels. Their clients include Microsoft, EA games, Kuju and Ubisoft. Their office is set up really cool! There is a wide open floor plan and it doesn't have the stuffy little cubicles. Also, when designing the characters and cars, the artists have this mouse pad with an electronic sketch pad that hooks up to the computer so they are able to draw it on the computer. Pretty awesome right? The presenters were the head hanchos in the company so it was very generous that they took time out of their schedule to meet with us and give us a tour. When the presentation was over, 2 of the 3 owners said that they also have another investment project: a night club. They told us that tomorrow night (Friday), they reserved us a table to come and hang out. This should be interesting considering I've never to to one....
Around 6:30 about 15 UEF students picked all of us Pitt students up and went to a karaoke bar. This was SOOOOO FUN!!! (Apparently Celine Dion and Mariah Carey are the go tos in Vietnam). I told a few of the students early on that I liked Nicki Minaj and sure enough they forced me to sing 'Star ships'. I think everyone had a good time. Around 10:00 pm we finally got dinner! By that time a lot of people had already left so ended up going to Tokyo town (which is right down the street) for Japanese food. It was really good!! (But I don't know if it was good because it actually was tasty or because I was just so hungry!) We got back to the hotel just before midnight!
So yeah another busy day down and I'm sure there will be more to come!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Welcome to the Monsoon.
Well today was SUPER busy! We started the day off with breakfast at the hotel. They had these really good sauteed noodles with vegetables and some sort of meat that I am not entirely sure of but I made sure to take a picture of the sign so when I am out and about I know what to get! They also had really good, sweet cake too.
Anyway, we headed over to VSIP for our company visit around 8:15 AM. Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park is a world class industrial park with locations throughout Vietnam. This thing is massive and is definitely a conglomerate here in Nam. There are so many different companies in this one park, it's nuts! The presenter was very sweet but slightly difficult to understand at times. The brief overview of what she said was that VSIP creates the buildings in the park for companies to use. With this comes a lot of international marketing in order to get a vast array of people interested. There are a copious amount of American companies that have established themselves here and are located in the park including P&G, Avon, Unilever and Kimberly-Clark. There are quite a few competitive advantages to being within the industrial park. For example something really helpful is that the management board at VSIP has the authority to grant permits for the companies in the park. This speeds up the process of waiting to hear back from the city for eligibility, which in America is a major bump in the timeline of construction. There is also a 24 hour security team, sports facilities, restaurants, banks and a post office all on site for workers to use. Some companies even provide housing for their workers similar to dorms.
After this, David the chief engineer from II-VI (a business in the park), came to present. An interesting thing about him is that he is the only employee at 2-6 (in Vietnam) that is American. Another fun fact is that the company is based out of Pennsylvania and Texas and the person in charge of the company is a Pitt Alum (pretty cool right?). II-VI is a material based company and all of their products are built to order. They make things for aerospace, defense, lasers and a bunch of other engineering widgets. Another fun fact (I'm full of them today) is that they make the glass thinggy mabobby that cuts your eye for the Lasik eye surgery & they are the sole source of it. (There ya go Ma). We toured their manufacturing warehouse (which kind of reminded me of a waaaaaay better Bosch, QA and Fab from Airline. I took a bunch of pictures for you Dad to vamp up the warehouse).
It was finally lunch time and we actually went to a Chinese food restaurant. It was soooo good! I had pho with octopus and tofu, really good beef and broccoli. While we were leaving a major rain storm hit and it hit hard! The don't call it monsoon season for nothing! The waiters used umbrellas to take us to the other side of the street (which was literally 5 feet away. It was very nice of them). The streets were flooded and people were still riding their motorbikes (but this time wearing ponchos).
Next we were off to EIU (a different university) to meet with students. Everyone there was really nice and friendly. The student presenter had a British/Australian/Vietnamese accent when she spoke English and she said she picked it up by watching Harry Potter (funny right?). We played a game, similar to pictionary, where we were all divided into groups mixed with EIU and Pitt students. Each group was given a holiday (American or Vietnamese) and the students that did not celebrate that holiday had to draw what it is by the descriptions given from other students. For example, in Vietnam they have Teacher Appreciation Day on November 20th where students go back to one of their previous teachers and give them gifts and flowers. So us 3 plus 3 students had to draw what we thought it looked like. It was really fun.
Around 7:00, the 14 of us split up into 2 groups for dinner. Brain, Jeff and I went with about 10 or so Vietnamese students to a shellfish restaurant. The tables were practically two feet off the ground and we sat on these tiny plastic chairs. To sum it all up I sucked a snail out of it's shell, ate an oyster, had a crab leg, ate a different kind of snail and had an octopus tentacle. It was different but I figured I mind as well embrace the culture while I am here! They then took us on a tour of the city and saw the skyline light up at night. (I tried to take pictures but riding a motorbike and clicking pictures didn't seem like a good idea to me). We then went to a dessert place (however, my motorbike driver and I got there about 15 minutes later because we got lost on the way over. I must be a bad luck charm considering I'm 2/2 for getting lost) and I ate what seemed like leeche fruit, cheese and almonds with sugar water in a bowl. It was actually pretty good, just super sweet! (Hopefully I will not be hovering over the trashcan tomorrow)
All and all it was a busy and fun day!! Tomorrow we go to Glass Egg Digital Media (the company I did my presentation on) so I am pretty excited!
Until next time America...
P.S. Just thought of another fun fact! Vietnamese workers can take off 5 days a month and do not have to tell their boss beforehand. They just don't show up for work. Also, women get 6 months off from work for maternity leave, paid! Nice right?!
Anyway, we headed over to VSIP for our company visit around 8:15 AM. Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park is a world class industrial park with locations throughout Vietnam. This thing is massive and is definitely a conglomerate here in Nam. There are so many different companies in this one park, it's nuts! The presenter was very sweet but slightly difficult to understand at times. The brief overview of what she said was that VSIP creates the buildings in the park for companies to use. With this comes a lot of international marketing in order to get a vast array of people interested. There are a copious amount of American companies that have established themselves here and are located in the park including P&G, Avon, Unilever and Kimberly-Clark. There are quite a few competitive advantages to being within the industrial park. For example something really helpful is that the management board at VSIP has the authority to grant permits for the companies in the park. This speeds up the process of waiting to hear back from the city for eligibility, which in America is a major bump in the timeline of construction. There is also a 24 hour security team, sports facilities, restaurants, banks and a post office all on site for workers to use. Some companies even provide housing for their workers similar to dorms.
After this, David the chief engineer from II-VI (a business in the park), came to present. An interesting thing about him is that he is the only employee at 2-6 (in Vietnam) that is American. Another fun fact is that the company is based out of Pennsylvania and Texas and the person in charge of the company is a Pitt Alum (pretty cool right?). II-VI is a material based company and all of their products are built to order. They make things for aerospace, defense, lasers and a bunch of other engineering widgets. Another fun fact (I'm full of them today) is that they make the glass thinggy mabobby that cuts your eye for the Lasik eye surgery & they are the sole source of it. (There ya go Ma). We toured their manufacturing warehouse (which kind of reminded me of a waaaaaay better Bosch, QA and Fab from Airline. I took a bunch of pictures for you Dad to vamp up the warehouse).
It was finally lunch time and we actually went to a Chinese food restaurant. It was soooo good! I had pho with octopus and tofu, really good beef and broccoli. While we were leaving a major rain storm hit and it hit hard! The don't call it monsoon season for nothing! The waiters used umbrellas to take us to the other side of the street (which was literally 5 feet away. It was very nice of them). The streets were flooded and people were still riding their motorbikes (but this time wearing ponchos).
Next we were off to EIU (a different university) to meet with students. Everyone there was really nice and friendly. The student presenter had a British/Australian/Vietnamese accent when she spoke English and she said she picked it up by watching Harry Potter (funny right?). We played a game, similar to pictionary, where we were all divided into groups mixed with EIU and Pitt students. Each group was given a holiday (American or Vietnamese) and the students that did not celebrate that holiday had to draw what it is by the descriptions given from other students. For example, in Vietnam they have Teacher Appreciation Day on November 20th where students go back to one of their previous teachers and give them gifts and flowers. So us 3 plus 3 students had to draw what we thought it looked like. It was really fun.
Around 7:00, the 14 of us split up into 2 groups for dinner. Brain, Jeff and I went with about 10 or so Vietnamese students to a shellfish restaurant. The tables were practically two feet off the ground and we sat on these tiny plastic chairs. To sum it all up I sucked a snail out of it's shell, ate an oyster, had a crab leg, ate a different kind of snail and had an octopus tentacle. It was different but I figured I mind as well embrace the culture while I am here! They then took us on a tour of the city and saw the skyline light up at night. (I tried to take pictures but riding a motorbike and clicking pictures didn't seem like a good idea to me). We then went to a dessert place (however, my motorbike driver and I got there about 15 minutes later because we got lost on the way over. I must be a bad luck charm considering I'm 2/2 for getting lost) and I ate what seemed like leeche fruit, cheese and almonds with sugar water in a bowl. It was actually pretty good, just super sweet! (Hopefully I will not be hovering over the trashcan tomorrow)
All and all it was a busy and fun day!! Tomorrow we go to Glass Egg Digital Media (the company I did my presentation on) so I am pretty excited!
Until next time America...
P.S. Just thought of another fun fact! Vietnamese workers can take off 5 days a month and do not have to tell their boss beforehand. They just don't show up for work. Also, women get 6 months off from work for maternity leave, paid! Nice right?!
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Phu My Hung, Phu My FUN!
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM. Another steamy day here in Nam! This morning we were at school by 9:00 AM for a lecture about urban development planning in Ho Chi Minh City. The professor was really knowledgeable of the past, current state and future predictions of the economy. Ho Chi Minh City went through a globalization process where the city shifted from a centrally plan based economy to a market based economy. I didn't realize that HCMC plays such a vital role in the well being of the entire country. It accounts for 58% of the regional GDP and 21.3% of the national GDP. They also accounted for 72% of value added goods. This is mind boggling to me because HCMC has only 8% of the population and 7% of the labor force. Some other interesting statistics the lecturer said was that there are only 11.7 doctors per 1,000 people and 675 motorbikes on the road per 1,000 people.
After the lecture we had a little break before language class where Tin took us on a tour of UEF. (But before I get to that I must talk about Vietnamese coffee: It is the greatest thing that you have ever tasted. Mom you need to come here and try it. Sorry WaWa). Anyway, the school was only built 3 years ago so it's practically brand new. I was surprised about the amount and topics of the books in English at the library. (I briefly skimmed through a Organizational Behavior text book. It's pretty much the same of what I learned last semester).
Next we had Vietnamese class which was really fun! 'D' and Chau (UEF students) helped me out a lot. D told me that I basically suck at Vietnamese and need to 'train' my tongue and jaw in order to actually do well. (Thanks for the encouragement D, I will be sure to get on that). We learned how to say 'how are you?' to different people (i.e. elders, female/male teachers, friends, informal formal). After class we went to lunch at the same place as yesterday. The food was soooooooooo much better today. The chicken and pork were AWESOME.
Once we were done eating, we loaded the bus and went to Phu My Hung along with 6 or 7 UEF students. That building is incredible! (Pictures soon to follow). We went to a conference room on the top floor of this building that looked out over the entire city. It was beautiful and definitely a sight to see! We took a bunch of pictures out on the balcony. Phu My Hung designed this really high end area called the crescent (all of the buildings are on the curve around the water). It has a mall, residence areas, plazas and the Starlight bridge which lights up at night. PMH also does something really interesting with their buildings. They have something called B.O.T.: build, operate and transfer. So what they do is they build these amazing buildings (B), lease it out to stores or people that want to use it (O), and then after 15 years they tear the building down and put up another one that meets the current needs of the people (T). The presenter was really easy to talk to and actually went to college in Indiana (and a marketing major too which was pretty cool). Over the past 18 years they took this area of HCMC that was originally all marshland and made it into this beautiful city that looks like the really expensive villas in Florida!
We were back to the hotel by 4:00 and then we all hit the pool, which is on the roof and looks over the city. Around 5:30 Clarissa and I decided to go on a little shopping trip around the block. Let's just say that it took us over an hour to get back. We asked 5 different people and vendors how to get back to the hotel and luckily a nice couple was able to direct us in the right direction. Everyone on the streets were very friendly, waived and said 'Hi'. Thank God Clarissa kept it calm, cool and collected because I was freaking out on the inside!
Around 6:45, 6 UEF students came to take us out to eat. (I road on a motorbike for the first time. IT WAS THE SCARIEST AND MOST AWESOME THING THAT I HAVE EVER DONE IN THE HISTORY OF MY LIFE. Don't worry Dad I had a helmet and they gave me one of those masks that doctors wear to protect me from the fumes. Not gonna lie, I may have shut my eyes once or twice and held onto the handles for dear life). We went to this really awesome restaurant where there are burners in the table and they give you the meat to cook for yourself. I had goat....and it was actually really tasty! (When in Nam right?) Next they brought out beef and then shrimp on a skewer. Fun fact about the shrimp: IT WAS STILL ALIVE. (This is going to sound really stupid but when I think of shrimp, I think of the shrimp rings that you buy in the frozen food section with the cocktail sauce in the middle. I didn't even realize that they had actual heads with black beady eyes and long whiskers). I felt bad putting it on the burner because it was still moving when I picked it up, but honestly it was the best shrimp that I ever had. Oh! And they have the best watermelon here too! At this restaurant it is like family style seating and there were a lot of other large parties. There were 2 birthday dinners so they turned off the lights and gave everyone at those tables sparklers and played happy birthday, and then the macarena followed by gangnam style (which was interesting). Oh and another cool thing that the customers do is that they all raise their glasses and shout "1, 2, 3, Cheers!" in Vietnamese. Our UEF friends taught us how say it and we did that a few times which was fun! The only down side was that it was outside so it was EXTREMELY hot and humid.
After a long discussion of where to go, 18 of us walked down to the mall. So, everyone thinks that King Of Prussia is the nicest mall? Well they need to come to Vietnam. This place is beautiful! (they told me it just opened 2 or 3 months ago). It was very high end, with all kinds of brand name stores. (However, my Vietnamese friends told me not to even buy anything there because it is too expensive and they will teach me how to barter at the market). The coolest part of the mall was the way it is designed. The stores are separated by what kind of items they sell, so each floor has a theme. For example, the bottom was a food court with all kinds of restaurants and dessert shops, there was a floor for furniture, one for clothes, one for electronics etc. (America needs to get on this, or at least Philadelphia). We were all back to the hotel by 10:15 ready to hit the hay!
Over all, this was the best day yet and it's only day two! Well tomorrow is another jam packed day and I cannot wait to see what is store for me.
P.S. I am sorry that these blogs are so long! I'm trying to be as descriptive as I can because later on I want to make sure that I remembered everything that happened!
After the lecture we had a little break before language class where Tin took us on a tour of UEF. (But before I get to that I must talk about Vietnamese coffee: It is the greatest thing that you have ever tasted. Mom you need to come here and try it. Sorry WaWa). Anyway, the school was only built 3 years ago so it's practically brand new. I was surprised about the amount and topics of the books in English at the library. (I briefly skimmed through a Organizational Behavior text book. It's pretty much the same of what I learned last semester).
Next we had Vietnamese class which was really fun! 'D' and Chau (UEF students) helped me out a lot. D told me that I basically suck at Vietnamese and need to 'train' my tongue and jaw in order to actually do well. (Thanks for the encouragement D, I will be sure to get on that). We learned how to say 'how are you?' to different people (i.e. elders, female/male teachers, friends, informal formal). After class we went to lunch at the same place as yesterday. The food was soooooooooo much better today. The chicken and pork were AWESOME.
Once we were done eating, we loaded the bus and went to Phu My Hung along with 6 or 7 UEF students. That building is incredible! (Pictures soon to follow). We went to a conference room on the top floor of this building that looked out over the entire city. It was beautiful and definitely a sight to see! We took a bunch of pictures out on the balcony. Phu My Hung designed this really high end area called the crescent (all of the buildings are on the curve around the water). It has a mall, residence areas, plazas and the Starlight bridge which lights up at night. PMH also does something really interesting with their buildings. They have something called B.O.T.: build, operate and transfer. So what they do is they build these amazing buildings (B), lease it out to stores or people that want to use it (O), and then after 15 years they tear the building down and put up another one that meets the current needs of the people (T). The presenter was really easy to talk to and actually went to college in Indiana (and a marketing major too which was pretty cool). Over the past 18 years they took this area of HCMC that was originally all marshland and made it into this beautiful city that looks like the really expensive villas in Florida!
We were back to the hotel by 4:00 and then we all hit the pool, which is on the roof and looks over the city. Around 5:30 Clarissa and I decided to go on a little shopping trip around the block. Let's just say that it took us over an hour to get back. We asked 5 different people and vendors how to get back to the hotel and luckily a nice couple was able to direct us in the right direction. Everyone on the streets were very friendly, waived and said 'Hi'. Thank God Clarissa kept it calm, cool and collected because I was freaking out on the inside!
Around 6:45, 6 UEF students came to take us out to eat. (I road on a motorbike for the first time. IT WAS THE SCARIEST AND MOST AWESOME THING THAT I HAVE EVER DONE IN THE HISTORY OF MY LIFE. Don't worry Dad I had a helmet and they gave me one of those masks that doctors wear to protect me from the fumes. Not gonna lie, I may have shut my eyes once or twice and held onto the handles for dear life). We went to this really awesome restaurant where there are burners in the table and they give you the meat to cook for yourself. I had goat....and it was actually really tasty! (When in Nam right?) Next they brought out beef and then shrimp on a skewer. Fun fact about the shrimp: IT WAS STILL ALIVE. (This is going to sound really stupid but when I think of shrimp, I think of the shrimp rings that you buy in the frozen food section with the cocktail sauce in the middle. I didn't even realize that they had actual heads with black beady eyes and long whiskers). I felt bad putting it on the burner because it was still moving when I picked it up, but honestly it was the best shrimp that I ever had. Oh! And they have the best watermelon here too! At this restaurant it is like family style seating and there were a lot of other large parties. There were 2 birthday dinners so they turned off the lights and gave everyone at those tables sparklers and played happy birthday, and then the macarena followed by gangnam style (which was interesting). Oh and another cool thing that the customers do is that they all raise their glasses and shout "1, 2, 3, Cheers!" in Vietnamese. Our UEF friends taught us how say it and we did that a few times which was fun! The only down side was that it was outside so it was EXTREMELY hot and humid.
After a long discussion of where to go, 18 of us walked down to the mall. So, everyone thinks that King Of Prussia is the nicest mall? Well they need to come to Vietnam. This place is beautiful! (they told me it just opened 2 or 3 months ago). It was very high end, with all kinds of brand name stores. (However, my Vietnamese friends told me not to even buy anything there because it is too expensive and they will teach me how to barter at the market). The coolest part of the mall was the way it is designed. The stores are separated by what kind of items they sell, so each floor has a theme. For example, the bottom was a food court with all kinds of restaurants and dessert shops, there was a floor for furniture, one for clothes, one for electronics etc. (America needs to get on this, or at least Philadelphia). We were all back to the hotel by 10:15 ready to hit the hay!
Over all, this was the best day yet and it's only day two! Well tomorrow is another jam packed day and I cannot wait to see what is store for me.
P.S. I am sorry that these blogs are so long! I'm trying to be as descriptive as I can because later on I want to make sure that I remembered everything that happened!
Monday, May 13, 2013
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.
_________________________________________________________________________________
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!
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.
_________________________________________________________________________________
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!
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