Day 5: Back in the USA 2: Merica - 8.5.15

Today, we started the day off with more school. We had another culture lecture, this time on the different religions of Vietnam. There were definitely a lot more than I expected. There was even one called Caodaism, which basically seemed like a religion that included a bunch of deities from different religions, such as the Hebrew God, Buddha, etc. In language class, we learned how to count on Vietnamese. We'll be using the few numbers that we remember when we go to the market on Monday so we can try to bargain.

In front of the US Consulate

After lunch at Kent, we went over to the U.S. Consulate. We finally made it back to U.S. soil. It was pretty amazing to be able to stand right where the Tet Offensive took place. After being briefed by some representatives from the Cobsulate on what happens there, we were given a tour of the courtyard. Afterwards, we had our picture taken in front of the well known flower beds that were made famous by LIFE Magazine after the war.

During our talk with Nate, Gerard, and Malika (who's basically my sister that I've never met before), we learned a lot about how the consulate is dedicated to strengthening the bonds between the Americans and Vietnamese. They're clearly doing an amazing job. The students here all love us, and so do a lot of the other people that we come across. We even wind up with a lot of people taking pictures of us and with us wherever we go.

Speaking of Vietnamese students loving us, we went to the American Center, a place for Vietnamese students from nearby universities to hang out, and basically love American culture. The last time we were there, we saw a group of students studying and watching Friends. We went into a pretty large room and a few moments later, a bunch of Vietnamese students piled in. Gerard introduced what we would be doing, which was really just talking to the students, asking and answering questions. And boy did they have a lot of questions. This was really the best part of the trip. Being able to interact with the students, see their views on my own culture, their culture, and whatever else was a really amazing experience.

It all started off pretty awkward. Gerard put us into groups, two American students to a lot of Vietnamese students, and didn't really give us anything to talk about. In hindsight, I'm really glad he did this, since it allowed for more authentic interactions with them. At first, it was pretty silent, so I decided to start asking general, introduction questions about where they're from, their majors, etc. It turns out that quite a few of them are English majors and many of them really wanted to go to the States.

Once the real questions started flowing, I began to learn so much about these students, their lives, and their love for my own culture. I knew that a lot of the Vietnamese students at UEF loved us, but I didn't realize until this point just how much the UEF students as well as students of other universities loved us. They definitely weren't afraid to ask the personal questions either. One kid asked me how many wives I had (I guess I look like the type to be married already) and another persistently asked what kind of girls I liked. After some of the awkward questions, and one kid saying I look like Derrick Rose (probably said it since I ball like him) we got to talking about more general culture. We were talking about sports, and I realized they don't know quite a few of the sports we have in the states. I had to explain to them what lacrosse is, and I'm just convinced they'll never know what football is. Whenever someone says football, they think soccer, no matter what. I was definitely surprised to see how well they knew American movies. That really showed me just how interested they are in the English language. After about two hours of talking to the students, we finally took some pictures with them and left. Realizing that these kids are exactly the same as me despite speaking a different language was really an amazing way to end the day.

'Nam Squad

Big Bird

Later on in the day, we ate small (cooked) birds.