Day 12: No Sleep Till Newark 15.5.15

The trip so far has been incredibly amazing. I've definitely been looking forward to our long awaited soccer and basketball games. We were thinking that we would maybe lose in soccer and dominate in basketball, but it happened to be the other way around. Our coach, Bryan, led us to almost victory during our basketball game (I have no clue what the score is but let's be honest it was probably pretty close) and then he led us to another almost victory in our soccer match. Despite the loss in the first soccer match, he led the team to victory in the girls vs girls soccer match. It definitely helped that a lot of the team has played competitively before. No one really played much basketball before coming to 'Nam though. But after the games, we were all definitely way sweatier than we've ever been the entire trip.

After the amazing games, we stayed around the gym a little longer to talk to all of the Vietnamese students. There, we all exchanged gifts. Afterwards, we took our bus to get lunch. At first, the driver dropped us off at the wrong place. We walked around for a few blocks before we actually realized. Luckily, Kate found a street vendor selling really cold tea! It was really more of a bottle of honey with some tea added to it. Ms Luan got our bus driver back and we wound up showing up to the restaurant about 20 minutes late. When we were seated, we were welcomed by a sampler of a bunch of different gelatinous rice type foods. I wasn't really a big fan of all of the gelatinous stuff, but this was pretty great. We didn't even bother trying to get the Vietnamese students to explain what the stuff was, we just really wanted to get our food.

After the gelatinous rice stuff, we got served some phở that had a bunch of stuff in it. The weirdest thing there was the chunk of blood floating in the bowl. Definitely didn't eat that. Besides that, there was a bunch of other meat in it and I had no clue what any of it was, but it was amazing. After lunch, we all piled into a nearby room, still in the restaurant and were served dessert. Dessert was a drink made with coconut milk, ice, corn paste, chunks of jelly, and of course some other unidentifiable stuff.

Later on, we had some down time in the hotel. We were advised to start packing, but I took a nap (priorities of course). In the evening, we all went down to the lobby in our best attire (áo dài for the girls and suits for the guys) to take some pictures with Ms Luan and some of the UEF students.
It was pretty great being able to see everyone all dressed up. Of course, the people that were just hanging out in the lobby before we came down were staring, but we're a good looking bunch of people so it's definitely understandable.

Following all of the photos, some of us changed into some business casual outfits while a lot of us stayed in our suits and we all went out to our farewell dinner. Dinner tonight was definitely as fancy as it gets. We went out to eat on a boat and got a bit of a boat tour of the city. Ho Chi Minh City looked incredible from the river. Of course, we all had to go to the side and front of the boat to check out the view. But the food was pretty great too. We started out with a few seafood dishes plus a bunch of vegetables. Afterwards, there was a hotpot filled with some noodles, vegetables, beef, and some fish balls. After the meal, Ms Luan presented us with an amazing cake with both the Pitt and UEF logos and the caption "Plus 3 Vietnam 2015 Friends Forever" printed on it. Two guys from a nearby table came over to me and said that they had a bet to see who could get a piece of cake first. They were Canadian too which meant that I had to get Canadian Aster involved in the conversation.

Views from the boat

At the end of the night, I had to start packing. It was a struggle. Luckily Rachel brought a scale for our suitcases and when I weighed mine, it was 48 pounds, just below the limit. Later, some of us went to a nearby roundabout that had a bit of a pond in the center. We drove by it almost everyday but never actually went to visit it. Despite a few rats (GIANT RATS) it was an amazing sight. Above the water were multiple walkways and stairs and above everything was a giant metal flower. Afterwards, most of us reconvened later. No one went to sleep since we had to check out of the hotel by 2 am.

Metal flower tower in the roundabout

Of course while we were in the airport, I got stopped twice. At Cu Chi Tunnels, I bought a lighter made from old bullets. That didn't fly with the Vietnamese TSA (wow that was punny) and so I lost it. At the gate, I got stopped again because they forgot that they already took it out of my suitcase and wanted to search it again. Fortunately, I didn't get stopped again. Then we got to Newark. I got stopped by TSA on account of a bottle filled with liquid in my backpack. After talking to the TSA agent about spicy food while he searched my bag, there was no bottle (surprise). Later, I finally arrived at BWI. I was walking over to baggage claim and nearly walked by my mom who was there waiting for me. She laughed at me a bit when I started talking to her because I lost my voice on account of laryngitis (no clue how I got laryngitis). It was great to be home, but I was definitely looking forwards to my next trip to Vietnam.

Day one throwback 

Day 11: A Brief History Lesson - 14.5.15

Today's the last day that we'll be taking classes at UEF. We had the most interesting culture lecture today and it was definitely more enjoyable than a lot of the others, mostly on account of the professor that gave the lecture. He told us about the culture pertaining to meanings behind things that we deal with everyday like numbers and art. He told us how a really ugly painting can actually mean something pertaining to the creation of the world and how different numbers of flowers for example mean different things (nine flowers is basically a marriage proposal while four might mean death).

In language class, we basically had a really long "test." Our instructor really had us doing a bunch of activities to demonstrate how much of what she taught we were actually able to retain. I'm really glad we were able to do this in groups because it was a whole lot harder than I expected. First, she got us to count to 10 in Vietnamese. I didn't think it would be that hard, so I volunteered for my group. I had to get a little help from my boy Bo, one of the UEF students, because I was still getting my numbers mixed up. We had to be able to say a lot of conversational stuff as well. Gotta admit, that was a bit of a struggle too. Despite that, I'll definitely miss being in this class. Our instructor was incredibly entertaining and made every class enjoyable. Afterwards, as usual, we went to what would be our final lunch at Kent International's canteen.

After lunch, we visited the Xá Lợi pagoda, a nearby Buddhist temple. This wasn't just any ordinary Buddhist temple, this is a temple that was used as a gathering place for Buddhist monks protesting the Southern Vietnamese government during the Vietnam War. This isn't a place that many tourists would go to since it is out of most people's way. We were greeted at the door by an elderly monk. Before entering, we had to take of our shoes and put on robes and aprons to cover up. The first thing I saw when I walked in was a huge Buddha in the back, as well as giant carvings depicting moments of his life. Afterwards, we went to the Venerable Thíc Quảng Ɖức Memorial. Behind the statue of him self-immolating, there is a carving of him self-immolating in front of a huge crowd of monks.

From the memorial, we walked to the War Remnants Museum, formerly the Exhibition House for US and Puppet Crimes. The museum primarily contains exhibits pertaining to the American War. A lot of these really show the Americans in the country as being pretty evil. Regardless of my views on the war, I couldn't help but to feel bad, especially when I walked into what I called "the orange room." At first, I was slightly drawn into the room on account of the dim lights and the bright orange walls. Then I realized why everything was orange. It was an exhibit to display the effects of Agent Orange on the country, both during and after the war. Although the exhibit was shown in a way to favor the Vietnamese like all of the others, it was still very upsetting to see just how the chemicals used in the war still affect the country. I was definitely glad to learn more about the war from the perspectives of those affected the most.

Somehow I wound up back at McDonald's. It was so good round two was definitely necessary. Akhil came with us and he made some friends.

Day 10: Fine Dining and Breathing - 13.5.15

Chefs Pete and Akhil

The day started late today with our bus leaving around 9:45 instead of the usual 8:45, so I was pretty excited to sleep in. We also kind of got to skip class today (which was awesome). Instead of the usual cultural lesson followed by language class, we had a cooking class. We went to an amazing five star hotel, and first took a brief tour of it. Afterwards, we reconvened next to their kitchen. There, we were taught how to make spring rolls. So it wasn't really a cooking class, as much as it was a rolling class. After we finished rolling, we had lunch courtesy of the hotel. They provided us with a buffet that was amazing. A lot of us were immediately drawn in by some amazing bread and a variety of cheeses. We were sure to stuff ourselves with as much food as we possibly could. Afterwards, I could definitely see why they're a five star hotel.

We also had our last company visit today! This visit was to Saigon Newport, the leading terminal operator in Vietnam. This basically means that they have a shipyard. They offer terminal, yard, and warehouse services, so they aid in the importing and exporting of goods to and from Vietnam. I think the most interesting thing about the shipyard is the fact that it's ran by Vietnam's navy. While we were there, we got to go into the control tower to see how everything's done (it didn't help that everything was in a different language) and we also got to take a bus tour of the facility. This was definitely really interesting, being able to see one of the major sites that provides Vietnam with their goods and also exports for the country.

Saigon Newport

After Saigon Newport, some of us went back to the Bến Thành Market to get some stuff that we missed the last times we went. Of course, we're going to end up going back again Friday. But this time, I managed to bargain a lot more and got some good gifts for my folks (if you're reading this (which you better be) I promise it's not knockoff stuff (or at least I hope it's not)). While we waited for the vendors to transition from their indoor shops to their outdoor shops, we went to get dinner at a nearby place with our friend Vy, a student at UEF. After we blew all of our money buying everything that looked cool, we headed back to the hotel. AND THEN I RODE A MOTORBIKE AROUND HO CHI MINH AND IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!

Motorbiking with Vy!

Day 9: Cutting Class Part 3 (kinda) - 12.5.15

Today, there was no class at all! Instead, the day started out with us going straight to our two company visits. Even though there were two companies, we only went to one place, and that was VSIP, Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park. The other company, II-VI which is headquartered in Pennsylvania, currently has a facility in one of VSIP's parks.

The first company that we were briefed on was VSIP. They told us all about their parks and their plans for expansion. The whole purpose of the park is to house different manufacturing companies. They have their own power grid and they also offer logistics services to their partners, providing them with a lot of benefits and making them more appealing to companies looking for places to house their facilities. They made sure to be a better option for companies deciding between utilizing an industrial park or setting up factories and finding land on their own.

The other company, II-VI, deals primarily with laser optics and thermal control systems. This briefing was definitely a lot more interesting to me as it allowed su to see an engineering company in action. During our tour of their facilities, we got to see lenses being made by hand (lenses that are even used in laser eye surgery), as well as the manufacturing of a variety of chips used in their thermal cooling systems. It was really amazing getting to see a few of the processes that we've learned in school applied to the actual development of these thermal control devices. After the tours, we got lunch at a restaurant near the park. It was pretty amazing, and definitely one of the first lunches we've had that wasn't served with white rice (there was fried rice instead).

Unfortunately, we weren't permitted to take pictures of most of the facility

Day 8: Cutting Class Part 2 - 11.5.15

Today, I woke up to Akhil asking if I was dying. I was coughing like no other. I went to ask Bryan if he had any DayQuil or anything similar, and wound up going to the clinic. In Vietnam, the only place to actually get meds is at the clinic or any pharmacist. So Bryan took Aster and I to a nearby clinic, which was actually a lot nicer than I expected. There were quite a few doctors there, all from different countries, but they were all trained in the States. It turns out that it's a place frequented by a lot of people, both Vietnamese and foreign. Also, going to the clinic meant that I would get to miss class again! Unfortunately, this class is where we would learn to barter, and afterwards would go to Bến Thành Market, a huge marketplace in Ho Chi Minh City.

After getting meds from the pharmacist at the clinic, we went back to the hotel to get ready to go to our company visit. This time, we'd be going to an NGO called VinaCapital. We basically learned a bit about how the company functions, as well as how VinaCapital Foundation, a charity agency, functions. VinaCapital basically just invests in a bunch of smallish businesses. VinaCapital Foundation is a charity agency with a goal of providing medical aid to those in need, as well as funding education of girls living in poverty. The reasoning behind only funding girls was pretty interesting. They said that if one man is educated, then he won't educate anyone else, but if a woman is educated, then she will educate everyone around her.

Later on in the evening, a few of us went out to McDonalds, just to see what it would be like. And it was amazing. I never knew mcnuggets could be that good and I definitely never knew I would see a bun that actually looked as round and perfect as the ones in the commercial. My McDonalds experience will never be the same. After that, we all went out to a karaoke room. The room was a lot more fancy that I expected. Singing karaoke with everyone was definitely a lot of fun.

Look at that bun though

Day 7: Surfin' Vietnam - 10.5.15

The day started a lot earlier than usual. The bus left at 7:00 instead of the usual 8:45. Of course, I didn't get out of bed until 6:40. And of course, this bus ride was longer than yesterday's. Three hours. Twice. So of course, I napped. We drove out to what we call the South China Sea, otherwise known as the East Sea, but before we went to the beach, we made a pitstop.

Me and Danielle plus Jesus

What Jesus sees all day

We had to climb up I think a little over 800 steps to get to where we were going. This was definitely made a lot more bearable by the awesome rice hat that I had just bought. I didn't realize where we were at first, since I was asleep on the bus, but we wound up going to visit Jesus. We went to Christ the King, of Vũng Tàu, a statue of Jesus that was completed by the Vietnam Catholic Association in 1993. Once we made it up the steps, we got to go inside of the statue and climb all the way up to the top to stand on his shoulders to get a view of the city and the water.

Gazing out over yonder with Jesus

Afterwards, we climbed down the stairs to head to the beach. We spent the rest of the day here swimming, playing games, and relaxing. We also had some awesome food in a fancy restaurant in the resort that we were by. There was a bunch of amazing Vietnamese food, a lot of which we've seen before.

Later in the day, for dinner, some of us were craving some good ol' burgers. Instead of going to McDonalds, we went to a place called Soul Burger at the recommendation of Bryan, one of the faculty members on the trip. It definitely seems like a Bryan type of place. We had to go upstairs in an alley to get there. And above the burger place was a tattoo parlor. This place was in an amazing location. One we walked in, we were welcomed by some amazing soul music. And the burgers we ate really healed the soul. They were beyond amazing. Before leaving, the owner came out and talked to us about his time being an expat living in Vietnam, working at a burger joint. This was definitely a great way to end an amazing day.

I know you got soul

Day 6: Tunnel Rats - 9.5.15

Today, we had the longest drive ever. We had to sit on a bus for two hours. Twice. Two hours. What did I do? Nap both times. We were on our way to the Củ Chi tunnels, a network of connecting underground tunnels in the Củ Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City. These tunnels were the Viet Cong's base of operations during the Tết Offensive in 1968. The tunnels began as bomb shelters and then expanded into something much greater. The expansion began during the attack from the French, and then the tunnels began to expand a final time during the attacks from the Americans. At this point, these tunnels were basically underground cities.

Before we got to the tunnels, Dr Berman gave us a spiel on the history of the tunnels and the war, and then we watched a video that was made in 1968 from the perspective of the Viet Cong. The video was pretty crazy. Of course, the views expressed in the video were completely different than those expressed in America. The narrator was sure to emphasize how peaceful the village was prior to the American attack, in order to portray the Americans as savages. I think it's safe to say that we all felt pretty weird when we heard "American killer hero" over and over again.

Rachel and Akhil going in

I didn't think he would ever come back up

Once we made it to the tunnels, I was pretty excited to hear that we would be able to crawl through them. The first one started off as a reasonable size. But later, they got a lot smaller. And apparently, they were meant to support two way traffic. Fortunately, there were rooms every now and then and these were pretty large. There were also a lot of bats, so it was basically the Vietnamese bat cave. Seeing us struggle to squeeze through these shows how different in size we are form the people that were using them originally. Of course, the Vietnamese that used to live in these would've had no problem and definitely wouldn't have been as bothered as we were.

During the war, the American military had people who were required to traverse these tunnels. They called them "tunnel rats" and they would've been the shorter soldiers (5'5 and shorter). Speaking of the American soldiers, it was pretty strange walking through the jungle and seeing giant craters caused by American bombs. If I had to guess, I'd say they were 20-25 feet deep and they were scattered everywhere.

Vietnamese Memorial

After traversing through the tunnels, we went to a memorial honoring all of the lost Vietnamese soldiers, as well as some American soldiers. We were all reminded of the memorials in DC. They were definitely pretty similar. Afterwards, we went to the cemetery where all of these guys were buried. It was nice to see some pictures of the fallen soldiers, as well as their tombstones which allowed us to learn a little bit about them, like their age, where they were from, etc. It was however a little awkward seeing the soldiers regarded as heroes, since all that meant is that they killed a lot more than everyone else.

Despite burning up outside and in the tunnels, it was an amazing, informative day. Plus there was some awesome food.

Praaaaaawwwwwwwwwn

Behind the memorial