Friday (05-18-2012)

I cannot believe that today is the last day here in Vietnam.  Today we went over to the University to have our last day of classes.  We met with the Pennsylvania representative of Vietnam and she explained some of the business that is done between the two areas.  After this we had our last Vietnamese language class where we had to have a conversation with another student in Vietnamese and then introduce ourselves.  After class we all went downstairs to have lunch at the University cafeteria.  Once lunch was over we all got into the bus to drive over to a field and have a soccer match with the UEF soccer team and play other games.  Surprisingly we were able to win the soccer match and then we had a potato sack race and a dancing competition.  We then headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.  Before dinner a few of us went to KFC to get a chicken sandwich.  We then headed to dinner which was on a cruise ship that drove around the river.  Dinner was very nice and we took a lot of pictures with each other.

When we got back to the hotel the UEF kids were already there waiting for us.  They wanted to spend the last night with us and say goodbye at the airport even though they all had classes early the next morning and we didn’t leave for our flight until 3 in the morning.  We all went in to our hotel rooms and the UEF students had even more gifts for us.  We all felt bad because we didn’t have anything else left to give them.  We all just hung out in the room and played some cards until it was time to go.  They met us at the airport and we all said good bye.

Thursday (05-17-2012)

Today we went on a day trip to Cu Chi and to Tay Ninh.  We had a long drive there, but I slept through just about all of it.  Cu Chi is in a jungle that homed many of the Viet Cong fighters during the war.  These Viet Cong were native to the jungle setting and adapted to the war by building a set of tunnels under the jungle.  The tunnels had three levels and we had a chance to go into the tunnels to see what it was like.  We also saw some of the traps that were used in the war and learned about the guerilla warfare that was used.  After we were done at Cu Chi we drove over to Tay Ninh.

At Tay Ninh we went into a Caoist temple after we took off our shoes.  We were able to see some of the ceremony in which everybody who was celebrating the service wore a white robe and they all bowed their heads in unison.  There was a group of people playing some type of string instrument and girls singing to the music.  After we visited the temple we all drove over to a street vendor to have dinner.

Once we got back to our hotel we met the UEF students and they took us to go to Ben Thanh so we could buy some more souvenirs after this we went to a t-shirt shop that sold shirts with Vietnamese slang on them.  Before we went to dinner a few of us drove over to the Adidas store.  I went because I figured that it would be my last time to ride on a motor bike.  For dinner we went to a European restaurant and I got ostrich, which was delicious.  We also all got crème bur le for dessert.  When we got back I decided to stay in the hotel tonight and get a little extra sleep.

Wednesday (05-16-2012)

This morning we all had breakfast in the hotel and then got on the bus to go to three company visits.  We first went to Saigon Newport Corporation, which is a company that provides transport services through boats along the rivers in Vietnam.  We took a tour of the shipyard and were able to get a good view of the whole operation.  After this we went to UEF to relax a little and have lunch.

Next we went to visit Quang Trung Software City.  QTSC has houses, offices, and other facilities for many different software companies such as TMA Solutions, CMA Telecom, Worldsoft and more.  After the presentation for QTSC we drove over to the building which had TMA Solutions in it and learn more about their company.  TMA Solutions is a software outsourcing company that provides research and development for mobile solutions.  After all of this we all went back to the hotel.

After this we went with the UEF students to get some ice cream from a street vendor before we went to dinner.  We dinner we went to a Hot Pot which is a place where the food moves around you on a conveyor belt.  You can choose which foods you would like to eat and then cook them in the personal bowl of broth in font of you.

Tuesday (05-15-2012)

This morning we had breakfast at the hotel and then went to UEF to have our classes.  We had culture class first and then we had our language class.  After this we had lunch at the university and we had French fries, rice, beef, pork, and rice rolls with mushrooms.  After lunch we drove over to Glass Egg Digital Media which is a video game design company.  They have designed most cars in popular car games and are working on an online RPG called Crystal Saga.  It was very interesting to see everybody working on designing models on their computers and to learn how their process works.  After the presentation we were all invited to come to Lush later that night for ladies night since Glass Egg is one of the partners who own Lush.

After the presentation we came back to the hotel to relax a little before we went out to dinner with the UEF students.  The UEF students have been so kind to us and have given up so much of their time to show us around and we are all really appreciative of them.  We know we couldn’t have as great of an experience here in Vietnam without everything they have done for us.  For dinner we decided to try some street vendor food o most of us got chicken and rice.  After dinner we all went to New York Dessert Cafe and I had tiramisu.  Then we went to a big mall that was close by and walked around a while.  I am now in the hotel and we will be leaving for lush in a little bit.

A few things I have noticed that are different in Vietnam during my trip here are:

• Most restaurants don’t have napkins or if they do they are extremely tiny which is very different from the US.
• They also do not have paper towels in any of the bathrooms, instead they have another roll of toilet paper for you to dry your hands on which makes it difficult.
• There is chili sauce everywhere; the UEF students even put it on their pizza.  I would say it compares to ketchup for us.  
• There are many more people who sit around outside as opposed to the US where many people just stay inside most of the time.
• I already discussed this but the traffic here is very different.  There are no regulations so everyone goes wherever they want but the traffic is slower.  This is very interesting with all of the motor bikes because whenever you cross the street nobody stops for you they just drive around you and it can be scary for the first time you do it.

Monday (05-14-2012)

This morning we visited Viet Thai International Joint Stock Company at Highlands coffee.  We all got to order a coffee drink during the presentation.  We learned that the company owns multiple franchises in food and service that are in Vietnam and other countries.  After the presentation at Highlands we went to The Hard Rock Cafe which is another franchise of Viet Thai.  They unexpectedly offered for us to stay at lunch there and treated us to some awesome American food.  We had nachos, onion rings, buffalo wings, potato skins, chicken finders, salad, ribs and dessert.  It was so delicious and it actually settled my stomach from eating food my body recognized.  After lunch we went back to the hotel and got ready to go to the War Remnants Museum.  The museum depicted the Vietnam War and the devastation experienced from it and was very graphic.

After lunch we had some time and a few of us decided to get a massage at the spa on the top floor of the hotel.  It was so relaxing we went into a steam room than a sauna then we took a shower before we got our massage.

For dinner tonight we went to a Japanese sushi bar.  It was interesting because many of the Vietnamese students never had sushi before so I knew more about it than them.  The sushi was so god and it was only 3 dollars for eight pieces.  I at least two whole orders by myself because I enjoyed it so much.  After sushi we all went out to get some ice cream.  When I got back to the hotel I was very tired and went to bed a little earlier.

Sunday (05-13-2012)

This morning we had to wake up early because we were going to take a boat to the beach.  I had to get up at 6:30 and when I got up my ears were still ringing from the club last night.  Luckily the boat ride was an hour and a half so I was able to sleep on the ride there.  The boat was not what I expected it to be; the inside looked a lot like an airplane because of the way the seating was set up.  When I woke up and walked around the boat I was able to look at the scenery and got some great pictures of the jungle area and sky.  When we got there we got on a bus and went right to the beach.

At the beach we started by planning a few games.  We broke into two teams and had a dancing competition.  After this we tied our legs up the same way you do in a three legged race but we had to try and pop the balloons that were tied to each other’s feet.  Next we had a timed race to see who could fill up a bottle with the most ocean water as possible by running to the ocean and carrying water back to the bottle.  It was very interesting playing these games because we stood out so much that a lot of the other people at the beach started watching us.  Once the games were over we swam in the ocean and it was the warmest ocean water I have ever been in it was so comfortable.  Then we kicked a soccer ball around on the beach until it was time to leave.  For lunch we all rode to a seaside restaurant which was across from the giant statue of Jesus that is on a huge hill.  After lunch we trekked up the hill to see the Jesus statue.  The view was breathtaking and I made sure to take some photos on the way.  As we walked up the steps there were various Christian statues including one of Moses with the 10 Commandments.  When we got up to the top we were all sweating bullets but it was well worth it.  We took a group photo and I bought a few more souvenirs at the gift shop.  Then we walked down and got on the bus so we could catch our boat back to Ho Chi Minh City.

While waiting for the boat to board we found a KFC and I got a big sandwich witch was really good.  I’ve really enjoyed all of the Vietnamese food here but my stomach doesn’t always agree with me, that’s why it was so nice to get some American food in me because my body accepts is better. We got on the boat and headed back.  Once again I slept, it was so nice to take a good nap because I’ve wanted to most days of the trip but there is so much to do that I have stayed up.

I am back at the hotel now and we are planning on going to Black Cat for dinner.  This is a burger place that was recommended to us by the CEO of ASCENX Technologies.  After dinner we will probably go out and look for something to do.

Saturday (05-12-2012)

Today we got to sleep in an extra half hour, which was much needed.  I actually fell asleep at the mall last night because I was so tired.  We had our usual breakfast at the hotel and then we went on the bus to go to the Reunification Palace which is a historical site of the Vietnam War (or as the Vietnamese say the American War).  It was the hottest that it has been today but I actually enjoyed the heat seeing as the last few weeks in Pittsburgh were cooler.  The palace was very cool and it had some interesting history that went along with it.  After the Reunification Palace we went to the Post Office and Notre Dame Cathedral.  It was interesting to see the French influence on these two building because it combined the oriental Vietnamese style with the French style.  In the Post Office there was a gift show and I finally started buying souvenirs.  After this we traveled to a Buddhist Temple.  A class of about 20 art students was painting the building under a tree and they were great painters.  When we entered the Temple we had to take off our shoes and the inside was incredible.  It had such a spiritual feel to it and the shrines were beautiful.  There was food and gifts for the dead on all of the tables.

After this we went back to the hotel for lunch and went to the pool for a nice swim.  We met up with some of the UEF students and went to Ban Tan market.  Since this was my second time to this market I was much less overwhelmed and was able to successfully bargain for some souvenirs.  After the market we decided to go the Karaoke bar which was nothing like what I expected it to be.  I pictured the bar to be a public stage setup where we would go up to sing.  The Karaoke bars are actually private rooms for your party and they are extremely fancy and comfortable.  After this we went back to the hotel and decided to try out the club Lush.  We know that this club was owned by Glass Egg Digital Media, which we will be visiting later in the week, so it seemed like a good place to check out.  It was a very nice club and the music was loud.  We got back to the hotel very late which is why this blog post is a little later than usual.

Friday (05-11-2012)

This morning was the first day I had any stomach problems but it was not too bad; I felt fine after I ate some breakfast.  We went to the University and had a culture class again where we learned about the religious history of Vietnam and some more of the cultural differences.  After this we had Vitenamese class and we learned some common phrases.  At lunch they had omelets, tuna and pork.  We made plans to go to Dominoes later in the day because some of us where missing pizza. 

After we left UEF we went to ASCENX technologies which is a computer engineering company.  The CEO is a Vietnamese war refugee who went to America when he was young.  He had a very interesting story about how he had to escape the country.  He also explained the Vietnam War is great detail.  After his presentation we went out to get coffee and talked about how he got his company working in Vietnam.

After the presentation we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.  We rode the motor bikes to Dominos and we all got pizza.  We were surprised that we could not eat as much pizza as we usually do since we have been used to eating smaller portions here in Vietnam.  I also thought it was odd that the Vietnamese students put chili sauce and ketchup on their pizza.

After dinner we went to the southern side of Ho Chi Minh City which is the wealthy, newly developed area.  We went to their mall and saw a bridge that lights up at night.  It stores energy from solar cells in the day and then lights up the bridge at night.  This was the only place that young couples go to go on dates and kiss.  Everywhere else in public it is inappropriate to show that affection. 

Thursday (05-10-2012)

This morning we had our usual breakfast at the hotel and then we headed right to UEF where we had a presentation on the history and culture of Vietnam.  It was very interesting and we talked about some of the places that we are going to visit later in the next week.  I found out that 40% of the people in Vietnam are named Nguyen because during the Nguyen dynasty many people changed their names so they could get favor and a higher social status.  After the cultural presentation we had Vietnamese language class and we worked on greeting conversations and numbers.  II tried University flower seeds as a snack and they tasted a little like beans.  After language class we had lunch at the University and then we waited in the library because UEF planned a surprise for us. 

UEF had us all break into teams and we played a few competitions.  The first competition was a dance competition where we had to copy the moves of a dancer and then they voted for the best group, my group came in second place for this.  Next we all played charades and then we had a sheet where we needed to pick up out the cultural differences between Vietnamese and Americans.  The next game was catch the pig.  They caged a baby pig in and the first one to catch wins.  We found it interesting because this would never be allowed in the US.  Next we had a game where you needed to throw balls into a hoop to get points then a game that is similar to twister.  They then announced the winners (which was my group) and gave us all prizes.  In the prizes they had dragon fruit, rambutan fruit and some Vietnamese snacks.  All of the gifts in the present where very good and we still have a lot left over for the rest of the trip.   We then had a dance party and took a lot of pictures with the University students.  The tailor even came to the University so he could measure our suits again.

After all of this we went to the hotel to get ready to go to dinner with the University students again.  This time we all went out to get pho which is a Vietnamese noodle soup.  It was similar to very good ramen noodles and I thought it was delicious.  It does seem like I am more adventurous with trying the different food because I enjoy it much more than many of the other students from Pitt.  After dinner some students rode with the UEF kids on the motor bikes for a tour of the city. But because they didn’t have enough seats I went with a few students to explore on our own.  We ended up at a place that was on a rooftop and could view some of the city, we had a great time.  I am having so much fun on this trip and I and even starting to dread leaving in a week and a half because I know I will miss everyone.

Wednesday (05-09-2012)

Last night the students from the university took us out to dinner.  I rode the motor bike for the first time and it was very fun.  They drive much slower than cars travel in the US because there is so much more traffic.  We all went to a “pancake” place, which was rice pancakes with meat and noodle inside.  We put this pancake into a lettuce wrap and dipped it into fish oil.  It was interesting to try, but I probably wouldn’t eat it again.  After dinner the students took us out to get ice cream at a place that is comparable to cold stone creamery.

The next morning we went to Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP), which is the company that I am doing my report on.  They work with the government to help foreign businesses start by providing a prebuilt building and other benefits.  After we visited VSIP we sent to II VI (2 6) who built optics.  The company builds lenses for lasik surgery, military weapons and tattoo rem9+-oval.  It was very interesting because I got to see the real world applications of the physics I learned last semester.  I accidentally dropped my camera when taking pictures and I think it is permanently broken.  

After the business presentations we came back to the hotel to have lunch.  Later I visited Ban Tan market which is a very touristy market.  I bought a nice tie for $5; compared to the local shops it was very expensive because it only attracts tourists.  The market was extremely crowded and fast paced.  When I got back to the hotel I got my luggage back!!  The airport finally found it and delivered it to the hotel. 

After that the University students came to pick us up again to take us to a BBQ place.  I tried goat for the first time and it was very good!  They gave you the meat raw and then you cooked it yourself on a hot plate on the table.

I am now back at the hotel and and very tired and looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

Tuesday (05-08-2012)

Last night we went out to Wrap and Roll as a group and there was sooo much food.  You could make your own wraps and they had pre-made wraps.  They also had a pot of boiling water on the table and you put raw fish in it too cook it. I tried jelly fish for the fist time and it was pretty good even though it has an odd texture.

The next morning we went to UEF for a presentation of urban development.  I found out that close to 70% of the population owns a motor bike in Ho Chi Minh.  After the presentation we had language class where we learned how to say numbers and how to try and barter in the market.  I am terrible at remembering Vietnamese.

We then had lunch at the University with some of our Vietnamese friends and made plans to all go out to dinner tonight.  They will pick us up on their motor bikes at the hotel.  After lunch we went to our first company visit at Phu My Hung.  this company works on urban development and they developed in southern Ho Chi Minh which is now the upper class because of the development work that has been done there.  It was a very big culture change driving over to this area because it is so much nicer than the city.

On the way back to the hotel we found out that tailor is going to come to the hotel for us at 9pm because there are so many of us who want to buy stuff.  We got back to the hotel and my luggage is still not gotten here from the airport so I hope I will be able to get it soon.  A few of us went to the Co op market to use the ATM and I got some Koala Bear Cookies and bought a fresh roll on the street.

I am now just waiting until we we go out to dinner with out University friends and will probable take a nap.
Its hard to believe we have only been here two days it feels like so much longer because we have been dong so many things.  Later tonight I might try to upload some picture onto my facebook so check there if you wanna see some.

Monday (05-07-2012)

Today our first day in Vietnam!  The total travel time to get here was about 30 hours, much longer than I have ever traveled at once before.  We arrived safely and I was comfortable during the flights ( I read a book and slept). It was very weird with the time change because we skipped over Saturday night so the weekend ran together.  Our flight landed in Vietnam at 12:30AM local time Sunday night.  I believe the time difference is +11 hours here in Vietnam compared to Pittsburgh.  My suitcase was lost and I was told I should be able to pick it up probably Tuesday morning.

We drove right to the hotel after our flight and it was extremely humid outside.  Luckily it rained earlier that day so it wasn't as hot as is usually is.  Our hotel is very nice is has a spa, pool and fitness center.  I showered and fell asleep very easily the first night because I knew that I would only get 5-6 hours of sleep.

The next morning I borrowed some clothes from Ricky and we drove to the University of Economics and Finance (UEF).  On the ride there we got to see all the traffic, which is complete chaos.  Almost everyone drives on motor bikes and there is no regard for any traffic rules.  There are even motor bikes that drive in the opposite direction of traffic and on the sidewalk.  It was interesting to see some of the things people would carry on their bikes, it even looks comical how much people carry.  When we arrived at UEF we where filmed as we walked out of the bus and were told we would even be on the news.  I met some very nice students at the introduction ceremony and we agreed that would would have to hang out later some night.  For the ceremony there was a puppet show and some singing.  After the ceremony we had our first language class where we learned a few basic phrases such as hello, how much, and my name is... After that we had lunch at the University, luckily I can use chop sticks pretty well from eating sushi back home but some people were not so fortunate.  We then went beck to the hotel and got ready to go the the US Consolata where we could not bring our phone or camera in.  We got a tour of the building and were told a brief history of Vietnam as well as what has been happening recently in terms of economics and US relations.  We then went back to the hotel and visited their grocery store.

Now we are about to leave to go the dinner together and probably go exploring tonight.

I'm looking forward to the next two weeks here!!