Goodbye Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City Day Twelve

On the final day, we had our friendly soccer and basketball match between the Pitt and UEF students. Even though I don't really like playing sports that much, it still was a lot of fun playing against a lot of the friends that I made during my time in Vietnam.

Even though it was indoors, it was still really hot and exhausting exercising in the Vietnamese heat. After the soccer match, I had lunch with a Vietnamese friend at Lotteria, which is a western style fast food restaurant. Even though I would be back home soon, I couldn't help but be curious about what fast food is like in Vietnam.

It was pretty similar to western food, but they did have a unique dish called fish nuggets, as well as rice options instead of bread. After lunch, we went as a large group to a coffee shop to have Vietnamese coffee and juice one last time. I had the mango yogurt smoothie, which was just as good as all the juices that I've had in Vietnam. Following the coffee shop, we spent one last time going around the city with our new friends. We passed by the Bitexco Financial Tower and spent time at the river front park in District 2 one last time.

After that, we had our farewell dinner with everyone from Pitt, which was one of our last chances to eat in Vietnam. During the dinner, we enjoyed live music as well as other performances like sword balancing. After the dinner, the boat traveled down the Saigon river, which gave us one last look at the city we called home for two weeks.

It was pretty bittersweet, but it was a nice experience to see Vietnam as we went down the river. Although we were leaving really early in the morning, after the dinner, I still went out with a friend. We had our own smaller farewell meal, where we shared different seafood dishes at a street restaurant.

After finishing our meal and saying goodbye, I was dropped off at the hotel. After a few hours, we all left to go to the airport to return back to the United States, where we said goodbye to Vietnam for the last time.

Free Day: Ho Chi Minh City Day Eleven

Today we had our last language class.We reviewed everything that we had learned over the course of the two weeks, and then exchanged gifts and took pictures with everyone. We also had our last culture class, where we learned more about other factors of Vietnamese life like marriage and art. After the last classes at UEF, we were going to visit a noodle factory, but because there was a large amount of demonstrators outside of the industrial park, we cancelled the trip. It seems that the political conflict between China and Vietnam has become even more tense, because there's a lot more visible signs of protest around the city. On the bus ride back to the hotel, I talked to Tin a bit about what he thinks about the conflicts, and he shared similar views on China as the person at Saigon Newport Corporation and the lecturer. One of the things he said that stuck with me was a quote describing the philosophy of the Chinese government. He told me that the Chinese government operates by thinking "What's mine is mine and what's yours we share". As a smaller country, I guess the developing power that China exerts is pretty influential to the surrounding areas. The fears of the Vietnamese people are actually really similar to the fears that Americans share about the growth and increasing influence of China. After returning to the hotel, we got picked up a few UEF students to spend time around the city. We went to a French style coffee shop, which went further to show the foreign influence that exists in Vietnam. After the coffee shop, we had a dinner similar to what we had at Wrap n Roll the first night, except it was much cheaper on the streets. After the dinner, we had a fruit dessert that consisted of assorted fruit, cold sugary water, and nuts.

It was really refreshing and different from the western ice cream I had at the coffee shop. After that, we spent some time going around the city for one of the last times. After that, we got dropped off at the hotel to get ready for our last day in Vietnam.

Saigon Newport Corporation/ War Remnants Museum: Ho Chi Minh City Day Ten

After all the different events we've done recently, we finally went on a regular company visit. We visited Saigon Newport Corporation, which is Vietnam's largest shipping and logistics company.

They gave us a presentation about their company, but one of the most interesting parts was when she gave her personal opinion about the current political conflicts between China and Vietnam. Just like the lecturer at UEF, she had the same sort of opinion of hating only the government of China. Even though she was giving a professional presentation, she still gave her honest response and was very passionate about how Vietnamese don't hate the Chinese people, just the government. After the presentation, we visited the room which controls all the cranes at the shipyard as well as the docking of all the ships.

From there, we could see how large the shipping area really was. After that, we actually were able to drive through the shipping area, which I didn't think we would be able to do.

I feel like if this was in America, there would have been way too much security to let us into the area, but it seemed normal to the Vietnamese. After the site visit, we had lunch at the hotel, and then we visited the War Remnants Museum.

Visiting the museum was a humbling experience, because of how it put all the atrocities of the American War right out in front.

After visiting the museum, we went to an old fashioned Hanoi style coffee shop. We had to take our shoes off at the door, and we sat on cushions on the ground instead of in chairs. After the coffee shop, we had dinner with an American English teacher that has lived in Vietnam for almost a decade. It was at the same restaurant we ate at the second day, but we were a lot more informed about Vietnamese food, so we knew exactly what to order. After dinner, Scott and I went to the metal lotus park near our hotel with two graduates from UEF. We talked for awhile, and as a banker, she told us that most of her job was taught to her after she got the job there. I guess that's similar to how it is in America, where the lessons and grades in college are only used to qualify for a job. One of the interesting things is that when the police officers drove by, all the street vendors ran into the park to hide their goods. Apparently, selling things on the street is against the law, but I guess people don't follow that law. I'm actually glad no one follows that law though, since the street food is one of my favorite things about Vietnam. After we spent some time at the park, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the next day.

Buddhist Pagoda: Ho Chi Minh City Day Nine

Our first activity of the day was a culture class at UEF. We mainly talked about the history and the people. After finishing the lecture, we were able to ask the professor some questions. Because of the conflict in the East Sea, a lot of the questions were around the political relations with China. Even though he was a teacher, he still gave us his personal opinion about the conflict. Basically, he said that although the Vietnamese do not like what's happening in the East Sea, they don't hate the Chinese people in particular. This political view of hating only the government of a foreign country is a lot different from how I see it in America, where we hate a country as a whole if we are in a conflict with them. After the classes at UEF, we visited a Buddhist Pagoda within walking distance from our hotel.

Inside they had all kinds of ancient artifacts and displays that were important to the religion.

What's crazy is that, even though it is so close to our hotel, it's extremely important historically. Back when Buddhists were being persecuted, Thich Quang Duc marched from this pagoda to a busy intersection, where he then set himself on fire in protest to the persecutions. After the pagoda, we visited the memorial at the intersection where this occurred. The memorial was huge and extremely ornate, with a mural depicting the events.

Even though Buddhists were persecuted back then only a few decades ago, Vietnam seems to be pretty open to the different diverse groups now. At an ethical point of view, it seems like Vietnam has developed a lot since then, since many people were offering respect at the memorial, even though they probably weren't Buddhist. After the pagoda, we had dinner at a Vietnamese Barbecue atop a roof. There, they had live shrimp which they skewered for us to grill. We also grilled goat tit and okra at the table.

 After the dinner, I spent time at the hotel talking to a few of the Vietnamese students that were at dinner with us. Since it was more relaxed, I asked about her social life to get a better sense of the lives of Vietnamese teenagers. It seems that many teenagers in Vietnam enjoy going around the city with their friends eating at different places, but one of the biggest things in their social life is studying. It seems that even when relaxing, they put a lot of effort into preparing for exams and working. Even though we do this somewhat in America, I feel like they put a lot more emphasis on improving their professional resume, even when they are at home. After talking for awhile, I got ready for bed to rest up for the next day.

Cho Ben Thanh: Ho Chi Minh City Day Eight

Today, we went to one of the largest street markets in District 1, the Ben Thanh market.

Before heading there, we had a language class at a different branch of UEF than usual. We went over how to say prices, and also how to ask to lower the price again. After that, we had a few hours to ourselves to go through the market. There were a lot of different things in the market, including things like t shirts, purses, dresses, fruit, food, and souvenirs.

One of the weirdest things we saw was bottles of rice wine with things like snakes and scorpions inside of it. I bought a few t shirts for my family, as well as a rice hat to bring back home. After shopping, we ate at a restaurant near the market. I ordered a bowl of rice noodles with spring rolls, which was really good.

We also ordered a plate of assorted appetizers, which allowed me to sample more dishes from Vietnam.

We then made dinner plans with the UEF students that helped us shop. After relaxing at the hotel for a bit, we got picked up by our friends. Tonight, we tried all different kinds of street food. The first thing we had were a bunch of different snail dishes, and although I've had snails at home before, it was a really unique experience. The one dish had snails the size of peas back home, and after using a needle to get the snail out, the meat amounted to pretty much nothing.

After the snails, we tried fried fertilized duck eggs with tamarind sauce. Even though it's unlike American eggs, it actually tasted good. It just had a weird texture to it since the duck was already developing. After the first food stand, we then tried this Vietnamese pizza type thing, which was some sort of flour topped with different meats. Along with the Vietnamese pizza, we had flavored  tea with gelatin inside, which was really refreshing.

After all that food, we spent time going around the city. Eventually we went to this park in District 2 across the river, which offered a great view of District 1.

 After spending some time together at the park, we went back to the hotel to prepare for the next day.

Vung Tau: Ho Chi Minh City Day Seven

After all the activities and site visits we've done, we finally get to have a day where we can just relax on the beach in Vung Tau. However, once we got there, we had to first visit the Jesus statue which was on top of this giant hill near the beach. It was a tough trek up the mountain, especially in the Vietnamese heat, but after reaching the top, the view was great.

Because of all the foreign influence, it makes sense why there would be a giant Jesus statue in Vietnam, even though you don't think of them as a predominantly Christian nation. I feel like this monument goes to show how diverse Vietnam is as a country.

Getting down from the mountain was a lot easier, and before heading to the water, we ate lunch at this nice seafood restaurant. It was very good, since Vung Tau is pretty famous for its fresh seafood. After that, we spent the day on the beach.

It was pretty similar to American beaches, except that the sun was way more intense and the sand was a less fine. We also played beach games at the end which included things like filling a cup with sea water by running back and forth and trying to pop a balloon tied to someone's back. On the long ride back, some people needed to use the bathroom, so we stopped at this small market. There were all different types of fruit for sale, but the one thing that I saw for the first time there was dried deer meat. A lot of the vendors gave me free samples, and it was a lot like beef jerky. After returning back to the hotel, we decided to try out what cheaper food in Vietnam was like. We went to a food court in a nearby mall, and I ate at what I assumed was similar to a Panda Express in America. The food wasn't that good, but it was a unique experience. One thing I noticed is that fast food chains like the one I ate at operate a little differently. After ordering, they give you a number and you sit down. Instead of just waiting for your food, they actually bring it out to you like a sit down restaurant. I guess that's just how it works for restaurants like that. After dinner, I was really tired from the weekend activities, so instead of going out and exploring, I stayed at the hotel and rested.

Cu Chi Tunnels: Ho Chi Minh City Day Six

Today we went on our first day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels. Even though the tunnels were strategic military grounds that allowed the Vietnamese to fight wars on their own soil, they have now become a tourist site that people like us can visit. A little away from the city, we took a bus a few hours north of Ho Chi Minh to reach the tunnels.

Before going through some of the tunnels, we were given a demonstration about the American War from the Vietnamese perspective. They showed a promotional video from back during the war which was pretty anti American, but it's understandable since we were at war with them. They also explained how elaborate the tunnels were from an engineering perspective. To design a system completely underground that can serve as not only a living space, but also a hospital and offensive point for the Vietnamese would have been incredibly hard. They even engineered ways to hide smoke from fires through multiple chambers so that it would dissipate before reaching the surface.We got to go through some of the tunnels, and even though they have been enlarged, the spaces were still extremely cramped.

After a tiring day at the tunnels, we ate lunch on a nearby boat on the Saigon river. There were several dishes with rice, and the soup that we had was very similar to one that my mother makes at home.

On the way back, we visited a memorial cemetery for any Vietnamese who has died in any wars. The graves extended as far as the eye could see, and from the giant obelisk in the center, it was obvious that the Vietnamese respected their fallen. Apparently, the obelisk in the center of the memorial is recreated all across Vietnam to show respect and memorialize the dead.

After returning to the hotel and resting for a bit, we went out to eat with our Vietnamese friends. They took us to a restaurant called Com Cali that apparently is based off of cuisine eaten by Vietnamese that live in California. I ordered a rice dish with different side dishes, which gave me a sample of everything that I could have ordered.

Afterwards, we spent our time exploring the city for awhile, but because of the long day at the tunnels, we soon went back to the hotel to sleep until the next day.