Day 12 and 12.5: It's not goodbye, it's only hen gap lie

     It was a bittersweet last day in Vietnam. We started the day with some friendly competition with our counterparts at UEF. First off, the highly anticipated basketball game. Since we had not met any Vietnamese student taller than 5'5" we thought this would be an easy win, but once we got to the court their basketball team was actually just as tall as we are. Well there goes our only advantage, because none of the American students played competitive basketball for years. Despite the UEF students taking it easy on us, they easily won by about 10. It was a lot of fun nevertheless. Once the soccer game started however, the tides turned. The Plus 3 group had a number of soccer players who took over the game and it was a pretty lopsided victory. And of course after the game, we started a much deserved, albeit slightly obnoxious, "U-S-A" chant. After the games, we exchanged gifts with the students with whom we had become closest. I brought some Phillies gear for my friends, who hopefully did not realize how awful they are this year. I couldn't let them think that Pittsburgh was a better sports town than Philadelphia. Here is a picture of the team in action.

These are some of my new friends rocking their new Pitt and Phillies gear. 

     We got the afternoon off, which most of us used to swim, catch up on our blogs, and start packing. Then at 6 we gathered in the lobby for a little photo shoot. Everyone who bought a new suit got to wear that while the girls wore their new Ao dai, a traditional Vietnamese dress. You're welcome for the upcoming eye candy.

This is my good friend, Bo, who I became very close to

My friend wanted to wear a bow tie and I was more than happy to oblige

I don't like looking at cameras apparently

Matching with my boy Dan

Bryan Shultz looking classy as ever

We think that we're cool

     Our farewell dinner took place on a boat on the Saigon River. After the meal, the boat took us around on a tour of the harbor. It is really cool to look at the city skyline and think about how much it has changed in the past 40 years. 

A bunch of us decided to have our Titanic moments

     We left that morning at about 3 a.m. Before we left, the students took a short visit to a fountain near the hotel to soak up the last moments of our time here. Some of the UEF students came to airport to see us with some tearful goodbyes. I am going to miss this place and am already planning a return. These were two of the best weeks of my life. I will never forget the experiences and new friends that I made here. 18 hours on a plane later, here I am back at home. Hen gap lie, Vietnam. I'll see you again someday. 

Day 11: Last day of classes

     Today we had our last culture and language classes. I am going to miss the fun moments I had in that class trying fruitlessly to learn Vietnamese while listening to my classmates bumble through it as well. We had our "test", which everyone passed with flying colors, sort of. At the end, we had a heartfelt celebration with the Vietnamese students who had been helping us for the past week. I'm going to miss these guys.
     In the afternoon, we toured some historic sights of the city. The first stop was a Buddhist Temple which had been home to Thich Quang Duc, the monk immortalized by his self-immolation in the streets of Saigon in 1963. A cool thing on top of the temple was a Buddhist swastika. Unlike the symbols most common association with the Nazi party, the swastika in Buddhist culture means good fortune. Its interesting how something can be interpreted in such radically different ways.

     The monks at the temple made us put robes on over the top of our clothes while walking around it. It was gorgeous on the inside, filled with decorative statues and artwork. Surrounding the ceiling of the building were multiple paintings telling the story of Buddha. I was glad that I was able to recognize the events pictured from when I learned about Buddhism in my World History class. Unfortunately, we were encouraged not to take pictures inside of the temple.
     After that we walked down the street to the memorial of Thich Quang Duc which is located at the intersection where he took his own life. I found it amazing to see how the background of the location changed based on the picture. Ho Chi Minh City has such  interesting history that is still evident in the modern day.

     The last stop of the day was the War Remnants Museum, formerly known as the Exhibition House for US War Crimes. It offered a completely different perspective on the war than what I have seen in America. The museum did not paint us in a very good light and it was pretty difficult to walk through. I walked through it on my own and found myself getting pretty emotional, especially in the exhibit on the effects of Agent Orange. I was the last one to leave the museum from the group when I was kicked out at closing time. My stay was about two hours but it could have easily lasted twice that long. It showed me how history is really based on your perspective, the same events can be interpreted in entirely different ways. I am glad that I got the opportunity to explore so much history on the last scholarly day of the trip. It was one of the main reasons why I picked Vietnam as my Plus 3 location.

Day 10: Much needed Cheese

     Today was probably the most relaxing day on the trip thus far. First off, we got to sleep in as the bus was not picking us up until 10:00. Then we entered a whole new world, literally a hotel named New World Saigon. This place was one of the first 5 star hotels in all of Vietnam and damn was it nice. We received a short cooking lesson and made some of our own spring rolls. I personally did not roll mine very well, but it still tasted pretty good. After the lesson, we got to eat at their buffet.
     This is the nicest hotel buffet that I have ever eaten at. First of all, I got to eat my first real cheese since I have been in America. My first course consisted entirely of a plate of bread with multiple kinds of cheese. Then they also had lots of fruit and different meats, I was in heaven. By the time I got to the dessert plate, which was also fantastic, I could barely eat any more. It is a little disappointing that Vietnamese cuisine does not utilize cheese more, because it's pretty great. I guess now I'll just have to wait for it at home when I get my nice, big, juicy cheeseburger that I have been craving for the past week. The food here has been great, but I am in need of some greasy, unhealthy American food.
     In the afternoon, we took our last company visit at Saigon Newport Corporation. They are one of the largest terminal operators in Vietnam that handles a large portion of Ho Chi Minh City's imports and exports. They showed us around the loading areas, which was packed with cargo crates. We also got to go into the control room where operators supervised all of the transportation of the ports goods. The visit was short compared to the other companies, but it was still worthwhile to see how their port system worked.

     Tonight in the lobby, our tailored suits arrived. I have to say, we all look pretty, damn good. A small group of us even decided to try them out on the town by taking a visit to the historic Rex Hotel. This was the hotel where the media stayed during the Vietnam War since it was right across the street from the US Army headquarters. I thought that it was pretty cool to stand in another place where so much history happened. Also, I got to look pretty good while doing it if I do say so myself.

Day 9: Managing some complex environments

     Today consisted of two company visits, Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park, or VSIP for
short, and II-VI. Before the trip, I did my preliminary presentation for VSIP, so I have been
looking forward to this visit. It has a very similar business model to Phu Me Hung, except
that it focuses more on industry rather than residential areas. We heard a short
presentation from Tran Thi Quynh Thanh, their marketing person. I thought it was pretty informational but we unfortunately did not get much time for questions.
     Directly after VSIP's presentation, David Baker from II-VI gave us a briefing on his company. David is the chief engineer of II-VI and is an ex-pat from Florida who has been working in Vietnam for the past couple years. Interestingly, II-VI is actually based in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. They expanded to Asia for lower labor costs, as they also have offices in China and Singapore. The company gets its name from two columns on the periodic which have metals commonly used by the company. They specialize in optical and thermal technologies, and they have their higher tech production plants in the United States. The presentation was very interesting, the company makes some pretty cool stuff. We got the chance to see the production floors of two buildings, one for glass lenses and the other for thermal chips. I thought that it was pretty cool to see the actual production in progress. My favorite part was seeing large vats used to plate chips in tin, because I actually learned how metal plating worked in chemistry this past semester. By using electrolysis, you can coat a metal in whatever solution that it is currently soaking in. I got to see what I learned in the classroom in person, so that was pretty awesome.
     We went to lunch after the company visits at this very cool restaurant. It had some pretty fancy feng shui and a nice tropical vibe. Unfortunately I was not able to get any pictures of it since my phone died. If you want to check out some pictures of it, I suggest that you find pictures from blogs by other people on the trip. Sorry for the lack of pictures on this post, bye everybody.
 

Day 8: Mac Qua!

     Enough with beaches time to get back to the grind, kind of. Today we got to venture through the Ben Thanh Market and do some very important souvenir shopping. First the group had another language class to learn how to bargain in Vietnamese. We learned numbers and the all important phrase "Mac qua!" That means "Too expensive!" Also we learned that when bargaining the aim is to bring the price down to about half of the original. Now that we got the basics down, time to practice!

     This market is a tourist's dream shop; t-shirts, accessories, and trinkets galore. Most of the vendors knew basic English, and with the UEF students there to help bargaining wasn't too hard. Shop stands were set up everywhere in the building with only narrow corridors to navigate through. The vendors were very aggressive and would grab you to get your attention. Since so many vendors sold the same products, competition to drive the prices down must be intense. I was able to snag some gifts for back home at pretty cheap prices. The only thing that I did not like was of course the heat, I was sweating up a storm. The market even had a "food court." All of the food shops lined up next to each other on one end of the market, and the smell was overpowering. We finished up our shopping trip with a quick lunch inside the market. 

     

(picture taken a few days later)

     

     In the afternoon we had a company visit to the VinaCapital Foundation, an NGO. They explained to us the workings of their investment enterprises and then their charity foundation. VinaCapital sets aside a substantial amount of money to fund a charity organization that aids low-income areas with health care and education. They completely pay for business costs so that 100% of donations go towards helping the underprivileged Vietnamese. The charity side of the corporation is run by an American ex-pat named Rad Kivette from North Carolina. In their work, they help fund surgeries to help those who would not initially receive health care and award scholarships to people who would not be able to attend college without them, especially girls. I found it interesting how Miss Loan, the professor from UEF who has been taking us around, was visibly moved when she heard about the work that VinaCapital was doing. Also, hearing from an investment and charity organization offered a different perspective on business in Vietnam than the engineering companies that we have been visiting. 

Day 7: It is very hot here

     What a beautiful day for a nice, relaxing beach trip. We had an early start, getting on to the bus at 8 o'clock. On the two hour bus ride to Vung Tau, the beach and site of a famous statue of Jesus. This Jesus statue closely resembles the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. We had to climb up a large hill to get to it, and I have to say that was probably the most I ever sweat in my entire life. It was well worth it though. I got the chance to climb up the statue and look out over the water and city of Vung Tau. This is one of the most beautiful views that I have ever seen. Thankfully some of my new Vietnamese friends were up there to enjoy the view from Jesus's shoulder with me.

     After profusely sweating with Jesus for the entire morning, it was time to jump in the water. We got to spend some time at a seaside resort with its very own beachfront. I might as well have been taking a bath the water was that warm. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for on such a hot day, but it was refreshing nevertheless. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their time in the water, as some fun games of chicken broke out. We had lunch at the resort too, eating until we could not eat any more. The Vietnamese sure know how to host a group of hungry college kids. The afternoon followed with some more swimming, relaxing in the sand, and games with the Vietnamese kids. Overall, a very enjoyable day. My sun-burnt shoulders might ache for the rest of the trip, but it was well worth it.

Day 6: It's pretty hot here

     Today the group took a day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels north of Ho Chi Minh City. The tunnels were the site of a long, guerrilla battle between the US and Viet Cong during the war. The Viet Cong lived in the tunnels, which were already in place before the war but later expanded. Their setup was very extensive. Rooms of are connected by small passageways that I could barely fit through. There were rooms for all purposes, as the Viet Cong had to live entirely underground. Entranceways were well hidden and scattered throughout the jungle. Oxygen entered the tunnels through openings that resemble ant hills. Due to that, they often went unnoticed by American soldiers. During the long bombing campaign to clear out the tunnel system, the landscape of the region was devastated. You can still see craters from dropped bombs across the region.
     On our tour, the group got a chance to crawl through the tunnels. I don't understand how anyone would be able to live like that. The tunnels we crawled through were even expanded to accommodate tourists, but some of the larger guys still had trouble crawling through them. In addition to the tunnels, the tour guides showed us the traps used by the Vietnamese at the time. The crude traps were very effective and pretty scary to think about. It really puts the war into perspective when you think about what each side had to experience.  

I thought this hammock in the tunnels looked like a good place to nap

     We had lunch next to the Saigon River in Cu Chi at a restaurant located on a pontoon platform. The restaurant was probably the most beautiful places I have ever eaten at and I'll let the pictures do the talking.

    Next stop, a Vietnamese war memorial. What stands out to me is the resemblance to America's Vietnam War memorial. The memorial was inside of a very large temple. On the wall were listed the names of all of the Vietnamese who died in the Cu Chi district during the war. Each wall was covered in names, I was amazed by the sheer number. It really shows the sheer cost that Vietnam paid during the war. In the center of the temple was a large shrine to Ho Chi Minh. I find it interesting how one man is so highly idolized. Surrounding the memorial is a beautiful courtyard and multiple murals. Like the tunnels, seeing the memorial really helps in seeing the war through a different perspective.

     The final stop of the day was a war cemetery. All of the students went out on their own to observe the gravestones in a much more solitary manner than the previous destinations. I thought the opportunity to quietly reflect on what I saw today was beneficial to me. The visit to the cemetery didn't last long, and then we went back to the hotel after another long, memorable day.