home & reflecting

Sunday, May 20th & Monday, May 21st

Sunday was a pretty uneventful day - since I live 5 hours away from Pittsburgh, we stayed in a hotel overnight and then spent much of the day driving home. Once home, I had dinner with my family (and shared a bit with them about my trip) and took some time to chat with friends about how my trip was. I went to bed at a fairly normal time for me but.....

Monday I started feeling the jet lag. I don't know why it hit me at such a weird time! I slept fairly normally Saturday night and was awake at usual times on Sunday, but then Monday I was tired all day! I fell asleep at 9pm, and then woke up around 1am, no longer tired at all. I think it's going to take a few days to adjust, unfortunately. I did get a chance to skype with a few of the Pitt kids (aka Team Yolo) and some of our UEF friends, which was a lot of fun! I look forward to doing this a lot more over the summer, especially since most of Team Yolo lives in Pittsburgh and I do not :(

Overall, going on the Plus3 trip to Vietnam has been one of the best decisions of my life. It's not a place I would have ever gone if it wasn't part of a study abroad program, and now I can't wait to find an opportunity to go back. This is all thanks to our UEF friends, because they really made the trip for us. (And, of course, Team Yolo too. If you guys hadn't been so awesome I probably would have hardly enjoyed the trip at all). Going to Vietnam has also showed me how easy it is to connect with people, even when the language and culture are so different - and though I didn't get many bug bites on the trip, I was definitely bitten by the travel bug! If only I had the means, I would love to go all over the world... though I'm afraid I would be so sad because I would meet people that I would never want to leave everywhere I would go! I feel like I learned a lot from this trip, and not just about business and engineering. Hopefully I will get the chance to see everyone again some day, whether in Vietnam, Pittsburgh, or anywhere in the world!

silly faces on Skype :)

more people and more silly faces :)

miss you all... and also those not at our skype party :(

traveling home

Saturday, May 19th

Today was literally the longest day of my life! May 19th lasted for 35 hours, because we started it at midnight in Vietnam, and ended it at 11:59 pm in Pittsburgh which is 11 hours ahead.

Once we had said goodbye to our friends outside the airport, we all went to the counters to check in. Most people had no problems getting their tickets, but for some reason, Ricky and I were having issues and it took at least a half hour to get everything sorted out! It all worked out though, and everyone ended up with flights back to the United States. We went through Vietnamese immigration and security with no problems, and had a little time to buy a few last minute souvenirs before boarding our plane to Hong Kong. This plane ride was the last time Team Yolo would be together, which was sad :( I hope everyone stays in touch over the summer, and hopefully we'll have reunions next school year! For the first time ever, I slept through the entire plane ride - including the takeoff! Usually I am wide awake during takeoffs since they scare me, but we were all so exhausted that we just fell right asleep. Once we had landed, the group going directly to Newark peaced out quickly - they ran right to their gate just in time to catch the plane! The San Fran group ate breakfast at a restaurant in the airport, and I got pancakes with chocolate syrup and strawberries. I also got a chocolate chip muffin to take with me on a plane.

The next 24 hours consisted mostly of being on planes, and running from one plane to the next. The San Fran group got pretty lucky, because somehow we all made it through customs in time to catch our next flights. After many hours on planes (and a couple in the Denver airport), most of us finally arrived back in Pittsburgh sometime between 11:15 and 11:45 pm! It was nice to have a last chance to say goodbye to everyone.

Hong Kong airport

Woo! Back in the US! (San Francisco airport)

day 12

Friday, May 18th

Today was our last day in Vietnam, a day which most certainly came much too soon. I am not ready to leave! We started out with a lecture from Giang Nguyen, a Pennsylvania Trade Representative in Vietnam. Apparently, PA is the only US state who has such an office, which I found interesting - I didn't realize our state did so much trade with Vietnam! It also got a lot of us thinking about coming back next summer on an internship. After her lecture, news reporters interviewed four of us about what we thought of Ho Chi Minh and what we thought of the program. I don't know how big of news it is that we are here, but it's definitely a little funny that we're news at all - usually in the US, people don't make that big of a deal about exchange students. I kind of wonder how many people will have seen me on TV. When the interviews were done, it was time to have our last language class. We had a small test on the stuff we had learned - I was paired with Eric, and we had to perform a short dialogue in which we asked each other's names, what we did last night and where we went. I didn't do quite as well as some, but I still definitely know at least a little more Vietnamese than I did before!

After language class, we had lunch at the Canteen, and then we drove to a local soccer field for our friendly soccer match with the UEF students! I am really bad at soccer, but I made my best effort.... and amazingly, our team won (though this was mostly thanks to Elliott and Tim, who scored goals, and Ricky, who was the goalie). After the soccer game, we had a sack hop race - Tuấn and I came in first during our heat, so we went on to the final round, and came in second! We got a nice little stuffed animal duck as a prize, which was very cute.  When we were done with all the games, we had to head back to the hotel to get ready for the farewell dinner.

Shortly before we were about to leave for the farewell dinner, we found out that all our flights were changed! Apparently the flight we were supposed to take from Hong Kong to Chicago was delayed by 6 hours, so they moved all of us around. Out of the 13 people, 7 are now going to San Francisco (and then 2 to Chicago then Pittsburgh, 5 to Denver then Pittsburgh), 4 are going directly to Newark and then Pittsburgh, and 2 are going to Tokyo then Newark then Pittsburgh. SO much confusion! I am glad that I will be with the biggest group to go through customs, because I have never gone through customs before, and even when coming back through Canada the boarder control people sometimes question Americans pretty thoroughly (this happened to Pitt Band when we came back from Toronto). 

The farewell dinner was held on a boat, though you could hardly feel the motion. It was very nice! There was live entertainment, which was definitely a treat. We also got to see the city lit up as we cruised along the river. After we were finished eating, we took lots of pictures with our group, our language teacher, and our wonderful guide, Tran. I never want to forget this trip, and I definitely want to come back!

When we came back to the hotel, our UEF friends were waiting for us. Because it was late, and a lot of places would be closed, we decided to just hang out at the hotel. They stayed with us until 2 am, when they left to go to the airport so they could see us off there! It was incredibly nice of them, and I will miss them so much. They also gave us lots of little gifts to remember them by, and I feel bad that we were not more prepared - but I was able to give each of them one of my friendship bracelets, and I really hope they liked them. While we were all hanging out, some people played blackjack (though I wasn't in the room at the time since I was finishing packing), gave massages (nice and relaxing before our long trip home), and read palms (I don't remember all of it but I am apparently undecided in my career, and I will have one husband).

Finally, we left for the airport, and shared a tearful goodbye with our UEF friends. We all said hẹn gặp lại, which means "see you again". I really hope I get to see everyone again!

Everyone from Pitt with our Vietnamese language teacher

Us with some of our UEF friends :)

#YOLO

duckies :)

At the farewell dinner with our teacher!

Ladies of Plus3, one last time :(

Everyone at the hotel :)

We were sleepy but it was nice to see everyone one last time!

day 11

Thursday, May 17th

(once again, sorry for the delay)

Today we went on a day trip! We visited the Củ Chi tunnels, and also a Cao Đài temple in Tây Ninh. We got on the bus bright and early (7 am .... earliest wake up yet!) and then drove for about an hour and a half to get to Củ Chi. To prepare for the buggy weather in the jungle we all put on sunscreen and bug spray.... and were scared when Dr. Berman told us that the bug spray attracts deadly snakes! Fortunately I didn't see any snakes today, and I only got one bug bite. Once we arrived at Củ Chi, we went climbed down steps to a hut-like enclosure where we watched a video about the tunnels. We heard about the history from the Vietnamese perspective, which is naturally quite different from the American perspective. Though the video showed many horrors the Vietnamese experienced, the guide showed us many bamboo traps which fatally impaled American soldiers. We also got the chance to crawl through a tunnel (I managed to just walk through while standing somewhat bent over, though most other people had to crawl) and lower ourselves into a sneak entrance for another one. It was dark and freaked me out a little because creepy crawly things scare me like none other. Luckily, the one we crawled through was lit.

After we were done at Củ Chi, we got back on the bus and drove for about another hour and a half to Tây Ninh. The temple was very beautiful and ornate, and we had to take our shoes off to go inside. We entered just as a worship service was starting, which was very different from any that I have ever been to. It also seemed as though we were not allowed to walk directly in front of the building while worship was occurring, and I'm not quite sure why.

Later, we had lunch at a street vendor on the way back to Ho Chi Minh. I had roasted pork and rice, which was pretty good, though apparently the sweet and sour pork was very good and I wish I had tried some. On the drive home, we saw some rice paddies, which was new to us since you don't see much of that near the city.

Once we got back, our UEF friends took us back to the Bến Thành Market. There is so much to buy there, though I didn't get very much. There is a lot of fake designer stuff there, and though I resisted the urge to get most things, I went halves on a deal for sunglasses (two for $5 USD) so I now am the proud owner of a pair of fake Ray Bans! Next our friends took us to a Vietnamese t-shirt shop, which has t-shirts with slogans in Vietnamese. At the time, I didn't get any - but now I wish I had! Then, half of the group went to the Adidas store, and the rest of us just hung out near the t-shirt shop. Ngân very kindly treated us to a drink which she said was sugar cane, which was delicious. To me, it tasted like lemonade, but somewhat sweeter. 

Then, we went to dinner. We went to a European-style restaurant, where the specialty is "beef-steak". I got the beef steak in pepper sauce (which was delicious) as well as spaghetti on the side. For dessert, we had some crème brûlée, which I have never had before. It wasn't quite what I had expected (though then again, I never knew what it was to begin with) but it was very good nonetheless! Amazingly, dinner came out to under $100,000 VND (less than $5 USD) per person, and all the Pitt kids treated our UEF friends because of how wonderfully welcoming they have been to us throughout the trip, hanging out with us every night and taking us to many cool places which we would have never discovered without them. 

After saying goodnight to our Vietnamese friends, we finished the night by going to Lush one last time. There weren't very many people there - we practically had the place to ourselves! Once again it was lots of fun, and I will definitely miss going out with Team Yolo when I get home. 

Lowering myself into the entrance to a tunnel...

Closing the lid... it was dark!!!

Cao Đài temple

Worship service inside the temple

Rice paddies!!

Group shot in our fake Ray-Bans!

Roomies :)

All the lovely ladies of Plus3 Vietnam!

day 10

Wednesday, May 16th

(Sorry for the delay in posts - I kept falling asleep in my clothes while trying to blog for the last few days of the trip!)

Today we did not have any classes :( Instead we had three company visits! First, we visited Saigon Newport Company, which is the state owned port authority for Ho Chi Minh City. They are managed by the Vietnamese Navy, so I was surprised that we were allowed to see the control room! With shipping containers (almost) as far as the eye could see, it was impressive that they kept track of where each was in order to move on to its next location and run the Cat Lai port efficiently. After that, we had cà phê sữa đá (iced coffee with milk) and lunch at UEF, and relaxed on the couches in the canteen for a few hours.

Following our break, we went to Quang Trung Software City. It is very similar to VSIP, which we visited on day 3. However, QTSC is owned by the government. Because the government wants to support software and information technology, they offer tax incentives to companies which choose to locate themselves within the software park. Additionally, QTSC has on-site housing, training facilites, restaurants, and more. Seeing all these industrial parks and planned out development areas in Vietnam almost makes you wonder why we don't really see that in the United States (or at least, if we do have it, I'm not aware of it), but I guess it's because the US is already very developed, and most land is already in use, whereas in Vietnam development is occurring rapidly, and these things speed and ease the process.

Within QTSC, we visited TMA Solutions. TMA is an outsourcing company which develops software for other companies around the globe - and the largest software outsourcer in Vietnam. We were allowed to tour a few rooms where we could see employees working on developing mobile solutions, and were then given a presentation on the company. One of the things that has started to concern me is that so much software development seems to be happening overseas now - and the employees are definitely not making the same pay an American would get in the United States. Since my intended major is Computer Engineering, I worry that by the time I get into the job market, there will be low demand for software developers within the United States.

Tonight, we started with dessert! We went to a street vendor to get ice cream, which was vanilla with peanuts and fruit. I wouldn't have ever thought to put peanuts in ice cream, but it was really good, and I tried to make sure I had a peanut in every bite. Another interesting thing is that when we say "street vendor" here, it doesn't necessarily mean a truck or cart on the roadside. In many cases, there are open storefronts with tables in them (the ones tonight were tiny) and you sit down and order, and the food is brought to you. It definitely was not what I would have expected. After our delicious ice cream, we went to Kichi Kichi Hot Pot for dinner. This is a Japanese buffet restaurant, where there is a sushi bar, and a moving conveyer belt of food items to cook in your individual pot of soup. The broth in my soup was extremely spicy, and apparently it was only the medium spice! Nonetheless, it was fun to pick out the food and cook it myself :)

Shipping containers & cranes at the Cat Lai port

At the street vendor, waiting for delicious ice cream!

Kichi Kichi Hot Pot!

day 9

Tuesday, May 15th

Today we went back to UEF for our final culture class. I found it interesting to learn that Vietnam has a 'female dominated tradition' (they worship goddesses), yet males dominate in society. Our teacher told us that this is because of the Chinese influence. Also, apparently the men move in with their wives families when they get married, which surprised me. After culture class, we had language class. We learned more conversation pieces, such as asking people where they are from (Bạn là người nước nào?) and to tell someone that we are American (Tôi là người mỹ!). We can also ask someone where they live (Bạn sống ở đâu?) and tell them that we are living in America (Tôi sống ở mỹ!). We also learned a few other phrases, such as "I study at the University of Pittsburgh", but I don't remember how to say it right now :( I'm a bit nervous about remembering everything, since we have a small oral test on Friday! During a break in language class, I taught one of the Vietnamese students some of the German I know - phrases similar to what we've been learning. Guten Tag! Hallo! Wie heisst du? Ich heisse ____ . Wie geht es dir? Es geht mir gut. Woher kommst du? Ich komme aus _____. Auf Wiedersehen! Tschau!

In the afternoon, we visited Glass Egg Digital Media. Glass Egg is a video game developer, and many well known brands come to Glass Egg for digital design projects. For example, EA Games and Microsoft will have Glass Egg develop the 3d digital design for cars and other components in their video games. Because Glass Egg is an outsourcing company, they do not profit when their clients perform well and sell a lot of games, but they also do not suffer when clients go bankrupt. Often, employees of clients that go bankrupt will refer their new employers to Glass Egg, widening their client base. Glass Egg also owns Lush, so they very generously treated us to VIP seating tonight.

For dinner, we started by going to a street vendor for sticky rice and chicken. It was very good! After that we went to New York City Desserts, where (most of us) got desserts. They had a lot of menu items that looked good too, but being full from the rice and chicken, I went ahead and got tiramisu. It was delicious, as was the cheesecake that Alex and Hailee very kindly allowed me to have bites of.

After dessert, we went to a nearby mall. It was very upscale, with many designer brands - so it was just as expensive, if not more, as in the United States. Then we went to Lush, and it was Ladies' night, which meant free drinks for the girls from 10-midnight! Our entire Plus3 group went together, and I had a great time :)

(sorry for the belated post)

At New York City Desserts

mmmm..... tiramisu!

Lush!

day 8

Monday, May 14th

Today we didn't have any classes at UEF. Instead, we started out by going to Highlands Coffee, which is owned by Viet Thai International Joint Stock Company. We learned a bit about Viet Thai's business model, and they told us that they focus a lot on trust, transparency, and boldness. Viet Thai manages a number of franchises in Vietnam, and most of their partners are have a long standing connection with someone high up at Viet Thai. Strong business relationships are clearly a key to success! They also kindly treated us to coffee, which was once again delicious. Furthermore, since Viet Thai manages the Hard Rock Cafe in Vietnam, we got to eat lunch there! The American food tasted pretty good (I had a few nachos and some chicken fingers), but once again my stomach was not happy with me. Hopefully I will go back to rice - I actually like it and definitely don't mind having it at every meal. I might even miss it when I go home!

After lunch, we went to the War Remnants Museum. It was hard to look at a lot of the exhibits. Seeing the Vietnamese perspective on the war, it's almost surprising that we are so accepted here as Americans. I kind of wonder if the people in the museum who weren't speaking English were talking about us, but I'm glad that I couldn't tell if they were.

Later, we went out to dinner with our Vietnamese friends. We went to a Japanese sushi restaurant, and I have to say, it was way better than any sushi I have ever had before! Then again, I have only had Quick Zone and Cathedral sushi, so that probably isn't much to judge by. Regardless, the food was delicious, and I was very happy. After dinner we went out for ice cream again, which was also delicious.

At the Hard Rock Cafe... very excited about the Heinz ketchup!

Team YOLO!!

Delicious sushi.... only 55,000 dong!

At the sushi restaurant

Group shot!

day 7

Sunday, May 13th

Today we woke up bright and early to head to Vũng Tàu, which is a coastal city south of Ho Chi Minh. We took a boat down the Saigon River to get there (which was bigger than I expected - the inside looked almost like an airplane, and we were in an enclosed area with windows). First, we went to the beach. We played a few games - one in which groups of two had their legs tied like in a three legged race, with balloons on each leg, and the goal was to pop the other team's balloons. It was fun, but the tie really hurt my ankle! Next, we were split into two teams, competing for who could collect the most ocean water in a soda bottle. After that, we linked together and had to race for which team could get everyone across a line that was about twenty feet away first. As we were playing all the games, a local news station was taking pictures of us making fools of ourselves. I'm not used to all the stares we get, and I hope that none of the pictures are too unflattering! But I guess it doesn't really matter, since likely no one I know will ever see them. After the games, we were free to hang out on the beach, so we went swimming. The water was so warm, especially since I am used to the Jersey shore! Also there was no seaweed, which made me extremely happy because I hate feeling like I'm swimming in salad.

Next, we ate lunch at a seafood restaurant. I'm not a big fan of seafood other than salmon and shrimp, so I just ate rice. This was a bad idea, because I was still very hungry, and next on the agenda was climbing to Jesus! (There is a big statue of Jesus in  Vũng Tàu). We had to climb a bunch of steps to get there, and I had to keep taking breaks because I kept feeling faint, and water was making me feel worse since I had so little food in my stomach. When we finally reached Jesus, the breeze was very nice, and the view was amazing. The climb down was much easier.

After we got back to the hotel, we all showered off, since it had been so hot and we were all wearing sunscreen. Then we went to the Black Cat for dinner, a restaurant which serves more American food. I had a hamburger and fries for the first time in a while! My stomach definitely likes rice better though.

Overall, it was a very fun day!

Taking a break on the way up to Jesus...

Almost there....

Jesus!

day 6

Saturday, May 12th

Today was definitely our most tourist-y day so far. We saw a number of historical and important sites in Ho Chi Minh City!

First, we went to the Reunification Palace. The current palace is the second one to stand in that location - the original was destroyed during the Vietnam War. It is the former presidential palace of the South Vietnamese government. The building is very beautiful! After we saw the palace, we went to the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Saigon Central Post Office. Both show very strong French influence, which was interesting to see. Unfortunately we did not get to go inside the cathedral - I would have liked a chance to see the stained glass! The post office is the biggest in Vietnam, though we didn't really explore it too much, since there was a gift shop pretty much right as soon as you walked through the doors. We haven't really had much time for getting gifts up til now, so everyone was drawn to the potential souvenirs and presents for friends and family. After that, we went to a pagoda which was home to a Buddhist temple. The architecture was amazingly intricate. We had to take off our shoes to go inside, and we put sticks of incense in a giant pot. It was interesting, especially because I have never been to any religious places apart from churches and synagogues.

When we were done with touring, we went back to the hotel for a bit (and took a swim which felt amazing due to how hot it was outside), and then our Vietnamese friends took us to Bến Thành Market. It was great having them with us to help, because they typically overcharge foreigners and they helped us by bargaining in Vietnamese. The market was almost overwhelming, with vendors saying "T-shirt for you miss?" "Bracelet for you miss" every two steps. I may have to go back to get more, but unfortunately I am bad at bargaining so I will probably have to pay a lot more :(

Next, we went to a karaoke bar for dinner. The food was delicious, and I had fun singing - so much fun that I hardly had a voice the next day! Not a lot of people were singing, so Eric and Ricky probably spent the most time with the mics, followed by me. I was glad we had a private room, because even though I have been singing since I was four, my voice started going early and I probably sounded horrible.

We ended the night by going to Lush, a club owned by Glass Egg Digital Media, which we will visit later in the trip. It was the first time I have ever been to a club, so it was a little overwhelming, but it was fun!

(sorry about the late post)

In front of the Reunification Palace

The lovely ladies of Plus3 Vietnam... not all looking :(

Notre Dame Cathedral

Post office!

in front of the pagoda

Ricky and Eric rocking out

No one would sing Apologize with me :(

It's a love story, baby just say yes!

Hanging out at the Karaoke bar :)

day 5

Friday, May 11th

It's hard to believe we've been here five days! It feels like we've been here for forever.... but it also seems like we're leaving so soon, even though we have about another week. Though there are some things I miss about home, I don't want to leave :(

Today we started with Vietnamese history and culture again. We learned more about the Mekong Delta and the philosophy of dualism (yin and yang). The yin and the yang work together to create harmony. Everything comes in pairs, such as earth and sky, and mother and father. The even numbers correspond to yin, and the odd numbers correspond to yang. Usually the odd numbers are preferred, and 1 rose is good because it means exclusivity, and 9 is good because it means forever. We also had language class again! We learned how to ask people how they're doing (Bạn có khỏe không?) and some adjectives, such as hot (nóng), tired (mệt), happy (vui), and good (tốt). Tot means dead in German, so I thought it was interesting that a similar word in Vietnamese carries such a different meaning.

In the afternoon, we visited Ascenx Technologies. The company was founded in 2004 by Tuan Bach, a Vietnamese American who was born here in Vietnam but escaped as a young child and went to school in the United States. I thought it was cool that we got to meet with a CEO! He gave us a presentation about his company - they offer contract manufacturing, contract repair service, engineering services, and field service engineering. He also shared his personal story, which was very interesting. After the meeting, he very generously treated us to Highlands Coffee, which was delicious!

Tonight we ate at Domino's! It was kind of different from the Domino's they have at home - the crust didn't have garlic on it, and the sauce and pepperoni were not quite the same. I can tell that I'm not used to American food anymore because I ate much less than usual.

After dinner, we went by the Crescent Mall to see the Starlight Bridge. Young Vietnamese couples often go there for dates! We just took a bunch of silly pictures though, so they must have though we were so loud and weird. After that, we went back to the hotel. I'm looking forward to touring the city tomorrow! (and getting to sleep in!)

Domino's pizza... a medium here is like a small at home!

Group shot at Domino's!

Skinny arm pose.... plus Elliot straight chillin

The guys decided to copy us...

Another group shot! Great face, Tim.... :P

Don't drop us!!!