arrival & day 1

Last night our flight arrived right before midnight in Vietnam. It surprised me how easy it was going through customs; all they did was look at our passports and our boarding passes and they let us through. Then we went to the baggage claim, where most of us got our bags. Unfortunately some people's somehow didn't make it onto the flight from Chicago to Hong Kong, but they should be here in a day or two. When we stepped outside, it was so hot, even though it was late at night.


This morning we had breakfast at the hotel. They had a lot of food that Americans wouldn't typically eat for breakfast, and I was nervous that it would bother my stomach, so I just ate some rolls and some fairly plain rice. They had orange juice, which was a bit different from ours - it was really really sweet. I actually like it better, though I'm pretty sure it made me more thirsty.


Then, we took the bus to UEF (the University of Economics & Finance). There were so many things to see as we were driving - there are thousands of people on motorbikes, and all the buildings were colorful. There were a lot of marketplaces, and it seems like you could buy just about anything. When we got to UEF, there were cameras waiting for us. Tran (our guide) told us that we would be on the news. I didn't realize we were newsworthy! I'm pretty sure they even followed us around the whole time we were at UEF. First we went to a welcoming ceremony, where we met Vietnamese students. They put on a puppet show for us and sang songs, and we all received bags with polo shirts and keychains. After that, we went to our first Vietnamese class. We learned to say some very basic things. Xin chào! Tôi tên là Emmy. (Hello! My name is Emmy) Xin lỗi! (Excuse me / sorry) Cảm ơn! (Thanks) The pronunciation is pretty difficult, since Vietnamese is a tonal language. Also, sometimes the students will say a phase in varying ways, so it's hard to tell if I'm saying it right. Is it cien tiao? Or cien chao? Right now I'm just considering it a success when I remember which phrase means what. When we were done with the language class, we went to the canteen for lunch. Some of the students showed us how to eat (properly) with chopsticks - apparently you're only supposed to use 3 fingers? I stuck with my five finger method since it was more steady for me. After lunch, we went back to the hotel.


Next, we went to the US Consulate. I was somewhat surprised at first when they took away everyone's cameras and cell phones, but then I remembered that it was a US government building. We learned a bit about the history of the Consulate and took a tour. We also got to experience crossing the street for the first time, aka playing Frogger in real life. Apparently you have to just look for a bit of a gap in traffic, then just proceed slowly across the street and the motorbikes will drive around you. But you also apparently have to watch out for purse snatchers.... I'm hoping that doesn't end up being an issue. After we got back to the bus, we went to the hotel. I took a nap, and then it was time for dinner. We went to a place called Wrap & Roll, which was really good. They kept bringing out food, and there was barely enough room on the table for all of it! I felt bad, because they kept bringing more even once I was already full.

Today was definitely a tiring day, especially since I'm still not totally set on Vietnamese time. But I'm looking forward to learning more tomorrow!

Walking into UEF 

Traffic!!!

Lots of food at Wrap & Roll!