First full day in Vietnam and so much to talk about. The day started with my roommate and I going to the hotel gym at 6 am. We saw a guy running on the treadmill with no shirt on and no shoes and given the temperature in the gym, I understood why. After sweating for about 45 minutes, we needed to cool off so we went in the pool. I felt like I was in a resort, because the pool is on the roof of our hotel and overlooks much of the city of Ho Chi Minh. With the open atmosphere and the warm temperature of the pool, it was amazing to sit there and look out over the city. After the pool, we went to breakfast which is very different than the breakfast that I am used to back in the States. I had fried eggs, a roll with very good raspberry jam, sticky rice, and noodles and beef. I was a little more on the conservative side when picking my breakfast but I was extremely satisfied with the food. I have to say it was the best meal that I have ever had in a hotel restaurant for breakfast.
We all met up for the bus at 8:15 in order to trek our way through the city to get to the University of Economics and Finance where we would meet our Vietnamese schoolmates for the next two weeks. The bus ride took us through the city and opened our eyes to Vietnamese culture. First thing I noticed, like I posted yesterday, was that drivers are crazy. They are everywhere and very careless, and I am very surprised that there are not more accidents. The typical "driver" in Vietnam is much different than the typical driver in the United States. They ride a motorbike all wearing helmets as that seems to be the one "traffic law" that everyone abides by. Many people also wear masks to shield themselves from the pollution.
On the side of the road, people sat in front of their shops, often without shirts on and stuff was sold everywhere. Everything you could possibly imagine was sold on the streets of Vietnam. Houses extended two or three stories above the stores and lined the streets on both sides. Many of the stores did not have signs just products lined up for sale. Motorbikes were parked on the side of the street, on the sidewalk or in the stores; basically wherever they could find space. That ride really opened up our eyes to the culture and lifestyles of the Vietnamese and showed me how different they live than citizens in United States cities live.
We then arrived at UEF and walked up seven flights to get to the classroom. When we walked into the classroom, we were greeted by the warmest reception by far I have ever received. They welcomed us like celebrities or football stars who just won a Super Bowl. They clapped and waved peace signs at us. Eventually we settled in and we all started talking to our Vietnamese counterparts. They spoke english very well and many understand everything I was saying. They gave us a presentation about the school, how and where they learn, and Ho Chi Minh in general. After the presentation, one girl did a traditional Vietnamese dance completed with dress and props of a drum and fans. It was very interesting and introduced us to another side of Vietnamese culture.
It was then time for our Vietnamese language class. Our teacher was very spirited and her enthusiasm carried over into my desire to learn some of this difficult language. I think the language is so difficult is because the meaning of the word depends on the tone of your voice as much as the word itself. Words spelled the same as others with different tone marks have completely different meanings. We learned how to say hi, my name is, how to ask people what their name is, as well as it is nice to meet you. It was very slow learning but it really made me feel integrated more into Vietnam learning to speak the language just a little bit.
At lunchtime, we walked downstairs to the cafeteria, where there was a table with a lot of food on it. That lunch consisted of bread, fried shrimp, rice, soup, green beans and beef, and chicken. They kept bringing more and more food out. It was very delicious but the quantity was overwhelming. There was enough food on the table to feed a group three times our size and we were all very grateful for their hospitality. We ate with just Tin and our group, as the other students all had class again. After lunch on our way out of the school everyone would smile and wave at us and step aside for us to walk. They are amazing hosts and seem to be very fond of Americans.
Next we took a bus tour of the city. We passed a castle, a couple parks, and ended up at the Ben Thanh Market. This is a huge place resembling a giant warehouse filled with stands that sell everything imaginable, even more so than the streets of Ho Chi Minh. They have DVDs, purses, wallets, clothing, pottery, sculptures, and just about everything else. Everything is very cheap and it is accepted and expected for buyers to barter the price the merchant says. I was bartering a price of a wallet and after the price went back and forth, the lady said 180,000 dong and I came back with 175,000 dong which is a difference of a quarter. Although what she wanted originally for it was only $1.25 more than what I paid, it is customary to barter the price down.
After the market, we continued the tour while driving to the U.S. Consulate. A Consulate is much like an Embassy expect it is not in a nation's capitol. We met with the Chief Consular Chuck Bennett who briefed us on the workings of a Consulate as well as the career path to get to the position he is in now. After the brief, we went outside to the where the U.S. embassy used to be located during the war when North and South Vietnam were split. Dr. Berman explained the memorial commemorating the five soldiers that died while protecting the embassy from the attack of the Viet Cong. Outside the wall of what is now the Consulate is a memorial commemorating the Viet Cong who died attacking the embassy, built by the Vietnamese government.
We then had a couple of hours to relax at the hotel before our welcome dinner. Our dinner was with our entire group plus Tin and Tu our two correspondents from UEF. This was an introduction for us to a traditional Vietnamese meal. The meal had too many courses to count. It just kept coming and coming. We had squid, corn, bread, soup, shrimp, and other shellfish. The meal was delicious and very filling since it was all so good you did not want to stop eating. Dinner took a very long time, about two hours, which was all filled with trying to eat as fast as they were bringing the food out. The waitresses were very friendly and I got to use what I learned earlier in the day of Vietnamese to thank them. Throughout the meal I learned even more Vietnamese sitting next to Tin who taught me many phrases and pronunciations. The restaurant and the meal was awesome. The restaurant was just as awesome as the food in it decorated with wood and trees everywhere, it gave the illusion that we were sitting in a rainforest. Between the quality and quantity of the food in addition to the beautiful scenery at the restaurant, I really enjoyed my first Vietnamese traditional meal.
After dinner we went back to the hotel and went swimming in the pool on the rooftop again. It was awesome once again to look over the city and very relaxing. I had a busy first day, meeting many new students, starting a new language, and learning a lot about the history and culture of Vietnam specifically Ho Chi Minh City as well as a site visit to the U.S. Consulate.
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