Thursday--

Today, we went to UEF in the morning to hear a guest lecture on rural planning and development in the Mekong Delta by Dr. Le Quang Minh who is the Vice-President of Vietnam National University HCMC. This presentation was very informative and a little bit surprising to me, since I did not understand the full extent of the Mekong Delta. We learned about how the rice and shrimp farms relish and loathe floodwaters. We learned more about the culture of people in the rural developments as well as ways to improve the economic conditions. We learned many stats on the economics and future plans of the Mekong Delta.

After the lecture was over, we had our first culture class. Our teacher spoke very good English and was very enthusiastic about teaching us about Vietnamese culture. He started off explaining some stats of Vietnam, such as population and demographics. He split his presentation into three parts: cultural backgrounds, communicative culture, and he gave us some examples of basic Vietnamese sentences. After explaining some of the background, he described their culture is love based instead of law based which means they have closed community history. They are used to loving their family so they continue that into their communication instead of reasoning conversation. He explained what to say, what not to say, and how to act. It was very helpful, but I could have used the information a couple of days earlier. For example, I am used to using my hands to talk and here it is disrespectful. It was a very interesting class and I look forward to the next class on Monday.

We ate lunch again at the cafeteria at UEF and after lunch we headed over to the U.S. Consulate Annex. I did not eat at lunch so luckily we were a little early at the Consulate so we went to a French bakery in the lobby of the corporate building. There I got a delicious ham and cheese sandwich on a croissant, which only cost me about $1.50. It was nice to have a break from rice and bread, since that’s about all I eat here. We met with Jennifer Ludders who is an Economic Officer and Dave Averne who is a Commercial Officer. They briefed us on the workings of the Vietnamese economy both urban and a small amount rural. The presentation was very interactive and it went back and forth between Jennifer, Dave, and us students asking questions. Dave described the process of how they introduce and familiarize American companies with those in Vietnam. They really facilitate the process and allow companies to see the full advantages of operating in Vietnam. Jenifer descried some of the improvements that still need to be made such as a road connecting to the new massive ship port so it can be utilized to its full potential.

They also addressed the improvements and the ground that Ho Chi Minh City has gained over the past 20 years. From what they have told us in addition to all we have learned so far, I think that Vietnam is a perfect place for a company to develop into a strong corporation. Site visits such as today's gives me an understanding of the economics in Vietnam and in the world in general. This helps me to put engineering principles into a global business context and truly develops my understanding of how a company functions.

After the Consulate site visit we took the elevator down only to find out it was pouring outside. Dr. Berman said it would pass in a few minutes since it was not the rainy season. After about ten minutes of waiting I figured it would give me another sense of the culture to trek it out in the rain for the whole two blocks to the market. The two blocks to the market felt more like 10 and I never experienced rain like this in my life. It was coming down so hard and raining and all directions. By the time we got to the market, it looked like I just fell into a pool. Dripping wet, we split off into groups of 3 in order to tackle the market Vietnamese to get the best prices. I went with Julie and Elizabeth. I can't write what I bought since my Mom and Dad are probably reading this, but I got a lot of gifts. As like the last time I went, I bartered the prices down and ended up getting pretty good prices. We stayed there for about and hour and half where we all met up to leave. Julie and I decided we wanted to stay longer and we each bought a couple more things. I got a really nice silk tie and matching cuff links for $6 and Julie got the rest of her gifts.

We decided to take motorbikes back to the hotel, which is my first time ever on a motorbike. Our drivers were crazy; they rode on the wrong side of the road, on the sidewalk, and ran a few red lights. This all being said, it was the time of my life. It was unbelievable to experience the traffic, I have been seeing for the last week and I can't wait to ride a motorbike again. As soon as we got back to the hotel, a couple kids were walking to a restaurant a few blocks from our hotel for a surprise group dinner. They obviously invited us along. Julie and I went upstairs, changed, and headed out. We arrived at this very fancy restaurant. I was wearing a soccer jersey and like everyone else felt very underdressed. I ordered clams and spicy beef with peppers and onions. The clams were delicious and probably the best that I have ever had. The beef came next and it was delicious as well. The food was very westernized, the service, however, was not. Our waiter kept telling me how to eat, and he kept grabbing my chopsticks and showing me. For desert, I had a baked apple tart and that was delicious as well. When the check came, my part was only $12 even with all that I ate. All in all, the place was delicious and I hope we have time to go back there again.

After dinner we all showered and changed. We decided tonight to go to Lush nightclub. We took a taxi there and the place was very cool. It was high class and a couple of guys needed to go back to change into pants. They played a lot of techno music but it was more of a lounge than a club. It was kind of expensive but so much fun. I hope we go back there as well.