Day Seven: Joints and Jesus

Sunday was our earliest day of the trip. We were on the bus by 7, for the long trip to Vung Tau for a beach day. I can’t say much about the ride, as I was asleep the entire time, but I woke up to the Vietnamese Coast, and, interestingly enough, my first look at the Pacific Ocean. Before heading to the beach however, we visited a giant statue of Jesus that was on top of a nearby mountain. To get to the statue, we had to climb probably a thousand steps in the dead Vietnamese heat, it was pretty exhausting. I did however finally get a rice hat at a shop on the trek up. Once we reached the top we were able to go inside the statue (after we took our shoes off) and go to the top. The view from the top of the statue was incredible, you could see miles of coast and the surrounding towns. Afterwards we headed back down to the bus and had a quick drive to the beach. The first thing we did was head immediately into the water, as we were all sweaty and hot from the hike up to the statue. The water was so warm, nothing like any of the Jersey beaches I’m used to. We played some games on the beach with the UEF kids that came with us, and hung out in the pool at the hotel we were at for the day. Lunch was in the hotel, and there was tons of food. At the end of the meal they brought out hotpots for each table, which were even better than the last time I had one. After lunch we got to spend a few more hours on the beach before boarding the bus and heading home. Yes I got sunburned.

On the trip back we stopped at a Vietnamese truck stop, which as really cool! There were tons of small stores and vendors. I tried Vietnamese whole milk, which was really sweet, and shrimp paper, which was rice paper with hundreds of tiny shrimp in it. Everyone got different candies and we passed them around on the bus so we could taste each one. They were great! After getting back to the hotel everyone headed back to their rooms to shower and get ready for dinner. For dinner we split into two separate groups. One group (about 14 people) went to a Restaurant called Soul Burger, which is supposed to be one of the best burger places in Ho Chi Minh City. I went with the smaller group of six with Kate, deep into the city to a small corner restaurant (because I can eat a burger when I’m stateside right?). There we got Bun Bo Hue, a dish much like Pho but with different broth and noodles. I also got to eat pork joint! Which I won’t do again! Sorry this post is a bit shorter than others but most of the day was spent sitting on the beach.

Day Six: My longest post for sure

Saturday began early, as the trip to Cu Chi was a long one. Our drive out of the city was particularly interesting. Our ride to us out past the touristy and upper/middle class areas of the city, and we got to see what the city was like for most of its residents. There were fewer tall buildings and restaurants, but the streets were just as lively. Our trip brought us out of the metropolitan area of the city, and we found ourselves for the first time driving through rural Vietnam. The difference was stunning, a stretch of farms dotted with small huts and quiet street corners. Something interesting we noticed was the different types of houses that seemed to be most common. About half of the homes were wooden or metal shanties with thatch roofs, while the other half were colorful and made with brick. After about an hour of driving we pulled into a large parking lot with old war vehicles lining the sides. We arrived at the Cu Chi tunnels.
The tunnels were an incredible experience. We began our journey by meeting with a tour guide and heading into the nearby jungle. The busy sounds of the city had been replaced by the subtle yet eerie buzzing of insects. The jungle here was young and thin, as the original vegetation in the area had been destroyed by heaving U.S bombing and the use of chemicals such as Agent Orange. During wartime, much of the area we walked on would have been a wasteland. Dr. Berman printed out some bomb craters as we walked through the jungle, which would have gone unnoticed under the vegetation if it weren’t for his eye. We walked by piles of salvaged munitions and arms from the U.S forces, and got to see some of the weapons used by both sides. Before heading into the tunnels, Dr. Berman gave us a brief description of the Cu Chi district during war time, its strategic purpose, and the fighting that went on there. Dr. Berman explained how the 25^th Infantry, better known as Tropic Lightning, set up their basecamp in the Cu Chi district, and were harassed by Viet Cong using the tunnels to attack them from the inside, and slip away without detection. The tunnels had first been constructed to counter the Japanese occupation of Vietnam during WWII, and were subsequently expanded during the French and American occupations. At their height, the tunnels spanned over 250 kilometers.

Perhaps the most eye-opening experience of the trip for me however, was the video we watched next. It was a Viet Cong propaganda video from 1967, which focused on the methods, and successes of Viet Cong fighters against American Soldiers. Dr. Berman said he personally found the video offensive, and I could understand why. In the video, Viet Cong were considered “American Killer Heroes” for how many U.S soldiers they killed.  Particularly, the video told the story of a young girl, who lived as a rice farmer with her family in the Cu Chi district by day, and fought with the Viet Cong by night. The girl was a talented sniper, and was apparently credited with killing almost 100 U.S soldiers (although then again this was a propaganda video). Most people would expect me to find this offensive. And I did…a bit. But more than being offended, I was astounded. Throughout my high school career we had learned an American perspective of the Vietnam War. Even in AP U.S, we took a very macroscopic, political approach to our reasoning for entering and staying in Vietnam. The U.S at the time had a policy of containment, and in order to defeat communism, which in practice was oppressive and unfair to people (we knew this), we had to stop its spread. This I understood. I understood that the Vietnam War was tragic, an unnecessary loss of human lives, and in the end we did not achieve our objective. I also understood that it was necessary in order to continue our foreign policy, and I understood that we had an obligation to protect those who’s right to democracy was threatened around the world. All this was clear to me. I did not have a very definite opinion of the war, and truthfully I still don’t. But watching that video changed something for me. All I could think afterwards was, why the hell we were in Vietnam? Again, I understand all the political and moral reasons for sending American troops, but truthfully, we had no business being there. These were a people who had been oppressed not just by the French or the Japanese. They had been living under the boot of Imperialist nations for over a thousand years. These were simple rice farmers, who, after fighting back against aggressive invaders for generations, had learned to build a culture around killing the enemy. And I didn’t have spite for that. It would have been impossible for them to live any other way, after so much fighting. I want to keep this blog professional, but I really have no other way to describe how I felt about the war after watching that video than f*cked up (sorry mom). The Viet Cong were experienced killers fighting in their own backyard for their own perception of freedom. I can’t say whether one side was morally right or wrong in what they did. I can’t even say whether one is morally right for what they were fighting for. All I can definitively say, after learning about the life and culture of the Viet Cong in Cu Chi, is that the only true “objective” achieved by wither side, was putting lots of people to death. Sorry if I got a little dark there, but I felt like it was such an eye-opening experience that I had to share it.

After the video we headed deeper into the jungle, where got our first look at the tunnels. Our guide put us in a circle, and challenged us to find the entrance to the tunnel that was somewhere in between us. After we were unable to find it, he revealed a cleverly concealed trap door that could not have been larger than 1 foot by 1 foot, and slipped into the tiny space below, sealing it behind him. We stood awkwardly unsure of what to do for a bit until he emerged from a hole around 50 feet behind us. Afterwards we were taken to a series of expanded tunnels, which had functioned as command posts, hospitals, and battle stations during the war. The tunnels themselves were tiny, even after their expansion, often forcing you onto your hands and knees. The tunnels sometimes opened up to large rooms, which served various functions. The last stretch of tunnels we entered was 30 meters long with no large breaks, and had a series of turns, intersections, and slopes that made traversing it a bit more difficult, and a lot more nerve-racking. It would truly take a different kind of person to live down in those tunnels. After exiting the last tunnel, we walked to a pavilion where we saw some of the traps Vietcong would set up. After the tour ended, we took the bus to a restaurant on the nearby Saigon River. The river was full of floating hyacinths, which at some points completely covered our view of the water. After lunch we visited Den Ben Duoc temple, near the tunnels. The temple was truly interesting. The walls of the temple were covered in names of those who had died fighting in the Cu Chi district. The names ranged back to the beginning of the Japanese occupation. Was especially interesting however, was that the names were not just Vietnamese. The temple had the names of every person that died there, including the French, Japanese, and Americans. I thought it was truly incredible that they could still show respect to another nations dead, even after they had fought against them.  The outer walls of the temple were covered in murals that depicted every occupation Vietnam had experienced in its history. To complete our Cu Chi visit, we went to a Vietnamese soldier cemetery. We were only there for around fifteen minutes, but the experience was still a powerful one. You forget for a moment that they were supposed to be the enemy. All you see is graves, and pictures and names of young men who had died. Afterwards we made the long journey back to the city. We got back to the hotel and immediately headed to the pool (the tunnels had left us hot and dirty). For dinner a group of about six of us went to a nearby restaurant that specialized in Central Vietnamese foods, which is largely based on seafood. I had a sort of Pho with Tuna, which was great. We then returned to the hotel for a final fitting for the suits. I usually leave the nightlife out of the blogs for my parents, but I will say that the club we went to Saturday was on top of the second tallest building in the city, and had an incredible view. Hen gap lai!

Day Five: The day where we inevitably had to explain football to Vietnamese people

Friday was another long, but exciting day. We began the day at UEF, with the continuation of our Vietnamese History and culture class. Today we learned about Vietnamese religion. The most popular religion practiced in Vietnam is Buddhism, however there are many other religions practiced throughout the nation, such as Catholicism and Taoism. Vietnamese religion is not as simple as this though. Because of its position between two major cultural centers, India and China, Vietnamese religion is actually a mix of different religions and cultures. The popular Buddhism of Vietnam is in reality a combination of Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. The Vietnamese people are also very accepting of other religions, and will often celebrate the holidays of the other religions in their communities to show respect. After this lecture we had another Vietnamese language class where we learned Vietnamese numbers, which was a struggle to say the least.

After a quick lunch, we headed to the U.S Consulate. After another quick security check, we were back on American soil. We had a briefing with four members of the Consulate, Nate, Garett, Malika, and Terry, who told us about their work in economic, political, social, and consular issues respectively. Malika’s job was particularly interesting; she works on a person-to-person level with Vietnamese citizens, getting their opinion on how the Consulate can do better to inform and assist people on issues such as education and visas. She also works in programs that help improve Vietnamese students’ chances of applying ad being accepted to American colleges. Afterwards we headed to the American Center in Diamond Plaza for a consulate organized program. In this program we met with Vietnamese students to answer their questions about American Universities. The turnout was impressive to say the least, there were around five Vietnamese students for every one of us. We split into smaller groups to answer their questions. It was fun helping answer their questions about college in the U.S, but what was even better was getting a glimpse of their perspective of the United States. They were truly unafraid to ask anything, and I received questions ranging from “what is American football” to “what do you think of the Baltimore riots”. Seeing just how different their understanding of the U.S and U.S colleges was than us, and genuinely helping them understand what school in America is like was undoubtedly the most rewarding experience of the trip so far. I also made many new Vietnamese friends, some of whom share my interest in architecture.

After the meeting, we headed back to the hotel to relax before the night. For dinner, all of the guys went with our Vietnamese friend Ba to a Vietnamese hot pot restaurant. It was certainly the most authentic Vietnamese restaurant we had been to so far. We got to try bird and pig brain, some interesting firsts for me. After dinner we went and got some Café Sua Da at a local Café, and relaxed until we called it an early night for the trip to Cu Chi in the morning. Xin Chao!

Day Four

Day four in Vietnam began a bit earlier than the others, as our morning schedule had something new. Instead of heading straight to UEF, we headed to the Jade Emperor Pagoda, a Taoist Temple built in 1909. It was truly an incredible experience. Apart from being my first experience with Taosim, it was such a stark contrast to the fast-paced, rapid westernization and development we had been experiencing. Just two blocks away from a budding finance University and a flurry of fruit smoothie shops and Cafes was a quiet, shady temple hanging with the mist of a four-thousand year old religion. After the temple visit we returned to UEF for a lesson on Vietnamese History and Culture. We learned about hte many different peoples and cultures that make up Vietnam's population, beyond just the Viet people. Vietnam is home to many culturally different peoples such as the Khmer, E De, and Hao. We also got to try some culturally significant Vietnamese food, such as the Rambutan, a spiky tree fruit with a sweet juicy core. After the lesson we headed to Kent university for another delicious Vietnamese lunch.

In the afternoon we got dressed in business casual and headed to Glass Egg Digital Media for another business visit. Glass Egg is a 3D artwork producer that primarily makes 3D objects and landscapes for video games. Glass Egg is one of the best in the industry worldwide; they have contracts with Microsoft and Sony, and produce most of the cars and maps for the Forza racing game series. The founder and CEO of Glass EGG is Phil Tran. Phil Tran is a Vietnamese immigrant who came to America at the age of 12 in 1975. His father was a member of the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN), and in desperation to get his family out of the city before the North Vietnamese arrived put out a message for someone in the U.S to take his family in. Luckily his message was answered, and his family was saved. After Phil told us his story, Miss Lan, a professor from UEF and Dr. Berman's counterpart, began to tell us her story. Miss Lan rarely speaks of her own childhood in Vietnam, but perhaps something about hearing Phil's story encouraged her to do so. Miss Lan's father was a member of the South Vietnamese Army during the fall of Saigon as well. Unlike Phil's father, he was not so lucky. Miss Lan's father was captured by the North Vietnamese and killed, and Miss Lan's family was forced to live under communist rule. Miss Lan's childhood was very painful; family of South Vietnamese sympathizers were socially, economically, and educationally discriminated against. It's impossible to know just what Miss Lan's feelings are, but had I lived her childhood, it would be difficult for me not to harbor some sort of resentment for those like Phil Tran, who were able to escape. Regardless, the whole experience was incredible. Hearing the stories of how two living people experienced the same historical event, and seeing them talk about their lives in a room together today was like being present for the filming of a documentary. 

After our Glass Egg visit, we headed back to the hotel to relax in the pool. For dinner we went to a barbecue restaurant with some of the students from UEF. The tables at the restaurant had built in grills, and we cooked our own food. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel to end the night.

I just learned how to make titles! Day Three: Pat Wall and Smushball

The third day in HCMC was another great one. Although I woke up feeling a little sick, I pushed through breakfast to UEF (with the help of some ibuprofen). At UEF we had another Vietnamese language class and a lesson on rural development in the Mekong delta. We learned just how different the delta is economically, environmentally, and socially than the city. Our professor was very knowledgeable and passionate about the delta, as he was born and raised there. He also had some insightful comments, such as "you can tell a good professor because they will make things clear and then confuse you again in a single lesson." After UEF we ate lunch again at Kent. By this time I had regained my appetite, which was good because the food was particularly good today.
In the afternoon we headed to Diamond Plaza downtown to visit the U.S Commercial service. The U.S Commercial service is a governmentally run operation that acts as a consultant and advocate for American business in Vietnam. As a division of the U.S consulate it is technically U.S soil, however to my dismay we did not get to visit the part of the building where they kept the roaming herds of buffalo and double cheeseburgers. We got to talk Pat Wall, the head of the department, who explained how he worked to promote the growth of U.S enterprise in Vietnam. Pat had a great understanding of the trends in enterprise in Vietnam and working with the Vietnamese government.
After the meeting we headed back to the hotel, where me and a few others got to head to the hotel swimming pool to relax for a bit. For dinner our friend from UEF (and basically our HCMC tour guide as well) Kate took us to Broken Rice Restaurant. The food was great, but the star of the night was Smushball, the house cat who we discovered on the second floor of the restaurant and named appropriately. Smushball was friendly and excited, not afraid to hop up on your lap while you were eating or play around with your leg. He was also especially photogenic! After dinner we took some taxis deep into the city to a Cafe. We split into two groups to fit into the taxis; I was in the first group, meaning we didn't have Kate with us and didn't quite know where we were going. We were dropped in a small four way intersection at some train tracks deep in the middle of Saigon with no cafe in sight. The next twenty minutes were a bit exciting and a bit terrifying as we tried to figure out where we were, where we were supposed to go, and how to get a hold of Kate with no international calling plans or Wifi. Luckily we were eventually able to get a hold of Kate, and she explained to us how to get the cafe. The Cafe was tucked away in an alley with a bi of a hidden entrance, but when you walked inside, it was like a hidden paradise. It seemed to go on forever, with terraced levels, indoor and outdoor seats, and a pond and waterfall. The cafe also had the best Cafe Sua Da (iced coffee with condensed milk) I've had on the trip yet! Afterwards we headed back to the hotel and called it a night.

Another great day in HCMC! We started the day at UEF, where we had a lesson on urban development in the city. We learned how the city was growing rapidly and shifting economically, and discussed what changes needed to be made to promote and accommodate growth. Afterwards we had some time to wander the streets, and I got to try Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk (pretty famous in the city). It was great! We ended the morning with another Vietnamese language lesson and lunch at Kent university again. 

We then returned to the hotel and changed into business casual for the trip to Phu My Hung. On the trip we got to see much of the city we had not seen before. At Phu My Hung we were given a great presentation on the history and future of the company. Phu My Hung is a development company that designs and builds complete and self sustaining communities in South Saigon. These communities have homes and apartments, businesses, schools, restaurants, and shops for the residents, who not only come from Vietnam, but many surrounding Asian and Pacific nations. After the presentation we were given a quick tour of one the communities and an opportunity to ask questions about the company.

Afterwards we returned to the hotel where met up with some of our Vietnamese friends! They took us out to dinner to a local Pho restaurant and also took us to a park to try some street food. The food was great, but the best part was riding through the city on the backs of mopeds! After dinner we walked around the city and did some late night sightseeing. The streets of HCMC are truly unlike anything in the United States. It was a great day in Vietnam! Can't wait till tomorrow! Xin chao :)

My first full day in Vietnam is over! Although I was still a bit drowsy from the flight in, I had a great time! From what I've seen so far far, Ho Chi Minh city is vibrant, lively, and welcoming. And humid. Very, very humid. 

We started the day with a Vietnamese breakfast in the hotel, which is much different from most western breakfasts. Vietnamese breakfasts are much larger meals with lots noodles and pastries. After breakfast we boarded a bus and headed to the University of Economics and Finance to meet our new Vietnamese friends. When our bus pulled in we saw the group of students waiting eagerly with large flowery leis which they would give to us. After meeting some of the Vietnamese kids and taking some pictures, we headed up to the top floor of the University, which had a great view of the city, for a welcoming ceremony. The ceremony was fantastic, with speakers from the University and Ministry of Education, and traditional Vietnamese dances. After receiving gifts from our Vietnamese friends and taking more pictures, we headed downstairs for a Vietnamese language class. In our language class I met Will a student at UEF. Will was proactive at teaching us Vietnamese, explaining to us pronunciations and words before the teacher even did. I can see why Vietnamese can be such a difficult language to learn, as it has 12 vowels and six different tones for each.

Afterwards we headed to Kent University for lunch. We ate family style, and all the food was delicious! After lunch we boarded the bus again and headed to HUTECH University. At the university we split into two groups, business students and engineering students. The engineering group met Dr. Viet, who, apart from telling us about engineering at HUTECH, gave us an interesting perspective on life in Vietnam by telling us stories of his time as a teenager, and explaining to us his unique personal philosophy. 

After our HUTECH visit, we headed back to the hotel to relax for a few hours before dinner. We got a chance to explore a bit of the city, and get a feel for just how lively it is. For dinner we went a local restaurant called nha hang ngon. At the restaurant we got an inside look on how traditional Vietnamese foods are prepared, and got to try foods from each of Vietnams different regions. It was certainly some adventurous eating! After dinner we headed back to the hotel, where we hung around for a little, but still being exhausted from the way in, called it an early night. Xin Chao Saigon! See you in the morning :)