Saturday (3:00 AM (Central) 12/31/16) – Monday afternoon (3:10PM (Vietnam) 01/02/2017)
Wow 14 hours in the air is trash - $9,000 for first class
would have definitely been worth it (as long as I wasn’t paying). Three hours
in Tokyo was a blast, great food, happy people (didn’t leave airport – went
through security again (much more relaxed than USA)). A surprising number of
people in both Tokyo (everyone, granted it was an international terminal) and Ho
Chi Minh spoke English and a decent amount accepted USD at a fair rate,
however, not being able to speak the language and not having data is still much
harder than I thought it would be.
My roommate, Garrison, and I woke up this
morning (Monday) at 6:00AM and after eating a fantastic breakfast (tiny
pancakes, juice, fried rice, toast -- not much protein here, mostly carbs) went
on a walk to the river.
We thought we knew our way back and ended up going in the
wrong (opposite to be specific) direction. After giving up on finding our way
back (8:20AM, supposed to leave hotel with group at 8:45AM), we hailed a cab
but the driver had no clue where our hotel was, didn’t speak English and we had
no address to give him because we had no data to look it up --- ended up
getting someone on the driver’s phone who spoke some English and got back to
the hotel around 8:43AM (don’t tell Thuy!)
Vietnam has been a blast for the whole 13 hours I have been
here. Everyone is nice and friendly.
It seems like everyone in Vietnam rides a motor bike (dirt
bike, moped, etc…), all wearing helmets and most wearing a bandana or mask for
the smog, but the rich have (VERY) nice cars (saw two Maybachs, many Mercedes,
a few Range Rovers) and huge houses (complexes really) --- communism at work,
Right?
Most everything is cheaper in Vietnam. Red Bull is only
10,000 Dong (less than $0.50) for 250ml (and is much sweeter and in a different
(short, yellow) can), beer and alcohol ranges from 15,000 Dong to 60,000 Dong
per bottle ($0.75-$3) and sales tax (not certain if there is any) is included
in price (finally, someone gets it). The one obvious thing I found in Vietnam
that was always very close (if not higher) than US prices is chocolate ---
later in the trip I asked Chi (Peacework worker) and she said there is a high
“chocolate tax” in addition to the lack of milk in Vietnam (which I’m not
exactly sure the reason for, but I would say the lack of everyone having
refrigeration is a contributing factor).
Our Peacework Rep (Thuy) is very knowledgeable and found us
two students (college) who gave us a tour around HCMC and then accompanied us
to the American War Museum and lunch.
The museum was about
what I expected (a lot of gift shops) but did highlight the facts of the war
without much twist, there was also an exhibit about the Vietnamese taken
prisoner by other Vietnamese (caged and shackled, tortured).
Professor Kopp seems really cool, expects us to learn on our own and make the experience more “student lead” than many faculty-lead studies ---- most students approve.
Lunch was an experience. Many courses brought out
separately. Sat near student guide (spoke excellent English, majoring in
financial advising), he was outgoing and knowledgeable, loved to learn about us
and the U.S. but also explaining himself and Vietnam to us, funny guy (mostly
good food, tried some fruit even).
We are now on a bus from HCMC to Can Toh (4ish hours). The
Vietnamese countryside is beautiful. I need a pair of nice, leather flip-flips
so I can fit in here.
Monday afternoon (4:56PM (Vietnam) 01/02/2017)
Stopped
at a market half way to Can Toh. Area outside HCMC much poorer, lower quality
of life – basically towns all the way so far, much greenery – beer (especially
Heineken) seems very popular here.
Wednesday Morning (6:05AM (Vietnam) 01/03/2017)
Yesterday
we went to the College of Rural Development (Campus #2) and had meetings with
our student volunteers, the dean, Professor Kopp and Peacework about what the
specifics of our projects are. We were assigned a report that is due today
(haven’t started, went out with some new friends after Club English last
night).
The international dorms at campus #2 are reasonably nice,
better than Hotz Hall, I haven’t been able to find a gym yet but hopefully will
sometime today (update from post-trip: never found a gym). Redbull is only
$0.378 per 250ml can (by the 6 pack) at the corner store on campus. Club
English was a blast and we went to a high-class club with some Vietnamese
students afterwards that let us and our new friends in even though we weren’t
dressed nice because we are American.
Saturday Morning (4:23AM (Vietnam) 01/06/2017)
On
Wednesday night we went out to karaoke with the volunteers. Karaoke is huge in
Vietnam, nothing like karaoke in the US, each party has their own room and
there is food and drink service. I talked to An (pronounced Ang, spelt Anz on
Facebook) about it and he said he goes to karaoke at least a few times a year.
On
Thursday we had lecture over the lime co-op and Arkansas agriculture
(interacting with local students – I didn’t really pay attention the last half
of Kopp’s lecture because I was passing notes with Vietnamese students, sorry
I’m popular).
On
Friday we built a biogas digester for a family of 10. They were very friendly.
A biogas digester is a large simple machine that takes organic waste and
converts it into gas that can be used by the family for cooking.
Thursday Morning (9:30AM (Vietnam) 01/11/2017)
On
Saturday morning we went to the floating market at 4:30AM. What an experience,
I have never seen anything like it. We ate noodle soup and went to a rice
polishing factory, a rice noodle factory and a small rice wine dispensary. I
got some amazing pictures with some great friends.
My group met to work on survey questions and then some of us
went to eat at Omega.
On
Sunday I slept all day until 6:00PM and then the group met for a team dinner of
Pizza Hut. It wasn’t the same as back home, but it was nice to have something
out of the usual VN food palate. I went
to bed early Sunday night after going back to the carnival and mall for a short
time.
On
Monday we started interviews with farmers in the co-op. Many were satisfied
with their current situation with the co-op but others raised very valid
concerns and subtly expressed their dissatisfaction with the co-op.
On
Monday night I went out with some Vietnamese friends (Guppy) to their English
class and then to Paradise Karaoke, I swear everyone here can sing.
On
Tuesday we continued interviews and the responses were very similar, but we
began to find that farmers who were not totally dependent on the co-op were
much better off and much more satisfied with the co-op.
On
Wednesday morning we left the international dorms and finished up our last
round of interviews. We arrived at Campus #3 in the afternoon and the business
team had a meeting with Professor Kopp discussing our findings and entering
data to be analyzed for the presentation (Thursday afternoon).
Wednesday
night we had a big party after dinner for all the students at the Can Tho
University who might be interested in volunteering for the program next year.
Afterwards I went to a local spot with Guppy, her boyfriend and a new friend,
it was much cheaper than what we have been eating, and much better, my share
for the meal was only 20,000 VND and I got a large drink. I had great
conversation about life in VN and the US, college and life in general. I am
hoping to visit Can Tho next summer for a week either just before or right
after the Japan study, a budget of $200 should have me living lavish.
It is
now Thursday morning and we are analyzing data and preparing for our
presentation, Zac, Marissa, Kali and myself are by far the best team (I promise
I’m not being bias). I just used an ATM for the first time and avoided the fee
(except the base 30,000 VND), get a foreign transaction fee free card!
Sunday Evening/Morning (depending on how you measure) – Somewhere over the Pacific
10/10 “We Don’t Talk Anymore” just came on the plane’s radio and I almost cried – miss VN more than I miss the US honestly.
The
presentation went phenomenally well -
what else would you expect with Zac and I presenting though – Professor
Kopp and the CTU professor were very impressed. Afterwards we had a short
meeting where we said goodbye to Ms. Kim, who worked very hard to make our trip
easy and did a very good job, and left for the island with the Vietnamese
volunteers.
Thursday
night was spent in a coastal city across from Pho Quoc Island.
Friday
morning we boarded the Superdong IX (dead serious, that was the name of the
“ferry” that cut through the ocean at a solid 50mph), it was about a 90-minute
ride to Pho Quoc where we met our tour guide (I forget his name, something with
a J, maybe Jack, no, not Jack), he was an interesting character, speaking with
an Australian accent despite never having been to Australia. We went to a
fishing village/market, a Buddhist temple (with the best candy ever, can’t even
describe it, you had to be there) and a seafood lunch.
At 4:30pm we went squid fishing, stopping to get some fried
bread beforehand, and no one caught anything except the owner of the boat, but
I saw that happen real time and it was an experience, to say the least. We ate
on the boat before heading back in.
I woke
up around 8:30am Saturday morning, went to eat and then on a run.
That
afternoon we went to a pearl farm and I bought myself a nice ring – would have
preferred a watch, but no one understands the value of men’s jewelry – and then
headed to the airport to fly back to HCMC.
In HCMC
we went to a farewell dinner at an Indian restaurant (nice switch up of
flavors, solid food, 10/10 would recommend) and then to the tallest building
for drinks and a formal farewell ceremony (PSA: zooming up 50 floors in 30
seconds makes your ears pop). Then we basically all split up and did our own
things, I stuck with a few Americans and the Vietnamese volunteers and went to
the night market and then to Thi Bar where I experienced live music in English,
Spanish and Vietnamese from a Portuguese singer in downtown Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam (what even). We got back to the hotel at 1:30am and left at 4:00am –
and here we are.
Oh, and
my phone won’t charge, so that’s fun!
Thank
you, Vietnam, for good laughs, good times, good food, good experience, and
great friends who showed me it all.
Thank you, Vietnam, for everything, see you soon.
WR
--
--
Make plans to join the group to Vietnam next January! Find out more about the Community Development in Vietnam program at http://studyabroad.uark.edu/vietnam
