Day five: ACDI/ VOCA Success Alliance

Today we had a guest lecturer, Nguyen Anh Tuan, at UEF who spoke about rural planning and development for the Mekong Delta. He was a very charismatic man who spoke to us for an hour going through the different cultural and geographical aspects of the Mekong Delta. I was not feeling very well during the class so I was having some trouble being completely attentive but from what I read in his handout after the class I was very interested about the Mekong Delta.

            We had our language class after the Mekong Delta lecture. Our tour guide Tin told the teacher to call on me more during the class because I had been quiet the previous few classes so throughout the class I got called on to speak more which was fine with me. Speaking Vietnamese is fun for me; I have never spoken a tonal language before and its interesting practicing making the sounds.  

            In the afternoon we had a company visit with ACDI/ VOCA Success Alliance. This is the company that my partner and I, Jay, had for our pre- departure presentation. ACDI/ VOCA is a small NGO that focuses on the production of cocoa plants in Vietnam. This company is not as heavily funded or big as our previous company visits but nonetheless the group was excited to learn about the company.  The visit was interesting and the questions asked were very good. It is amazing what the company does for the Vietnamese farmers. The opportunity for them to benefit their lives is something that is amazing on its own. 

Day four: cam on

So today we had both language and culture classes at the UEF campus. The culture class I found very interest and informative. The instructor spoke about how to properly refer and act towards Vietnamese people. In the break between culture and language I got an iced coffee from the canteen, it was very good. The language class today was very funny. The teacher is very good at making everyone interact and make strong efforts to participate. I’m really enjoying the opportunity to learn Vietnamese.

In the afternoon we had a company visit to the U.S. Commercial Service for Vietnam. We met with the principal commercial officer. We spoke for an hour and a half with him. He started the meeting with him explaining a little bit about himself and his current job. He left a lot of time for questions which was very nice since the group had a lot to ask him pertaining to how his job works and what he is there to do.

            What I have enjoyed most about these company visits on top of learning about the companies is how all of these people have gotten to where they are today. It’s extremely interesting to hear the different stories and their impressions of Vietnam and their extreme optimism for Vietnams future. I am really enjoying this trip so far. It has greatly exceeded my expectations from all aspects. The people are so friendly and the country is so interesting. The UEF students that we hangout with at nights are awesome and its great to see how they are as interested in us as we are about them. 

Day three: Busy day

So today was an extremely busy day. We went to VSIP first and watched a presentation about what the company has done and its future plans. I was again very intrigued about what Vietnam is doing to improve its living and economic situation. The vision and fore- site that these companies have is simply remarkable. After VSIP we stayed on the VSIP campus and received a tour of II-VI, optics company. I personally was very confused about what was going on because it was a trip more geared to the engineering students. Nonetheless I enjoyed seeing the lenses and the process and care they take to create the lenses.

            After the morning company visits we returned to the hotel and ate lunch. Most of the group including me napped after lunch until 2:30 when we went to a bank for another company visit. The bank was interesting and I enjoyed hearing about how the banking system has progressed over the last 20 years in Vietnam.

            In the late afternoon and early evening a group of eight of us walked around the district- 1 area. We shopped and got coffee; it was a very relaxing afternoon. It was very nice to not be rushing to anywhere.

            For dinner the whole group took cabs to a restaurant named Pho 24. It was a very good meal and again nice to get out and see a different part of Ho Chi Minh City. 

Day two: Exploration

Day number two was a very busy and exciting day. I woke up at 7am this morning and went to go eat breakfast. I ate another egg this morning and had an assortment of other breakfast foods.

            We arrived for our second day at UEF and it was not very humid out which was very nice because it rained early this morning. We had an hour-long lesson on present day Vietnam that was very interesting and informative. After the lesson the group went to the canteen and I bought an iced- coffee, which was incredible delicious. After the coffee we had our second day of Vietnamese lesson classes. The language is awesome, I am having some trouble retaining what we are learning but I am really enjoying the lessons.

            We had our second company visit this afternoon at Phu My Hung Corporation. We traveled the 45 minutes to the main office building and went upstairs to checkout the view for a few minutes then went into the presentation room. A Phu My Hung representative presented to us their business plans both in the past and for the future. It was by far the most interesting presentation I have ever sat through. The Phu My Hung Corporation is a great company that I hope will continue to grow and change the infrastructure of Ho Chi Minh City and hopefully Vietnam. Then we were showed the business layout on a miniature three- dimensional model.

            Jay and I explored the Ben Tan market. It was an incredible scene with so many different goods. I’m excited to spend more time there and to buy stuff to bring home.

            For dinner the Vietnamese students from UEF took us out to a restaurant and took us to eat frozen yogurt. Today was a very good second day for my trip in Vietnam. 

Day one: The beginning

So my first day in Vietnam was very exciting. My roommate and I woke up at 5am because of the jetlag. We subsequently went to the gym very early in the morning and worked out a little. From the roof top view we watched as some, what seemed like, elementary school aged children lining up to start their day. After that I went to eat breakfast in the hotel lobby. I ate an egg and some other foreign foods.

            We went onto the bus and drove through the Vietnamese streets for about 25 minutes until we arrived at UEF. Once we got to UEF we got a tour from our tour guide, Tin. After that we had the welcoming ceremony which was the UEF students performing a series of skits. I socialized with the Vietnamese student who sat next to me, Nguyen. He was extremely sociable and very nice. I spoke to him about his studies and his future plans for education after UEF. After this we had a half- hour break in which we hung out and became accustomed to the “Canteen.”

            After the UEF visit we went back to the hotel and changed into business casual clothing and proceeded to visit the U.S. consulate. We received a tour from the U.S. delegate, which was extremely interesting and informative.

            I greatly enjoyed my first day/ impressions of Vietnam and look forward to exploring the rest of the culture and learning more about the culture too!

Related Links

http://www.vietnamplus3.pitt.edu/