Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

This is the first time I am writing a journal entry while still in a country. Right now I am in Vietnam, on a bus, headed to the Mekong Delta. (granted I am posting this way after Vietnam… sorry!!)

It is crazy to believe that I am here. Looking out the windows of the bus, you would not believe the sights I am seeing. First off, Vietnam is what I would call motorcycle heaven. No one in Vietnam owns a car, instead the family vehicle is a motorcycle. Literally, a family of 4 piles onto a motorcycle and that is how they ravel. As for public transportation, there are taxis, but the most convenient way to travel is by giving a motorcycle river an address a for a dollar he will take you there. So basically, I have been traveling on motorcycles the whole time I have been here. It is always fun when traveling with friends because you all give the driver the same address and just pray that you all end up in the same place.

So anyways, I really had absolutely nothing planned for Vietnam. The first day, I went to the War Remnants Museum. This was a tough thing to get through, Many of the images taken of the Vietnam War are extremely gruesome, showing the soldiers blown to pieces as well as the many people whom had birth defects due to the chemicals used by the American side. It was extremely hard to look at the images, and they are definitely ones that will forever be engraved in my mind.

After the museum, I met up with my friends at the ship and we decided to go out to diner. We went to this place called Blue Ginger and for the equivalent of $3.50 USD we were each able to have an appetizer, entre, and a drink. The spring rolls here are really good, in fact I have not had any food that I have not liked yet! But anyways, the exchange rate amazes me! And what amazes me more is how cheap myself and my friends have become, for instance in the markets it is not uncommon for my friends and I to bargain over a dollar with the people trying to sell us their goods.

The second and third day I stayed in Ho Chi Minh City. The population of this city is 8 million people and basically one of the only things to do is shop. So for about a day and a half I have gone to the markets and spent way to much money. Also, what is amazing about the markets is that a majority of the items are fakes of designer brands, for the most part the fakes are pretty good but in some cases you get screwed over. For instance, I bought a pair of Gucci sunglasses, but after I got back to the ship I realized that the Gucci word was upside-down. I also bought a pair of Abercrombie and Fitch pants, to realize later on that the “fitch” was spelt without a C. But that’s alright, because they are really comfortable. Another thing I bought at the market was 2 pairs of Puma sneakers and a pair of Puma flip-flops, unfortunately I need to invest in some insoles for the sneakers, but other than that it looks like they will hold up!!

Also on the second day, I went to a disabled children’s school and got a chance to hang out with the children. At this school, there were 54 students, 14 of whom were deaf. Unfortunately I did not remember any of my sign language, because believe it or not, the deaf students in Vietnam were taught to speak with American Sign Language (ASL). Although I could not communicate with the students, I did play volleyball with one of the little boys for about a half hour. Towards the end he and I were doing headers with the blow up beach ball we were playing with.

On Wednesday night, I went to see Global Nomads again. I did this in Brazil as well. Basically Global Nomads is an organization that through video-conferencing connects schools around the world with schools back in the states. Then during the conferences different issues on discussed, sometimes it is religion and other times world issues. The conference in Vietnam was about the difference in culture. At the one in Vietnam, the SAS students were allowed to participate, we actually got to hang out with the Vietnamese students, and what was interesting was how fluent in English they were, and also how knowledgeable they were. Many of these students (between the ages of 14 and 18) were very up to date on current issues as well as history. They were a joy to hang out with, and in fact one of the students I met has emailed me!

Now for the Mekong Delta… Originally I had planned to travel here independently, but in the end I signed up for the SAS trip because it was easier. The trip involved a 2 hour bus ride. Once getting off the bus, we got on boats and traveled through the many canals. Was amazing just being on the water, in a tiny canoe. For the first time I really felt as though I was in the culture! It was awesome! While on the Mekong Delta we had a traditional Vietnamese meal, complete with a whole fried fish, spring roles, fried rice, and soup. The food in Vietnam is s great, and has been my first touch of Asian cuisine, I can not wait for China and Japan!! Sorry about the length, but I know you all love reading these things!!!