Day 11

Today was our last day at UEF. It felt kind of weird knowing I would never come back after coming everyday for the last two weeks. Our last language lesson was fun. It was a review of everything that we had learned over or time here. There was a number of games. I was not totally sure if we were being scored on accuracy, speed or a combination of the two, but I think my team won the first game, just saying. After our final language lesson, we had our third and final culture lesson. The teacher enlightened us to the hidden meanings behind some Vietnamese art. He also talk about the importance of Yin and Yang in everything. I found it interesting that the direction one's house points could have profound effects on the cost of the home. As a going away present, we all got grasshoppers and a flower made from palms. I liked them a lot, but I was sad because they would not make it through customs; I would have loved to take it home. At lunch, it was announced that the company were cancelled because of the China riots going on in the area, so we had plenty of time in the afternoon. With my free time, I wrote some postcards that I promised to people at home and i went to the post office to mail, and from there I went to the market to pick up some last minute souvenirs. On the walk back to the hotel from the market, I got a taste of monsoon season. It began to pour all of a sudden and I was soaked almost immediately. I got back, dried off, and changed for dinner. I went to a stand and got some kind of corn dish as my last meal. It was very good. Then a group of us wondered to the Saigon River. I have grown to love the river while I was here. It was the most peaceful place I found in Vietnam. I am not as excited as I thought I would be to go home, and I had such a great time here; I wish I could stay a while longer.