Day 12

It is my last day in Vietnam. There was a soccer and basketball game scheduled for us to start the day. Still half asleep, I ate a small breakfast and got on the bus to head to the stadium. The first game we played was the soccer game. We began stretching to prepare for the game when some music came on. It was a "surprise" flash mob. It was a nice fun dance to get everyone's spirit up for a nice, friendly competition at what felt early in the morning. Mike made me the captain of the soccer team, but I think it was because I was the first one to kick the ball when warming up. I scored a goal off a header, but in the end I am pretty sure we lost. Then, we got a nice five minute break before jumping right in to a game of basketball. Our basketball game plan was simple, get the ball to Seth. He towered over everyone. I think everyone was still tired from the soccer game, so we may not have performed our best. While I do not know the score, I cannot imagine we won. After the games, we took a lot of pictures and exchanged gifts. I was very thankful for everything I received; they will become very precious memories. After some goodbyes, we went back to the hotel and I began to pack.  I took a break from packing to go to a coffee shop. I was very sleepy so I had another cup of the strong Vietnamese coffee. It was just what I needed to keep me going. I went back to the hotel after coffee, and I finished packing before dinner. Tonight, we had dinner on a boat to wrap up the trip. After dinner, the boat set sail. We got to see the skyline of Ho Chi Minh City for what probably would be the last time. The sight was breathtaking. I must have taken thirty picture of the skyline to get a picture that would do it justice but each time I felt like nothing could compare to actually standing on the boat looking out over the city.

After dinner, it was already late and we had to be ready to leave at 3am. I did not see any sense in going to bed; I could sleep the whole way home. I stayed up with Conor, D, and Krystal. The time passed quickly to 3am and we all gathered in the lobby to leave. The trip had come to an end, except for the next day and a half of traveling. I am truly happy that I ended up in Vietnam; I do not think I would have had such a rewarding trip anywhere else in the world. I met people I could never forget, and I learned and saw more than I ever thought I would. This is a trip I will always remember.

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.

Day 10

We started the day by visiting the Saigon Newport Corporation. It is a huge port that does nearly 50% of all the imports/exports nationwide. They had big cranes moving huge, cargo crates into neat stacks.With a three star general directing all the traffic in and out of the port. I thought it was a very intriguing sight to see the thousands of containers and thinking they know what is in each container, when they came into the port, when they need to leave, and what they are leaving on. A real feat of organization.

Just some of the crates they were handling

 After the port, we went back to the hotel for a short break before heading to the War Remnants museum. We had a short lesson on the development of the name of museum over the years.  Originally, the name of the museum was called "The Museum of American War Crimes." Some of the exhibits were a bit disturbing. There were pictures of massacres and bodies on the ground. The most moving pictures, or at least to me, were the picture of the after effects of Agent Orange. After walking around the museum for a while and taking it all in, it was time to walk back to the hotel. It was not long after getting back that I headed to a coffee shop with a few other students. I had a cup of Vietnamese coffee. It was served brewing over a small cup, and it could not have been more than a shot of coffee. I remember thinking I could drink three or four of these, but after I finished it, I felt like I could stay up for days. I was wired; I think it was the strongest cup of coffee I have ever had. The coffee shop was a lot of fun. I had my coffee and we all talked and played Jenga. After the coffee shop, we headed out to eat with a woman that coached Seth's mom in basketball. She was a very friendly lady. She took us to a restaurant where you could walk around and point out the foods that you wanted to eat and they would bring them to the table. I had some tasty spring rolls. After dinner, some of us went to a bowling alley. I swear I used to be good at bowling, but I was just not on my game tonight. I think I rolled more gutter balls than anything, but I still had plenty of fun. We only played one game before going to a venue with live music. Everyone listened to some music and had a good time. It was another full day in Vietnam.

Day 9

Today was a short day. I had a small breakfast at the hotel before a quick venture out with Brittany to find some street food as a supplement to the light breakfast. Afterwards, we got on the bus and headed to UEF for another language and culture lesson. The culture lesson focused on the on the different ethic groups from the different regions of Vietnam. I found it interesting how outside influence and the lay of the land shaped these different ethnic groups. After the culture lesson, we had another language lesson. This language was especially fun because it had games. Personally, I have always been competitive, so games are definitely a good way for me to learn. I think everyone won because we all got to learn a little Vietnamese, or at least that is what I am going with because my team lost. During lunch, it was announced that the company visit for today was cancelled because everyone was obviously tired from a long week and a half. I used my free time in the afternoon to catch up on some sleep and some writing. For dinner, some of us went to the mall for a quick meal. I honestly wish I would have searched out a new restaurant. Also, later in the night I saw city hall and a statue of Uncle Ho. They both looked beautiful lit up at night.

Uncle Ho with City hall in the background

Day 8

With the success of venturing for breakfast yesterday that became the plan today. Conor and I skipped breakfast at the hotel to find something new to eat. We found some kind of corn dish with fried garlic and sugar on top, and a sandwich. We stopped in a small coffee shop to enjoy our food. It was all very good. Afterwards, we headed to a branch campus of UEF for a language lesson on bargaining before heading to the Ben Thanh market. The stand owners could smell the tourist on me and were determined to pull me into their stands. I was able to work my ways through all of them to find cool little souvenirs to take home and give to friends and family. After the market, some of us headed to a small soup place across the street. I had a very good bowl of pho before walking back to the hotel to set my things down before heading to the Buddhist pagoda. The first thing we saw at the pagoda was a kind of exhibit on these rocks that I remember hearing took 20 year to collect. These rocks were unaltered by human hands, a sort of natural art. I had fun looking at them and trying to find what i thought they could represent or embody, and I tried to see what the collector deemed them in theirs names like "infinite universe." After this, we were lead through the pagoda. We took off our shoes and walked into the first room that contained a huge, awe-inspiring Buddha.

Here is the Buddha statue

I donated some money and got a stick of incense to burn. We continued the tour through the pagoda we saw rooms dedicated to the martyrs from this temple and rooms filed with relics. From the pagoda, we walked to the sight of where the monk Thich Quáng Đức burned alive in 1963. There were two sites deicated to him on two separate corners of the square. There was a newer larger one with a mural behind it that painted the scene of the burning. It was a powerful scene of police beating women and monks.

a portion of the mural

 After taking all of the site in, we walked back to the hotel and got ourselves ready for dinner. I went to a shellfish restaurant. Everything was so delicious and fresh, so much so that you could see it alive right before it was brought to the table. After dinner we went back to the hotel for a minute before exploring the city briefly. All in all, it was another great day. The market reminded me of something i would see Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmerman would do, which I liked because shows like theirs excite me to travel. The pagoda was also interesting to see a place that fostered arguably the most memorable protesters of the war, and the corner where Thich Quáng Đức burned himself alive was a powerful historical site. 

Day 7

Today started a little differently. I wanted to break it up a little and in order to do so, I skipped the breakfast at the hotel and found something new. Lucky, my journey to find something new lasted about 7 steps. I walked up to the food stand right out side of the hotel to see what might interest me as breakfast. I got a sandwich. I had the choice of meat or eggs, and I chose meat. It was delicious, and it has been right under my nose this whole time. Today was probably our longest bus ride to what I will refer to as big Jesus and the beach. Our first stop was big Jesus. Tin said, "we only have an hour here." I brushed it off because I did not understand the work that had to be put in to see big Jesus. I thought it was going to be a five minute walk, see big Jesus, take a few pictures, and be on our merry way. I guess it never clicked that I might have to climb up the hill; I guess I thought I might just be able to float up by some miracle, after all this is big Jesus. It turns out I could not get so lucky, so we all began the hike up the steps to big Jesus. Just as the steps and sun were about to get to me, over the set of stair peek the large face of Jesus himself. Once we got up there big Jesus was a very interesting site we took some pictures, and had the opportunity to go to the top of big Jesus. The line to the top of big Jesus was long, but I at this point i had go to far to turn back now. I was going to the top. the view from the top of big Jesus was incredible.

This is the view from big Jesus

This here is my friend big Jesus

   From big Jesus, we headed to lunch. This place was a little fancier, or at least fancier than I felt being dressed for the beach and being drench in sweat from a long hike up to Jesus. I quickly got over these feelings when they brought out the food. It was all very good and I had a large meal for plenty of energy to burn at the beach. I was very ready for the beach. Today was like any other day in Vietnam, HOT. We all set or things up under the umbrella and headed right for the water. The water was warm but was a great relief from the heat. After floating in the small waves for a minute, we got to observe on of my favorite beach game from the locals, sand balls. I had some flash backs of my youth. I have three brothers, and as a result, I have learned to make a pretty solid sand ball over the years. It is all in the flick of the wrist. We had a little sand ball fight; I think Abe started it. Also, I threw D into the water in his clothes. D if you are reading this, I am sorry, but it was a little funny. The beach was a lot of fun, but it was time to go. I was worn from a full day and the sun, so I slept on the way back. I woke up when we puled into a market for a bathroom break. I got out and looked around. Dan and I got some fruit for the rest of the ride back, some jack fruit and some "strawberries." They were very tasty. When we got back we had our suits adjusted. Although my suit only had one sleeve, I liked the look of it. Afterwards, we went out for a quick dinner because it was late, and then just talked to Atharva until it was time to go to sleep. 

Day 6

Today, I am 19. It is my birthday. I am in a happier disposition this morning, but I feel the same. Today, we are going to the Cu Chi tunnels. The tunnels were far away, and the long bus ride was a good time for a nap. I woke up as we pulled into the site; we all put on our sun screen and bug spray preparing for the trek into the trees. Well, it wasn't much of a trek; it was a short walk down a path to a pavilion where we watched a video on the history of the Cu Chi tunnels. The video was made in 1967 or 1969, but I cannot quite remember which. Either way, it was made in the middle of the war, and it was evident. It was about how everyone came together to fight the "American Devil," which kind of hurt my feelings , but then again, I guess I cannot blame them. After the video, we began venturing through the tunnels. Our guide told us that the tunnels were made large for tourists, which is pretty insane considering how small they still were. We got the importunity to go in an originally sized door. It was smaller than an air vent in a house and a tight squeeze for everyone who went down. There was not a lot of room in the tunnels; all you could really do is waddle through. The thought of living in these tunnels was baffling to me. The claustrophobia inducing size of the tunnels was not that bad; it was more of the little things down there with you that got to me. All kinds of spiders and bats that would fly or scurry past you as you walked through were a little frightening. After crawling through the tunnels, we went to eat on a boat. I really liked watching the water flow as we ate.

Here is a nice little picture of the view from the boat

After lunch, it was time for the long ride home. I think I slept the whole way back too. I got back and  wrote my journal until dinner. I went out to dinner and ordered rice and a delicious sampling of toppings. 

This is a picture of dinner

After dinner, I returned to the hotel and got cleaned up, which was far over due. Then, I went out to celebrate my birthday at a little place ran by our friends at Glass Egg. I never thought I would spend my birthday crawling around underground but I enjoyed it.