We the people

I took my time getting going today, probably too much. I woke up early, took a shower, rinsed out some clothes in the shower (after I was done) as a pseudo-laundry, and hung them up in the bathroom and on our balcony. I got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. I realized I was running out of time, so I quickly ate some rice, an orange ball/cake/thing, and some other kind of meat. To save time I had to use a fork... it was a weird, but familiar feeling. We (for the first time all 20 students) got on the bus to go to UEF for the continuation on our culture lesson from yesterday. The focus of today's class was on the religions and beliefs of the country. The Vietnamese have a very strong connection with their ancestors and follow a belief system based on that. Buddhism is also the most popular religion in Vietnam, though it is generally a harmonized religion of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Ancestor Worship Cult. Catholicism also has a very strong following Vietnam from the French Colonization; this is evident in the large Notre Dame Cathedral in downtown HCMC. After culture class, we had a short language class on numbers... wow. This was definitely an interesting class, not only did we learn their language-number system, but we also learned it in context of money and had to practice converting USD to Dong (yes that is the name of Vietnamese currency) and vice versa. It required a lot more thought than just normal parroting phrases. The class ran a bit over time and we had to make and appointment, so lunch was rushed today. In true American fashion, we downed large amounts of food and did so in record time. We then went to the US Consulate, which was the US Embassy in Saigon prior to 1975. (Abbreviated history lesson... During the Tet Offensive in 1968, the Viet Cong attacked the Embassy and revealed American vulnerability. The attack basically came down to the Embassy locking down and the Viet Cong bursting in through a hole in wall around the building. A four hour fire fight resulted in the deaths four USA MP, one USMC Cpl, and 18 Viet Cong guerrilla fighters. The Embassy was lost in 1975 during the Fall of Saigon, though it acted as a final launching place for many Americans and Vietnamese refugees leaving the city before the fall. The land was given back to the US in 1995, when our relationship was being repaired, and the former building was torn down a new facility was built.) We were able to talk to several Foreign Service Officers about what the Consulate does and how they function in HCMC. We were also able to tour the grounds, including plaque for the American lives during the Tet Offensive. It was interesting that visible on the other side of the wall, no more then 10 feet from the perimeter wall, is a Vietnamese plaque in honor of the Viet Cong fighters that died attacking the Embassy. It was odd seeing both plaques at once, knowing that there a two very different views of the attack and what it meant to the respective parties. After our tour, we went the American Center, which is a place for Vietnamese to go and learn about America and our culture. Over 70 Vietnamese students came to talk with our group about America and our school. We broke into small groups and opened ourselves to questions from the students and talked about any part of American life we thought they might be interested in. It was fun trying to explain American football and what the Cathedral of Learning is, but a particular conversation gave me a new perspective. One student asked our group about racial violence and another followed that with school safety in terms of race. This is an image of America that they've been recently presented with, which is not good. It was very difficult trying to explain what is happening unbiasedly, while also trying figure out how we justify this ourselves. This is a hot topic right now in the US and clearly it has received international attention. Dr. Berman, allowed us to leave, though all of us, enjoying our conversations, stayed for another hour. It was great getting to talk to other students, answer their questions, and swap stories with each other. After this, we wrapped up our formal day and went back to the hotel.
I had some time to blog the above portion before our guys night. Bo, one of the EUF students, took the guys out to a very authentic Vietnamese hot pot restaurant, in other words, we were literally the only westerners. We kicked off the dinner with Balut... fertilized quail egg!! It was absolutely terrifying to crack open the egg and seeing a partially formed bird, with feathers! We said a quick toast and threw it back... tasted just like a regular egg, nothing too crazy, just an egg. It was still pretty weird. We stepped down (relatively) by just having some goat breast as an appetizer, which was insanely good, and then they brought out the hot pots. These were pots of goat meat in broth with seasoning and vegetables. Things picked back up when we added in pig's brain!! We also added tofu, noodles, and some more greens while it finished cooking on the table. We started dishing it out to our bowls and I jumped on some pig brain; it was a delicious experience that literally melted in my mouth... so good! The stem was a completely different experience all on its own, rubbery, but tasty in its own right. I should also mention that the regular goat and the broth, which had a mix of everything, were amazing as well. We went back to the hotel to clean up a bit and then headed down Pasteur Street to find the craft brewery owned by some of the expats from Glass Egg. We found it, but it was crowded and getting late so we just went to a café nearby. A nice glass of ca phe sua da (iced coffee with condensed milk) capped off the evening and we headed back to the hotel. Today has been a rollercoaster of events, but it has definitely been one of the top days in Vietnam. I'm heading to bed early tonight for a good night's sleep before we visit the Cu Chi Tunnels tomorrow. So goodnight from HCMC!