Final Day

So... I went back to see my blog and realized this final post never uploaded, nor was it saved. Fortunately, it was a memorable day (and I can steal some events from other blogs) so I should be able to piece a final blog back together.

Another early start to our final day in HCMC and I began with a final breakfast (you'll notice a lot of "finals" in this post). We hopped on our bus and headed to a sports center for the annual UEF v. Pitt basketball and soccer match. Until this point, we thought this was going to be against the students we've spent time with over the course of these two weeks. We were in for quite a surprise when we saw the actual school team warming up on the court. We put together our ragtag team for basketball and got our butts kicked. They eased up pretty quickly, but our whole team was pretty terrible. The heat also got to us as we kept having to down water to keep going. Between the basketball and soccer matches, the UEF dance team took the court and showed off their awesome moves again, including bringing out the Pitt students at the end to show how terrible we are at dancing. Oh well! We continued with the soccer match, which went a little bit better. We had several actual soccer players on our team (and the UEF team went really easy on us), and we ended up winning. The girls ended by playing a quick game of soccer in which the Pitt girls completely dominated. Afterwards, all of the students exchanged gifts, a common custom in Vietnam. I gave away my Pitt hat and noticed the student photographer was just taking pictures. He had been with us the entire trip and felt bad so I gave a t-shirt to him, it was probably way to small, but hopefully it's the thought that counts. We went back to the bus and drove around looking for our restaurant for lunch. We stopped somewhere and got what I think was iced tea in massive plastic bottles. We waited to figure out where we were going, got back on the bus, and finally made it to our last lunch spot. This was more amazing food, this included another noodle and beef soup that was delicious, but a bit too hot after still coming off of the games. We had a gelatin, coconut milk, and ice desert which was pretty good, but not quite for me. I still had most of it because it was cold. We said some final goodbyes to some of the students, they've been amazing to us on this whole trip and I'll miss every one of them. We went back to the hotel and I took a quick, much needed shower. I went with a small group back to the market for a final time to finish buying some gifts and left on my own for the post office. I knew the general direction, but apparently not as well as I thought. I stopped at a café on the way to try to get directions. The man spoke zero English and did my best to pantomime catholic gestures so he would point me toward the Notre Dame Basilica, which is next to the post office. Thankfully, the café had decent enough wifi for me to pull up a picture of the Basilica and he could point me just two blocks over to where I was going. I walked into the post office and bought postcards and stamps to send to a few people, filled them out, and dropped them in a slot to be mailed back to the USA. I went back to the room and put on my suit for a quick photo-shoot. All of the Pitt students, plus a few of the UEF students, met in the lobby for pictures. Guys were wearing suits (with the UEF ties) and girls had on their ao dais (traditional Vietnamese dress). After the pictures, we changed and headed out for dinner. Our final meal was on a boat ride along the Saigon River. This was another delicious hotpot, though the food was quickly overshadowed by the ride and seeing the beautiful HCMC skyline. The skyline is still so young, as there's a defined street level of smaller buildings with just a few skyscraping pushing high up into the sky. We could even see one dark building under construction. It's interesting to think that this skyline will be drastically different in just five years. We took tons of pictures from the front of the boat to remember this view. A guitarist and flutist played some tunes (mostly recognizable) and were followed by a pair of what seemed like flamenco (yes flamenco) dancers. Kate brought out a cake that said "UEF and Pitt Friends Forever" and it suddenly became real how much this truly meant to them and how much it meant to all of us. After we got off the boat, we got back on the bus and had our final karaoke session of the UEF Song. We changed back into comfortable clothing at the hotel. Everyone took a short walk up the street to a small pedestrian pond, with winding paths and platforms above the water. We relaxed there for a bit and did some reflection and reminiscing over our time in Vietnam. We walked back to the hotel and I finally packed everything back into my suitcase and backpack, still underweight. We hung out and did everything we could do to stay awake before our trip to the airport at 3 am. It was a quiet bus ride, and when we got to the airport we had to say our final goodbyes to Vic, Bo, Ariel, Vy, and Kate. They've been with us the whole two weeks and have done so much for us. I'm always going to miss them and be grateful for everything they've given us. I sincerely hope to see them again someday, wherever we can meet in the world. We went through security and were quickly on our flight. HCMC: xin chao, hen gap lai. I was tired and out pretty quickly on this flight and before I knew it we were in Hong Kong. There, we said our first round of Pitt goodbyes as we went in a few different directions to get home. I was with the main group, and we quickly made it to our gate for our long flight to Newark. I really must've been tired, because I kept falling asleep. I tried watching several movies and made it through some, but not without a few winks. The food was pretty rough, so I just ate enough to keep me going. I was more tired than hungry anyway. We arrived in Newark, collected our bags (no issues), went through customs, said goodbye, and headed out to meet our awaiting parents. Finally back in the USA. I must say, it was nice to be back again. On the way home, I stopped at a rest stop and ate a nice stromboli, cheese had never tasted so good. We finally got home and I stayed awake for as long as I could. I crashed and slept like a rock that night, but what's jet lag without waking up 4:30 am full of energy?

This has been a truly amazing experience. I'm so grateful to have gotten this opportunity and to have met some incredible people. My horizons have been expanded and I know this won't be my last trip. The friends I've made on this trip with last a lifetime and the memories will never fade. Thank you everyone for making this trip so unbelievable. Xin chao!