Culture, Quiz, and the War

We had a historical day here in HCMC, but I'll get to that shortly. The morning started off fairly normal; I had some toast for breakfast (really liking the pineapple and orange jams). We went to UEF for our LAST culture class and language class which is really sad. The presenter today was Nguyen Ngoc Tho, Ph.D., Vice Dean of Faculty of Cultural Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. His focus was on the cognitive culture of the Vietnamese people and different beliefs they have had historically. He covered Yin and Yang and the dualism in life. This also leads to the three powers (the sun/sky, humans, and the earth) and the five elements (earth, fire, water, tree, and metal, each of which has a corresponding color). He shared several traditional stories, several of which included divorce and a woman with two men. He also talked about fertility and its hidden presence in art and sculpture, needless to say he got a lot of laughs. After class, we headed out for ca phe sua da, which was delicious as always. We went back to the classroom for our final language class: the test. We broke into teams and each person had to complete a different language task. We had to translate in both directions, read a conversation, and give a full spiel about ourselves. We didn't keep score... but my team definitely won. We took a bunch of pictures and said "chao co" to the teacher. We had lunch at Kent, delicious as usual, and took our three part trip on the Vietnam War. We started with the Xa Loi Pagoda. I have seen many beautiful catholic churches, but this Buddhist Temple was very different in style, inside and out. The pagoda was also a stronghold for the southern Vietnamese people who opposed the corrupt government put in place after the Geneva Accords. Thich Quang Duc was a Buddhist monk from this Pagoda and strongly opposed Ngo Dinh Diem and the South Vietnamese government. To show the world the pain their people were going through, he led a procession of monks to a street corner several blocks away. He poured gasoline over his body and lit himself on fire. He remained perfectly still through the burning, and the self mutilation was his final sacrifice for his people. We followed his footsteps from the Xa Loi Pagoda to the street corner where there is now a memorial in his honor. A large statue of him surrounded by flames is on the corner, along with a wall displaying that day. It's amazing to consider his great sacrifice by giving up his life in protest, and the will that some have to push for what they believe in. We continued walking and went to the War Remnants Museum; I should mention it was originally called the Exhibition House for US and Puppet Crimes. Outside are several US Army and Air Force tanks and aircraft that were captured by the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. We went inside to see three stories exhibiting violent acts from the US during the war, including bombings, Agent Orange, and the treatment of women and children. It was a very difficult museum to walk through and I fully understand why Dr. Berman doesn't go inside. The only comparison I could make would be to the Holocaust Museum from the former-Nazi prospective; it isn't a good feeling. Although, this museum only represents one side of the war. I know a lot happened on both sides. Moving on... We went back to the hotel where I finally took to time to catch up on my blog. I think I got most parts with the help of a few other blogs. We split up in a few groups for dinner. I went with a group for Vietnamese and I got some delicious shrimp wontons (although they were very slippery and difficult to grab with the chopsticks). We headed back to the hotel were I blogged a bit more and then participated in an intervention for one of the girls on the trip (don't worry, we got it covered). We then found a place to take some UEF students to give back to them for everything they've given us. It's been a very full day, and I definitely got a lot out of it. Tomorrow is my last day! It's sad and happy, but I'll talk more about that tomorrow. I'm just going to make the most out of the time we have left. Until then...

New World and Newport

We got to sleep in! I slept in enough to miss breakfast, so a Top'n Top (chocolate muffin thing) held me over until lunch. We hopped on the bus and arrived at a luxurious five-star hotel, the New World Saigon. This was quite a step-up from our Victory Hotel, but at two or three times the cost, I could see why. We sat in their main dining area and took a simple cooking class on how to make fresh and fried spring rolls. This was a lot of fun and was even better when we got to eat our "creations." We then enjoyed an incredible lunch from their buffet. Ngon qua! (So good!) We had fish, ham, sushi (this was actually my first), fruit, and a huge array of other food. There was also a huge desert selection with some hand made ice cream. Everything we've tried on this trip has been amazing, but this was a different kind of good. From there, we headed back to the hotel and changed for our last company visit to Saigon Newport Corporation (SNP). This was an interesting visit for myself specifically as it is a shipping company that is run by the Vietnamese People's Navy. I still don't understand the combination of commercial and military for this company, but I tried my best. Pham Thi Thuy Van, the Vice Director of the Marketing Department, talked to us about the company and how it functions as a port and offers shipping services to companies around Vietnam. The company has also recently allowed her to enter their navy (her rank was lost in translation, but after some quick research, I believe she's now an O-2). She still works for SNP, but is an officer in the Navy... like I said, I really don't know how it works. We went up to the control room for a great view of the dock, and then drove around to see thousands of shipping containers and several barges being loaded. This was a nice visit, and I'm glad we got a see the dock. We went back to the hotel and then quickly headed back out to the Ben Tanh Market where I finished up my shopping. After shops started closing, we went to the hotel and a group of us went for a swim. This was cut short by Dr. Berman telling us our suits were about to arrive from the tailor. We went down to the lobby, and after a few minutes, they were here. I tried mine on and it felt amazing! I'd never worn any kind of clothing that fit that perfectly. We went back down for the tailor to check the fit, and everyone was looking sharp. We changed out of the suits and a group of us went out for Dairy Queen; that really hit the spot on the hot night. This was another great day, though I'm realizing things are starting to come to a close. I'm going to make the most of my last couple days!

Industry

Sorry I've been seriously slacking on my blog! The UEF students have been keeping us up late and I keep falling asleep too quickly, so here's catching up. Also, sorry in advance that I may miss a few specifics...

This morning was an early start to make the drive out of the city to Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) in Binh Duong. VSIP is a large "one stop shop" industrial park that includes power, water, sewage, customs, and other amenities for operations in the park. Companies can choose to move into pre-built factories or buy land and build their own facilities. A variety of Vietnamese and foreign companies have factories in the park,E including Siemens, Nokia, P&G, Nissin Foods, and Foster. We also had a briefing from a Chief Engineer, David Baker, from II-VI (one of the companies in VSIP), a precision engineering company that is based in Saxonburg, PA. II-VI focuses in three main sectors: laser solutions, photonics, and performance products. The briefing also included information about the global expansion of the company and the benefits and challenges that come with growth. The company entered Asia to be price competitive with their products by using cheaper labor. We toured two II-VI facilities; one facility manufactured optics for medical instruments and laser application, and the other factory built electric thermoelectric coolers for aircraft, power generation, and telecommunication. It was interesting to see the processes of fabrication and how they utilize labor skills in Vietnam. Mr. Baker also informed us of the original difficulties with employee turn-over at the factory. It is common practice for people to work for several months leading up to Tet holiday, receive their bonus, stay at home until they run out of money, and then look for a new job. II-VI has developed strategies to prevent this from happening and has lowered the turn-over rate to less than one percent. Our visit to VSIP included a large rainstorm; the sky went from clear to pouring and flooding the streets within minutes. The storm settled down as we were leaving and we went to lunch at a restaurant nearby. The chef was actually from Hong Kong so the food was closer to Chinese, including sesame and orange chicken. We drove back into the city and to the hotel to wrap up our day. I went up to the pool for a quick dip and then went out with the group. Mr. Baker recommended an Australian sports bar that his son runs, so of course we had to check it out. I had a great milkshake and some onion rings for a little piece of home. The street had a host of other expat bars which we stopped in as well (found out I'm pretty bad at darts). We got a taxi ride home and everyone crashed for the night. This was a solid day.

All about the money (and how you spend it)

Today was a nice start back into the week from our day trips over the weekend. I woke up, had breakfast, and we headed for UEF. We started the day with language class in which we played a game to memorize numbers in Vietnamese: when your number was called, you would have to run to the front of the room and grab the ticket before other person. Fun and effect game! We then acted out some bargaining scenarios which were pretty fun, and apparently we have some pretty stingy salesmen in our group. We then got to put our skills to the test at the Ben Thanh market in downtown HCMC. I've been to a lot of markets, but this was by far the largest and most crowded that I've seen. We bargained with the merchants, buying souvenirs and gifts for back home. I got some good deals, but I definitely paid too much for my t-shirts (which are awesome anyway). We had lunch at the market, a noodles and pork(?) dish, then headed back to the hotel to change. We then took the bus back down town to have a brief from the VinaCapital Foundation. This is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that collects investments and puts them impoverished and disadvantaged children, specifically in the areas of health care and education. Rad Kivette, a North Carolina native, talked with us about the foundation and how they are one of the only organizations in which 100% of the donations go towards program work.This is made feasible by the VinaCapital Group that covers all overhead costs. We also got a talk from a member of this group, the largest investment firm in Vietnam. This was a very business orientated company visit, and I may (along with most others) have came close to drifting off during one of the speakers, but I held my own fairly well. It was nice seeing a good philanthropy in a country with over 20 million impoverished citizens; it's comforting to know that someone is there for them. I'm also excited that wealth from the company is being used for good purposes, skipping deep businessmen's pockets and going into the future of Vietnam. We came back to the hotel and I took a walk with a few others back towards downtown, looking for banh mi. We couldn't find a spot so we just ended up grabbing some snacks from the co-op. At this point, some UEF students arrived at the hotel and we headed for dinner: banh xeo. They Vietnamese call these pancakes, even though they come with different kinds of meat, you wrap them in lettuce and other greens, and then dip them in a spicy sauce. They were absolutely delicious. We then took taxis to a karaoke place, which was awesome. I'd never been to a place like it, but it was truly a great time. We wrapped our evening back at the hotel with hanging out in one of the rooms and enjoying the night. This was a nice easy day, though I continue to get more out of every day. Until tomorrow, goodnight folks!

Beach Day

Another long and full day in Vietnam. We got an early start today; I had a quick breakfast and we hopped on the bus for a three hour ride to Vung Tau, "a beach resort destination for vacationing Saigoners" (quote from Bryan). We drove to the base of a small mountain with a statue of Jesus on the peek. We climbed our way up 811stairs (there was a plaque) and were able to inside the statue to stand on his arms. It was a ridiculously hot hike, but the view 360-view from the top was absolutely worth it. We could see far out into the ocean to the front and over a beautiful village to the back. Breathtaking sight. After some quick and refreshing ice cream, we made our way back down and drove over to a resort. We changed, dropped off our bags, and ran right into the water. Amazing! The water felt perfect for the hot day, and it was actually warm, much unlike the Atlantic. I should probably mention that we were in the South China Sea, but the Vietnamese have disputed for its ownership and thus call it the East Sea. Anyway, we played in the water for a long time and slowly made our way back in for lunch. Clams, prawn, squid, cuttlefish (maybe?), and so much other delicious seafood. We went back down to the beach to relax under some umbrellas for a bit, and we also realized that many of us (including myself) forgot to put sunscreen on our shoulders, oh well. We got back in the water for a bit and then the UEF students decide to play a game similar to steal the bacon. Two teams stood a distance from a center object, in this case a plastic bottle, and when a person's number (later multiple people) is called they have to bring the object back to their side. The evolved as we continued to play, started as just tagging the person to stop them, to having to steal the object from them or fight them for it. I got the bottle a few times and ended up scratches and bruises on my arms from the girls' nails; apparently they know how to play rough. After showering off, we got back on the bus to make the trip home. We stopped part way at what the considered a truck stop... it was a small market. I got a peanut snack, and someone from UEF bought a bunch of snacks for everyone to try on the way back. We got back to the hotel, showered up, and headed out for dinner. A group of us, on the recommendation from Bryan, went to "Soul Food," and American burger joint. This was quite possibly the best burger of my life. After so much rice and other Vietnamese food, which is extremely delicious, a burger really hit the spot tonight. We got back to the hotel and I had a quick FaceTime chat with my mom and Heidi. Happy Mother's Day! It's nice knowing that things are good back home. I wrote my blog from yesterday and this one for today and called it a night. It's been an amazing first week and here's to week two!

The Tunnels of Cu Chi

This was a long day; I was exhausted by the end and didn't have a chance to blog, so here this is...
It started as an early day. I got up, grabbed a quick breakfast, and we headed to the Cu Chi District, about an hour and a half from HCMC. Driving through the rural countryside was quite an experience. Coming from Lancaster County, I have some expectations of a farming community and what a farm looks like. This was incredibly different! I knew that crops would be different, this was mostly rice, but I didn't expect such small fields and everything being so flat. Also, there was a greater level of poverty outside of the city, for which I felt sorry. We arrived at a tourist site for the Cu Chi Tunnels in Ben Douc and started the tour with an introduction from Dr. Berman and my roommate, Pete. The tunnel system was used by the Viet Cong as a place for people to live, travel, and facilitate guerrilla activity during the Vietnam War (it was used before this war, but this brought it to a new height). The tunnels started as underground bomb shelters with added tunnels between them. They continued to grow and the Communists eventually ordered their expansion for tactical purposes. A political booklet from the war states the primary role of the tunnels as such: "they are for the strengthening of combat vitality of our villages. They also provide more safety for our political and armed units, and for the masses as well. But their sheltering purpose is only significant when they serve our soldiers in combat activities. As mere shelters, their great advantages are wasted... There must be combat posts and equipment inside the underground tunnels for providing continuous support to the troops - even if the enemy occupies the village" (from The Tunnels of Cu Chi by Tom Mangold).  Dr. Berman also wanted us, specifically the engineers, to view the tunnels from an engineering perspective. The over 250 km of tunnels (at their max) were completely dug by hand and small tools. There were wells, kitchens, small health clinics, and tactical meeting rooms through the networks. The communication passages were between 0.8 and 1.2 meters wide and between 0.8 and 1.8 meters tall. For tactical advantage, entrances were well hidden trapdoors on the service, covered in natural foliage. This was truly an amazing feat of engineering and planning, not to mention the stamina and determination to live in the complex. Getting back to our day, we began our actual tour of the tunnels with a Vietnamese propaganda video from 1968; this was very difficult to watch. The video glorified the guerrilla warriors of Cu Chi and spoke of Americans as the "white devil." There was footage of American troops being shot upon relentlessly and tanks being exploded by the Viet Cong. Not only was this bad enough, I couldn't help but to the of similar American films with the roles reversed. It's a chilling thought. We then took a walk to some of the tunnel entrances. Our tour guide reached the first and miraculously pulled up on a door from the middle of the path. He squeezed down in and disappeared without a trace, until he popped up at another spot about 40 feet away. We continued on the first one tourist could enter (it was slightly enlarged to accommodate larger bodied guests). We walked down a few steps and then squatted into a tunnel between two rooms, snug fit and there was also a bat that flew by. We came back up and were able to try a few more, one of which was around 30 meters and required and almost vertical dropping maneuver. Due to my size, I actually found the tunnels to be pretty navigable, though the heat was even worse inside the tunnels than it was above ground. This also made me realize that I would have been a tunnel rat during the war, a solider that climbed into the tunnels, without any knowledge, to scout and search for the Viet Cong; this thought made the experience very real and connected me to the experience. At a quick stop between tunnels, we grabbed some water to cool off and some students bought scarves to wet and cool off, I was later surprised to find out these were part of the Viet Cong uniform. Once we finished the tour, we had lunch by the water and watched the thick water hyacinth fill up the river and flow down stream. We went to a memorial temple for all of the lives lost in Cu Chi; this included a central statue of Ho Chi Minh, and then a the names of all the people lost around the inside. It was interesting to compare the American memorial in DC with all of the names listed there as well. We wrapped up our day trip with a soldiers' memorial graveyard. With the straight rows of headstones and incense pots, I compered this the Arlington National Cemetery in the US. We got on the bus and made it back to the hotel. I went with a group of guys to dinner, but we all filed out quickly to make it to our suit fitting back at the hotel. Around 20 suits were almost completed and this gave the tailor the fit specifics he needs to finish. We cleaned up a bit and went downtown for a bit with some of the UEF students. After a full day, I was exhausted when we came back and fell asleep as soon as my bed hit the pillow. It was a very intense day, and I'm glad we had this retrospective experience while in Vietnam.

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!