Today started with one of the things I was most excite about for this trip. We had a lecture on Buddhism and then visited a pagoda. I’ve always been fascinated with eastern religions. A lot of them are more like philosophies. Unfortunately, the lecture didn’t go any deeper than introductory level, but the lecturer made it entertaining.

After lunch we visited VinaCapital. I had very little idea what the company and foundation did going into it, but the presentation was the most informative and comfortable we’ve had so far I thought. The foundation mainly works to provide free open heart surgeries to children with congenital heart defects. If they provide 1/3 of the funding, then the national healthcare system provides the rest, as the surgery only costs $3600 in Vietnam. They don’t just provide the surgery, but they also prepare the family for it, and continue to help afterward so that their investment is worthwhile. The importance this has to the development of the economy an the investing side of the corporation is that having a sick child is the leading cause of poverty, and by making sure that the child is successful afterward they can continue to grow the middle class. The way Vietnam’s economy has been developing is better than that of when China’s developed because the wealth is spread around more evenly. The government is purposely building projects in less efficient areas to provide jobs and empower those people, so that Saigon and Hanoi aren’t the only places experiencing growth.

To end the day we visited Ben Thanh market, where we bargained with the local vendors for various goods from knock-off clothing to souvenirs and knick-knacks. I’ve never been more overwhelmed while shopping. As you walk by each booth they position themselves in front of you to block your path or they grab you. If you get caught looking at anything then you’re in it for the long haul with that vendor. They often give a starting price significantly higher than they are willing to sell it for. If you were to buy anything for more than half of the original price they give then you’d be getting ripped off. It was a really interesting cultural experience to have bargaining with people when there was a significant language barrier.