Today started out with a class on Buddhism. I already knew most of what we talked about, but I think Buddhism is really cool anyways and I was interested to see how it was taught in Vietnam. Beforehand, I was unsure about how the government handled religion and if there were any sensitive topics. Our professor spoke very openly and made a lot of jokes so it was clear that there are no restrictions and the government probably doesn’t get very involved in religion. After the class, we got to visit a Buddhist pagoda, which was very cool. We looked around the pagoda and lit incense. The building and surrounding area were both very pretty. After the pagoda, we got lunch at a food court. Although it may sound like we got fast food at a mall, this was yet another unfamiliar dining experience. We walked around several cooking areas with different menus and ordered wherever we wanted. Then, they gave us a number and told us to sit wherever we wanted. They found us by sending workers around on walkie talkies describing where each number was. Now that I’m writing this, it doesn’t sound too different than an American food court, but it seemed very different at the time.
After lunch, we headed to VinaCapital (for the second time). We heard from both the foundation and the company today. The VinaCapital Foundation is focused on improving the lives of children in Vietnam. One of their main programs is Heartbeat Vietnam, providing medical care and surgeries for children with congenital heart defects (CHD). This program illustrates how far Vietnam has come in terms of development recently. Vietnam’s population has the same percentage of babies born with CHD as every other country in the world, but their treatment is limited by cost and quality of medical education. Now, Vietnam has some of the best cardiac surgeons in the world and even rural citizens are able to receive treatment. The company also has programs to help premature babies, ethnic minorities, and more. Now that Vietnam is gaining success, the government has been asking VinaCapital to help with programs in Laos, showing the increasing globalization and development of Vietnam. This is similar to VSIP, a company that partners with Singapore’s government to make industrial parks.
