It’s surreal to me that 2 entire weeks have already passed. Sitting on the plane home alone right now is crazy because I feel like I was just on the plane to Vietnam 3 days ago. Looking back on the trip, I am so incredibly lucky to have gone through this amazing experience. Throughout the trip, I challenged myself in ways I never would have been able to otherwise, I experienced the full Vietnamese culture, and I met some of the best people.
I am so grateful to Plus3 Vietnam for allowing me to do things that I never thought I would do. I never imagined myself back at the Cu Chi Tunnels, yet with this trip, I was able to return to that site and face my fear of the bats in the tunnels by crawling through not just one, but two of them. Furthermore, going into the trip, I had never really eaten seafood and instead, I just assumed that I did not like it. While in Vietnam, though, I challenged myself and tried different seafood almost every day. This program forced me out of my comfort zone every day and without that, I would never have done these things and would never have realized how much I am missing out on.
With 2 weeks in Vietnam, Plus3 Vietnam gave me the opportunity to experience the Vietnamese culture on a level I would not be able to on a vacation. Being so close to the Vietnamese students throughout the trip was a major benefit. Not only did they help us speak a little Vietnamese, but they took us out to lunch and dinner every day to a different traditional Vietnamese restaurant. Without these students, dinner every day would have been a touristy restaurant that claims to be traditional Vietnamese since we would have no idea which restaurants to trust. With the Vietnamese students, I was also able to ask any questions I had about the Vietnamese culture and whether what I read was actually accurate. Furthermore, they asked me questions about American culture, which allowed me to see how the Vietnamese truly view Americans.
Plus3 Vietnam has been my favorite trip by far and has given me friendships I would not have had otherwise with not only other Pitt students but also with the Vietnamese UEF students. Spending every single day together for 14 days straight makes it hard to not bond with everyone that you are with and to form friendships, especially when our group went through a once in a lifetime experience together like Plus3 Vietnam.
Not only did Plus3 Vietnam benefit me culturally and personally, but it also developed some transferable skills. Throughout the program, I exercised my skills of communication, time management, and active listening, which will all be used as I continue into the business world.
Being in a foreign country, you can imagine how communication is hard between yourself and natives who only speak bits of English. At the beginning of the trip, I found it very difficult because being a classic American, I speak fast and mumble when holding a casual conversation. As I spent more time with the Vietnamese, though, I started paying attention to what vocabulary I was using, how fast I was talking, and how much I was annunciating. Specifically, I made sure to phrase any questions I had for Vietnamese presenters in a way that could be understood easily. Although this was challenging to do at certain times, I now have developed my ability to communicate across cultures and languages, which will be necessary for the future, as business is an international platform.
Another important skill that I used quite often in Vietnam was time management. With only 2 weeks in a country that has so many things to see, our itinerary was packed with activities every day. Due to this, I needed to use every minute of the day wisely. Therefore, every day I would check the itinerary and see what was scheduled for the day, then I would assign a block of time to write my blog post each day, and then I would assign a block of time for dinner with the Vietnamese and any activities after dinner that they planned on doing. Without planning my day in the mornings, I think I would have been very stressed as to when I would get everything done and I may have even needed to miss activities with the Vietnamese students. Practicing this critical skill of time management will be beneficial to me in the future, because without successful planning, a successful businessman may miss deadlines or meetings without even realizing it.
Finally, throughout my time in Vietnam, I attended many site visits and at each, I had to be an active listener and not only just write down the information that they provided, but also pry and ask for additional information about the company. Prior to this program, I never really had the need to do this, so I figured it may be difficult for me to come up with questions to ask. This program, though, developed my ability to ask relevant questions, which will be necessary for the future during not only other site visits, but also interviews.
To wrap it all up, Plus3 Vietnam is the most amazing trip I have been on. Not only did it develop me personally by forcing me out of my comfort zone and allowing me to meet new friends, but it also developed me academically and professionally by enhancing my transferable skills. This program was better than I ever could have imagined and I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to go on it.
