Day number 3 in Vietnam; morale is very high, and so is the temperature. Today we started with a lecture on Vietnam’s history and its envisioned future. I am a true history nerd, so I sat there and soaked up all of the knowledge like a sponge. I’m not just talking modern history, we started way back in ancient history! I learned about the lovely Tru’ng sisters who together started a revolution to declare Vietnamese independence from the Chinese emperor in 40 AD. Their revolution was successful and they were both crowned as Queen and ruled together for three years before the Chinese empire retaliated and decapitated both of them. Needless to say, I will definitely be doing more research on my own. The other highlight of the lecture was learning that Vietnam intends to use artificial intelligence to develop the country further. Today’s lecture was different from yesterday’s in that it was more historically based and then it transitioned into what Vietnam plans to develop into, which is a more of a powerhouse globally. Yesterday’s lecture really focused on how climate change may obstruct development and why it is difficult to communicate that to the local, rural people.

After the lecture I spent another hour attempting to speak and learn Vietnamese. While there has been some slight improvement in my fluency, that doesn’t mean much when you only know three to five phrases. After the lesson, we went to lunch. POP QUIZ, what do you think we had for lunch in Vietnam? You’re wrong – we had McDonald’s. I’m not complaining, because I can an always polish off an order of fries. I just wanted to report that there was no significant difference between American McDonald’s and Vietnamese McDonald’s. After lunch, we had our company site visit at Glass Egg Digital Media, which is an outsourcing video game graphic design firm. I will be making a presentation about this firm as a final project for this Plus3 class. I was thrilled to be assigned to this company because I find it very interesting from a business and creative standpoint. I really enjoyed analyzing and researching Glass Egg Digital Media.

Here is some analysis of what we learned in the presentation and tour. Being located in Ho Chi Minh City offers Glass Egg Digital Media a mix of benefits and disadvantages. One advantage is that they have very little domestic competition (2 or 3 other firms) which results in a lower employee turnover rate. A disadvantage is that major companies may not consider Vietnam to be a major location for outsourcing like they do China, so it can be difficult to convince potential clients to divert their travel plans to come and visit the company in Vietnam. My notebook is jam packed with information about this company which means that my team’s final presentation is gonna knock peoples’ socks off!

After writing this blog post, all of the Plus3 students are going out to dinner and karaoke with the all of the Vietnamese students, and I am very excited. I am also very sorry for everyone who has to hear me sing! Alright, Ally Koda signing off. I’ll catch you on the flip side.