This morning, I continued the trend of loading up on vegetables for breakfast and filled half of my plate with sautéed spinach and greens and boiled carrots. Once again, I enjoyed delicious slices of watermelon, a banana, and two cream puff-like pastries. After breakfast, we went to UEF and had a history and culture class. We learned very briefly about the history of Vietnam. It was interesting to see how all of the different periods of ruling countries influenced Vietnam’s culture. For example, both the Chinese and the French influenced Vietnamese. Originally, the Vietnamese people wrote in Chinese characters but when the French controlled Vietnam, they helped to create Vietnam’s unique written language. We also began to learn about the traditional dress and the significance of the colors of this dress. For example, young girls wear a white Ao Dai, which signifies their purity. After culture class, we went to the tea and coffee shop, where I ordered an iced chai milk tea, which was so delicious. We headed back to the classroom for the language class after we got tea. Today, we learned how to say numbers, and when I saw how they say numbers, it made so much sense, and I questioned why we don’t do that in English. In Vietnamese, you really only need to know numbers 1-10 in order to count to 99 because you just put the numbers together. For example, when you want to say 12 you say “mười hai”, which directly translates to “ten two”. I learned how to say the time as well. The student teaching me today was very helpful and encouraging, and I felt like I learned a lot because she was able to quiz me by asking me to say different times. After language class, we went to lunch at a restaurant market type of place. There were a bunch of different places to get food and drinks, and you ordered at whichever ones you want, got cards with numbers on them, brought them to the table, and were given your food as it was finished. My meal, as all others have been, was absolutely delicious. I had a bowl with beef, spinach, onions, a fried egg, and rice. It came with a side of delicious soup. I also ordered juice that had kumquat, pineapple, and sugar cane. My friend Ally and I also shared a baguette-style bread because many of the students have raved about Vietnamese bread. It was very interesting because I tasted a hint of coconut in it. After lunch, we visited VinaCapital, which is an asset management firm. VinaCapital has funds listed on various different stock exchanges that allow investors to diversify with both public and private equities. During the presentation, we learned all about Vietnam’s economy and the implications that come with it for VinaCapital and foreign investors. We learned that low wages are driving the rapid industrialization, urbanization, and the emergence of a larger middle class, which all drive growth. However, with this quick growth, the government must be able to support it. This is why VinaCapital has been working with the government by suggesting that the government set up pension plans and make foreign investment in infrastructure easier. By setting up these programs, Vietnam would be able to develop quicker and in a stable way while also continuing its globalization. This would also increase the efficiency of VinaCapital because it has a real estate development group that focuses on infrastructure. In addition, the speaker addressed the implications that the US and China trade war poses. The trade war boosts investment in Vietnam because the US wants to still have some connections in Asia, but those with China are very shaky, and many other countries in the area tend to favor China. The second part of the presentation was about the VinaCapital Foundation. This foundation works to improve the lives of Vietnamese kids by promoting healthcare initiatives. The foundation funds heart transplants for kids with congenital heart disease, outreach clinics, training clinics, hearing aids for kids, and scholarships for disadvantaged ethnic minority girls. About 40% of the Foundation’s funding comes from VinaCapital while they also fundraise to receive the rest of their support. The Foundation was created when a chairman of VinaCapital had the opportunity to support surgery for a kid with congenital heart disease and wanted to be able to make a larger impact. I think that foundations like the VinaCapital Foundation will really help to develop Vietnam because they want to focus on the people and improve their living standards. This will allow the economy to grow even further and bring Vietnam more power on the world stage. After the presentation was over, we headed back to the hotel to take a break until dinner and some sightseeing!