Today began with more interesting classes at UEF, learning more about Vietnamese history as well as enhancing our ability to speak and understand the language. Learning Vietnamese has proven to be quite difficult thus far, but the Vietnamese students have been working diligently to help us pick up words, little by little. This was followed up by a trip to lunch at a very unique food court, which provided me the opportunity to try ox-tail soup, and observe the plethora of unique Vietnamese cuisine items they had to offer.

Following our delicious lunch, we visited Vina Capital, an investment firm located within Ho Chi Minh City. We were able to learn much of the specifics of Vietnam’s economy during this company visit, as the speaker was able to describe just how valuable Vietnam is as an emerging economy. Much of this growth is fueled by demographics, and Vietnam is seeing large population growth, particularly within the most productive age range, 45-50 years old. This age range is also the range that tends to have the highest consumption, helping to fuel an overall trend of a rapidly growing consumer culture in Vietnam. Despite all of the opportunities in Vietnam’s economy, such as the talented workforce that works cheaply, and a government that actually works for the people, the country is still facing some great economic challenges. For example, the country is still primarily agricultural, and people’s reluctance to move to the city is putting somewhat of a limit on the economic growth potential, and the universities are currently not very prestigious, which puts a damper on human capital. All in all, this company visit gave me a much greater sense of how economic growth happens, with an emphasis on its occurrence in Vietnam, as well as a greater understanding of how foreign investments can bolster this growth.

As I look back on the past few days in Vietnam, I realize just how fortunate I am to even be here to experience such a country, not to mention being able to do it with a very cool group of both Pitt and UEF students. So much about this country has been misrepresented by the western world, and I hope to serve as a vessel of enlightenment to describe the true nature of Vietnam both through these blogs and the stories I will be able to share with friends and family for years to come.