After a long 30 hours of travel we finally arrived to our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City at about 2am. Luckily I was able to sleep and wake up in an entirely different world. When getting breakfast I couldn’t help but be drawn to the swarms of motor bikes rushing through the streets. Its as if there are no rules to the road, yet somehow nobody gets hit. I’ve learned that when your crossing the street you cannot stop, you have to keep moving to not get hit. After that were fitted for custom suits. It was a great experience, we got to pick out patterns, colors, styles, and so much more. Looking forward to getting those. Following that we were fitted for a áo dài, the traditional attire of Vietnam. Then we went to lunch, being served a huge variety of foods. Everything from rice, to chicken, to seafood, and much more. We then had our welcome ceremony at UEF. This was a different kind of welcome. Upon arrival there were what must have been a hundred students and faculty outside to greet us, gift us, and take pictures. There were even two mascots. We than had the ceremony where we heard from a variety of UEF reps, Pitt reps, and even Vietnam Ministry of Education reps. We got to participate in traditional Vietnamese games and dances with the students, as well as many more photos which I was told were posted to the UEF Facebook. After we went on a bus tour of the city and saw many landmarks. This was followed by dinner served by UEF’s culinary students. It was a pretty packed day to say the least.
Overall, today was very eye opening. Its one thing researching and collecting information on where you may be traveling. In a whole other thing to finally experience it. Seeing the motor bikes zooming through the streets, being fitted for traditional attire, and the welcome ceremony is incredible. They were all things I knew were happening but being here living through it is so much more. And I know there is much more to come, and can’t wait!
