Wow, I can truthfully say this has been one of the most unique days of my life. The amount of content I could write about what was new and interesting is truly endless. While I could go on about nearly every aspect of Ho Chi Minh City, I’ll try to keep it concise. The first and biggest cultural shock is how traffic works in Vietnam. Their traffic system operates in a way that baffles me as an American. There seem to be extremely few traffic regulations. Riders generally respect red lights on larger streets, but will freely travel if they don’t see any cross traffic. A vast majority of motorists are on motorbikes which further adds to the confusing traffic flow. Riders weave freely around cars and with each other, but everyone seems used to this situation so there are few collisions. I talked to a Vietnamese local from UEF about this situation and he poetically compared the flow of traffic in Ho Chi Minh to “walking”. He did not mean that drives are slow, but rather they maneuver like someone walking on the sidewalk. Which seemed like an apt analogy given my observation of traffic.

Overall this first day has been mysteriously magical. Constantly confusing due to the language barrier, but obviously wonderful. Ho Chi Minh traffic is incomprehensible and just a minor example of all the interesting aspects of a study abroad trip like this. Traffic might seem like a minor thing, but it exposes a difference in social norms across cultures. I had a very insightful conversation with my UEF contact about something that probably seems simple to him. The wonder of this trip might just be the little things (not that hellish traffic is little).