What an amazing first day in Vietnam!!! There was so much to see and experience that I don’t even know where to begin! The first significant cultural difference was the food. I am proud to say that I tried all of the Vietnamese food, even jellyfish, though some food was better than other food. There were also many unique flavor combinations that I had never tasted before. They do not mess around with their spicy peppers! One culture difference of Vietnam was the friendliness and hospitality of the Vietnamese. We were able to go on a city wide bus tour with UEF students to familiarize ourselves with and learn about the city. I was amazed to see how courteous and kind these students were. They went the extra mile about the smallest things which I appreciated greatly. They acknowledged each other as well as strangers with a respect that I had never experienced before. Another surprise was the knowledge that the students had about their own city. Many spoke about Ho Chi Minh City with passion and knowledge that was respected by all of us Pitt students.
On our city wide bus tour, we were able to see most of Ho Chi Minh City. It was extremely beautiful. There are many trees in the urban areas and rivers that run through the city. The most interesting part of the bus tour was seeing the local Vietnamese in their daily life. I must’ve seen thousands of Mopeds driving inches from one another in a way that I couldn’t understand. It is clear how populous Ho Chi Minh City is. On the bus tour we were able to see all of the districts in Ho Chi Minh City. After seeing all of them, it is clear that globalization is present everywhere you look. For example, there were numerous international hotels that emphasized their internationality. There were a lot of skyscrapers in the business district, but also serval skyscrapers in other districts in the city that were being built. This development was also evident on signs and in stores. English was used on a lot of signs and many global brands had stores in highly populated parts of the city. These aspects of Ho Chi Minh City really display how the city is changing due to globalization and development. Tomorrow is going to be a great day and I am super excited to interact with Vietnamese businesses to broaden my global perspective!
