Today was a super impactful day for me. We started the morning with a visit to Vina Capital Foundation, which is an NGO that prioritizes the children and women of rural ethnic minorities in Vietnam. They have many programs, including funding surgeries for children with congenital heart defects and funding education for girls from ethnic minorities. The latter program really caught me interest and made me feel extremely grateful for the environment that I grew up in. I was always encouraged and empowered to make own life decisions, including pursuing a college degree, and that has and continues to shape my self-confidence. I cannot imagine growing up in a place that did not allow me that agency, simply based on gender. Because of this, I was particularly moved by the idea of helping these girls to understand that they have agency, even if their community has suppressed it. I kept thinking about how much pushback girls who get this funding might get in their local communities, and how brave and strong they must be to choose their own path in spite of the obstacles in their way. I find that courage incredibly powerful.

During our visit, I was somewhat surprised by how similar the needs of Vietnam are to the needs I am familiar with hearing about, particularly in the Appalachian region of the US. Both have high rural populations that live in hard to access areas, harming medical outcomes. Both have a need for cultural change for female empowerment and reproductive care. Of course, there are many differences between the two nations, but I am always fascinated by how similar people can be even when they seem on the surface to be worlds apart. Speaking of the US, I fear that both the tariffs placed on Vietnam and the ending of USAID will negatively impact the goals of Vina Capital. They work to build up the Vietnamese middle class, and the potential for economic damage in light of the tariffs could seriously harm this endeavor. Difficulty exporting to the US or manufacturers leaving the country could make it harder for those in poverty in Vietnam to rise out of poverty. The ending of USAID funding will certainly decrease the amount of charity available, which will also negatively impact those in poverty and make it harder for Vietnam to lower the amount of people in poverty.

After such a significant morning, the rest of the day felt like a bit of a blur. We had another Vietnamese language class, followed by a culture class in which we painted our own conical hats to wear when we go to the Mekong Delta. Then, we went on a water boat tour of the city. We stopped at an area with a playground and street food, and I tried two dishes. First, I tried chopped up rice paper with mango and dried fish, all covered in sauce. The flavor was amazing. Then, I tried rolled up rice paper with a filling and sauce, which was good but not as good as the first dish, in my opinion. I loved getting to try street food; it felt like an authentic cultural experience. We had banh mi for dinner, and I got milk tea afterwards as well. Altogether, it made for a fun end to the day.