I can’t believe this trip is wrapping up soon, and that in only a couple days I will be back on a flight to America. The past two weeks have been so amazing to me, and there are no words I can use to describe how grateful I am for this experience. I chose to go on this trip to see if my global management double major was right for me, and all of the sites we got to visit just solidified that for me. Perhaps I would want to be in a slightly colder climate, but Vietnam has shown me how working overseas is definitely a possibility I’m interested in now. Not only did this trip help me professionally, but I’ve also made friends from all over the world, and talked to more people than I have in a long time. 

Today started with our last Vietnamese class and hat painting. Vietnamese class went as well as it could for me, I was pretty tired this morning so unfortunately I kept zoning out at the wrong times and missing information. Despite that, I was still able to catch some phrases such as how to ask for a discount or say something is too expensive. We then had a couple treats before moving on to be able to paint traditional Vietnamese hats, and I decided to paint a peach blossom, common to Vietnam. While it isn’t my best work, I will forever cherish the memories that come along with it. We also got to try on our personally made ao dai, and I got my favorite color pink! After saying goodbye to everyone, we went to a pizza place for lunch. While everyone else was very excited, this was unfortunate for me, as one of my least favorite foods is pizza (surprise). It turned out okay though because they had really good chicken, along with a salad. 

Putting our new Vietnamese skills to use, we headed over to Bahn Thanh Market to buy some souvenirs. Our whole goal was to bargain the prices down, and my friend Olivia for a second was very willing to hand over 300k Vietnamese Dong before we all stopped her. My friends Reva and Ally then helped her negotiate it down to a whopping 180K, which I then used to my advantage to get my own hat (and the owner gave me a free magnet). It was unlike anything you’d see in the United States. Trying to bargain is usually seen as extremely rude, and oftentimes prices are non negotiable. But here it seemed like the goal was for people to try to haggle the prices, so they usually started off really high and would quickly knock down the price when you said you would walk away. It was overall an interesting experience and something I haven’t seen before. I was way too nervous to go anywhere else in the market, and it was also crowded and getting hot so my friends and I headed to the Miniso across the street. I got a neck pillow as I didn’t have one on the way here and I regretted it, and also headed over to 7/11 to get a drink really fast before we headed over to the U.S. consulate.

The Consulate was an extremely informative experience. We were told more about how businesses operate overseas in Vietnam and how everything works. Specifically, we were able to ask questions that aligned with our research papers. My paper specifically focused on how multinational corporations, specifically the hotel industry, play into sustainability in Vietnam. I was able to find out more about how U.S. businesses use solar panels and have been really focusing on it. At the same time though, it was mentioned this has its downsides as there is a lack of batteries to store extra energy and how this leads to complications when trying to be sustainable. She also mentioned how Vietnam aimed to be a high income country by 2045. I believe that this is doable but it will be complicated in the long run, as that quick of a turnover may cause more problems than be helpful. The day just got more chaotic from there, as we left Andrew in the consulate. We started driving away without him, and only when Caden yelled out that Andrew Leon was NOT ON THE BUS, did everyone realize. He made it back in one piece though thankfully. 

We ended our day off with a water bus tour around the city. The views were absolutely stunning and it was so fun hanging out with everyone. I am so extremely sad this trip is ending so soon, and that tomorrow is our last full day. I’m ready to make the most out of it.