The day started with a talk at the U.S. Consulate covering the current state of the Vietnamese economy, and one figure from that session is still sitting with me. Vietnam has set a formal target of becoming a high income country by 2045. Two weeks ago, sitting at home before any of this started, I might have treated that as an ambitious but distant aspiration. After everything I have seen and experienced here, I think it is genuinely achievable. The construction cranes, the manufacturing output, the sophistication of companies like Glass Egg and Dien Quang, the infrastructure investment at Cat Lai, the young population that is globally connected and deeply motivated. All of them point in the same direction. Vietnam is not building toward something in the long term. It is being built right now, and the pace of it is hard to overstate.

Reflecting on two weeks in this country, what stands out most is not any single site visit or lecture but the accumulation of small moments that keep adding up. Parts of the trip such as going to the zoo, conversations I had with the UEF students, and getting to explore the city are things I will never forget. Professionally, this trip has sharpened the way I think about sustainability, supply chains, and what growth actually looks like from the inside of a developing economy rather than from the outside looking at data.

The trip closed with shopping at Ben Thanh Market, which was an experience all its own. The energy inside is relentless in the best way. Vendors are enthusiastic, negotiation is expected, and the whole place operates at a pace that keeps you on your toes. It is nothing like walking through a mall back home. Every interaction feels personal, and the back and forth of working toward a price you are both happy with is genuinely fun once you lean into it. I picked up a few things I am happy with and left feeling like the market sent me off on exactly the right note. Two weeks, and I am already thinking about when I can come back.