We past Day #9 The past two weeks in Ho Chi Minh City provided a solid introduction to local life, art, and language. We started with a language lesson focused on tone and inflection. Navigating the nuances of Vietnamese vowel sounds is challenging, but the patience of our hosts helped us through the practice. That…
Author: Andrew Leon
Museums and Museum Scammers
Religion and history took center stage today, and it was a lot to process. We started at the Ngoc Hoang pagoda, which was an interesting look into the spiritual side of the country. Even the UEF students we were with described Buddhism primarily as a philosophy rather than just a religion, though we definitely saw…
Cargo and Nuts
Today is day 8 in Vietnam. Visiting Cat Lai Terminal forces you to confront the scale of global trade. The metrics are highly specific: processing a container ship takes 12 to 18 hours, and the port handles 81 containers every hour. Watching the massive cranes transfer containers between land and boat gives a clear sense…
Delta Delta Delta
It has been 1 week in Vietnam! We spent the last 2 days at the Mekong DeltaWe have been reading and talking about the region since our first class, but actually being here was a different story. We did get a fun tourist experience, but the contrast between the cities is what really stuck with…
Game Design
Today we had a site visit to Glass Egg Studio, a Virtuos company. It was such a cool site visit. They do high-end 3D and 2D art production for AAA video games. They have long partnerships with different game developers and have produced assets for the Forza Motorsport/Horizon series, Rockstar Games, 2k Sports, Spiderman, PUBG,…
Tunnels
Day #4 Today we went on two trips. The first trip was a visit to an art gallery that hires handicapped persons to handcraft the artworks. Anything from plates, vases, and wall art. Very intricate and beautiful work, and I decided to purchase 2 plates that will go well with the plate display that I…
Light and Heat
Today completes the 3rd day in Vietnam. We started our day with a lecture in Smart & Sustainable Production: Developing Resilient Supply Chains. Professor Minh explained to us the importance of adaptability in today’s age and we presented how companies could prepare and adapt to production setbacks. During the lecture, I won a bag of…
The Presidential Suite
Today is day #2 in Vietnam. I started my day by joining my Vietnam roommate, Chris McCay, on an early run to the nearest Highlands Coffee shop for a pre-breakfast pastry. I ordered a plain croissant, and after 15 minutes of waiting, I had my delicious croissant. We then headed to UEF to have 2…
“I <3 UEF” “I <3 Vietnam”
Today was day 1 in Ho Chi Minh City. I was shocked by the welcome reception we received when we arrived to the University of Economics and Finance. They started off by throwing a flower necklace over us and then performed karate stunts. We then spent time at an opening ceremony where university executives and…
I’m Andrew
Hi everyone! My name is Andrew Leon, from Dallas, Texas, and I am a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh studying global management and marketing. I’m someone who loves soccer and basketball. My favorite teams are Arsenal and the Boston Celtics. I also love exploring new music and movies. I currently work for Pitt Men’s…