Day 10: Áo Dài, Vietnamese Language Practice @ Ben Thanh, U.S. Consulate, and Waterbus Tour This morning we learned more Vietnamese language. They still use the English alphabet except for the letters F, J, and W. We were all initially intimidated by the accents, but logically it actually makes more sense that one letter with…
Author: drb153
Buddha Believe It
Day 9: Buddhism and Independence Palace This morning we attended a class at UEF about the foundations of Buddhism. About 60% of Vietnam practices Buddhism, making it the largest religion in the country. We learned about principles such as the founder Siddhartha Gautama and his journey of leaving royalty behind in order to help relieve…
These amenities are nuts…
Day 8: Cat Lai Terminal and Dan On Food We visited two companies today: Cat Lai Terminal and Dan On Foods. At Cat Lai, we saw the hard work behind moving shipping containers for imports and exports at a terminal operating 24 hours a day. The organization of the port seemed entirely dependent on efficiency…
Glamping
Days 6 and 7: Mekong Delta Overnight The four hour ride and fear of no air conditioning made me nervous as we headed out for our weekend stay at the Mekong Delta. But once we arrived and were greeted by such a beautiful view, all my nerves went away. We started off with lunch. My…
Driven to Perfection
Day 5: Glass Egg: A Virtuous Studio We went to Glass Egg Animation Studio. It was my favorite site visit so far. They are the number one animation studio in the world for cars. As a self-proclaimed animator who takes four hours to animate a simple ball bounce on Procreate Dreams, I found particular appreciation…
Claustrophobia in Cu Chi
Day 4: Cu Chi Tunnel Visit Earlier in the day, we visited an art workshop where they created lacquer art using paint, duck eggshells, and mother of pearl. The company only hires disabled workers. However, disability in Vietnam seems to be viewed very differently than in the United States. These employees were not mentally handicapped….
The Pâté Could’ve Used Better Lighting
Day 3: Dien Quang & Bò Né My favorite section of Dien Quang was the lighting museum, which they said was the first lighting museum in Vietnam. It was set up like an Ikea showroom, with different rooms displaying how lighting changes the atmosphere of a space. They also demonstrated their own version of Alexa…
Going green or seeing green?
Day 2: Sustainability in Vietnam + Park Hyatt Saigon During the guest lecture at UEF, the professor showed this graphic about organizational change: The graphic resonated heavily with my own observations of my generation, so I looked it up to include in my blog post. What I found out was that the original graphic was…
What the pho is going on…
Day 1: First Impressions and Culture Shocks The most eye opening parts of the day all occurred within conversations with UEF students. During the bus tour, I spoke with Travis. He explained aspects of Vietnamese culture such as the “work hard, play hard” lifestyle among young people. He described how many young adults smoke and…
Hi, I’m Daphne!
My name is Daphne Brozyna. I am a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh, studying Economics and Psychology with a minor in Philosophy. After I finish my undergraduate degree, I plan to attend law school. I am from Ocean City, New Jersey, a beach town about 30 minutes from the southernmost point of the state….