Today’s trip on the Mekong Delta was on of my favorite of the trip. After a two hour bus ride we got on a boat which took us to an island where we ate fruit and listened to traditional Vietnamese music. I got to try a fruit called jackfruit which was cool for me to…
Tag: Jack Sullivan
Day 12-5/18/2-18-Final Blog Post
Plus 3 Vietnam was one of the most fun and rewarding experiences of my life. I got to see the operations of a variety of different businesses and see how they each played a role in the development of Vietnam. I also got to meet and interact with a variety of Vietnamese people and places,…
Day 10-5/16/2018-Cat Lai and Reunification
Cat Lai terminal is a port which houses the heavy machinery needed to move shipping containers onto and off of boats. Most of the goods they handle are in giant shipping containers, which are easily moved throughout the gargantuan space with cranes and trucks. At Cat Lai most containers, whether they are being imported or…
Day 9-5/15/2018-Buddhism and VinaCapital
VinaCapital was composed of two main companies: VinaCapital foundation and VinaCapital fund. We did not spend much time discussing the VinaCapital fund and instead focused on the economic outlook of Vietnam. The head economist was very interesting because he was an engineering and math major at Stanford, so he was a middle ground between the…
Day 8-5/14/2018-VSIP and II-VI
The Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park is a partnership between the governments of Singapore and Vietnam. At the industrial park, corporations can take advantage of a consolidated government office which greatly simplifies licensing and other legal business matters. They also receive on site customs, which can save time because the lines are very long. Companies in…
Day 7-5/13/2018
Today we visited the CuChi tunnels which were used by the Vietnamese soldiers to escape and to hide amidst the fighting in the Saigon region. The tunnels allowed the Vietnamese to operate as a ‘ghost army’-appearing and disappearing in a matter of minutes. The United States was used to fighting ‘conventional’ wars in which one…
Day 6-5/12/2018-Jesus and Vung Tau
The road to Vung Toa was surprisingly well maintained and smooth, and the communities that we drove through seemed a little bit more impoverished than what one would find on a drive through the United States. The people in those towns seemed happy and content, and they were selling food to people passing through. The…
Day 5-5/11/2018-US Consulate
At the US counselors office, United States citizens who work for the state department act as representatives for Washington DC in the Ho Chi Minh area and provide services to the Vietnamese people. The largest service that the Consulate provides is the issuance of visas and immigration permits to the Vietnamese. When a Vietnamese wants…
Day 4-5/10/2018-War Remnants Museum
The portrayal of the Americans as guilty of war crimes at the war remnants museum was not surprising to me at all and was something that I had prepared myself for. I fully understand and accept that people have that point of view, and I do not blame them for having it. I felt very…
Day 3-5/9/2018
Glass Egg Digital media was my favorite site visit so far. Its existence is a testament to both globalization and to the development of Vietnam. Glass Egg digital media is a niche company-they are a 3D art outsourcing company. They have only been around for 19 years (Glass Egg evolved from its previous company in…
Day 2-5/8/2-18-American Mall at PhuMeHung and forks
The Phu Me Hung development corporation and the section of the city that they had developed was much more wealthy and American than the rest of Ho Chi Minh city. In the city, most businesses are owned by individual Vietnamese and are not large corporations. Of course there are a few chain restaurants but it…
Day 1-5/7/2018-Intro Ceremony, HoChiMinh City tour, Welcome Dinner,Hammers, Sickles, and Chopsticks
After the indescribable and amazing welcome ceremony, where I was immediately immersed in Vietnamese culture, and learned about the legacy of the Plus 3 program, I got to partake in a tour of Ho Chi Minh City. Seeing the hammer and sickle on street signs, where it was not feared was the most striking part…
Intro to Jack Sullivan
Hello! I am Jack Sullivan. I am currently a freshman engineering student at the University of Pittsburgh. I plan to major in Industrial Engineering, potentially with a focus in health care systems engineering. I am from Glenview, Illinois, which is about 30 minutes from Chicago. The White Sox are my favorite sports team but I…