Following a relatively calm day yesterday, today brought a very diverse list of activities for our group, and it kept us very busy the whole day.  We began by exploring the famous Ben Thanh Market, the largest sales gathering in Ho Chi Minh City.  It was here that we got to put our bartering skills…

As a bioengineering major, I came into this program having a strong knowledge base in math and science, but had virtually zero understanding about business practices.  That’s what made our visit to VinaCapital today interesting for me.  While many of the topics they discussed were far above my head, I was still able to learn…

Rounding out our first full week here in Ho Chi Minh City, we took a day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnel System, located about two hours north of the city.  The Cu Chi Tunnels were designed and built by the Viet Cong over a span of twenty plus years, and they were a huge…

Today was easily my favorite day of the trip thus far.  We were lucky enough to take a day trip down the Mekong River Delta, and it completely blew me away with its beauty and diversity of people, vegetation, and festivities.  Once again, we were led by two fantastic guides, without whom the trip would…

After our day of relaxation yesterday at Vung Tau, it was back to the typical routine here in Ho Chi Minh City.  Once again, we sat in on our daily Vietnamese language lecture, and we also were given a lecture on the history and culture of Vietnam.  Our lecturer went to a greater level of…

After a few days full of classes and company tours, today we were able to take a little break from academics with a trip to the gorgeous coastal city of Vung Tau.  On the way to this destination, however, it was interesting to note some of the towns and communities we passed through. For the…

This day began in a similar fashion to the last, with two classes at UEF.  The second one was again a Vietnamese language class, while the first was a lecture on the history and development of the Mekong River Delta.  I was fascinated to learn about the individual zones of the delta and how they…

Our second day here in Ho Chi Minh City brought just as much excitement as the first.  The day began with two classes at UEF, the first focusing on the Urban Planning and Development of Ho Chi Minh City over the years, and the second on Vietnamese language.  The first lecture, in particular, gave very…

Hello again! Today marked our first full day here in Ho Chi Minh City, and it was filled with wonderful activities all throughout.  After beginning the day with a fantastic welcome ceremony at UEF filled with singing and dancing and all sorts of fun, we then set off on the main event for the day:…

Hello all, and welcome to my blog!  My name is Kris Keppel, and for two weeks in May this page will be used to chronicle my once in a lifetime journey to Vietnam through the Plus3 program at the University of Pittsburgh. For some background information on myself, I grew up approximately 35 minutes north…