As the last day of real classes and immersion, I was starting to feel the melancholy that comes with knowing that you are about to leave a place that holds so much emotion and memory of a trip that fostered new relationships and connections. I feel like the reason that this trip holds so much…
Tag: Plus3 Vietnam
Check out all the Plus3 Vietnam blogs below!
Day 10: Running Out of Time
We had yet another Vietnamese language class to start our day today. We learned the alphabet and how to pronounce the letters, which was so much harder than expected because of the 6 different tones. We also learned a few phrases to use at the market that we would be going to later in the…
Day 10 – Painting, shopping & learning
Today was a fun mix of activities that all connected in some way which I was surprised by. We started with language class, where I learned how to say “hi how much,” followed by “so expensive, please discount,” – Bao nhiêu tiėn? Đắt quá, giảm giá dim – which I felt was all I was…
Áo My Gosh
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…
Day 10: Bargain Bargain Bargain
Yesterday we started off the day at UEF doing a Vietnamese language class. Right before class I had a cup of coffee and I really think that was a great start to my day. The class was super fun and energetic trying to learn some bargaining phrases to later be used. After the language class…
Day 10: Back in the U.S.
The Banh Thanh market was a lot different than I expected. Each stall had roughly the exact same items. Every stall selling shirts only sold these lame shirts of random TV characters with Supreme or a Labubu on a Stüssy shirt or a shirt with the same pho pun on it. I wonder why they…
Left Stranded
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…
Day 10: Sai-ing because I’ll be Gon
Today was quite long but still very fun. We began the day learning more Vietnamese to get ready for our trip to the Ben Thanh Market later. We learned the alphabet and the tone indicators which is quite different from English but at the same time the alphabet is almost identical to the English alphabet…
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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…
Vietnam Day 10: US Consulate and Banh Thanh Market
Today we visited the educational center at the US consulate and spoke with a member of the economics team. The speaker was really good and it was very interesting to learn about the economic history of Vietnam, life of an fso and the services the consulate offers. One interesting thing we learned was how the…
Day 10: A Country Moving Fast
It is honestly crazy to think that our time in Vietnam is already beginning to come to an end. Today felt like a great mix of everything that we experienced throughout the trip. It involved culture, business, history, and food. The day started off on a much lighter note compared to some of the experiences…
Day 10: Rice Hats, Knock-Offs, and Diplomatic Irony
Another fun day for me in the books. From decoding a new alphabet to negotiating in bustling market aisles, today was the ultimate crash course in Vietnamese culture and commerce. We started the morning trying to tackle the Vietnamese alphabet. To be honest, mastering those tonal marks felt completely impossible, but it gave us an…
Day 10: Action Packed
We started the day with a fun Vietnamese class that taught us the alphabet, numbers, and specific market sayings. Roy already showed me these in the last language class so it was great to see it again. We then moved into a Vietnamese history and culture class where we got to paint farmers’ hats. We…
Day 10: The Beginning of the End
Today was the last day of the regularly scheduled programming of site visits and classes at UEF. Time flies so fast! We first had a language class to practice basic phrases used in a market to prepare for our trip to Banh Thanh market. It was really hard to remember letters and their intonations, I…
Day 10: The Last Ride
TToday was a long day filled with lots of information. We started the day with a Vietnamese language class and learned a little bit about their culture. We had pizza for lunch, which was the first meal I had that did not feel exotic. But to get to the more important parts of the day,…
Day 10: Nearing The End
I can’t believe this trip is wrapping up soon, and that in only a couple days I will be back on a flight to America. The past two weeks have been so amazing to me, and there are no words I can use to describe how grateful I am for this experience. I chose to…
Scamming Game
Well, we did it. I actually was able to get up at 5:30am and go for a run. Did not go that long but like I said before I just wanted to have Vietnam as one of my locations in Strava. Went for a little over a mile before coming back to the hotel to…
Day 9: Vietnam
Today started by going to UEF building to study the Buddhist religion. We conversed and learned for about an hour about the principles and the standards of Buddhism. We learned about how it was founded, who it was founded by, and what the purpose was. We had to debate about whether we thought Buddhism was…
Day 10: House Sauce
Today we started with another language session, but this time aimed at haggling down prices for our visit to the market later in the day. We painted traditional rice hats, but mine kept falling off my head because I forgot to tie the chin band on. We then departed to Ben Thanh market. It was…
Day 10: Bargaining for More Time
Today was our last ‘normal’ day of Plus3 🙁 . After more Vietnamese lessons, we were able to try on our Ao Dais. This is the first time I’ve ever worn an outfit that was entirely fitted just for me and it was a surreal experience. As a taller girl, I almost never have sleeves…