Transferable skills are skills that everyone possesses and needs to possess, to an extent, when going abroad. Just considering the simple differences of the ways of life in countries across the world, flexibility, active listening, and patience with communication are necessary skills. Looking back at the trip to Vietnam, language barriers were not a huge…
Tag: Sarah Dapper
Making Friends in the Mekong
The coolest day of the trip finally came. The bus rolled out in the morning with the set destination of a river in the Mekong Delta, one of the two major deltas in Vietnam. These waterways are crucial for economic growth because of the mass finishing and farming done here as well as the ease…
Greatest Invention in Shipping History: The Container
The greatest invention of globally exporting goods is the container, although, I’d think the boat is more important. Cat Lai terminal, one of the terminals associated with Saigon Newport Corporation, is one of the largest state-owned ports in Vietnam. As you might imagine, this kind of port handles large quantities of imports and exports as…
Talk about an Emotional Roller coaster
Today schedule was packed with activities from visiting a religious site to trying not to get lost in a giant indoor market. The different visits of the day really was a rollercoaster of emotion, so bear with me. The day began with a lecture (from my favorite lecturer of the trip) about Buddhism and its…
Not your Average Park and Playground
The site visit for today was unique because it was an industrial park rather than one business office. Coming to the site, I had very little knowledge of what an industrial park actually was given that they don’t exist in the United States. Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park, or VSIP, is a place with all of…
Crawling through the Jungle
Today we had the opportunity to visit a historical site of the Vietnam War, the Cu Chi tunnels. Upon arrival, we are greeted with a presentation of old war machines left behind by the Americans or taken by the Vietnamese soldiers. Seeing these machines sparked the conversation of how amazing it is that even with the…
Selfies with Jesus
Exiting the city is really something comparative to time travel. Saigon has a long way to go in terms of development and increasing the standard of living, but immediately outside the city all development ceases to exist. Maybe there will be a housing complex here and there but the majority of the land is swamp…
Job Pitch at the Consulate
The day’s tours and experiences were very unique compared to the previous. Rather than beginning the day with the usual lecture and Vietnamese language class, the group had the opportunity to visit the consulate. At first, I wasn’t sure what the difference between an embassy and a consulate was, but it was later explained that…
Touching Hearts at VinaCapital
VinaCapital is one of the largest investments and real estate development firms in Vietnam. The company focuses on the main three growth drivers of Vietnam’s economy: industrialization of underdeveloped areas, urbanization of the rural population, and attention to the consumption of the emerging middle class. In order to help with growth in these areas, VinaCapital…
Outsourcing an Egg?
Our third day in Saigon came with a surprise. After our daily morning classes at the university, the planned lunch for the day was actually McDonald’s. At first, I was hesitant to the idea given that I had not eaten McDonald’s in as long as I can remember but it was an interesting experience to…
A City Within A City
Waking up for the second day in Vietnam was just as exciting as the first. This morning I decided to go out of the box for breakfast and try some of the other meals the hotel had to offer. It’s an interesting experience to eat what I would normally see as lunch or dinner foods…
Chào Bạn from Saigon
Waking up in Saigon after over a full day of travel was a bittersweet experience. Of course having traveled for so long and so far, sleeping in a bed was something to be grateful for; however, as I opened the door to the hotel room balcony I was hit with an immense blast of heat…
Sightseeing with Sarah
Hello! I’m Sarah Dapper and I am a freshman in the College of Business Administration. My intended majors as of now are marketing and psychology. There is a possibility that I pursue a minor in economics as well but this may change as I discover what I enjoy with some more classes. I am also…