May 20, 2011

Well, today marks my last day in Ho Chi Minh City, and I will miss it very dearly. Over these past two weeks, I have learned more Interesting facts, made more new friends, and had more fun than I have had in a Very long time! Today at UEF, we said our goodbyes to our language and cultures teachers, and we participated in a Cultural Exchange. We spoke with the UEF students about how college life in the states compares with college life in Vietnam, and we also played many weird yet very fun games with the students. After we said our goodbyes, our group travelled to a soccer field and partook in a game between our group and the UEF students. Needless to say we lost, albeit not by much (I believe the score was 5 to 3?) After saying goodbye to the last of our UEF friends, our group travelled to a resort for our goodbye dinner.....In  a monsoon. The dinner was delicious and we stayed dry (for the most part), but the fact that we were leaving the place we've been calling home for the past two weeks was weighing heavy on our minds and hearts. Now that we've said goodbye to Tin and Anh as well, most of us have decided to stay up all night until we head to the Saigon Airport at 4:00 AM tomorrow morning. What a wonderful experience this trip has been! This is Tom Bush signing off.

May 19, 2011: Cu Chi Tunnels!

Well, today was the day of our Cu Chi Tunnel visit. After riding on our bus for about an hour and a half through the countryside and many a rubber plantation, we arrived at Cu Chi. Once there, we were taken to a screening pavilion to watch a film on the Vietcong and their quite complex tunnel plans. From there, our tour guide took us to many different stations and displays, including all of the different kinds of traps they used, the homemade weapons they constructed, and finally the Tunnels they dug and lived in times of war. We were given the chance to crawl through a section of tunnels that were enlarged for tourists, but they were still absolutely tiny! The dimensions were something like 3 feet tall by 1.5 to 2 feet wide, and at some points, i had to crawl on hands and knees to traverse these catacombs. It was truly an unforgettable experience, and I hope that I will be able to make a return visit someday.

May 18, 2011:

Today, our group visited CBRE, a well-known real estate agency in Ho Chi Minh City. We met with a woman named Patty, who took us to a cafe called Jaspa to talk about the real estate world in Vietnam and the MANY challenges they face daily. She pretty much told us that because the government is so reluctant to make decisions that many processes that would take a short time in America can take up to 3 TIMES as long in 'Nam. She seemed to talk a lot about the government, politics, and Typical ways of life in Vietnam from what she has experienced. After our meeting with Patty was over, some of us ventured on over to Hai Bai Trung Street which is a large shopping district to have some fun! Tomorrow our group will be traveling  to the Cu Chi tunnels, the 75 mile long tunnel system the Vietcong hid in during times of war. Im very excited, but im not sure as to if I will get stuck in the tunnels or not. I guess time will tell......