Our main topic today was development in rural Vietnam, specifically in the Mekong Delta - which encompasses the southernmost part of the country - including Ho Chi Minh City. We learned alot about not only the development in these rural areas with farming, but also with the rich history behind the area as well as the interesting culture. I really enjoyed the lecturer, because he really spoke deeply into the culture. Hearing him speak shows that farming families here in Vietnam are very similar to farming families in the United States - hardworking individuals who can be often handed the short end of the stick. Nonetheless, they persevere and do what they need to do in order to be as successful as they can.
We made a stop at our new favorite coffee shop, where we hope to become regulars. The owner is already beginning to love us (I think), and although she speaks some english, we are beginning to practice our Vietnamese with her.
After our break, we had language class. Today we upped our conversing abilities to the next level, and also began to learn about numbers. I also figured out why those Vietnamese who learn English later in life sometimes have difficulty with verb tense (example: them saying "Yesterday, I go to market and buy milk," instead of "Yesterday, I went to the market and bought milk"). The reason is because in Vietnamese, the verb tense doesn't change... the way to specify that you bought milk yesterday is simply specified by including the word "yesterday." In English, we include the word "yesterday," but also change the verb tense.
After class we had lunch... chicken legs and breaded shrimp. Slowly but surely, the seafood here is beginning to grow on me.
Our company visit today was to the US Commercial Service, an extension of the US Consulate. We spoke to the president, Pat Wells, and he briefed us on what his branch does. Essentially, they provide consulting services to those US companies who wish to perform business in Vietnam. One recent example of success was the expansion of Starbucks to Vietnam (which I still don't get, because Vietnamese coffee is 10 times better, and literally 1/10 the price of Starbucks). Additionally, Nike now officially produces more products in Vietnam than in China... something that I found very interesting. This attests to the growing popularity and advantages of doing business in Vietnam. Mr. Wells noted that in his time here (especially recently), more and more big players are starting to move their businesses to Vietnam because of all of the advantages that the country has to offer. This visit was long and Mr. Wells covered ALOT of material, but I really did enjoy what he was talking about and the insight he had to offer.
We hit up the pool to cool off at the hotel when we got back, and then I went to take a nap. Unfortunately, I slept through dinner and into the night... so that's why I'm writing my blog here at 430 am after about 10 hours of sleep. Oh well, I did need to catch up on sleep... considering I had only 10 hours total since we left Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Note: the title of the post today is because at the welcoming ceremony on Monday, the students did a dance the UEF's theme song. The song became an instant-hit with us, and we kept referring to it whenever we would talk to the Vietnamese Students. Kate, the president of their English Club made us a CD with it, so today on the bus... we listened to it on repeat. She also printed out the lyrics for each of us, so we can study up and sing along.
A picture of Dan and Edzui. Dan is paying the owner of the shop 12,000 Dong for his coffee. That's equivalent to 55 cents.
Our meeting room with Mr. Pat Wells, at the US Commercial Service. He had alot to talk about, and many of us really enjoyed what he spoke about.
Another propaganda poster outside the US Commercial Service window.
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