Okay so I have not updated this in awhile.
I had a great surprise when coming from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh. A bunch of us were updated to business class! It was absolutely wonderful. Business class is basically a flying bed and had personal tvs with radio, movies, tv, and games for each passenger. I was in heaven. Also the food was gourment. Needless to say it was the greatest flight i have ever had. :-)
Immediately when we get to Ho Chi Minh, we went through customs and got our luggage. We then headed out in the herendous traffic to get to my new home for two weeks, The Victory Hotel. It is an avergae hotel but it owned byt he defense department of Vietnam and is in walkign distance to a lot of cool attractions. It was around midnight when we got to the hotel and checked in. Instead of going to bed, a bunch of us wanted to explore the city. Ho Chi Minh City is gorgeous. It is so different and youthful. People just sit around and relax anywhere. That night we got to see attractions like the Cathedral, The Opera House, and The Rex Hotel.
After a night of sight seeing and getting lost, we woke up bright and early and headed out for our first day of class. We were welcomed very warmly at the University of Economics and Finance. The students sang to us Micheal Jaskson and we got to interact with them. It was amazing. Then we wnt to our first class, Vietnamese language. The language is so difficult, nothing like english or any language i have been exposed to. Our teacher though is so cute and fun. That class was the most fun i have ever had in a language class. In the classroom, we were paired with a Vietnamese student to help us. It was great to talk one on one with a student and i got to compare music with him. He also asked if i have ever drank beer lol. After class, we had a great lunch in the cafeteria, Vietnamese food is great!
We left the school and came back to the hotel for a half hour, so Sean, Nick, and I when to look at some store around the hotel. We found a store with electonics and I got a pair of new iPod headphones for 4 dollars! I love exchange rates. We headed back and went on a site visit to the Independence Palace and the US Consulate. Both we very interesting and to get into the consulate, you had to basically give up everything you owned, the security is so strict. I also had my first experience with pedlers
After those two day trips, We came back and I had some time to recover. When we were at the consulate, he mentioned something about jet lag and it got to me. After an hour break so or, we went to dinner in a real chill restaurant that was in a side street. I was really good especially the honey pork.
Coming back from dinner, we all were tired yet some of us chose to go out to the Rex with a Vietnamese kid we met in class. Last night was awesome, we to hangout with a local, drink, relax. It has been a great trip so far.
