3/22 - 3/26 VietNam

Day 1: Woke up early for breakfast and our diplomatic briefing. The port is sweet looking because it's actually a river that we're ported on so it's really shallow and between what looks like a jungle on the far side and Ho Chi Minh City on the ship side. Crazy cool. So after the briefing we got ready, got our landing passes and took off on the shuttle provided by SaS to the center of the city. We walked around looking for a cheap tailor to get dresses and suits made; it's one of the things we were told to get while in Viet Nam because it's so cheap. We found one, bargained and arranged. Then went to the tourist center to get some food; rice noodles really do make up the Asian food world. Delicious though. Then we took off for the War Remnants Museum; really graphic and hard to stomach but I'm glad I went because it helps see the war from the Vietnamese perspective. I'll suffice it to say that war in general is horrendous but this one was especially cruel and had horrible, lasting repercussions.

After that we found the Ben Thanh Market that we had heard about and shopped for about an hour; it's crazy though because they literally have anything and everything you could want all in one area. I bought a bunch of cute, cheap stuff. Side note: $1 US = approximately 17, 500 dong! Lol It's crazy! Then we came back to the ship and I chose to stay in while my friends went out because I'm completely out of clean clothes (which I have to hand wash again!) and I have ridiculous amounts of homework to do.

Day 2: Woke up early for breakfast. Took a bus to the Da Thien School for Handicapped Children; we heard a little about the school and then spent an hour or so playing with the children. It was hard because the kids only know Vietnamese so we couldn't talk to them at all or anything. We just ended up playing games and coloring and stuff. Then the people at the school provided us with an amazing lunch (which wasn't included in the original itinerary) and then we left. It was good but the past 3 service visits I've done have been a disappointment; more just that I don't actually consider it service because all we're doing is playing with children. I don't feel like I'm actually doing anything of substance. I expect them to put me to work doing something like building a playhouse or cleaning something. I guess it's just my mentality. Anyways, after that I came to the ship and slept the afternoon away, ate dinner, watched a movie and worked on my art journal.

Day 3: Woke up early for breakfast. Took a bus to a public elementary school where we were given a briefing on the school and then given free reign to walk around for 2 hours and mingle with the children. I learned a lot of valuable information for the 8 page case study I have to write for my education course. I got back around lunch time, ate and took off with D to find the post office and then the market again. I got soooo many souvenirs at the market; D and I are master bargainers! So I came back very happy; among my purchases were a Vietnamese hat for myself and seasons 1-4 of Grey's Anatomy (for less than $9 US...bootleg of course) I also got almost everyone else on my list something from the market. Yay! Then just back to the ship for some chill time on the pool deck, dinner and to my room for homework.

Day 4: Woke up early for breakfast then off on a 2 hour bus ride to the Mekong district. Along the way we stopped to see a Cao Doa (?) temple and walk through a small market before getting to the river and being transported over to an island where they grow exotic tropical fruit. We sampled some of the fruit; mango, pineapple, lychee, sweet grapefruit, and jack fruit. Then we got into these smaller boats made for traversing through the canals; except it's the dry season here so the canal was basically dried up and our boatman had to push us through the murky water for about 15 minutes. But it was really cool because it was like traveling through jungle. From there we were dropped off on another island where they make coconut candy; we got to see the whole process, sample and then buy some. We also stopped there to have a cup of kumquat tea; they just squeeze the juice of a kumquat and mix in some honey and add hot water. Both the tea and coconut candy were delicious. Last on the trip was a lunch of Vietnamese food; mostly rice noodle and seafood dishes prepared in a variety of ways. The best part was when they brought out a huge fried elephant fish perched upward on the plate and placed it in the middle of each table; no one really knew how to take it or what to do with it until one of the servers showed us how to make our own fish spring rolls. After lunch we went back across the river and had fresh coconut water on our way back to the bus. Then the 2 hour drive back to the ship.

Day 5: I only left long enough to go buy a bubble tea, a couple of t-shirts and to exchange my dong back into US$. Homework beckons. 2 days of classes and then we're in Hong Kong so I've got plenty to keep me busy

What I've learned:
*Both Vietnamese men and women go to extreme measures trying to hide their skin from the sun; they almost all wear pants and long sleeves in 90 degree heat and they all wear gloves, hats, and face coverings whenever they're in the sun for an extended amount of time.
*Communism can't be that horrible of a system because I never saw a single homeless person while in VietNam; they also have a very low crime rate.
*The cone-shaped hats they wear really do keep you cooler; I wore one during my Mekong Delta trip.
*Ho Chi Minh City used to be called Saigon; it still says it everywhere.
*You can get almost anything you want or need in a market; food, clothes, accessories, etc.
*Everyone drives a motorcycle or moped and they ALL wear helmets.
*Traffic is nuts; but if you close your eyes and just walk at a constant rate you won't get hit. I tried it and survived. It's almost like playing life-size Frogger.