Xin chào family, friends, and anyone else who may wander across this blog. I have officially been living in Ho Chi Minh, also known as Saigon, for over a month and a half now. During the weeks I have little down time between 18 credits of classes and twice a week volunteering, plus whatever other shenanigans our 12 person group decides to do. AKA, we find a new bar, dinner place, or movie to watch in our student lounge.
The weekday activities keep me busy, for sure. But some of the best parts of my time in Vietnam thus far, have been the opportunities to travel outside of Ho Chi Minh City.
Weekend 1: Orientation 1/16-1/18
Our first weekend of shenanigans included trying out a lot of Vietnamese food, meeting our Open University Partners, and team bonding activities that our group were not exactly fond of. We learned about the ins and outs of Ho Chi Minh City. How to cross the street, where to buy food and all other basic needs, and where to find the good and inexpensive street vendors and restaurants. Basically, anything and everything food.
We also had the opportunity to visit the Loyola Vietnam Center office in D.1, where I happen to have my Religions of Asia class. There, we learned about our long road map of a semester. Traveling on traveling on traveling. We met the fellow Vietnam Center employees and then ventured to grab lunch in an alleyway restaurant near the center. Our fearless leader, Vien, showed us a few places around the center to eat, or a cafe to study. Another student and I happened to go back to that cafe in an attempt to get work done… but ended up chit-chatting away our time instead… oops. Live and learn right?
Unfortunately, weekends end, and I had to endure my first 4 day week of classes. Phew. After syllabus week and getting comfortable with committing to school in D.3 and D.1, our group decided to take a day drip to Vũng Tàu. A beach town just outside of Ho Chi Minh City.
Weekend 2: Vũng Tàu and Money Island 1/23
The second weekend of our fabulous travels in Vietnam, our group of 12 and some students from Bach Khoa and Open University went to the beach! Not going to lie, I’m glad this was became my first bus traveling experience, or else I would’ve been a ball of nerves for when we REALLY travelled. Our group of misfits made our way to D.1 to find the bus station, which, from my background of a fairly “type A” family dynamic, I wasn’t used to not knowing what was going on while we travel. So I trusted our BK friends to guide us in the right direction. But of course, knowing me, that didn’t last too long. I kept passing back and forth asking our team leader, Tien, where the bus would pick us up and when. However, his response didn’t exactly settle my anxiety.
“The bus will come when it is time,” explained Tien in an overly calm manner.My response tended more toward something my mother would say, “okayyyy. No. I want to know when the bus is coming. Is it coming here? Are we in the right place? What’s going on?”“Yes. We are in the right place… don’t worry.”
I crossed my arms and patiently waited for the bus to roll up exactly when Tien said it would. Phew. When that was settled, I was able to relax on the drive.
A few hours, a shuttle bus, a long, agonizing 2km walk in the heat, taxi ride later… we made it to the beach! The beach was a glorious sight from the usual concrete and buildings of the city. Our group of Americans rolled out our beach towels instantly, slathered on some SPF 50, or at least I did, and laid down to soak up some of that good-old-vitamin-C sun. Which the Vietnamese partners all thought was crazy. The Vietnamese LOVE white skin, it is a highly valued beauty characteristic. So they all thought we were crazy Americans for tanning. One student even came up to me and commented on my white skin and questioned my sanity as to why I was laying out in the sun. I tried to explain but I gave up after her face clearly red, “you’re insane.”
The rest of the day was filled with napping, drinking some Tiger beers, and playing in the garbage filled, polluted ocean. Yes. The ocean, unfortunately was not the cleanest, but it was still fun to play in for a bit. As the sun started to fall in the sky, a few of us decided to venture over to Jesus Mountain. A Mountain built by a Vietnamese Catholic organization. A weird bit of French, maybe American, colonial influenced architecture, but we all indulged in the 30 minute climb. Which was more of just walking up a bunch of steps. The path up Jesus Mountain had been built with a brick-structured staircase alongside the natural formations of the mountain. So it was a fairly easy climb to the top.
After our hike up J.C. Mountain, we all indulged in a bike ride built for 2. This bike ride was probably one of the best parts of the days for me. I absolutely love bike riding, and having to try to figure out to ride and maneuver this 2 person bicycle was a great challenge. The other student I rode with, Becky, and I were terrified the entire ride to dinner. We had to swerve around small construction areas, avoid people, and turn. After a couple of minutes biking, we met up with the other half of our group to enjoy some dinner and watch the sunset. Once we filled our sun-soaked, physically fit tummies, we rode our bikes once more… at night.
