Day 3

Day 3 was more orientation and meetings about the coming weeks and months. We discussed each person's day they had with their buddies. It was really interesting to hear where everyone went and what everyone did, and how close they got to their buddies already. Everyone is very excited to have their buddies with them while we are in Ho Chi Minh City.

For lunch we went to a restaurant that had a really exotic theme that had all different types of asian cuisine. I split sushi and a bowl of extremely luxurious ramen noodles. The last member of our group named Tonya finally arrived, as she came from Houston so her flight was very delayed.

Once lunch was over, we headed over to the US consulate. We met with two people there who sat with us to explain their jobs in the State department as well as answer any of our questions about what they do, Vietnamese politics, and any questions about the world. It was really incredible hearing from two Americans who know so much about world politics and live in a completely different country. It got me started in thinking about doing something like that for a future career.

After talking with the US consulate for a few hours, we headed over to the ISOS hospital to introduce us to it if we were to need anything. I am not sure if it reassured me or scared me more to, god forbid, ever need to go there, because it was nice to know that it was there, but it sure wasn't an American hospital!

After the hospital we went to dinner with our program assistant, Truong, and our office manager, Linh. They are so great to us and really take care of everything we need. I think that for the duration of this trip they are going to be such useful resources and really good friends. We went to a sushi place, and I know my mom and the travel clinic told me to stay away from raw fish, but I just could not resist having sushi. It was by far and above the best sushi I have ever eaten. It was so fresh and so well made, I ate so much of it. The restaurant was a very traditional Japanese style, where we took our shoes off and had to step up onto a platform then down onto the seat. I think meals are my favorite part of the day. I get generally excited for meals every single day, and I love trying new foods. I am not generally an adventurous eater, but I have been trying to eat new foods here, and for the most part it has been amazing. I also love being able to sit around with our group and talk about things. What's so cool is that none of us know each other at all, so we are learning everything about each other, so there is always something to talk about. We have such a diverse group of people who are here for so many different reasons.

Our day ended with ice cream and then we went to a tower to see the city from above. It was an amazing view, especially at night!

The highlight of the day was most definitely the sushi restaurant. I will be going back there again for sure!

--Amy