Good Morning Vietnam! Day 2

Day two started off with an extreme headache from lack of water and too much heat, but the excitement of the day compensated for that.

Our day began with a tedious orientation meeting. We learned about the expectations of our program, our assignments, and what to expect out of the coming months. Then right before lunch, two SIT (the name of the abroad program) alumni stopped by. These two people, Nora and Eli, came on the trip years before and have since come back to teach English at a school nearby, much like my sister Julianne did in Bangkok. These two raved about the city and their jobs, and since my sister had done this, I have always been interested in teaching in a country like Vietnam, so hearing Nora and Eli's perspective was really exciting. The two of them then took us to lunch and told us all about their jobs and lives here in Ho Chi Minh City. The lunch place we went to, Thai Express, was also delicious. The pad Thai I ordered was some of the best I have ever had!

The second half of the day was my favorite part of the trip so far. Co Tahn organized a group of students from the local university to come and take us around the city for the day. We were paired up with one of the students, and in order to find out which one of the students was ours, we had to say their name from a slip of paper, and let me tell you, the Vietnamese language is IMPOSSIBLE. We sounded like fools trying to pronounce their names, and I think they also thought we were too, but they did understand how hard their language is. My buddy's name was very long, but she told me I did pretty well with the pronunciation! She told me to call her Ngi for short, which was very helpful rather than saying her full name.

Co Tahn assigned us to different places around the city to visit during that afternoon. What was so cool is that each student was to take us around on their motorbike. They knew the city so well and could drive through the traffic with such ease! Granted, I was petrified the entire time and was holding on for dear life the entire time, they did not seem the least bit nervous! Ngi and I were to go to two different markets. One of them was a traditional market, and the other was a more modern and fashionable market. It was absolutely flooring to see the different shops and things that people were selling and at what prices; there were so many people selling so many different things! There were dried fruits, fish, beers, noodles, rice, watches, bags, clothing, anything you need they had at a very low price. As a foreigner, it was a bit overwhelming. The vendors would shove things into my face and hope that I would stop to buy it. As annoying as it seemed, they sure were persistent! My buddy gave me tips on how to bargain that I am looking forward to putting to practice soon.

After the markets, we went to find the rest of the group and their buddies for dinner. It was clear that the day had been long for all of us. Usually in Vietnam, 5 pm is a tough hour. The weariness of the day and the heat sets in just at the same time as rush hour. So the ride to the restaurant was stressful and tiresome. Once we got there, we sat down and talked about our day. People went to churches, museums, parks, restaurants. It was cool to see the places our friends explored. I ordered for dinner spicy noodles, and I can't tell if that helped or hurt in the heat!

The day wrapped up with our buddies taking us home on their motorbikes. Having a group of students that know the city and speak English is a really useful resource that I was so grateful Co Tahn set us up with.

And that ended day 2! I am looking forward to what the rest of the week holds!

--Amy