Hi Everyone,
So I've been in Vietnam about a week and a half and so far have had an awesome time. It’s a little sad to think that I only have a few more days to explore. Sorry I haven't been posting but there is just so much to do and see that I'm surprised I've even had time to sleep.
Anyway, I figured I'd post an outline style post of what I've been up to so that you guys back home know I'm still alive and not slacking off and also so that I'll have something to jog my thoughts when I write my day by day, play by play, entry after the trip.

Sunday Night
• Arrive late afternoon and meet Andrew at the airport.
• Traffic… WOW! (My first cultural experience)
• Go back to airport to meet the rest of the group as they arrive. Meet Mr. Tin
Monday
• First class at UEF
• Traffic… WOW
• Going into the university was an interesting experience, a lot of quizzical glances at our seemingly out of place group.
• Meet our hosts and UEF students, lots of clapping and cheering when we arrived, very cool.
• Go through introductions and get to intermingle with the UEF students. The students are very friendly and have lots of questions.
• Have our first Vietnamese language class. Very difficult
• First real Vietnamese meal at the Can Tin at UEF, food is very good.
• Have a quick tour of some nearby HCM landmarks.
• Stop and have a quick shopping trip at the famous Ben Thanh market. Try my hand at bartering, pretty sure I failed.
• Continue to US consulate and meet with Chuck Bennett (Chief of Consular Section) Learn a little bit about the functions of the consulate as well as the history of the site. (Used to be the US embassy in South Vietnam) Also learn about the Foreign Service, sounds very interesting.
• Have a welcome dinner and traditional Vietnamese meal, very good.
Tuesday
• Back to UEF in the morning.
• Have a class discussing the characteristics and development problems of Ho Chi Minh.
• Have Vietnamese language class, still very difficult, but I’m picking up some good phrases. The UEF students are very helpful
• Travel to Phu My Hung in the afternoon. I should say that I traveled to a new city.
• Very Impressed with the enormous scale of the Phu My Hung project, it is basically a brand new, very modern city that appears to be currently more than half complete.
• Go out and around town on our own for the first time. Great experience. (Taxis are really cheap, very cool)
Wednesday
• Site visit to VSIP (Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park) in the morning.
• Meet With John Nguyen, Director of II-VI operations in Vietnam.
o Has a great story, now lives in Allentown PA
o Awesome Breakfast
• Get to tour the II-VI facility, they make some very cool high tech products, I especially liked the walk though of their laser optics manufacturing department
• Continue on to Glass Egg Digital Media
o In E-town 1 building, very modern high rise
• Presentation was pretty cool, felt a little sterile though
Thursday
• Morning Classes at UEF
o First class is a lecture on the Development of the Mekong Delta, some interesting info, starting to see a theme with problems of infrastructure
o Have our first class on Vietnamese history and culture, very interesting and is by far my favorite class at UEF
• Have an afternoon trip to the economic division of the US consulate.
o Meet with Jennifer Ludders and Dave Averne, very cool people who seem real down to earth
o Learn about the functions of their office and more about the Forign Service
o Get some good info and insight into Vietnam’s economy
o The internship program is definitely something I want to look into
Friday
• Have a morning trip to Intel
o We get a quick tour of their brand new facility that will start operations in just a few days.
o Have a great presentation and Q&A Session, I think that this is my favorite site visit so far
• In the afternoon we have go to the offices of ACDI/VOCA
o We learn a little bit about the cacao industry in Vietnam in preparation for our trip to the Mekong Delta tomorrow
Saturday
• Had a day trip to the Mekong delta
o Went to Vinacacao joint stock corporation, learned about the company’s efforts to create their own processing plant so that their chocolate products can be made in Vietnam
• Went to a plantation and tried some and got to see the farming community
o Tried some fresh fruit, very good.
Sunday
• Went to Vung Tau for a day at the Beach
• Checked out a large Mary Statue on a hill top
o That was a ridiculous amount of stairs
• Went to a Buddhist temple
o Prayed for friends and family and luck
o Got a lucky number card (wasn’t a very lucky card, but wasn’t unlucky)
o Bought a bird and released it for good luck
• Had a day of fun at the beach

Monday
• Vietnamese language and culture classes in the morning. I’m really enjoying the culture classes
• Went the University f Agriculture and Forestry in the afternoon to learn more about the trade conflict with regards to the catfish industry
o Got to visit a catfish farm and check out a research facility on the campus
Tuesday
• Had a quick morning trip to the Viet Capital Securities Company
o It was cool seeing the big tickerboards and the Vietnam Stock market in action
• In the afternoon we visited Ascenx Technologies
o This was probably my favorite site visit
o The General Director, Mr. Tung Bach, was an awesome guy and had a great back story
o I think that I would really like to have a job simililar to Mr. Bach’s during my career where I have the opportunity to come into a small company and really help it grow and expand.
Wednesday
• More Vietnamese language and culture classes in the morning
o I’m starting to really remember some key phrases and I’m told that my pronunciation is getting better. Still very difficult though
o Culture class was interesting in particular because we touched on the Vietnam war. Nothing too in depth, but a unique experience to see it from the Vietnamese perspective, if only a little.
• Meet with Mark Oakley, a lawyer for Duane Morris who specializes in Asian investment laws.
o Mr. Oakley gave a great presentation and was very knowladgable.
o Learned a lot about the economic climate in Vietnam and what is hindering further investment and development
o It was very interesting to hear an unbiased lawyers account of the Vietnamese government and economy and all its pros and cons