Most students started off the day by waking up to the sound of a jack hammer outside their window at 6:30 am. From there we headed to the breakfast buffet in our hotel LaCasa Hanoi, where we tried various cuisine such as pho, dumplings and local fruit. We were greeted by warm humidity as soon as we left the hotel. Today, everyone wore their blue SDSU polo and khakis. This morning on our first bus ride we were greeted by the people passing us by on many motorbikes and walking on the streets. They would often wave and give us heart signals, when they noticed we were American. On the bus ride to the U.S. Embassy Tony (our tour guide) taught us common sayings in Vietnamese. Some of these sayings were xin chao which means hello or good morning, tam biet which means goodbye, and come on which means thank you. We saw various shops lining the streets selling everything from suit tailoring to metal pipes. The main form of transportation in Vietnam is motorbikes, there are over 7 million in Hanoi. The most interesting thing we saw on being carried on the motorbikes today was a guy with feathers stacked front to back of the bike.
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| US Embassy |
As we got to the Embassy, we were a sea of blue crossing the streets, and were told to make no sudden movements because the streets were busy with motorbikes and cars. To get into the Embassy could only bring our passports. Once inside we explored the American Center which was a small library of American books and movies, where Vietnamese can read and learn about the U.S. Rhea and Charlee were surprised to see some of their favorite movies Mamma Mia, Footloose, and The Hunger Games. After this we listened to two speakers from the Embassy: Ben and Matthew. Ben works for the USDA, and Matthew works as a Counselor of Services and focuses his work on general press. Ben and Matthew shared how they began their careers working abroad. They went through a 5-7 year process that included them taking a test, having an oral interview and writing essays. Matthew works for the Embassy doing policy support, outreach programs, and mainly working with the press. He is doing a two-year tour in Vietnam, and will be doing his next tour back in the U.S., he previously did a tour in Warsaw, Poland. Part of his job is to focus on anniversary celebrations, they just celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam war ending, and the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between the U.S and Vietnam. Ben discussed his work with the USDA mainly working in trade relations, and exports. A recent accomplishment was free trade of peaches and nectarines between the U.S and Vietnam. Other parts of his work include working with ambassadors, stakeholders, and government officials.
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| Lunch of catfish |
Next up was lunch, which was a fish and noodles dish with onions and other greens. We had the option of adding in peppers, peanuts and fish sauce to the dish. Majority of the students enjoyed the dish and got to practice their chopstick skills. From there we headed to the Vietnam National University of Agriculture. Once we got there, we sat with students from VNAU. Students shared with us that it is one of 1st four national universities, they are third best University in Vietnam. VNAU has very similar majors to SDSU, however they have tourism and foreign languages. Then SDSU students Emma, Ellary, Greta, Ella, Brynn, and Drew presented a presentation on SDSU as a land grant university, the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences, extracurricular activities students participate in such as judging teams, and jobs at the animal units. Then we went on a tour of the University starting out with the Bonsai festival where farmers and alumni shared information about their Bonsai trees and their meaning. One farmer’s tree is estimated to be 500 plus years old.
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| VNUA |
After the tour students participated in activities to get to know the VNAU students and played games as a team. The games helped us learn about the majors and career paths the VNAU students are pursuing. Many of which were veterinary, animal science, food technology, or English. We took lots of pictures with the students, and Greta enjoyed a motorbike ride with one of the students we met. Then we went to a restaurant to enjoy a family style meal with the VNAU students and faculty. Many tables celebrated with a fun toast in Vietnamese.
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| Supper on the water |
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| Supper with VNUA students |
Charlee’s highlight of the day was
trying different food and seeing the city. Her favorite was the black coffee
she enjoyed at breakfast and the least favorite was the spicy peppers at lunch.
Rhea’s highlight was watching people stare at the members of the group in awe at their magnificent height.
Tam Biet,
Charlee
& Rhea
