Saturday, June 5, 2010

Day 10

Today we went to UEF for our Vietnamese history class again and today was another interesting lesson about more information on the Yin and Yang Philosophy that the Vietnamese base their culture upon. I really have been enjoying learning about this nation’s history. I have always been interested in Asian history but never really thought much about Vietnam. I am really glad to be here and having the opportunity to learn more about this amazing place. It really is an intoxicating place with amazing people living here.

After our history class we had another Vietnamese Language class, and as usual it proved to be as light hearted and fun as ever. I really get a kick out of watching everyone struggle, morbid I know but it really is funny. The Vietnamese students really seem to enjoy watching us try to learn and when we do get something right they get very excited and always offer praise and acknowledgement. They really are a great group of students who have been with us from UEF. It’s a shame we’re going to have to dominate them tomorrow in our soccer match (haha).

When our language class finished we had another lunch at the Canteen which has gotten increasingly better now that the people who serve us have noticed what we eat and what we leave untouched. Its really funny because now they bring us lots of French bread and French fries and much less Vietnamese dishes. They still do bring us some though and I’m glad because I’m dying for some protein.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel for a little before we headed out for out next site visit to speak with a Duane Morris representative here in Vietnam. We actually headed to the UEF office not that far from our hotel to meet with the rep from Duane Morris. First off, Duane Morris is a law firm that helps to represent businesses trying to enter the market here in Vietnam and around the world. We spoke to Mark Oakley and listened to his presentation about what his office does for businesses here in Vietnam. It was really interesting but again the heat was getting to all of us and many of us fell asleep which is regrettable because he did have some very interesting points to bring up. He joked about how it is to work in a foreign country like Vietnam especially a communist country. He laughed about how they do hold elections but you can only vote for candidates in the communist party. Overall the presentation was pretty good.

After the presentation we headed back to the hotel and talked about dinner plans. We decided to go to the Black Cat again and this time we brought Tony with us. Tony has really become a great friend to many of us and I hope to see him again someday. We got Tony a big burger and it was really funny watching him eat it or try to as fast as we did.

After dinner we invited Tony to come out with us to the Rex to just hangout and enjoy some music but he said he must go home and study. He said goodbye and we all headed to the Rex. The Rex is really cool because it has a rooftop bar with live music every night. I was especially happy because I really wanted to hear some Frank Sinatra and lo and behold they played some of his songs.

A couple hours later I left the Rex with Kyle and Matt to go back to the room and get some sleep. Today was another great day and I can’t wait for tomorrow to play some soccer against the kids at UEF.

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