Once again the day started off early
with breakfast at the hotel and a van ride to UEF. We had our first Vietnamese
history and culture class. We learned a lot about the people and land of
Vietnam. The Viet are low-landers, meaning they prefer to live in the lower
elevation land close to water (in Vietnam there are two river deltas). Then we
had another language class… today we were learning the different vowels and
tones of Vietnamese. There are 10 vowels in Vietnam! And unlike English,
Vietnamese words can differ based purely on tone. This, along with some of the
vowel and consonant sounds, are giving me the most trouble.
After a quick lunch, we got together
with some of the UEF kids for a cultural exchange! They split us up into teams.
Our team was called đội ngũ tuyệt vời (which
translates to Team Awesome) and we
were clearly the best team there. In the first activity, we were given a sheet
of paper and we had to talk about how certain topics differed in the US and
Vietnam. I thought there were a ton of interesting ones. In Vietnam it is not
acceptable to kiss in public. But our team told me that if a couple wants to
kiss they go to the park in the evening. Maybe the United States should copy
Vietnam… enough with the obnoxious PDA! The next game we played was basically
copycat. Two guys from UEF did two different dances and the teams split up and
had to copy each one of them. Ours was pretty difficult because none of us
could really moonwalk but I thought we owned it when it was our turn to dance. Next
we played a game like charades. I went up first for our team. But I didn’t get
one point for us… I blame it on Jackie, she was definitely cheating. Next up
was a strange game where you had to spin someone else on your team around your
body. It was actually really funny to watch. Next up was a game where we had to
catch a pig! It was crazy. I am not so sure that would have gone over well in
the states. But I went first again for our team. I didn’t get the pig on the
first try but I got him on the second try. The next game was simple, just sling
a ball through a hoop. It turns out it’s a lot harder than it sounds.
Next we
all gathered for a gift exchange. The Pitt kids gave their UEF counterparts key
chains, magnets, and t shirts. And we got bags full of cool stuff from the UEF
kids. After the gift exchange, we had a sing a long and dance party with the
UEF kids! It was so much fun. We all exchanged our names so we could become Facebook
friends! Funny how the world is changing… it’s awesome that we’ll still be able
to keep in touch with our new friends even after we leave. I also tried a fruit
that I’ve never even heard of before. It’s pronounced chum-chum (I think) but I
have no idea how it’s spelled.
Next up
was dinner with some of our UEF friends. It was the dinner we’ve all been
waiting for. They were planning on taking us to a Pho (pronounced fa)
restaurant. It was the first Vietnamese word we learned and finally we were
getting to eat it. It’s a soup with rice noodles, vegetables, and some meat in
it. The UEF kids picked us up on their motorbikes and took us to the restaurant.
I really liked the Pho! I’m also starting to get better at using chopsticks.
After dinner, our friends offered to give us a motorbike tour of Ho Chi Minh. I
was super excited. I rode with my driving buddy, My, for an hour! It was one of
the coolest things I’ve ever done. I got to truly experience a culture
completely different than my own. We drove over a bridge where we had an
awesome view of the bright lights of Ho Chi Minh City. It’s really an amazing
place. It still hasn’t fully hit me I’m in Vietnam. I’m so lucky to have been
given this experience… I don’t want to leave!!
No comments:
Post a Comment