Last night in Vietnam

Last night, we were all invited to dinner by the parents of a Vietnamese UVa alumni to an excellent seafood restaurant. We were all excited about it. Many of us are running low on money and this was a great opportunity to be treated as well as have a wonderful conversation with this prominent Vietnamese family. See how much we enjoyed the food and the time at the seafood place.

Impressions of Ho Chi Minh City!!! War did occur in Vietnam!!!

Architecture

One of the striking things about Vietnam is how nice people are to foreigners (americans, french etc...), Vietnamese seem to have put all wars or colonization behind. However, many monuments in or outside the city do not let you forget.

First, the architecture of Ho Chi Minh City screams French influence. The way the houses are built and other structures around the city remind a French style. See for yourself through the Cathedral of Notre Dame in the picture.

Cuisine

The cuisine is also very French influenced: Vietnamese love their baguettes. Jacob and I a enjoyed meals at the creperie and patisserie close to the Caravelle Hotel, where we stayed. In both, we found sandwiches or desserts with french names. Unfortunately, during my stay, I was only able to speak french with 2 Vietnamese, both in their early 60s: one woman at the pharmacy and a men at the Bintang market.

Vietnam War

On Wednesday, the group visited the War Museum and the Reunification Palace. The War Museum was harsh as it showed pictures of dead soldiers, Vietnamese as well as handicapped (orange kids) born following the war. The Museum gives an idea of what the war was like from a Vietnamese perspective. I have also enjoyed seeing American tanks, helicopters and guns left behind when Americans pulled out of Vietnam.

The Reunification Palace was also extraordinary, it was more about the different rooms that were used and their purposes in the palace: bedrooms, game rooms, library, cars etc...

Yesterday was the best day to remember and experience the Vietnam War. We all went to the Cuchi Tunnels. The tunnels of Củ Chi are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in the Cu Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country. The Củ Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War. The tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous guerrilla fighters. The role of the tunnel systems should not be underestimated in its importance to the Viet Cong in resisting American operations and protracting the war, eventually culminating in an American withdrawal.

Experience it yourself through these pictures.

Discover Ho Chi Minh City!!!!

Snake Wine!! also called Vietnamese Viagra!!!

Saturated but Excited in Vietnam!!!!

Singapore, Indonesia,Vietnam, Haiti, financial system, capital market, economy, democracy, communism, real estate bubble, stability... My head is about to explode and we are only 16 days into GIE.
We arrived in Vietnam last sunday. Many of us, even though tired, went out for dinner and did a quick tour of Ho Chi Minh City. Thankfully, the temperature is cooler here and thus bearable to many. During our tour, we passed by people just sitting outside of their houses or in front of small shops, young girls trying to sell gum, women cooking or preparing juice in the street, and a group of people praying to the Virgin Mary in front of the Catholic Church close to the hotel. The whole atmosphere made me home sick as this is exactly what it would be like back home in Haiti on a Sunday night.
Our first day in Vietnam was spent in the Opera Room of the Caravelle Hotel, learning about the financial climate,and the policital and economic stability of the country. Surprisingly, my almost saturated head registered and understood the strenghts, weaknesses and challenges Vietnam has to face to prosper in the future global economy. Obvioulsy Vietnam has to come a long way to reach more established economy in the ASEAN region. However, there is a willingness here to get there.
After class, many of us went for a tour of the city again, mainly looking for tailors. From the tailor shop, a small group of us stopped by the local market where we bought paintings, purses, Rolex watches, barrettes etc.. We were all pretty excited about our purchases and hope to explore Ho Chi Minh City some more during our week stay here. I look forward to the rest of the week, getting a better sense of the Vietnamese economy while visiting well established companies in the country and experiencing more Vietnamese food and pleasure.

Sex and the City 2

Oh!!! There is a Forever 21 in this mall. After dinner on saturday night, I got all excited. I saw XXI and I thought to myself 'time to get some T-shirts'. Susie and I went up the escalator to XXI. OH NO!!!! It is not Forever 21. It is the movies. Well, Susie and I form a spontaneous pair and we decided we could watch Sex and the City 2 again. Don't get me wrong guys. I just wanted to see how different it would be from Singapore.

We bought the tickets. Each cost 50 00o ruppyah, about 6 dollars US. We spent about 10 mns arguing with the cashier about where we wanted to sit. There were only 4 seats left and Susie and I insisted on seating as close as possible. Like in Singapore, in Indonesia, seats are assigned. After paying, the cashier told me that Susie and I were the funniest people because we are together and friends but we are buying our tickets separately. HMMMM!!!!

We then made our way to the snack and pop corn section. We had a choice between caramel pop corn and real corn and several beverages we could choose from. Susie and I decided to go for the "Sex and the City"drink. How convenient!!! We are drinking sex and the city while watching Sex and the City!!! What was hilarious was that while paying for my drink, we heard this man screaming on top of his lungs, "One more sexy" refering to our drinks. Sex and the City is a lime juice mixed with mint. Can sound weird but it is delicious.

The movies we went to, was obviously the place where richer people go to. There was an area with very comfortable chairs and table where people watched Jennifer Lopez and then Celine Dion concerts. In the theater, the chair was so comfortable and large that you can easily fall asleep unintentionally if you are tired. See for yourself in the picture!!!!

As expected, watching in Indonesia was different from Singapore. People in Indonesia laughed less and seemed to be shocked by some scenes. During the gay marriage in the beginning of the movie, Susie and I were one of the rare people in the room who laughed. Some scenes were completely taken out of the movie (for example Samantha having sexual intercourse with the best man). Also, many jokes were missed during the translation. Like in Singapoe, the movie was in english, but in Indonesia, substitles in Bahasa Indonesia were added. Maybe Susie and I should watch it again in Vietnam????? Reactions?????

In Indonesia, go with the flow!!!!

This past Friday, all the UVA students and the professors were invited to spend the evening with University of Indonesia, BINUS students and faculty. At first, few of us were excited about it. We had spent the whole day (8 am to 5:30pm) at different companies (P&G and Lautan Luas) listening to executives, doing presentations and getting new insights for our capstone project. After three tiring days in Indonesia, few of us were really willing to spend 3 more hours at BINUS but we had no choice. At 5:30 pm, the bus picked us up in front of the Procter and Gamble office in Indonesia and we headed for BINUS. Because of traffic, it took us one hour to get there (it's only 20 mns away) and we were all pretty exhausted by the time we arrived.

The welcome we received immediately energized everyone. Obviously, BINUS students and faculty were excited and waiting for us impatiently. The university had prepared a whole show to welcome us to Indonesia. The first thing for the evening was a dance show from Aceh, city on the island of Sumatra of Indonesia (Jakarta is on Java Island). We were quite excited once we realized that the evening would be relaxing. Right before the show, cucumber juice was served. Yah!!! sounds weird!! but it was actually quite delicious. They cut the cucumber in thin long pieces, put it in water, add sugar and you get cucumber juice. After the first dance show and a warm welcome by the dean of the business school of BINUS, we were invited to get some food.

The food was delicious but the "cendol" was the best. Cendol is a juice made of coconut milk, some green and black things that I believe are jelly. NOT Sure if I am correct or not, but not sure I want to know either!!! At first, I refused to try the cendol but a BINUS student convinced me to taste it. After many faces and prayers, I tasted the concoction. It was actually quite good and I had a second one later on. I think that once we drank the cendol both students sitting at the table with Michelle and I liked us more.

While we were eating, we were entertained by a band made of three students, two boys playing the drum and one girl singing. She has talent and we showed our appreciation with loud claps. The indonesian took advantage of that to invite UVA students to dance and sing as well. OHOHOHOH!!!! That was not included in the plan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally, Susie sang 'I want it that way' from the Backstreet boys. She put on a great show, going on the floor, on her knees, singing like she was living the words of the song. An incomparable improvisation!!!! Meanwhile, Jacob, Michelle and I volunteeered to learn the 'japong' (dance from Sumatra island) and then danced in front of everyone. I have to say, I had a lot of fun, learn a new dance and we saved face in front of the whole group.

The visit to the BINUS campus was the best way to end a stressful week and left everyone with a great opinion of Indonesians in general. I hope to one day go back to Indonesia and experience the culture even more.

Transportation in Indonesia is diverse!!!

Charlie singing!!!

Charlie, one of the MS in Commerce student, is very interesting and funny guy. Very smart but .... See for yourself how much he can do.

Charlie thanking the students and the dean of the business school of the University of Indonesia for their warm welcome.

On our way to the U.S Department of Commerce in Indonesia, Charlie entertained us with his love for karaoke.

Last night, many students and some guides went for a tour of Old Jakarta. At the Old Jakarta Square, Charlie entertained boht locals and us with his singing and guitar playing talent!!!

Justin dreaming about his future car!!!!

By the way, this is a store in the mall at the bottom of our hotel!