A wise man once said, “when I’m crossing the street in Vietnam I feel like I’m a rock in a river since all the motorbikes just flow around me.” In actuality this was Jared talking, another one of the guys on the program with me, but I thought it was a great description of crossing the street so I had to throw it in. I have now been in Vietnam for two full days, and I already feel like I’ve had the experience of a lifetime. The 24 hours of plane rides and 2 days of traveling was not the most fun I’ve ever had (with the exception of exploring downtown Dubai during an overnight layover), but after two days in Saigon I can already say it was worth it.
So far these past two days, our program of 12 people has mostly just explored Saigon and tried to adjust to our surroundings. I’ve already tried so many new foods, my favorite being the bánh mi (I’ve already had it three times), which was basically a breakfast sandwich but better. For the most part the 12 of us from Duke have been exploring together along with our 6 new Vietnamese buddies. We did a scavenger hunt around the city yesterday, which brought us to different locations such as a local market, an international bank, a post office, and even a street side food vendor. I feel very confident now about walking in a one block radius around our guesthouse, but if I went further without a buddy, I would probably be horribly lost. I’m hoping to change that over the next week, so I’ll make sure to explore even more.
One thing that is very different here than in America is crossing the street. It is not unusual to just walk across the street while the seas of motorbikes just swim around you (that’s what Jared meant when he said we were rocks in a river). I’ve definitely stood in the middle of the street while motorbikes just go around me and I wait until there’s a slight opening to walk. Honestly I feel like the right of way belongs to the person who wants it most, which explains why we were told not to “challenge” buses and taxi. That is one fight I definitely would not count on myself winning. Although it’s hectic I think the streets of Vietnam are amazing. Everyone goes first and thinks later, but I have yet to see anyone get hit. Even after adjusting somewhat to the streets, I still love just walking around through all the traffic and looking at all the different stores and restaurants around.
In the next week, I’m hoping to improve my extremely basic Vietnamese beyond “hello” and “thank you.” I want to explore Saigon more, go to the street of books that we walked by, find more delicious restaurants, master crossing the street, and learn more about Vietnamese culture as a whole. There’s still so much for me to do, so I can’t wait to keep learning and exploring!
So far these past two days, our program of 12 people has mostly just explored Saigon and tried to adjust to our surroundings. I’ve already tried so many new foods, my favorite being the bánh mi (I’ve already had it three times), which was basically a breakfast sandwich but better. For the most part the 12 of us from Duke have been exploring together along with our 6 new Vietnamese buddies. We did a scavenger hunt around the city yesterday, which brought us to different locations such as a local market, an international bank, a post office, and even a street side food vendor. I feel very confident now about walking in a one block radius around our guesthouse, but if I went further without a buddy, I would probably be horribly lost. I’m hoping to change that over the next week, so I’ll make sure to explore even more.
One thing that is very different here than in America is crossing the street. It is not unusual to just walk across the street while the seas of motorbikes just swim around you (that’s what Jared meant when he said we were rocks in a river). I’ve definitely stood in the middle of the street while motorbikes just go around me and I wait until there’s a slight opening to walk. Honestly I feel like the right of way belongs to the person who wants it most, which explains why we were told not to “challenge” buses and taxi. That is one fight I definitely would not count on myself winning. Although it’s hectic I think the streets of Vietnam are amazing. Everyone goes first and thinks later, but I have yet to see anyone get hit. Even after adjusting somewhat to the streets, I still love just walking around through all the traffic and looking at all the different stores and restaurants around.
In the next week, I’m hoping to improve my extremely basic Vietnamese beyond “hello” and “thank you.” I want to explore Saigon more, go to the street of books that we walked by, find more delicious restaurants, master crossing the street, and learn more about Vietnamese culture as a whole. There’s still so much for me to do, so I can’t wait to keep learning and exploring!