As I am writing this blog, it has been approximately 48 hours since I have arrived at the guesthouse in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (or, as the locals would call it, Saigon). The past two days felt more like a week though, perhaps because I have been well situated with the help of CET workers and Vietnamese buddies. Alexa and I were the two lucky people who landed at 1:30pm rather than 8pm, as we flew in from South Korea. We spent most of the first day simply adjusting — unpacking, taking a nap, walking around the block to see what was around.
The past 48 hours have been those of explorations and discoveries. Rather than going over in detail our schedule, I want to focus more on the impressions and observations. The first thing I noticed immediately was the humidity. You could feel the difference as you stepped out the plane; you were in a new country, after all. On our way from the airport, the roads were filled with a mixture of motorcycles, taxis and buses, with motorcycles being the top choice for many people. I also noticed a plethora of familiar Korean brands, ranging from bakeries (Tous Les Jours), restaurants (Lotteria occupying corners every few blocks), skin-care products (Etude House, Nature Republic, etc.) and most notably, coffee shops (Holly’s Coffee, Caffe Bene, Coffee Bean, and more). Even at the convenience store, I easily located Korean snacks, drinks and instant noodles, and plazas had Korean banks. This may be because the vast number of Korean tourists that visit Saigon each year, as well as the influence of “hanryu” which is the Korean culture spread by k-pop and k-dramas.
In this hustling city, the influence of French colonialism was evident as Saigon is located in the southern part of Vietnam. The Notre Dame church reminded me of that in Paris, and the humongous Central Post Office was built with classical western style with French scientists’ and philosophers’ names on it. Yet inside, the large portrait of Ho Chi Minh and smaller portraits of him being sold as souvenirs demonstrated the distinct Vietnamese culture.
So far I have been a tourist, exploring the city with the help of CET workers and Vietnamese university students (our “buddies”) from the university across from the guesthouse. I have been trying Vietnamese food and adjusting, albeit slowly, to the heat and humidity, and mentally converting the currencies. Having large bills are certainly a change — 20,000 Vietnamese dong is equivalent to roughly 1 USD. In Quang Tri, I will be interacting with and serving the community, and I am very much looking forward to the change, for the cultural immersion that is to come.
On a slightly unrelated note, here are some tips for anyone that plan to visit Vietnam that I have received here. First, download an app called Wifi Chua before you arrive; it will allow you to access Wifi from restaurants and cafes near you. If you want to learn about modern Vietnam, a book strongly recommended by CET staff is Vietnam: Rising Dragon, which I am also in the process of reading now. English translations of Vietnamese news can be accessed through http://tuoitrenews.vn/ and http://www.thanhniennews.com/. Vietnam is rightfully well-known for its delicious coffee, but it’s strong in caffeine content (which is actually great for jet-lag).
On a slightly unrelated note, here are some tips for anyone that plan to visit Vietnam that I have received here. First, download an app called Wifi Chua before you arrive; it will allow you to access Wifi from restaurants and cafes near you. If you want to learn about modern Vietnam, a book strongly recommended by CET staff is Vietnam: Rising Dragon, which I am also in the process of reading now. English translations of Vietnamese news can be accessed through http://tuoitrenews.vn/ and http://www.thanhniennews.com/. Vietnam is rightfully well-known for its delicious coffee, but it’s strong in caffeine content (which is actually great for jet-lag).
As I continue to settle in Vietnam, I am looking forward to Vietnamese lessons, learning more about Vietnam through books, Vietnamese buddies and presentations by CET staff, and by observing Saigon. I’m also beginning to plan for the upcoming weeks, thinking about ESL lessons and what my personal goals for myself and students are during the 6.5 weeks I will be teaching in Quang Tri.