Nick Vukmer - Viet Nam Plus Three

2009-05-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

Greetings to all of my followers. I apologize for the delay in my posts; however, I have been very busy and have not had adequate time to prepare. As I write this, I am sitting at home in Pittsburgh at the helm of my computer, transferring my pictures to my computer from my camera.

Our morning consisted of visiting the stock exchange in Ho Chi Minh City. This was very interesting. The afternoon and evening was taken up by an excursion through the city in search of cheap goods to be bought. We were lost several times, but inevitably found our destination. The evening was spent with the daughter of the head of the University there in Vietnam.

The next day consisted of classes in the morning followed by an afternoon of leisure. We joined many of our university colleagues in the evening for dinner followed by a trip to a karaoke bar. As I reflect on my experience, I definitely believe that it was worth it. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it was one of the best experiences of my life. From a cultural perspective, I learned to appreciate the way that everyday life was conducted in Vietnam compared to that in the United States. It was indeed a very different place.

Despite these differences, there were many similarities between myself and the Vietnamese students. For example, our tastes in media in general were very similar. In addition, the business setting in Vietnam and how transactions are completed is very similar to that in the United States. All in all, the experience was fantastic. For more detailed information, don't hesitate to send me an E-mail.

2009-05-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

Salutations my fellow comrades. Let me begin by saying that my gastrointestinal adventures, as well as those of the rest of my group, have indeed plateaued. My advice for you if you are ever to travel to asia is to give yourself a good amount of time to get acclimated to the food. It is definitely delicious; however, exiting a culinary climate consisting of steak, potatoes, and general college food, the transition was not the easiest. Not to worry though, all is well.

Our morning consisted of our usual class schedule followed by a meeting with the English club at the university. We played games and interacted with the students in order to increase their comprehension level, which was already impressively high. Upon return to the hotel, we prepared for a soccer, or as much of the world calls football, game against the university's team. Now as a preface, the Vietnamese national team recently won some large tournament in asia and the sport is considered extremely popular not just in Vietnam, but most of the world. This is not such in the United States. This reality was quickly realized when our confidence, stemming from our height and general size, was decimated by the quick footed, agile Vietnamese team. Let's just say that we didn't go out tonight, but opted instead to stay in and sleep.

That's all for today. This isn't to say that nothing else happens; however, much of what does is just an extension of what I've previously mentioned - for example food experiences or transportation. Again, I hope that all is well with you.

2009-05-13T04:37:00.000-07:00

I apologize to all of my followers for my recent hiatus; however, we have been unworldly busy here in Ho Chi Minh City. Both of the past two days have begun with our classes at the local university, where I have learned about the business climate present in Vietnam, some cultural intricacies, and a little of the language. Even with a Romanized alphabet supplemented by accent marks, the difficulty of the language is intense. The number of tonal fluctuations required per sentence is unbelievable, and the ability of the locals to distinguish between them at a fast speed is even more impressive.

Our first site visit was a local real estate firm here in the central business district. While marginally informative, we learned from the presenter many popular local night spots in Ho Chi Minh City. The advice was taken due to a lack of cost, and indeed it was good. Remember my faithful followers, advice is free, so take it.

Yesterday's site visit involved a briefing from the principal of the United States Department of Commerce here in Ho Chi Minh City. I would be shocked if there was a better intern position available to college students than those given at the local chapter of the United States Department of Commerce in terms of learning the regional industries and understanding international business.

Some peripheral information about my trip. We broke an elevator the first week, sending it crashing, door open to the basement. Everything was ok. The traffic here is extremely intense. Enforcing very few laws, rush hour is crazier than I ever expected. Pictures are enroute. The nightlife, put simply and with as little detail as possible, is exquisite. I am easily two feet taller than the locals at these night locations, making me an easy target for questioning and often astonished glances. I also think that my side burns, or at their current length, side-of-face-plush-carpeting, attracts many glances. In conclusion, all is well. My final posts will be longer in order to sum up what I have missed over. I wish all of my followers the best.

2009-05-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

For all of you living in the states, happy Mother's Day. For everyone else that does not reside in a similar time zone, greetings. In the morning, we attended a cooking class at a restaurant directly adjacent to a local market. We were give money and instructed to buy the necessary produce at this market, bargaining if necessary, and upon bringing it back to the restaurant we cooked lunch.

In the afternoon we visited a local water park and spent some time with some Vietnamese orphans. To say that the experience was incredibly rewarding would be an understatement. My only contention with the day trip to the water park would be the anxiety of mine and several others directed towards to size of the water slides and their weight capacitances. Last week we had some elevator problems due to our sizes. We now know to never reach the maximum occupancy limit of anything here in Vietnam.

Again, the day was very enriching from a personal experience, and I hope that we have more that are similar. I hope that all is well at your respective home fronts.

2009-05-09T17:11:00.000-07:00

Greetings to all and especially to those humans that are mothers, for it is Mother's Day here and soon will be for you in the United States. The past several days have been a continuation of my Vietnamese adventures - we've attended more classes at the local university as well as toured a local business, an engineering consulting firm located here in Ho Chi Minh City.

We also took a day trip to the Mekong Delta, where we explored some of the sites that the area has to offer. This trip clearly illustrated the determination of the people here and their overall cleverness with regards to everyday living. The floating markets and the logistical layout of the many produce oriented businesses was truly stunning.

My evenings have been filled with exploring the nightlife here in the city, which is indeed limitless. I am also starting to seriously take advantage of the exchange rate here, optimizing bag space for the return journey home. I wish everyone the best back home and everywhere else.

2009-05-07T17:23:00.001-07:00

I hope that all is well on your respective home fronts. The morning yielded a trip to one of the most prestigious high schools in Vietnam. We toured he school and talked with the students who studied a number of subjects in preparation for college. The English students' English was very impressive, as they described their experiences, one even having traveled to Colorado recently.

In the afternoon, we were greeted by a consultation law firm located here in Ho Chi Minh City during which it was explained how the international financial scene relates to the developing region here in Vietnam.

The food here is very good. It is not at all what I expected in a positive way. There are all kinds of unique delicacies available here with which I have I consumed in my quest for my gastrointestinal limits. There is also French food available here, catering to the French tourists. The weather has been moderately hot, and very humid. This is occasionally quenched by the rain, apparently releasing much of the humidity, yielding a pleasant atmosphere with temperature of about 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

My last observation is the modes of transportation here in Vietnam. The use of motorized scooters is staggering. Thousands of these mopeds constantly pack the streets in an endless battle for road supremacy. Horns are used much more frequently than in the United States, which was surprising to me. I will discuss the topic more later.

That is all for today. I wish you all the best.

2009-05-06T18:06:00.000-07:00

Salutations and greetings to my followers. The past several days have been full of adventure, intrigue, and excitement. We began our day by attending classes at the university. Beginning with a class on history and culture, we learned about the progression of Vietnam from primarily a militaristic perspective. Apparently there is some animosity between the Vietnamese and their 1,000 year oppressors, the Chinese. I found this briefly interesting. We then continued developing our language skills in our Vietnamese class.

Afterwards, we had a meeting with a local realty development firm based in South Ho Chi Minh City. The myriad cranes and construction equipment located in the south in tangent with the plans that we saw at the meeting was quite impressive. In a decade or so, Ho Chi Minh City will be an even more sophisticated and interesting place to visit.

My evenings have been very fun - exploring the night life in Ho Chi Minh City has been a unique experience. At night, the city is rampant with tourists and flooded with social lubrication. I will not quickly forget my experiences. That is all for today. If you would like to know something specific, feel free to comment at the bottom.

2009-05-05T16:31:00.000-07:00

Greetings again fellow comrades. I hope that all is well with you. Yesterday's activities indeed were similar to the first day's. We again took classes at the University of Economics and Finance in the subjects of business and Vietnamese language. The former was intended to overview the Vietnamese tax structure and subsequent plans involving economic regulation for the next several years. The lack of ambiguity regarding the financial system and the involvement of the government was interesting when compared to the United States. They weren't experiencing a "revenue readjustment" or a period of "prompted economic stabilization" as US politicians might say, but instead they were told their money was being redistributed at rates that we would find unfathomable.

On a lighter note, 11 of us were riding an elevator at the institute when, upon reaching the first floor, the door opened and the elevator, having the weight limit exceeded, fell with the door open down to the bottom. Fears of being stuck there were quelled by the Vietnamese man on board who called others to open the door to the basement. It was indeed a lesson that we should limit capacitance to around half of the recommended limit considering the size difference between Americans and Vietnamese.

After the "enlightenment" at the university, we travelled to the Glass Egg Digital Media Company, partially run by an American during which we were given a tour. It was interesting to see the ease of United States involvement in the economy in Vietnam. They say that their offices are located here due to the abundance of artists trained by the former French who at one time ruled Vietnam, and the cheap cost of labor.

That is all for today my followers. It is time for me to get a shower, mop up the leakage from the shower, eat breakfast at the complimentary buffet, and get on with my day. Pictures are in progress. My best wishes.

2009-05-04T16:55:00.000-07:00

Greetings to the followers of my trip. As a preface, I intend on basing my posts on events of the previous day so as to be as fully detailed as possible. The right side of this page contains applicable links and an archive of all of my posts. I will try to upload pictures as frequently as I can illustrating the oil-and-water-like interactions between we American and the Vietnamese.

Being my first substantial international trip my initial experiences were comprised solely of flight and related travel. After a 1.5 hour flight from Pittsburgh to Chicago we boarded a 757 airplane for a littler over 15 hour flight to Hong Kong. A greater than 15 hour flight seated in economy. To be honest, I wouldn't want it any other way my first time. It was indeed a trial by fire - more specifically including, recirculated "international" air, a questionable meal service, and the all important sick-asian-man-one-row-in-front-constantly-getting-sick-consequently-generating-fears-of-swine-flu to name a few of the hassles of the flight. This excitement was partially offset however by our unexpected bump to business class for the last flight from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam is indeed a blend of something new, something old, and something suspicious smelling and slightly anti-american. Our hotel, the Victory Hotel run by the consulate here, is located on Vo Van Tan Street in District Three adjacent to the "War Remnants Museum", formerly known as the "American War Crimes Museum" which was changed when American financial involvement in Vietnam was increased. The streets, jammed packed with motor scooters and lined with bright red communist banners, stretch for what seem like light years in all directions, encompassing infinite open markets and housing complexes.

For the sake of brevity, I will not elaborate on all of the specific intrigues I've encountered on my side of the planet in this first post, but instead space them out and supplement my lack with pictures. We did however today visit the local University of Economics and Finance, at which we will take daily classes in the morning highlighting business concepts and a basic understanding of the complex language here. We then visited several historical sights here including a prominent cathedral in the center of the city as well as the Reunification Museum, being the former South Vietnamese presidential home, and the American consulate, whose extremely air conditioned halls, clean hallways, and exceptionally secure compound features were a stark contrast to the surrounding area. Tomorrow I will detail more of that which overlaps my daily adventures.

That is all for today comrades. Despite what I may say about Ho Chi Minh City, its people, and the sarcasm that I may employ to do so, it is indeed one of the most beautiful places that I've ever visited. The people are unquestionably friendly, the food surprisingly delicious, and the exchange rate, 1 American Dollar to about 18,000 Dong, quite nice. So in conclusion, I wish you all the best wherever you may be and I will be back tomorrow with more.