Day 5

Friday began with an interesting site visit to Intel, which has recently opened a new facility in Vietnam with plans to expand the factory even more. There seems to be an ongoing trend on this trip of foreign companies taking an interest in expansion into Asia, and choosing Vietnam as the most viable option. Reasons for this include a relatively stable environment and government, a rapidly-growing economy, and cheaper labor. We learned about the demand for engineers in Vietnam and some of Intel's goals for the future, though we didn't really see anyone working at the time. After another Vietnamese-style buffet lunch, we learned about a different aspect of Vietnam. We heard from representatives from ACDI/VOCA and the Success Alliance, who told us of the work these organizations are doing to help farmers in the Mekong Delta by focusing on the cacao bean industry. The chocolate industry is huge worldwide, but cacao beans grow in tropical environments, so the industry holds a lot of potential for Vietnam. ACDI/VOCA focuses on helping farmers around the world, and the Success Alliance is a project to support the cocoa bean industry specifically in Vietnam. The rural parts of Vietnam, especially the Mekong Delta, have held significant agricultural importance for Vietnam and its economy. Though profitable, the cocoa industry is basically brand new for the country, and these nonprofit organizations will hopefully help the industries to boom within the next few years, if not already.
Friday evening and night was really fun because everyone got to hang out with friends from UEF. The group I was with went shopping at a nice shopping center. I was really excited because I got to ride on one of our Vietnamese friend's motorbikes from the shopping center to the restaurant where we ate dinner. As I mentioned before, the traffic in HCMC is WILD. There are basically no enforced regulations, with thousands of motorbikes everywhere, with some cars, buses, trucks, and regular bicycles thrown in the mix. People use the other lanes of traffic and the sidewalks as an extension of the road, cruising around pedestrians. I'll admit, I was scared at first and very glad to be wearing a helmet, especially as we made that first lefthand turn in front of oncoming traffic. But, if you go slowly enough and hold out your hand, the oncoming cars and motorbikes will go around you! It was very fun to be a passenger and I enjoyed the ride. The meal was pretty good too, rice and pork like many of our other meals. With a 7UP included, which tastes different and is not as sweet as American 7UP, the meal only cost about $2.50 USD. After dinner, we were taken to what was referred to by our Vietnamese friend as a "rock show at a cafe". I was not really sure what to expect, kind of thinking it would be like a quiet band playing at a coffee shop. Instead, it was a cool bar-like place with a live band playing classic rock hits, in English. They were really fun to listen to and I enjoyed seeing HCMC with Vietnamese friends and not feeling as much like a tourist!