Second Day

Our second day in Vietnam was nearly as eventful as the first. Again we started the day with a Vietnamese breakfast in the hotel. Next, we went to the school to listen to a guest lecture on urban development. I found it interesting to learn about the problems facing the city of Saigon and their future solutions. For example, most people in Saigon drive motorbikes. The traffic is like nothing I've ever seen before, with many motorbikes fitting in one lane, crossing in many directions, and weaving in and out of the car and bus traffic. It is especially scary to cross the street because pedestrians cross amidst the bikes. If you walk slowly, without running or stopping, the traffic will weave around you. That will definitely take some getting used to. However, the traffic in general is horrible, and traffic jams occur during the rush hours of the day. Also, there are no limitations on emissions in HCM City, so the motorbikes constantly pollute the air. Many people wear masks to avoid the negative effects on their health from pollution. We also discovered that these masks, as well as long-sleeved clothing serve other purposes of protecting from dust and avoiding the sunlight, because it is a cultural belief that people with tanner skin are workers and therefore of a lower class. This lecture was followed by another Vietamese langage class. I am starting to pick up on how long one would have to study Vietnamese in order to converse well because the language is difficult and extensive. Several Vietnamese students helped us with pronunciation, continuing to be very nice and enthusiastic. The lunch was similar to Monday's, with slighly different dishes. Basically, all of our Vietnamese meals so far have been communal dishes which everyone eats from in small bowls. Hopefully I am improving my chopstick skills! After lunch we traveled to a site visit, Phu My Hung, which works in urban development. They have created a large development in South Saigon which has attracted many people wishing to own condos there, as well as many businesses. It was really interesting to contrast the issues facing HCM City with this development center. Expansion is continuing and I'm curious to see what it will be like in the future since it seems that this center has been successful so far.