Today was a really fun day. We started out with another culture/history class where we got more in-depth with some of the philosophy of the culture (which made us mentally drained rather quickly). We learned a lot about what certain shapes, colors, and numbers mean. For example, when giving flowers here the traditional culture says odd numbers are better (a contrast to the western idea of a dozen roses). We also learned about the yin-yang culture and some of the similarities and differences between yin-yang here and in China. Then during language class today we went through some drills and exercises as well as learning how to say things like, “Tôi học Đại học Pittsburgh.” (I go to the University of Pittsburgh). As well as, “Tôi học ngành Kỹ sư.” Which means, “I’m studying engineering.” We were also told that we have a speaking test this Friday—we shall see how that goes!
Today’s company visit was with CB Richard Ellis. Like a lot of things in Vietnam, this meeting did not go exactly as planned. We were to have a conference room there but a meeting took longer and instead we went down the street to a restaurant called Jaspas (which everyone agreed was much cooler than sitting in a conference room anyway). We talked about real estate and some of the things CBRE does but also about Vietnam as a whole and how quickly it has and is changing. We also talked about what I just hinted at and what Dan Thai said earlier this week—in Vietnam you have to roll with the punches because things do not always go as planned. Just as Dan Thai’s dinner reservation was messed up our meeting was messed up, but instead we picked up and worked it out and actually ended up with a much cooler experience, I think. I’ll take sipping smoothies at a café over a conference room meeting any day. One of the biggest discussions I think revolved around a recent economic incident here in Vietnam. Vinashin, a ship builder, defaulted on a foreign loan. The biggest problem in this situation is that Vinashin is a Vietnamese-government backed entity and the government refuses to pay the loans. This does not look for Vietnam and foreign investors will certainly be more cautious as a result of this.
After a VERY refreshing nap we met up with some of our UEF friends and went out to dinner. I got a dish with grilled pork and lettuce wrapped in a rice pancake—it was very good!
Then we went to Snowee for ice cream, which was fantastic! Tuan pointed out to us that the ice cream is imported from Switzerland, which makes sense because it tastes just like the ice cream I’ve eaten there. I think we may have to make a Snowee stop each night before we leave.
My buddy Khuong and I, and my ice cream:
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