Xin Chào Việt Nam (Hello Vietnam)

It has been approximately a month since I arrived here in Vietnam.  Obviously it was going to take this long before I actually gathered enough motivation to create this blog.  Anyway, I have had one of the phenomenal and influential months of my life.  Cliche as it is, it's the truth.

Let's flashback one month so I can start from the beginning.  I remember getting to the airport where I thought that it would finally hit me that I was travelling to southeast Asia; I was definitely wrong.  Life honestly felt surreal.  It still did not feel like I was travelling to Vietnam for the next 4 months of my life.  I met a couple new friends at the airport coincidentally which took away some anxiety, since I expected that I would be travelling alone to the opposite side of the world.  Now I had to mentally prepare for the next 30 hours that I would be in transit.  After our 4 hour flight to San Francisco, we ran to our gate to catch our next flight to Hong Kong.  Fourteen hours, four terrible movies (one was okay because it was about a crocodile and a man that became best friends, awww), two terrible meals, about six hours of the most awkward sleep of my life, and we finally arrived in Hong Kong. "Finally made it to Asia!", I thought.  Still did not feel real considering the Starbucks we were sitting at.  After navigating this maze of an airport and taking a subway that smelled like the "L", we made to our gate and boarded our flight to Ho Chi Minh City.  About 3 hours later we arrived.  Exiting the airport we felt a rush of about 80 degree heat; a great change from Chicago.  On this study abroad program each person is paired with a Vietnamese partner to aid in the adjustment and to help us fully immerse ourselves into the culture and society.  As we exited, our Vietnamese partners were there waiting to help us travel to our new home for the semester.  At this point it was 2 a.m. in Vietnam and 1 p.m. in Chicago. It was dark. I was exhausted but could not sleep.  Jet lag would be fun for the next 2 weeks or so.  The cab ride to my dorm would be my first real experience of Vietnam.  There were motorbikes being driven, food carts on the streets, posters and signs in this new foreign language; it was intense. Soon we made it to the dorm, and attempted to sleep my first night in Vietnam.

The first week we had orientation.  Loyola helped in giving us the basic knowledge to survive and thrive in Ho Chi Minh City.  Learning how to cross the street would be one of our first accomplishments, and yes it most definitely is an accomplishment.  Going to the store and buying a cell phone and SIM card.  Getting money from the atm.  Purchasing practically anything.  These all seem like minute tasks, but the reality is for us foreigners living outside District 1 (the tourist district) communication is extremely difficult. This makes these tasks and interactions true accomplishments.  I feel proud when I am able to go to a restaurant or market and complete any sort of transaction.  Vietnam really does help me appreciate the things that often go unnoticed in my life.

These are large bags of various spices that were present at a local market

This is one of my new favorite fruits that I have tried.  The name alludes me at this current moment.

This is the view from my dorm room of the HCMC skyline