Hello From Ho Chi Minh City: Day 2

Good Morning (or Good Evening) to you!

This is Danielle, writing the second blog post while in Ho Chi Minh City. What an amazing journey we have been on for the past two days.

Scooters racing up and down the streets—beep beeps everywhere—, pigeons being painted, hot humidity and beautiful architecture are just a few of the many things that have stood out to us, the students, the past few days.


Yesterday, we started the day with our first real breakfast in Vietnam. We were all pleasantly surprised as we went into the hotel's breakfast buffet to find bacon, sausage and (drum roll please)... cereal. Even though most of us recognized these foods, I personally was happy to see that most of us tried the food that was not recognizable. Whether that be, roasted tomato stuffed with egg (Ms. Handelsman's favourite) or the fried rice with chicken eggs.

After a comforting breakfast we ventured out into the hot, humid day with excitement. First, we went the the War Remnants Museum, which was very tough to take in. We walked around seeing the arms used in the Vietnam War, and also the difficult pictures taken of the people who suffered from the affects of Agent Orange. And Faith was interviewed by some Vietnamese college students that wanted to hear about her perspective as an American.

After we debriefed in the park on how we felt about the whole experience. The conversation varying between what family members of our own have been in—any—war, or how can one country respect the sovereignty of  another nation.

Ending the serious debriefing, our tour guide, Mr. Hau (pronounced how), humourously, said, "let have lunch!"

We ate a yummy meal at Pho 2000, where Bill Clinton visited in 2009.

After, we trucked over the the BenThanh Market, where we got to experience our first bartering activity.  Packed full of people, the market was claustrophobic. Faith and I got lost and couldn't find the "dock" where we were suppose to meet the group. Up and down the aisles we pushed through to find gifts for our families but also the other students.


Next, was the Reunification Palace. The building where the president of the south vietnamese lived. Beautifully carved mahogany edged the place ceiling which made it rememberable.

We ended the day at a traditional vietnamese dinner house. We were surprised to see the first thing served french fries! But we loved the chicken—some even asking for seconds.

Overall, we had an amazing second day in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I personally, cannot wait to experience the rest of the trip.

More to come from the others,
Danielle