Thursday, June 15

We drove west out of Saigon for two hours until we reached a small restaurant owned by relatives of Kim Phuc, the napalm girl. There they showed us a movie about Kim, about the day the photo was taken, and about how she has coped with the pain and forgiven everyone for what happened to her. It is amazing that she has been able to forgive everyone, to be able to see eye to eye with them after they caused her so much pain and suffering. After the movie we walked to a neighboring Cao Dai temple. It was a vary colorful building with lots of brightly painted statues and murals. Cao Dai is a vary new religion, starting in 1926 in south Vietnam. 

Once we left the temple we drove for an hour to lunch and the Cu Chi tunnels. The Cu Chi tunnels were under ground tunnels used by the Viet Cong to fight against south Vietnam and the United States. We watched another movie and got to crawl through the actual tunnels. Here we saw a different side of the American War in Vietnam, a different perspective. Unlike in America, south Vietnam and America were seen as the bad guys here, and the Viet Cong as the underdog that persevered and beat the technologically superior and wealthier enemy. It was definitely strange to hear, but also vary interesting to see the opposite sides point of view. After crawling through the tunnel we were given the opportunity to shoot some old guns that were used during the war. For many of us this was the first time we had ever fired a gun. It gave us perspective on what it was like to be soldier fighting in Vietnam and the technology they had at the time. Overall, the day was loads of fun and gave us tons of insight in to other people’s perspectives and a different side of the war.

Off to the Mekong Delta for a few days!

- Marcus

Wednesday:
We headed out to see the less touristy parts of Saigon, stopping in at two different temples that were Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist. At the first one, we learned a little about the mixture of the different belief systems and the twice monthly gatherings to eat together

Often people will bring baby turtles to release in the fountain as an offering. 

 At the second temple, we wrote the name La Jolla Country Day School on the wishing piece of paper and had them light an incense spiral that will burn for 5 days in our names.

From Nathan:
So, Vietnam... its been pretty lit so far. Wednesday in the afternoon, we climbed your tallest building, to the 49th floor.  Once we arrived the view was breathtaking. We spent a solid 30 minutes just taking pictures.
We also ended up going to a Vietnamese play, centered around vietnamese life and a harvest of food. The play was electrifying, sadly we couldn't take pictures of the play but we did take a group pictures outside the entrance of the  theater.

Here's the Opera House where the play took place:

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

26 hours and later

We began our journey in the Country Day parking lot at 6:00pm. The air was charged with nervous energy and excitement, everyone equally unsure and tentative. We took a group picture with over a hundred flashing cameras...(well at least that of all of the parents), we then had a group meeting and set on our way to LAX. There was hardly any traffic, so we arrived at the airport with hours to spare. Once at the gate a group of us played an intense game of UNO for well over 20 minutes with no clear victor insight. The next chapter of our adventure was the 14 hour plane ride. Normally, a plane ride this long would fill me with dread; however, the seats were large and comfortable, and the flight attendants were very attentive and kind. For me, after sleeping for 6 hours and watching some funny films, the ride was smooth and quick.

The next plane from Taiwan to Saigon was a bit less comfortable as it was pretty warm in the plane and I would imagine for anyone taller than my 5'4" the leg room was not generous. Once off the plane we were immediately enveloped in a cloud of humidity that hinted at a much hotter cousin for later in the day. Customs was as expected. Once we left the airport we took a short ride to our hotel to shower and drop off our bags. We then had a delicious lunch of spring rolls and pho, and went for a stroll. Afterwards, we had some free time at the hotel where Danielle and I went to the pool which was an out-of-this-world experience after a very humidity filled walk, while another group went to the gym and pool afterwards. For dinner we made our own spring rolls and ate a spread of other miscellaneous things. Being exhausted from a 26 hour travel time, and a fun pact day all of us were exhausted while trekking back to the hotel after dinner.

Overall, yesterday was a success! I am excited for today and the rest of the trip!

- Faith

T-minus 3 days!

This week we had our last prep meeting before we head off to the airport!

Everyone is making their last-minute purchases, trying to pack light, and finish up some reading. We will have students update this blog a few times a week, depending upon our schedule and access to WiFi.

See you all at the Genesee parking lot on Saturday at 6pm. Don't forget your passport!