Vietnam is such a fun place to be. I have experienced so many new things such as, Vietnamese food (pho is super good!), crawling through secret tunnels used by the Vietnamese in the war, holding a snake around my neck, and many more.

One thing that I noticed right away were the buildings in the city. I found it interesting to see old run-down buildings with rusted tin roofs next to new four star hotels. I can see the old buildings of Vietnam right next to the new efforts to renovate the city. I like looking out the window on the bus to see the city. There are so many people on mopeds and bicycles. I don’t think I have ever seen so many people on mopeds before. They just honk their horns and speed alongside our bus. There are also many people walking on the side of the highway selling things and kids playing in the front of houses.

I really love the cheap prices in Vietnam. I bought a shirt for 3 American dollars. I think I am getting too used to the prices in Vietnam. I am now tentative about buying anything for more than ten dollars. I still haven’t mastered the skill of bargaining, but everything I buy is still super cheap so I cannot complain.

On this trip other than the cheap prices, I also had a lot of fun playing with the orphans. They are so happy and so energetic. We went there to teach them new games and activities, but I think they ended up teaching us a lot more than we had anticipated. Even though there was a language barrier, we were still able to communicate and have a great time. I was surprised to see how small the orphans were. This one orphan girl, Nhi, is twelve years old but she is only half my size.

I have had a lot of fun on this trip learning about the Vietnamese culture and history, playing with the orphans, shopping, and hanging out at the pool at the resort. Vietnam is great!

-Julia