Tag: dylanmaric

It’s been one week since I boarded my flight out of Newark bound towards the great unknown (Hong Kong). Unsurprisingly, the week has really flown by. After finally meeting the other participants on the program, both US and Vietnamese students, it has definitely made the experience more enjoyable and exciting.

One feature about my program that is surprising, but not unwelcome, is the size. There are four participants from the states, myself included. The other three are all from Clark University in Worcester, MA. We each have a local roommate that studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities which is a subset of the Vietnam National University. They joined us about 3 days ago and so far they have been the highlight of the experience. They are fascinated hearing about America and I have been asked questions ranging from, “Do you own a gun?” to “Don’t you think Beyoncé deserved the Grammy?” Truthfully, I didn’t expect them to know so much about politics or popular culture, but I’ve been proven wrong.

...continue reading "One week down."

Well, I finally made it to Saigon (technically Ho Chi Minh City). The sojourn here was quite the experience considering a 16 hour plane ride was something that I never thought I could accomplish, but I pulled through. To say that nothing in my life could’ve aptly prepared me for what I’d see in Saigon is an undeniably true statement. I thought the streets of Manhattan were a lot to handle, then I sat in a Vietnamese taxi for 20 minutes and was humbled very quickly.

As my first blog post, I will share the 5 things that took me most by surprise in my first 24 hours in Saigon.

...continue reading "Still jet-lagged, but pulling through."