Our departure from the hotel was at the usual time, but we
did not have class today. Instead, we went straight to a company visit. After a
45-minute long bus ride, we arrived at Saigon Newport Corporation, the largest
shipping industry in Vietnam. The facility was absolutely massive, and I took
plenty of pictures. We were briefed in a large auditorium, and then kept our
speaker busy with a very long question and answer session. After the briefing
we were taken to the main control room, and I was very impressed. The room was
very open, and even though the jobs of those people is very stressful, it
seemed like a rewarding and interesting job. We were then taken outside and
were shown the storage area via a bus tour. There were dozens of huge cranes
lifting boxes to and from ships on the nearby river.
Side note: my mom does finance work with a shipping country,
and although the company works for does not ship to Vietnam, her boss is going
to Saigon Newport Corporation next week for a big convention!
After we got back to the hotel, we were given a nice long
break for lunch. We then met back in the hotel and walked to the War Remnants
Museum together. The outside area of the museum contained many American
vehicles that the Vietnamese claimed after the Americans left the country.
The inside was much more difficult to walk through. There
were exhibits that had pictures of victims of the war, and children of people
who were exposed to code orange, the chemical used to clear out forests. Quite
frankly, I did not enjoy being in the museum, but I do think it was necessary
for me to see some of the pictures to better understand exactly what both sides
went through during the war.
I was able to relax after going to the museum by going to an
authentic café with a few Pitt and UEF students. There were no chairs; we sat
on pillows and sipped delicious ‘ca fe sua da’ (pardon my lack of accents). It
was one of the most authentic and enjoyable experiences that I have had thus
far. I also went bowling with some Pitt and UEF students later that night.
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