Conclusion

This last and final blog post finds me Stateside. The last 24 (36? 48?) hours are a blur to me but I do know that I did not want to say goodbye. I didn't want to say goodbye to my Vietnamese friends, Bryan, Professor Berman, Miss Loan, or the 19 students from Pitt I was fortunate enough to get to know the past two weeks.

Before the goodbyes (and tears), we did have some activities planned for Friday.

We woke up and had our last breakfast at the Victory Hotel. We then got on the bus to go to a gymnasium to play soccer and basketball with some UEF students. We all thought we would be playing the students we had spent the last two weeks with but unfortunately for us that wasn't the case. Instead we were up against UEF's actual basketball team. But don't you worry, I successfully ran circles around the players with no intention of ever touching the ball and I successfully fouled one of the players to stop him from scoring a basket (if the ref didn't see it, did it ever actually happen?). Needless to say we lost the basketball game, but still gave it our best effort. With soaked shirts (soaked with SWEAT) we put together a starting lineup for the soccer game. Unlike with the basketball game, we actually stood a chance in the soccer game. Not sure if we won or tied but overall it was a much more evenly matched game. Afterwards we gave our Vietnamese friends gifts we brought from the US and all went to lunch.

We then went back to the hotel and had a couple hours before we needed to report back to the lobby for dinner. A bunch of us went to the pool for our last swim swam and others went to Ben Tanh for some last minute shopping. Afterwards I packed and by that time it was time to put on my Ao Dai for a quick photo-shoot before dinner. They guys had on their suits and all the girls had their Ao Dais and we all looked fabulous.

Dinner was on a boat that was on the Saigon River. We ate and then the boat took off. I was able to listen to Professor Berman speak about some of his experiences in Vietnam and his opinions on our group and previous Plus 3 groups (he said we were his favorite :)). This was all before Vic (my Vietnamese friend) dipped his finger in the icing of my cake and then proceeded to rub it all over my face. Nice.

We then went back to the hotel with a couple hours to relax until we needed to leave for the airport. Most of us (Vietnamese students included) went for a midnight walk to Turtle Lake. Turtle Lake is a small fountain with walkways situated right down the street from the hotel. We were able to spend time together and talk about the trip one last time as a group. It was very peaceful and I think everyone appreciated it.

2:30 a.m came around and we were on our way to the airport. Some Vietnamese students came on the bus with us to the airport so they could say goodbye to us before our flight. Saying goodbye to them was pretty difficult. I remember being told that the Vietnamese people in general would be very nice to us, but what these students did for us the past two weeks was just incredible. They took care of us and made it their mission for us to see as much of the city as we could in two weeks. They were all so welcoming and excited to see us everyday and I don't think it will ever make sense to me how happy these students were just to meet us, 20 Americans. Their participation in the program was what made it successful and I can't thank them enough.

Another very important person to this trip was Miss Loan. Miss Loan was the faculty member from UEF that helped facilitate the trip, and did a wonderful job. Vic was telling me how Miss Loan told him that she was didn't think she was capable of this job. I don't think I've met a person more qualified for this trip and I appreciate everything that she had done for us. From helping with our logistics to wanting to make each of us happy and comfortable, she was amazing. She went everywhere with us and was always very helpful.

More thanks needs to be given to both Bryan (Coach, Bry Guy) and Professor Berman. Bryan made sure the 20 of us stayed alive during the past two weeks and was overall a great Coach. Professor Berman put his heart into this trip and cared deeply about each and every one of us. He shared his experiences with us and was able to include a great insight on all the history we learned during the trip. It was clear that Vietnam means so much to him and it means more to him that he is able to bring students to the country for a learning experience. Professor Berman has created this trip from scratch and every part of it was planned perfectly. I am extremely grateful to have been given to opportunity to go to such a wonderful country with a person that has so much experience with it.

I would also like to give a shout out to the 19 Pitt students that I was able to spend the past two weeks in Ho Chi Minh City with. I knew (well, was hoping) that being in a foreign country would bring us together as one cohesive group. I was amazed at  how quickly we were able to do that. I believe we had a great group of kids and that was evident in how we were able to joke with each other and also work together on our projects and in planning our nights and communicating. That being said, I feel like a big part of the reason why we were able to get along so well was because of the Vietnamese students. They let us share many new experiences with each other and were key in helping 20 of us and the handful of them become very close over the past two weeks.

Overall, Plus 3 Vietnam was an incredible experience. I left Vietnam wanting to see more and left with a new love for a city, its people, and its culture. I left Vietnam with new friendships, both at home and in Vietnam. I don't think I could have asked more of a program (except for a longer one) and I will never forget the two indescribable weeks I spent in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.