Day 6-- The day is just getting started...

Before class today we took a short field trip to the Jade Emperor Pagoda (a Taoist temple). Although we had no guide to give us a history of the temple, it was amazing to see that in the midst of a bustling city like Ho Chi Minh, a peaceful temple can exist and be used everyday. 

Afterwards, we went to culture class at UEF. We got through one lesson and my favorite part was when the teacher was speaking about a place in central Vietnam called Hue. The teacher went in depth with a discussion about the kind of house that a family in Hue lives in. What was the most interesting to me was that in order to enter the house, you needed to walk up some stairs. There was not just one staircase, but two staircases--one staircase for men and the other for women. We were told men and women are supposed to walk up different stairs out of respect for the family. Another thing he mentioned was that the woman is the most important person in the household--who run the world? GIRLS. 

The company visit today was to Glass Egg. Glass Egg is a digital media company that specializes in art for mostly video games. They create lots of cars, characters, and weapons to be used in games for all kinds of consoles. The company was very cool, just like its owners. Each had their own story that they shared with us and it goes to show you that success can come from anywhere. 

Glass Egg also had a really neat work environment. There were multiple clusters of open desks with two computer monitors per station. Each cluster had about five or six people working on their individual projects. Everything was very close together and dimmed (people who work on computers don’t like sunlight very much). I also noticed that most of the employees were rather young. Another interesting thing about Glass Egg is the training they give to employees. Employees are expected to come with some sort of art abilities (because artistic skill cannot be taught) but how to use the computers and technology is taught after the job is offered and accepted. I feel like this is usually done in any job but is critical for this kind of job.

The rest of the day has so far consisted of being fitted for tailored suits and will consist of going to Lush (a club owned by the owners of Glass Egg).

Outside the Jade Emperor Pagoda

Inside the Jade Emperor Pagoda

THE Jade Emperor Pagoda