Hi everyone! I have been home for almost two weeks now, but all of the questions I have been getting about the trip have been taking me down memory lane! I had such a wonderful experience that I wish I could share with everyone! One of the most memorable parts of the trip was Ha Long Bay because of how unbelievably gorgeous it was. Pictures and words cannot describe the beauty of this place. But hopefully the picture will give you some idea.
I think I was most struck by the conditions that many of the people lived in where our hotel was located and out in the more rural part of the country. I have never been to a developing country before and so to see the people living literally off of the streets was such a culture shock. The women were cutting meat and cooking food on the sidewalk in downtown Hanoi, and in the fields the men were working the rice paddies with their single mule and plow. I just can't imagine life like that. The extremely low prices of goods also amazed me. I regular bottle of water that would cost over a $1 here was less than $.25. I only exchanged $40 in currency the entire week I was there! My sister made the comment, "I want to go over there just to shop!" That is how much stuff I brought home with my $40.
Motor scooters were everywhere! I cannot even recall the number of times I almost got hit! There was only one extremely close call when Daniella had to save me! Haha. They don't really abide by traffic signs which is a problem. And the pollution was awful as well. When we first stepped out of the airport the smog overwhelmed me. When the Vietnamese ride their scooters, they have masks they wear over their faces because of the pollution.
One more interesting fact for all of you who know how picky of an eater I am. The question I am constantly getting is "How was the food and what did you eat?" Well, I basically ate my weight in shrimp. I had no idea how many different ways you could cook shrimp (well I guess I had an idea from Forest Gump, but still...).
The actual APEC CEO Summit was unbelievable as well because of the people I got to hear speak! I will just list a few--President of China, President of Chile, Prime Minister of New Zealand, President and Prime Minister of Vietnam, President of Indonesia, and of course our very own Secretary of State!! And I was about 50 yards from all of them! Maybe I'm just an economics and political science dork, but I absolutely loved every minute of it! And so much of what was said applied to my Urban Economics class that I am currently in with respect to human capital, labor pooling, amenities for international businesses, etc. The economic potential of Vietnam surprised me, and it will be interesting to see how they progress in the future both politically and economically.
Well, it was truly a wonderful experience that I would do all over again in a heartbeat!
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