Day 33: Could it Be...Valentine's Ice Cream?

Location: Just Outside of Vietnam

We arrive in Vietnam tomorrow! It doesn't sound real to say that I will BE IN VIETNAM tomorrow, let alone that I will be able to say that I have BEEN TO VIETNAM. That's pretty much how this entire trip has been. 

In the morning, Lauren and I sat in the ship's library going through all of the travel books, Lonely Planets, and using the travel resources on the ship's computers to find the best places to go and the "must-dos" in Ho Chi Minh City.

When we arrive in Vietnam it will be the end of their Tet celebration (the Vietnamese New Year). We are told to expect many of the shops to be closed. At the same time we were told that it would be very difficult to travel anywhere in the country (flights would be difficult to get and very expensive).

In the afternoon I had a group presentation (that's why I had a group meeting yesterday). I also had another group meeting for a different class followed by a mini presentation (not a group one). It was exhausting to say the least. Life can be rough on board the MV Explorer. And you thought this was a vacation!

Lauren and I were making our way to dinner at our own pace, nonetheless. As soon as we walked in the main dining room on Deck 5, Sawyer and Alexa had said that Kyle was looking for us. Turns out, his real mom had ordered him a cake for Valentine's day. They wanted us to sit at their table. Typically people get cakes on their birthday and when a cake comes to a table you would have thought some people had never been fed. They rush over and ask for a piece, whether they know the birthday kid or not. We all think that is kind of rude. Anyway, as soon as I heard there was going to be cake I was hoping it was -- you guessed it -- an ice cream cake!! Sadly, it was not. But it was waaaaay too good because I ended up eating waaaaay too much ice cream to go with it, for my own good.

Tonight at pre-port, they had a lot to discuss. Vietnam was going to be very different from the previous countries we had visited. Everything from the way the local people acted to how we should act. We needed to be cautious of our surroundings more than the previous ports. Tom Jelke, Executive Dean, had warned us about not bringing our iPhones off the ship. You could be standing on the sidewalk looking at your phone for directional purposes and someone could come up and rip it out of your hands. Tom had also warned everyone about watching your drinks be poured. It was not uncommon for Semester at Sea kids to be drugged in Vietnam. They told us which taxis to take and which ones not to take. Apparently there are some very sketchy cab companies. There were a lot of Semester at Sea trips heading to Cambodia while we were docked in Vietnam. So the field office had to brief everyone on when to meet and other information about their trips. 

She also gave us a suggestion for walking across the streets in Vietnam...find an older Vietnamese person and shadow them!!