Day Twelve: Friday

Friday morning we all decided to try traditional Vietnamese Pho for breakfast. Its a noodle/soup dish thats actually really good. We had our culture class, where we learned a little more about modern Vietnam and the traditional dress, which is the most fashionable out of any of the Asian countries. Then we had our quiz, which I got a 100 on almost all by myself! I was pretty impressed with it. Afterwards we took pictures with the UEF students and headed to the canteen for our last UEF lunch. :( Instead of the usual bananas we had a different fruit, but it tasted SO good!

For our last free afternoon, the girls decided to go back to the market. We thought it was going to be a quick trip, but then it turned into a major event. Having been there so long, we pretty much knew how much things were worth and really good negotiators, except for a few times when we did't feel like bargaining and just paid their price. After the market, we met a few of the UEF kids for frozen yogurt, but I left early 'cause I know how hard it is for me to pack. We had our farwell dinner at a place called tourist village, which was an outdoor resort type area and really pretty!

When we got back, we had to settle our bills with the hotel which turned into a huge ordeal. My rooms was okay, but some rooms were being charged for things the hotel didn't even give us! The students wanted to have a party for us with "singing and dancing", and most of the guys had gone earlier. Right as we were about to leave, one of the Vietnamese girls came to the Hotel with gifts and cards for us. It was a perfectly timed surprise. As soon as she left, and we were all outside, a blackout hit! I was so thankful I wasn't stuck in an elevator or something.

We decided to walk to the Karaoke place, which ended up being a bad idea. Everyone had warned us about muggers on the motorbikes, and sadly we had a first hand experience. There was a motorbike with two guys on it sitting on the sidewalk almost waiting for us, and they drove by and snagged Elizabeth's purse. It was horrible, but thankfully she didn't have her passport or anything with her. We all ended up staying up late and packing, so it was a pretty lowkey night, other than that.

Day Eleven: Thursday

Thursday morning, we woke up a little early so we could go the French bakery again before the soccer match. Its kinda funny we all get so excited about the pastries, since we mostly eat eggs and bread for breakfast anyways. We ended up going to breakfast at the hotel too, since we all wanted to fill up on water before the "big game".

When we got to UEF, we had activities with the English Club. They had games planned so it was pretty fun, and we met a few more UEF students. The soccer field was a bus ride away, so we all loaded up and got ready to win. It was like 107 degrees outside, which is way to hot to be doing anythingg in my opinion. I was definitely the MVP of the game, even though some of the guys might try to tell you otherwise. After the game we all had time to take much needed showers and grab lunch before we went to the War Remnants Museum. I don't know much about the war, so I was really confused by the way they displayed some of the information. I knew it was going to be propaganda and out of context, but it was hard for me to know what was real and what wasn't going in with no background. There was an exhibit on reporters and photographers from the war, and I thought that one was really interesting since I spent a few years doing photography myself. Afterwards, we planned to take a quick trip to the market to finish getting souvenirs, but we lost track of time while doing it.

We ended up getting back to the hotel a little late, and since our group had separated my room was the only one that had keys. Everyone put their stuff in our room, and we walked to dinner since we didn't have the address to meet the UEF kids for a meal. We went to this really good and cheap Vietnamese place, I got noodles and chicken, and everyone said they hadn't seen me so excited about a meal all trip! That night, one of our Vietnamese hosts wanted to take us to the "American Discotheque" but we ended up going to the other club. The guys had to change their shoes and we couldn't use camera's, so it was veryyy VIP & a great time.