Today we resumed classes at UEF. Despite getting more sleep last night than I've gotten in Viet Nam, I felt more tired this morning than any other morning (go figure). Business class was a little tedious - a discussion of Vietnamese monetary policy in the current financial crisis. I wanted to learn about the topic, I just couldn't understand what he was talking about (his English was okay, I just didn't understand the material). It passed by pretty well though. Language class was fun, as always. We ended early, and got through lunch pretty quickly, and since our afternoon visit was nearby UEF, we had some time to explore the local area. Anthony, Kelly, Nick, and I went with Krysta, just walking around. This area of the city was a bit quieter than our hotel's location. We were able to get a really cool view of the daily lives of the local Vietnamese. It was a nice little change of pace.
In the afternoon, we visited ASCENX Technologies. They're an engineering firm, specializing in services for the semiconductor industry. The founder of the company, Tung Bach, is a really awesome guy. He started off by telling us about his personal history. He is what is known as a Viet Kieu - "Overseas Vietnamese." Tung's family originally comes from the north. His great-grandfather owned one of the largest shipping companies in Viet Nam. However, most of the family's wealth was lost when they fled to the south in the mid-40s (when Ho Chi Minh came to power and declared independence, establishing a Communist state in the north). Tung was born in Saigon in 1970. After the city fell, his family was actively searching for a way to leave the country. Luckily, his uncle was recruited to pilot a boat full of fleeing refugees (he had served in the South Vietnamese Navy and had experience piloting boats). Tung was able to get aboard the boat, which made its way to Indonesia. His uncle and his aunt brought him to San Francisco, where he eventually met up with other members of his family who were able to leave (though not all; sadly, his father was lost at sea). Tung was able to really give us some perspective on what life is really like in Viet Nam. He has certainly suffered hardship, not least of which is the prejudice shown to him as a Viet Kieu. His company is a small enterprise that is just starting out. Currently, they provide service work such as maintainance of outdated technology. Tung called it "lower-level engineering." He said that Vietnamese engineers don't get the same level of training as those in America, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, or elsewhere. Therefore, his main goal is to continue training his engineers, sending them out to other countries so that they can improve their engineering skills, so that he can improve the level of engineering work that his company can provide (and, in turn, help improve engineering work in Viet Nam). He envisions his company as a service that can reach out to help people (as well as make some money), and it was really cool to hear him speak. Afterwards, he graciously treated us all to Highlands Coffee on the ground floor of the building. I had an iced white chocolate (delicious).
That evening, we had a homestay family dinner. A local Vietnamese family that has a house down on the Saigon River operates a service where people can come and eat a traditional Vietnamese meal. There house is also traditional; it was quite beautiful. They showed us around the house and the garden. The food itself was delicious. It was again family style, similar to the welcoming meal in quality and quantity. We had several excellent dishes, and it was quite a cool experience. Next up - Delta adventures.
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