- January 7, 2015
- 10:34 am
- Eman El Bakry
- no comments
Day 3: Goodbye Vietnam, Hello Cambodia!
Body and mind conflict going on at the moment…my body has barely got any sleep and has been walking all day for the past two days but my mind is up and ready to go and doesn’t want to miss out on anything. It’s our last day in Vietnam which is bitter sweet because I feel like I just started to get my way around with the city and very much immersed in the experience, but I also can’t wait for out next stop, Cambodia!
Before we left though we had an opportunity to see a presentation from TNS in Vietnam, one of the top global market research companies. It was great because it gave us a lot of insight about the Vietnamese market and the consumer behavior; how do Vietnamese consumers think of and act towards brands and their marketing? I found it very interesting to see how different the market is from the US market or any other market for that matter. This information is very important for doing business in Vietnam because it is definitely not a matter of a multinational company coming into the country and opening a branch in Ho Chi Minh. There were many issues to consider such as corruption, natural disasters such as floods from typhoons and the political factors which are very complicated. We got more into the legal situation in Vietnam in the second half of the morning where we had the privilege to meet with five inspirational professionals for a panel discussion.
The panel was facilitated by director of Loyola Vietnam Center, Julio Giulietti. I didn’t want him to stop talking, his passion about what he does was very refreshing. We also spoke with the panel about being an entrepreneur in Vietnam, about the health care and the legal side to business in Vietnam and more. We all wish we had some time to speak with each one of the panel individually but we had to be at another meeting shortly after.
We had one more stop which was yet another inspiring story. We went to the Harvard/Fulbright Center for a business and policy symposium. It was also a celebration because the center had actually just been listed and approved to be a university the day before! It will now be Fulbright University Vietnam which operates and functions as a university adapting western ways. The presentation was very informative and gave us so much insight about the Vietnamese market and economy. I came out of there thinking I want to open a school! Not sure how long this enthusiasm will last and what it will lead to but I hope for good change in some form. On our way back to the hotel I saw a man who parked his bike on the side of the wall, placed a mirror and chair on the wall and was giving someone a haircut. I think this image will stick with me for a while because it is nothing I have ever seen before. He was a mobile barber who was on the move and finding ways to provide for himself even if he didn’t have the resources to do so, it didn’t stop him. Which is another example of how the people of Vietnam do not give up easily. Two more hours till we are out to the airport, got one more stroll in the streets of Ho Chi Minh and one last summary from our tour guide, Hai, and that was it, it was time to leave Vietnam and take away some of the most memorable moments.
After a 45 minute flight we arrived at Cambodia. I have been waiting for Cambodia for so long because I had not heard much about it before I knew of this course and by what I have heard from previous students who went on this trip, I just couldn’t wait to experience it myself.
We had an early morning the next day so I decided to wind down and didn’t hit the town with those who did, but went out for a walk looking for some food before I went to sleep. Little did I know, I will end up eating from a young local lady who cooked chicken noodles on the street and had a few chairs for people who wanted to sit down and eat. I decided to embrace that and sat down and chatted with a lot of children who approached me and were very nice and friendly. I am definitely going there again and bringing the whole group. These are the kind of memories I will share with my friends and family back home, that I normally would not do on a regular day in my home town.