Day 10: Meeting Ronnie (fellow Ichange Intern) and first Pho tasting

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So today I went for a wander, presumably I would decide on an interesting museum or market to visit. Having seen the extravagant exterior of the post office, I headed there first. The elaborate arches, columns and high ceilings are indicative of the French colonists. It is still used as the functional post office, though now has a lot of gift shop offshoots for tourists.

I reached the park near Ben Thanh markets and started deciding where I would go from there. 4 Vietnamese university students (on their winter break) approached me and asked if they could practise their English. We chatted for hours, mostly them asking questions about Australia. They asked about sharks, spiders and snakes, what I was studying at university, what I was doing in Vietnam. After awhile we started playing that shuttlecock/hacky sack fusion game I mentioned in yesterday's blogpost.

I was pretty awful at it to be honest, but they were very patient with me. We then joined a larger group of students, also from their university. Time does indeed pass quickly, because before I knew it, I had to head off to meet Giang and Ronnie, the new intern who arrived for the Ichange project.

This was definitely a really positive experience for me. I hadn't expected it at all, but it was nice to chat with locals and know they had the confidence to approach me, a complete stranger (certainly wouldn't happen in Australia). And again, the way we can just join a game so easily astounds me.

On the way back, I bought a coconut from a street vendor (who spoke very good English). I had never had coconut milk before but it was delicious and very refreshing on a hot day.

I then met Giang and Ronnie and we headed off to dinner. I finally had pho - very surprising that I hadn't had it before today but there's so much Vietnamese cuisine (and it seems to be more of a northern dish). Pho is delicious (and very cheap) and I can definitely see myself eating a whole lot more of it before I leave.

Ronnie is an intern from India (the very northern part) yet she looks more oriental (she believes it's to do with being part chinese). Even though she's only been here a few days, people on the street confuse her for being Vietnamese and starting speaking Vietnamese to her (like asking for directions).

After dinner, Giang had to leave to meet with the Organising Committee President (the leader of the project). Ronnie and I decided to find a coffee shop. We talked about differences in our respective AIESEC branches and she asked about various sights she should see around HCMC (the war remnants museum was obviously the one I most reccommended).

The coffee we got was traditional vietnamese coffee beans. It tastes delicious, like most coffee places here, but not too pricey (less than $1).

And with that I finally have caught up my blog to the actual day it is, hopefully I'll be able to keep it up now because it's only going to get more busy from here onwards.

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[Meg]

Nom, nom, nom