I’ve been counting down the days, reading up on the Vietnamese and Thai cultures, even trying some authentic restaurants in town. Nothing seems to be enough to calm my excitement for this trip! I have traveled outside of the country before but this will be my first opportunity to study away with Missouri State University, and I can’t wait. I think the activities I’m most excited for are our trip to Saigon Tech University and the excursion to the Tiger Temple. I’m looking forward to meeting other college students in another country and getting to spend a day exploring the local excitements of the town with them. I’ve also heard that we will have an opportunity at the Tiger Temple to ride and play with elephants, which is extremely intriguing to me.
Admittedly, I’m a bit nervous that I don’t know much of the language, but Professor Pham has assured us that we should be able to get by with just the basics. So for now, tam biêt (goodbye)!
Blythe Richardson