v i e t n a m — field program edition! (day 8)

So Semester at Sea (SAS) is awesome. While a majority of my travels have been independent travel without the planning of SAS, they do have field programs we are able to sign up for and enjoy.

(As a side note to explain a little about SAS—we also have things called field classes. Field classes are a mandatory part of each class we take and constitute 20% of our grade. We have one for each class. I have one in South Africa, Ghana, and Morocco—blog posts to come as I experience them! Field programs are optional extra excursions we can pay for and they coordinate everything for us. I had one in Vietnam, a homestay in India, an adventurous day in Mauritius, and a cooking class in Ghana for my field programs.)

So on day 8 in Vietnam, I had a field program called "As the City Wakes." We met at 0615 and went to an early morning tai chi class. We rode on a bus to local park and met with tai chi masters to have them teach us the basics. I love tai chi—if anyone knows where I can practice it in Louisville let me know! It was so fun to learn from the masters.

After tai chi, we went to have a pho breakfast. I got to know some other voyagers and lifelong learners over traditional vietnamese cuisine. I've been eating a vegetarian diet in Vietnam, so it was really cool to see the differences in the beef and chicken pho (Pho Bo and Pho Ga) versus the vegetarian pho I always order.

Then to finish off the morning we walked 30 minutes to a local market and learned more about daily life in Vietnam as the city wakes. The markets are so interesting. They are these large spaces with fabrics, food, toys, and anything you could ever want as a souvenir. It's also fun trying to communicate with the stall owners to talk about their lives in the market and how they provide for their families.

I am so thankful for this cool experience I know I wouldn't have been able to do without Semester at Sea coordinating it! Advice for other future people who may do Semester at Sea—do independent travel unless there's a field program you know you couldn't plan on your own. Field programs can be incredibly overpriced, so if you can do it on your own, do it on your own. But experiences like this (or my homestay in India or cooking class in Ghana) you know you couldn't do without incredible coordination, go through Semester at Sea.

Pictured below: me doing tai chi