I sadly finished my study abroad trip in Vietnam a week ago and I had to get my body adjusted to being 11 hours behind. I had so much fun being in Vietnam and being immersed into Vietnamese culture. It was amazing to see how kind they were to foreigners like me. I also loved seeing how patriotic they were and that they were happy when foreigners tried to celebrate and embrace their culture. We did a closing ceremony with the University of Economics and Finance, where we wore ao dais and gave presentations on companies located in Ho Chi Min City. Afterwards, the UEF students gave us a variety of gifts before we left. We departed the next day for the United States.

A picture of the streets on my last day in Vietnam.

This is a picture of my friends and I after the closing ceremony. We presented our company at the ceremony. I’m on the very right.

This is my last meal in Vietnam. We went to a Korean Buffet and it was the best buffet I have ever been to. There were a variety of foods there from clams, oysters, miso soup, to Korean BBQ and lots of fresh fruit.

Reflecting back on my trip, I have adapted some behaviors from some of the students that I noticed they did. For example, I know some people already do this in the United States, but whenever I see something small that reminds me of one of my friends and I know they would love, I’m going to buy it for them. One of the UEF students did this so much, and it made me feel so special whenever she would give the item to me. I also loved how welcoming the people around me felt, and I want to ensure that I do that to everyone, even if its towards someone I already know.

Professionally, I’ve learned about the importance of asking questions. When we visited the companies, I always made a point to ask at least one question, because it challenged myself to come up with a question and getting the confidence to speak in front of my peers. I’ve noticed that my confidence has increased, because when I’m abroad I’ve learned that I have to be confident in myself and learn to trust my instincts. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to study abroad in a beautiful country and anyone reading this blog, if you also have the opportunity, you should take the leap and go abroad to see another world and learn from new people.