Day 1/2 (?)

Hello hello! 

I must say how nice it is to be off all planes, busses, and any other form of transportation! The flight to Chicago from Pittsburgh was fine; I even managed to sleep a little! The 15 hour Chicago to Hong Kong flight, on the other hand, what somewhat less of a breeze. Then again, I'm not sure anyone walks off one of those being like "WOW that was the best!" So all things considered, not too bad!

Mmmmm airplane food. Ignoring the chicken's a paste-like consistency is usually the best approach...

Being in the Hong Kong airport was pretty cool. Obvioulsy we couldn't see a heck of a lot from the airport, but all the Asian planes are so much so much cooler looking than American ones! There is no flight more fierce than that of Dragon Air. For dinner I got Hong Kong chow fun in Hong Kong and while it was still just airport food, it made my day. 

The closer to Vietnam, the more interesting the food. We got Singapore noodles on the flight from Hong Kong to Vietnam. And everything comes with its own individually wrapped cookie and a sphere of bread. 

My first impression of Vietnam is...hot. And humid. Walking out at 1 AM it already felt like a sauna. And it's hard to get a feel for anything since everything was closed, but so far it seems amazing. We must have passed like, 6 pho places on the drive to the hotel. SO EXCITED! The propaganda posters up around the airport and city seemed a bit textbook-surreal, but I just goes to show how different Vietnam is from America. It's actually starting to set in that we're really here!

Stay tuned! Tomorrow we meet our student counterparts, go on a walking tour of Ho Chi Minh City (which I may also call HCMC or Saigon) and the real fun begins!