Hello everyone! It seems that I totally lost my touch to this blogging after getting sick, I'm sorry. I try now to go through some highlights from my stay little by little. The first thing I want to tell you is my trip to a town called Bien Hoa about a month and half ago. Bien Hoa is U:s hometown, so I went there for a weekend with her. It is located very near from HCMC. I went by bus to the university (which takes about 50 minutes) and then we rode with U:s motorbike to Bien Hoa, which took about half an hour.
This was the first time when I saw a Vietnamese house from inside. U:s home was a nice two-floor house which was very bright from inside. The exotic thing to a Finn was that the motorbikes were located in the kitchen (there was a door from outside straight to the kitchen). The neighbourhood was very interesting, there were narrow lanes between the houses and very nice atmosphere.
The neighbourhood had a catholic church to which we went in the first evening because U, her mother and her sister had a choir rehearsal there. In the yard all the neighbourhood children gathered around me - most of them had probably not seen a foreigner ever before! They stared and giggled and shouted "Hello!". It was awkward but fun, I felt like a some celebrity. :D The choir rehearsal was a very beautiful experience, I sat at the church balcony in a warm night and listened to their singing. The choir was good and I really liked the songs though they were not familiar to me. I like how Vietnamese language sounds when sung.
The next morning there was a mass in the church and the choir sang there. The women of the choir were dressed to Ao Dai - a traditional Vietnamese dress. It was interesting to see a catholic mass as I am a protestant Christian myself. The structure was quite similar than in a protestant mass, so I could quite easily follow though I did not understand the language.
Later that day we visited U:s grandmother who lives very near. Then we met some U:s local friends and went to eat pizza and then to a little amusement park which was very beautiful in the dark with all those lights. After that we just rode around the town with motorbikes. I had really good time, though I was already getting sick then and my condition was not very good.
Näytetään tekstit, joissa on tunniste English. Näytä kaikki tekstit
Näytetään tekstit, joissa on tunniste English. Näytä kaikki tekstit
tiistai 9. joulukuuta 2014
sunnuntai 2. marraskuuta 2014
Being sick
Hello all! I am sorry that I haven't posted here lately. I have been sick - actually two times, and the last one lasted over a week. Well, that was a new experience for me to be sick abroad... I had to go to see a doctor two times in an international medical clinic and also had an IV (not both times, only the first) because I could not eat anything. Now I am quite okay, but I still get tired more easily than normally, so I try to rest more.
I will write more later, just wanted to inform you why the blog has been so quiet. :)
I will write more later, just wanted to inform you why the blog has been so quiet. :)
tiistai 7. lokakuuta 2014
New people, new places, teaching
Hello again! I have heard from many people that they like to read this blog and find it interesting. Thank you all, it means a lot to me to know that you actually read this blog. :) From now on I don't write about every single day because many of my days are not so exciting - I might be a whole day in the company coding... So you will get only some highlights.
On Sunday a week ago I was at a gathering where were both Vietnamese and foreigners. I went there with Ms. N, who has been a great help and great company for me. The gathering was very nice, I talked with many new people, and one girl, H, I have seen also afterwards (more about that later). I drank a drink whick had some kind of jelly cubes in it - I haven't seen anything like that before.
A couple of days ago I heard that one person who was at the gathering had been robbed right after it and lost everything, including passport and money. It really makes to think that you really have to be careful here.
On Thursday I had my first session as a teaching assistant in a Linux course. It was quite an experience. I have done lots of teaching assisting in Finland in many different courses, so the work itself was familiar. My job was to be available for questions and help them to do the exercises. The problem here, however, is communication. Many (maybe most) of the students don't speak English very well, if at all. The other problem is that occasionally I have real difficulties to understand their accent. So basically the situation was that they did not understand me and I did not understand them. I also suspect that when I gave them some links to Stack Overflow and other helping sites they probably did not understand them... Well, let's see how the session goes this week. I will try to speak even more slowly, maybe at least they will understand me better.
After the assisting session I went to see U and her friend (I have to think about with what letter I should call him, his letter is already used in this blog.). They both speak very good English as it is their major. We had very good time. They took me around the NLU campus area. There was an area full of different food stalls and we ate delicious rolls (I don't remember their Vietnamese name any more). After that I went to a bookstore with Ms. N. I always like bookstores, though most of the books are written in a language I don't understand. Manga seems to be popular also here, especially Detective Conan.
On Saturday I went to explore a route to a gym whose homepage I had found. It took about half an hour to go there (I did not go inside just checked where it is). The route was unpleasant for a pedestrian, though, so I am not sure if I want to start to go there. (This city really is not for pedestrians, this is for motorbike riders.) Narrow pavements and scary street crossings were not tempting. Luckily I heard from H about another gym which would be in a better place, so maybe I will go there if I have time.
On Sunday I went to go round the town with H and her friend. We visited the famous Ben Thanh market, a shopping mall in District 7 (that was like any shopping mall in Europe) and Chinese quarters. In Chinese quarters we went to a bazaar which was nothing like anything I have seen before. (Even Ben Thanh market, though full of stuff and people, was nothing compared to this.) The amount of goods was unbelievable. Bags, shoes, accessories from floor to ceiling and very narrow corridors crowded with people. There was also a huge amout of different foods, most of which I did not recognize. (The smell was also something I have not experienced before.) After that we went to a very nice coffee shop which reminded me of Berlin. It was in an older house, you could not find there if you did not know where it is. I liked it very much.
Oops, I thought to write only a short post this time... :D Not so short, after all.
On Sunday a week ago I was at a gathering where were both Vietnamese and foreigners. I went there with Ms. N, who has been a great help and great company for me. The gathering was very nice, I talked with many new people, and one girl, H, I have seen also afterwards (more about that later). I drank a drink whick had some kind of jelly cubes in it - I haven't seen anything like that before.
A couple of days ago I heard that one person who was at the gathering had been robbed right after it and lost everything, including passport and money. It really makes to think that you really have to be careful here.
On Thursday I had my first session as a teaching assistant in a Linux course. It was quite an experience. I have done lots of teaching assisting in Finland in many different courses, so the work itself was familiar. My job was to be available for questions and help them to do the exercises. The problem here, however, is communication. Many (maybe most) of the students don't speak English very well, if at all. The other problem is that occasionally I have real difficulties to understand their accent. So basically the situation was that they did not understand me and I did not understand them. I also suspect that when I gave them some links to Stack Overflow and other helping sites they probably did not understand them... Well, let's see how the session goes this week. I will try to speak even more slowly, maybe at least they will understand me better.
After the assisting session I went to see U and her friend (I have to think about with what letter I should call him, his letter is already used in this blog.). They both speak very good English as it is their major. We had very good time. They took me around the NLU campus area. There was an area full of different food stalls and we ate delicious rolls (I don't remember their Vietnamese name any more). After that I went to a bookstore with Ms. N. I always like bookstores, though most of the books are written in a language I don't understand. Manga seems to be popular also here, especially Detective Conan.
On Saturday I went to explore a route to a gym whose homepage I had found. It took about half an hour to go there (I did not go inside just checked where it is). The route was unpleasant for a pedestrian, though, so I am not sure if I want to start to go there. (This city really is not for pedestrians, this is for motorbike riders.) Narrow pavements and scary street crossings were not tempting. Luckily I heard from H about another gym which would be in a better place, so maybe I will go there if I have time.
On Sunday I went to go round the town with H and her friend. We visited the famous Ben Thanh market, a shopping mall in District 7 (that was like any shopping mall in Europe) and Chinese quarters. In Chinese quarters we went to a bazaar which was nothing like anything I have seen before. (Even Ben Thanh market, though full of stuff and people, was nothing compared to this.) The amount of goods was unbelievable. Bags, shoes, accessories from floor to ceiling and very narrow corridors crowded with people. There was also a huge amout of different foods, most of which I did not recognize. (The smell was also something I have not experienced before.) After that we went to a very nice coffee shop which reminded me of Berlin. It was in an older house, you could not find there if you did not know where it is. I liked it very much.
Oops, I thought to write only a short post this time... :D Not so short, after all.
lauantai 27. syyskuuta 2014
Internship, university, museum and people
On Wednesday I went the first time to the company where I have an internship. The company is one of the biggest IT firms in Vietnam and is located in an area where is like a whole "village" of IT firms. It takes about an hour and a half to get there from the hotel. The plan is that I will be there two or three days in a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. My tasks will be related to Natural Language Processing, which is an area that interests me very much, so I am very content. :) On Wednesday and yesterday I have got to know the theory behind the project and read old code etc. Hopefully I will next week start to code myself. My teammates are very nice and on Friday we went to coffee.
On Wednesday I had a little difficulties when going back to the hotel. First I did not notice the bus stop where the bus leaves, so I walked to totally wrong direction. The pavement was very narrow and had motorbikes, food stalls and other stuff on it. So actually there was not much room to walk on the pavement so I pretty much had to walk on the road where was quite much traffic. When I finally got to the bus, the next challenge was to find the place to get off. I recognized the right place too late and had to get off next stop and try to find the way to the hotel in a dark with map. Luckily I finally got back. On Friday I then managed better with the bus.
On Thursday i went to the university, NLU, and got to know many teachers and students. Some of them spoke English very well but most of the students were a bit nervous and did not speak much. I heard that they have studied English but not actually never talked it, so it is difficult for them. I understand them well because if I have to speak some language I haven't spoken much, I am also nervous. I had very good time, though. We went to a cafe on the campus and drank ice coffee, ice tea and ate some Vietnamese fruits. Little fruits called sori were very delicious. I talked much with a girl, U, who was very fluent in English. I hope we will meet again soon. In the afternoon a teacher, Ms. N, gave me a ride to the hotel with her scooter. It was very fun, I enjoyed so much to see the city on the scooter. On our way we also went to have dinner, some fish noodle soup, and when it started to rain, we went to a coffee shop. There I drank very delicious green tea with coconut milk. Tomorrow I will go with Ms. N to a gathering where will be expats and local people. I think it will be very fun.
Yesterday evening I had a dinner with Mr. P and his family and some of their friends. We ate a very interesting dish: rolls that we wrapped ourself with rice paper, putting inside some vegetables and meat. It was very fun. After that we ate very good noodle soup. It was very nice to meet Mr. P:s wife and 4-years-old daughter who was very cute.
Today morning I went to the War Remnants Museum which is located right next to my hotel. It was very interesting visit. I don't know much about the Vietnam War but maybe I have to start to find out more. The most moving thing was pictures about the victims of Agent Orange, a toxic that the US Army sprayed to Vietnam during the war. The toxic affects not only the people that are in touch with it but also their descendants. The pictures showed different malformations the Agent Orange has caused until very recent years. I also saw some of the victims in the lobby of the museum, they were making and selling pearl decorations. Some were very short and some had malformed limbs. One man had no eyes but he was playing an electric piano. I think I have to think again many things I saw in the museum and get to know the phases and human destinies of the war better.
On Wednesday I had a little difficulties when going back to the hotel. First I did not notice the bus stop where the bus leaves, so I walked to totally wrong direction. The pavement was very narrow and had motorbikes, food stalls and other stuff on it. So actually there was not much room to walk on the pavement so I pretty much had to walk on the road where was quite much traffic. When I finally got to the bus, the next challenge was to find the place to get off. I recognized the right place too late and had to get off next stop and try to find the way to the hotel in a dark with map. Luckily I finally got back. On Friday I then managed better with the bus.
On Thursday i went to the university, NLU, and got to know many teachers and students. Some of them spoke English very well but most of the students were a bit nervous and did not speak much. I heard that they have studied English but not actually never talked it, so it is difficult for them. I understand them well because if I have to speak some language I haven't spoken much, I am also nervous. I had very good time, though. We went to a cafe on the campus and drank ice coffee, ice tea and ate some Vietnamese fruits. Little fruits called sori were very delicious. I talked much with a girl, U, who was very fluent in English. I hope we will meet again soon. In the afternoon a teacher, Ms. N, gave me a ride to the hotel with her scooter. It was very fun, I enjoyed so much to see the city on the scooter. On our way we also went to have dinner, some fish noodle soup, and when it started to rain, we went to a coffee shop. There I drank very delicious green tea with coconut milk. Tomorrow I will go with Ms. N to a gathering where will be expats and local people. I think it will be very fun.
Yesterday evening I had a dinner with Mr. P and his family and some of their friends. We ate a very interesting dish: rolls that we wrapped ourself with rice paper, putting inside some vegetables and meat. It was very fun. After that we ate very good noodle soup. It was very nice to meet Mr. P:s wife and 4-years-old daughter who was very cute.
Today morning I went to the War Remnants Museum which is located right next to my hotel. It was very interesting visit. I don't know much about the Vietnam War but maybe I have to start to find out more. The most moving thing was pictures about the victims of Agent Orange, a toxic that the US Army sprayed to Vietnam during the war. The toxic affects not only the people that are in touch with it but also their descendants. The pictures showed different malformations the Agent Orange has caused until very recent years. I also saw some of the victims in the lobby of the museum, they were making and selling pearl decorations. Some were very short and some had malformed limbs. One man had no eyes but he was playing an electric piano. I think I have to think again many things I saw in the museum and get to know the phases and human destinies of the war better.
tiistai 23. syyskuuta 2014
Introduction and first impressions
Hello everyone! In this blog I will tell about my three-months student exchange in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I am a Finnish student of Computer Science in University of Helsinki, and I have also worked in our department as a teaching assistant and research assistant. Here in HCMC I am visiting in Nong Lam University. Actually my exchange will consist working as a teaching assistant in a Linux course and having an internship in a programming company, and I will get credits from these.
It is Tuesday evening when I am writing this. I arrived on Monday morning. I took a flight from Helsinki to Paris and from Paris further to HCMC. I was worried about the flight change in the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, because I had heard that the airport is not so clear and there has been problems with delivering baggages to the connection flights. However, all went very well though I had to check in to my connection flight and do the security check again. The flight from Paris to HCMC took about twelve hours. I tried to sleep but I couldn't. There was a screen where you could watch movies, listen to music etc. but it went black for a moment about every five seconds, so it was a bit irritating to use. Otherwise the flight went well and I arrived at HCMC 6.30 am. A Vietnamese former student of the Nong Lam University came to pick me up from the airport and then we went to the hotel were I met my contact person, Mr. P who has arranged all and been very helpful all the time. The hotel is a good basic hotel with very good location. I have had some problems with my bathroom door (I managed to lock it from outside and could not open it without key) and having water come down from the air conditioner. The hotel staff do not speak much English, so the communication is a bit challenging. The hotel is nice and clean, however, and the staff is very friendly. It was a nice surprise that you don't need any adapter when using my own electronical devices.
As a first sight I like HCMC very much. There is good atmosphere, both old and new buildings, palm trees and lots of people driving scooter or moped. It is really unbelievable, the number of scooters and mopeds, and there can be a whole family sitting on an one moped! Today I also saw that a moped drove in to a restaurant to bring some boxes of beer. (The restaurant was not actually inside a building, it was halfly open without a front wall, but still it was very funny to see the moped to drive in.)
The food is very good. I have eaten pho noodle soup, a banh mi sandwich, rice with salted fish and beef with onions. I would like to find more places to eat and try different dishes. Vietnamese coffee is also very good and very different that Western coffee. It is served with condensed milk which looks more like pudding than milk and is very sweet.
Today I visited first time at the Nong Lam University with Mr. P. It takes about an hour by bus to get there from my hotel. You can take a normal route bus or an University bus. The latter leaves very early, at 6.30 am, so I think that maybe I will mostly take the normal bus. The NLU area was very large and beautiful, there are lots of nature around the buildings. I saw the Faculty of Information Technology building and met the dean and some teachers. It was a very nice visit, though the weather was very hot. I am looking forward to go to the university again and to see how is the studying life there. Tomorrow I will visit first time the company where I will have the internship. Very exciting. :)
It is Tuesday evening when I am writing this. I arrived on Monday morning. I took a flight from Helsinki to Paris and from Paris further to HCMC. I was worried about the flight change in the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, because I had heard that the airport is not so clear and there has been problems with delivering baggages to the connection flights. However, all went very well though I had to check in to my connection flight and do the security check again. The flight from Paris to HCMC took about twelve hours. I tried to sleep but I couldn't. There was a screen where you could watch movies, listen to music etc. but it went black for a moment about every five seconds, so it was a bit irritating to use. Otherwise the flight went well and I arrived at HCMC 6.30 am. A Vietnamese former student of the Nong Lam University came to pick me up from the airport and then we went to the hotel were I met my contact person, Mr. P who has arranged all and been very helpful all the time. The hotel is a good basic hotel with very good location. I have had some problems with my bathroom door (I managed to lock it from outside and could not open it without key) and having water come down from the air conditioner. The hotel staff do not speak much English, so the communication is a bit challenging. The hotel is nice and clean, however, and the staff is very friendly. It was a nice surprise that you don't need any adapter when using my own electronical devices.
As a first sight I like HCMC very much. There is good atmosphere, both old and new buildings, palm trees and lots of people driving scooter or moped. It is really unbelievable, the number of scooters and mopeds, and there can be a whole family sitting on an one moped! Today I also saw that a moped drove in to a restaurant to bring some boxes of beer. (The restaurant was not actually inside a building, it was halfly open without a front wall, but still it was very funny to see the moped to drive in.)
The food is very good. I have eaten pho noodle soup, a banh mi sandwich, rice with salted fish and beef with onions. I would like to find more places to eat and try different dishes. Vietnamese coffee is also very good and very different that Western coffee. It is served with condensed milk which looks more like pudding than milk and is very sweet.
Today I visited first time at the Nong Lam University with Mr. P. It takes about an hour by bus to get there from my hotel. You can take a normal route bus or an University bus. The latter leaves very early, at 6.30 am, so I think that maybe I will mostly take the normal bus. The NLU area was very large and beautiful, there are lots of nature around the buildings. I saw the Faculty of Information Technology building and met the dean and some teachers. It was a very nice visit, though the weather was very hot. I am looking forward to go to the university again and to see how is the studying life there. Tomorrow I will visit first time the company where I will have the internship. Very exciting. :)
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