We start teaching on Monday, so we've had a few days to get the lay of the land and do some exploring/site seeing around Ho Chi Minh City. Naturally we visited the major tourist places, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the major post office, and the the central market to name a few.
The Cathedral, which is done in the French style, is an import from France. It was intended for use by French colonists and even the brick is an import from Marseille. The church is now the seat of power of the archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City. Only about 7% of the population of Vietnam is Catholic, while the overwhelming majority identifies as Buddhist - but the colonial history of the country gives the Catholic Church a palpable presence. The cathedral itself has limited access - tourists may do the equivalent of standing in the door. At some point we may get to town to attend the English mass and see the whole of the church. What can be seen, however are the soaring gothic arches typical of a medieval French church - this one, however was built in 1880.
You can read more about the cathedral by clicking the links below:
Immediately next to the cathedral is the main post office. The large building was constructed between 1886-1891, during the French occupation of Vietnam. It was designed by Auguste Vildieu and Alfred Foulhoux, but is erroneously credited in design to Gustave Eiffel. Inside it is still a fully functional post office, but serves more as a tourist attraction these days housing several souvenir shops.
While inside the post office a group of Vietnamese students asked us to help them practice their English and we gladly obliged. They asked us where we were from and what we thought about the weather. Just in case anyone is wondering, its very hot here, typically greater than 90F and 75% humidity; then again this is a tropical country so these numbers are not surprising.
After the post office we wandered through a park and another group of Vietnamese students asked us to help them with their English. Again asked us about the weather and how we liked Vietnam. Of course I took this as a photo opportunity. You can see in the picture Kim and I with a group of students and the Spiritan priest in charge of the Vietnam mission, Fr. Pat. Fr. Pat is an Irish fellow that has been on mission here for 9 years.
Our final stop was the central market, or Ben Than market. It's probably the size of your average grocery store (think the Reasors at 15th and Lewis), but it has so much more packed into it than one can imagine. It has everything from custom made suits and knock-off athletic clothes to *fresh* seafood and fresh fruit. Often the aisles were no wider than a single person-width yet acted as a highway full of foot traffic trying to get through the market. We will try and get some photos of the market once we get a better handle on the area.
A comment on the food
So far the food has been quite tasty, consisting of a large portion of white rice served with a beef or pork broth. Kim and I tend to add grilled pork or beef to and sometimes fried spring rolls (egg rolls).
I have my skepticism about the seafood here; so far it has had a very strong fish smell and I don't think I want to test my luck on getting food poisoning just yet.
Coffee here is rather incredible. The flavor is bolder than coffee in USA and packs a much stronger caffeine punch than american coffee. Its no surprise though, the Vietnamese produce about 14% of the worlds supply of coffee.
Thanks for reading!
-Chris and Kim
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