Culture class was about the philosophy of the Vietnamese. There was a lot of discussion about Yin and Yang. This philosophy is very similar to many other Asian philosophies. We also discussed the collateral of Yin and Yang-elemental philosophy. Again, this is very similar to other Asian philosophies. There are five different elements that all work together. This philosophy and symbolism is the basis behind most of the Vietnamese customs. By understanding how things are represented by the five elements, almost all of the customs, like placing the gate on the southern wall, is understandable.
After that, we went to language class. Again, the focus was on the basics of interacting in society, we learned how to ask where someone was form, and we learned how to respond to the same question. We also learned how to say what our job was, although our responses are limited to business and engineering.
Finally, we talked to Patty Ndzana, a real estate agent working in HCMC. She had been working here since 1995 and was able to tell us what that was like. She was also able to tell us how conditions had changed in the time that she had been working here. She was one of the few candid opinions on the government that we have received this entire trip, others have brushed upon the issue, but she discussed pit falls and problems in working with the Vietnamese government. It was refreshing to learn what it actually was like to do business in Vietnam
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