Last Day

Friday was really bittersweet. We were excited to get back to the United States, but it probably more sad to be getting ready to leave. In the morning we had a soccer game and basketball game against UEF's teams. The soccer game was first and it was really fun. We were subbing really frequently so nobody died, but it was still enjoyable. I just had fun getting some sprinting out of my system. My squad was responsible for most of our productivity thanks to Jake the giant. As much as I'd like to take credit, all I can really claim on the game is an assist and some yelling. After what was probably the least hard-fought battle of the UEF team's career, we came out tied and exhausted. We had totally put all of our energy into that game, only to be reminded we had basketball coming up. Jake who held it down in soccer played basketball in high school, so we were ready to dominate.

There wasn't much domination. The rims and backboards were really hard to shoot on so there wasn't much happening, but the scoring was mostly neck-in-neck. About halfway through we really fell apart and got out-conditioned and pretty thoroughly destroyed. We had fun though. After that, we headed back to the hotel for our free afternoon.

After we grabbed lunch, a group of us decided to go to a Northface store we had heard about to pick up some deals. I got a tri-climate jacket for $45, so overall the entire trip to Vietnam was worth it. While we were there, we decided the best plan of action was a trip to the zoo, and I knew they had white tigers there so I started verging on an episode.

Here's a statue we really liked.

Giraffes

Iguanas

Deer

Baby deer

Lion

Crocodile

The man himself

It was cool seeing all the animals, but some parts of the zoo weren't fun. The elephants were all really neurotic. They were all kept in pens about as big as themselves and they were just making circles in the pen. Pretty sad, but I doubt there are many legal protections of the animals there. 

For dinner, we had a cruise on the Saigon as a farewell. The food was good, but the atmosphere was what made it cool. I spent a lot of time just hanging on the railing looking at the view. After dinner, we paid our debts and hung out for a while. We had to leave for the airport at 3 AM, and I only got an hour of sleep. It was worth it though; it made sleeping on the plane a lot easier. 

It was sad to leave Vietnam, and overall it was a great experience. The first thing that comes to mind when I reflect on the trip is the friends I made. I couldn't ask for a better group. Everybody got along so well. Mainly though, I'm so happy I got the experience to go abroad and experience Vietnam. Our hosts were great and it was nice how easy it was to get around and find things to do. If I ever have an opportunity to go there again, I wouldn't hesitate.