After a long journey, we've finally arrived to Saigon! Here are some of the groups' thoughts as we made the long 20+ hour journey.
As a musician, I am naturally fascinated with cultural and
regional music. I am very excited to meet with Arn Chorn Pond and his music
students and bond over the universal language of song.
--
We just got off our twelve hour flight to Seoul, and while many of us are exhausted, we're all ecstatic. Ian and I geeked out together as we landed, realizing we could now both tick off Asia on our list of continental travels. Everyone is eager to explore the one of the most pristine and smoothly-run airports on the planet. I spent most of the flight listening to music or reading, with occasional periods in which I'd close my eyes and try to convince myself I was getting sleep. Luckily, I don't feel tired at all. Nineteen hours and going strong.
I’m so excited to see what its like to be halfway around the
globe. I can’t wait to interact with the people of Vietnam and Cambodia and not
only learn about our differences, but also form connections over unexpected
similarities. I am also looking forward to trying new dishes, even if I am a
picky eater sometimes. Also, I am very
excited to visit the markets, historical sites, Cambodian Living Arts, and
Angkor Wat. I am perhaps most looking forward to being off of this plane so the
flight attendant stops yelling at me.
--
We are most excited to be immersed in
Southeast Asian culture, meet great people, eat delicious food, and visit
various historical sights. We are looking forward to taking full advantage of
this tremendous opportunity. We are also excited to meet new people as well as
bond with the people in our group. We want to learn about the history and get
to see these countries from a first hand perspective. We are excited to
experience an entirely different culture and expand our horizons outside of the
Poly bubble. We are so excited
to finally see and learn about a brand new part of the World!!
--Maya C.& Natalie & Lucy
--Turner and Sach
This plane ride is brutal. We’re 8 hours in to a 12 hour
flight with another 5 hour flight to come. Needless to say I’m starting to get
sick of the 6 foot by 3 foot space I have spent the last 8 hours cramped up
in. I watched the movie Platoon, the one with Charlie Sheen in
the Vietnam War, and the brutality of the whole thing is still hard for me to
grasp. It will be both fascinating and surreal to meet people who may have
experienced this shocking violence. I am especially looking forward to
exploring city life in Saigon and Phnom Penh, including the restaurants,
markets, and “local hotspots” (whatever that may entail). I’m hoping to bring
back some discount merchandise from the markets, and perhaps selling some items
to make a little money. I’m starting to really look forward to the Vietnamese
cuisine, and not just because I have eaten nothing but a Kit Kat and a bowl of
rice on this flight, (is the airline trying to starve us ?). Finally, I really look forward to meeting Arn
Chorn-Pond again, as he was perhaps the most powerful assembly speaker I’ve
listened to in my time at Poly. ---
Today
I went on the longest flight of my life: 12 hours to South Korea plus a 1 hour
layover and a 5 hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City. But, I am surprisingly not
doing too badly after the first 12 hours on the plane to Seoul. I had a
wonderful seat next to Ms. Hamilton and a nice man from Las Vegas visiting his
family in Korea. Ms. Hamilton never fails to lighten the mood and remind me to
get up and stretch. I feel a little discombobulated because I haven’t slept and
it is currently 2am at home,but overall I am very excited to take on the next
adventure in Ho Chi Minh. I am not sure what else to say, but so far it is very
exciting. This is my first time outside the country (Western Hemisphere)k and
this airport is really nice. It almost feels like I could be in the United
States (except this is a bigger and better airport than LAX). We lost an entire
day...it fell int A KOREAN TIME WARP! Looking forward to the Jade Temples
tomorrow and making new connections with new people. Thanks mom and dad for
this new opportunity. ---Sydney
