Week 5 in Ho Chi Minh City
Good Morning, Vietnam!
We’ve reached our second location in Ho Chi Minh City and we’re excited to explore a completely different culture and country! Saying goodbye to island life (for now) was hard, but this new bustling city has given us an abundance of ways to spend our days, and more street food than we could possibly imagine. Ready to dive in with us?
Our Week in Film:
Edumadic Profile: Meet Cassie!
Cassie is a 19 year old from Sydney, Australia and she joins our program after taking a much needed leave of absence from university.
It all started during Year 12 when she felt an immense pressure to choose a degree and attend university; she wasn’t prepared yet to make such a definitive decision about her future career, and she knew travel was calling her name.
Deep down, Cassie knew that she needed higher education in order to pursue her career goals, but she couldn’t quite commit to staying in one location for the next three years of her life. By chance she stumbled across Edumadic on Instagram and says it was basically “love at first sight!”
She has traveled extensively throughout Europe and North America but had yet to explore Asia, and she became determined to combine both travel and education, which alignedperfectly with her career plans.
Cassie will be working towards a diploma of Freelance Travel Journalism from The Morris Journalism Academy, which happens to be conducted completely online — the ultimate educational experience for aspiring Edumads! Her main priority is to create a career that she is passionate about, and she refuses to settle for anything less.
“The idea of travelling anywhere in the world and getting paid to write about it is my idea of a perfect life. This course will teach me how to write and sell my work to thousands of newspapers, magazines & websites anywhere in the world. My true passion is with animals, so my ultimate goal is to work with and write about all kinds of animals all over the world.”
It’s a bold move to veer left on the traditional educational path and put your happiness first, and she is definitely paving the way for others to follow in her footsteps.
You can follow Cassie’s journey on Instagram at @cassie.fitzpatrick
Weekly Highlights:
Year of the Dog
Chúc Mừng Năm Mới! (Happy New Year!) Our arrival in Ho Chi Minh started off with a bang during the Lunar New Year celebrations across Asia. Nguyen Hue Flowers Street is famous for magnificent flower displays at this time of year.
The Phu Quoc Ridgeback, a breed of dog native to Vietnam’s southern Phu Quoc Island, was chosen as the mascot of this year’s flower street.
Festive Decorations
As we acclimated ourselves to the city streets during the new year, known as Tết in Vietnam, we observed the locals celebrating and spending their time off work with their families — eating, drinking, and singing under the colorful city lights.
Street Food
In HCMC, the street food options are endless and hands down some of the best in the world!
Most food hawkers serve up a single dish, so you can easily pull up a sidewalk stool and raise the number of fingers for the number of dishes you need — language barrier = broken!
A Day in the Life:
This week we followed Guillermo for a day! This is what he got up to:
7am Up.
I like to start my days earlier, the days feel longer that way. I jump off the bed and put on my workout clothes. During the last months I have made the realization that a morning workout is the best way to start your day!
7am — 8am Workout
I enjoy running while traveling; it a fantastic way to get to know your surroundings and get a sense of the new places you are visiting. Moreover, I am training for a 10K race.
8am — 9am Breakfast
After some exercise, it is time for some breakfast. Since we moved to Ho Chi Minh City and we have a kitchen in our apartments, I love cooking breakfast with other Edumads, spend time together, and plan out the rest of the day.
9am — 11am Catch-Up Calls
There is a 12 hour difference from back home, so this is the time for me to catch up with my family and friends. I also like to edit my photos and videos from the adventures of the day before.
11am — 1pm Explore
After some catch up and photo editing, it is time to get going. Ho Chi Minh City has a very interesting history and culture. I usually go out with other Edumads and explore a different area of the city each day. I always bring my camera along, since this time is prime for street photography.
1pm — 2pm Lunch
What is the best food in Vietnam? ANYTHING you can find on the STREET! After some exploring, I eat anything I find on the streets. I am hoping one month is enough to try all the different dishes the Vietnamese cuisine offers.
2pm — 7pm Study Session
Time to get some work done. There are nice cafes all around the city so I would normally go to the nearest one and spend a few hours doing some work. This is the most productive time of my day.
7pm — 8pm Dinner
STREET FOOD AGAIN!
8pm — 10pm Free Time
This is what I call my “free” time during the day. I tend to be very spontaneous here. I would either join some other edumads for drinks or card games or movies. If not, I would stay in and do some work on my personal website.
10pm — 11pm Reading
Time to relax and do some reading while getting ready for bed.
