Day 1st and Day 26th: Meeting and Farewell

August 21, 2023; was the first day my friends and I set foot in Vietnam, more precisely at Tan Son Nhat-Ho Chi Minh International Airport. Feelings of excitement, nervousness, fear, and curiosity mixed together. Ms. Mai was the one who picked us up at the airport. After that, we went by van to pick up our friends from UII who had arrived first. That first impression still lingers in my head. Awkwardness and shyness still ruled our bodies, so we only spoke in moderation, except for Angga; from the beginning he had broken the silence between us.

The journey to Cao Lanh (our destination city) was approximately 3 hours. Since Alya, Angga, and I had just arrived from a tiring trip, we ended up enjoying the trip by sleeping. After half the trip, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. It was my first-time trying Vietnamese food. My friends and I ordered fish.

 

After lunch, we continued our journey. My friends and I fell asleep along the way. Around 3 o'clock local time we arrived at Dong Thap University, Cao Lanh. We were greeted by our buddies, and they helped us carry our suitcases to our assigned rooms. Our dorm building was quite strategic, located close to the entrance and also the convenience store.

As for the room itself, I really liked our dorm. Our dorm has air conditioning and also a fan. There is also free WIFI. The facilities are very good, with a washing machine and a hot shower. I love our dorm! I am very grateful to Dong Thap for providing such good dorm facilities.

I spent the afternoon resting in the dorm because we had just come from a tiring trip. In the evening my friends and I went out for a bite to eat. We bought Banh Mi and also we went to hang out at a cafe in front of the campus, the cafe was called D. T Cafe.

I'm honestly looking forward to the next day. I'm also very happy to wait for the arrival of my roommates (each room contains about 3-4 people).

September 16, 2023; last day in Vietnam. Finally, this day has arrived. I had never imagined that this day would come so quickly, I guess it all happened because I really enjoyed these precious moments while in Vietnam. That morning I opened my eyes reluctantly because I remembered I was leaving this city. I really fell in love with Cao Lanh and everything in it, including Dong Thap University, Future School, Anh 7, Chieu Cafe, and other places I loved so much. The people I met during my time in Cao Lanh were so kind and warm, they were not afraid to share their love and care with others. My heart really fell in love with all these things.

The night before, I had packed my belongings into a suitcase. I was reluctant to leave this city. That morning before leaving for Ho Chi Minh City, my friends from Vietnam and Laos and I said our goodbyes in a very gentle and warm way. We exchanged gifts and also took a lot of photos for memories. We weren't sure if we would ever see each other again, but one thing we were sure of was that we were meant to meet, share stories, and make memories together.

At 08:00 AM we said goodbye and left in the van just like when we were first picked up at the airport. Before driving to Ho Chi Minh, we stopped for breakfast with Ms. Anh, Mr. Truc, and Ms. Mai. We had pho that day. I don't know what happened but that day I felt that it was the best pho I've ever eaten, maybe it was also because my feelings added to the delicious taste of the pho :D After breakfast, we went to a place near where we had breakfast.

It still didn't feel like we were leaving the city. Around 9 o'clock we continued our journey to Ho Chi Minh City and said goodbye to each other. Ms. Mai stayed with us as she would drive us to Ho Chi Minh. Arriving in Ho Chi Minh, we finally said goodbye to Ms. Mai. Heartwarming. I will always be happy if I remember the precious moments during my time in Cao Lanh. I will proudly say how beautiful Cao Lanh is and all the precious things in it.