We are now four hours from departure. We have a 23 hour plane flight ahead of us and then we will land in Ho Chi Minh City to begin our Odyssey. We will be facing a busy time in Vietnam with Reunification day and International Labor Day all being celebrated on our first two full days there. Looking forward to a cultural immersion!
On this trip we will be visiting:
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam
Singapore
Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia
Hong Kong
Seoul, South Korea
We expect to come home exhausted and jet lagged!
Saturday morning 4/28/18 4:34am Korean Time
13.5 hours later we had a great flight on Asiana to Seoul now waiting on our connection to Ho Chi Minh City. Everyone survives the very long flight and looked forward to stretching their legs for a bit. Another 6 hours in a the plane to Ho Chi Minh City and our land adventures and business functions will commence!
What a historic day to be in South Korea!
April 29th HO CHI MINH CITY
A little bit of traffic? Ryan compared crossing the street to playing real life “Frogger”
Buddhist TempleNorte Dame CathedralWhat to eat and what is it I’m eating???
April 30th The Mekong River and Cai Be Markets
Joey taking a risk (before)Joey being daring (after)!Mary and Yesenia cooling off from the 90+ degree heatGoing up a small tributary of the Mekong in very old and very small boatsNative resident of the area. (Python)Family travels! 8 million motor bikes in Ho Chi Minh City and I think we saw them all in an hourEntrance to the small tributaryLocal floraRiver Commerce
We now prepare to leave Vietnam with it ‘s courteous and wonderful people. The Marriott Hotel made our stay 8,700 miles away from home feel all so welcome! The breakfast staff knew our order as soon as we sat down in the morning!
A Reflection from Yesenia:
It has been an amazing, adventurous day in Vietnam. We saw so much of the countryside, a floating market, local cuisine and factories. I’m so grateful for this experience. It has been amazing and it’s just the beginning. This trip has opened my eyes to the world around me and cultures I never really considered before. My perspective has forever been changed and I’m grateful
May 1, 2019 on to Singapore!
Today we travel to Singapore and prepare for our business meetings tomorrow.
Gardens by the Bay, a tremendous multimedia event!The Super Tree light show
May 2, 2018 The Business side of our trip…
Our meeting with Asian Marketing Specialist for Abbott Labratories Nutrition Division
We took dinner time to let Yesenia get her “geek” on and visit the Harry Potter Cafe in Singapore! She was in her moment!
Our students felt right at home when we discovered another Gateway right across from the spectacular Duo Tower office building.
Mary Hvizdak’s Reflection:
“Reflecting on our most recent experiences between Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam and Singapore have shown us a stark contrast in culture. Seeing the working poor of Vietnam and the standard of employment in Singapore illustrates how much the business culture impacts success in global markets.
The artisans of Vietnam that are paid the equivalent of $10 per day compared to the living wages and benefits that Singaporean workers enjoy, emphasizes the difference between the two economic situations of the countries.
Abbott enjoys success in both economies based on the different marketing strategies they employ. Being able to travel to these countries and see the impact of a global economic impact of cultures blending together of culture and business into successful ventures has been the greatest of educational experiences for our group. It has been an eye opening trip, seeing the economic struggles of each country and how they rise to the challenges of our more global society.
I would like to give a great thank you to the Abbott staff in Singapore for giving us a peek at how it is possible to be successful in our growing global economy.”
May 2, 2018; Malaysia
a trip reflection by Joseph Wilber
“Today as we feel the full weight of sleep deprivation, we embark on a journey to Kuala Lumpur and Malacca, Malaysia. I feel different about this trip in itself. Before, I traveled to Ho Chin Ming and Singapore with excitement about learning. I wanted to see places I’ve never been before and meet people of whom I’ve never met. A personal connection was what I had expected, but an emotional experience is what I gained. Our tour guide had mentioned at the Night Safari last night in Singapore that many of the animals were endangered and were on the brink of extinction. They had mentioned that the extinction of these animals could lead to a huge shift and interruption to the food chain as well as certain aspects that these particular animals had brought to the table.
Just like these animals, each of us as humans bring different strengths together. By using our own unique straths we create a world together that moves forward towards a greater future regardless of our differences. Some cultures such as that of Singaporeans, bring strengths in business. Yesterday our eyes were open through meeting with international business professionals, to how southwestern Asia co exists with different business strengths and intertwining cultures. Other countries such as Vietnam, bring with pride strengths such as masonry, fishing, farming. Etc. Today as we journey on an incredible highway that stretches from Singapore to Bangkok, we are granted the opportunity to understand what makes Malaysia unique. Everywhere is somebodies home, everywhere is where I’d like to go. Stayed tuned, we just made it across the border.”
Friday, May 4th, Singapore
Time to decompress. I think I have succeeded in exhausting the students physically and intellectually. Time for a little decompression. Today we will travel to Sentosa island and visit America’s own Universal Studios where we can watch the fusion of American Culture and Asian populace.
Joey and Yesenia have the world at their fingertips!
May 5th; Singapore
Preparing for our departure to Hong Kong as part of our relay home. Hong Kong for 22 hours then onward to Seoul South Korea for a tour of Seoul then on to Chicago for a late Monday night arrival.
Look who we found 8,000 miles from home! Gateway’s own Michelle Quinn! So we took the opportunity to meet up for breakfast before we departed Singapore! Enjoy the rest of your stay Michelle! It was nice seeing you!Gardens by the Bay Flower domeGardens by the Bay Flower DomeCloud Forest DomeFlower Dome at Gardens by the Bay
Hong Kong bound!
May 5th, 2018 Hong Kong
Sunday Funday for some weary travelers. Time to check out Western culture and Icons marketed successfully to an Asian culture while give our global Val scholars a little mental R&R. When we depart Hong Kong we will catch a 5 hour flight to Seoul South Korea to tour Seoul and adjacent areas.
It’s been planes trains and automobiles plus some big boats , little boats and “ how does this thing even float?” boats. Today is subway to Disneyland day!Gateway invades Hong Kong Disneyland!
Tired, sunburnt, heat stressed and overall exhausted. I am not sure if I have the heart to explain to them the 43hr long Monday they are about to endure. This “longest day” includes a tour of Seoul, South Korea as well as, hopefully, a tour to the Demilitarized Zone (now that the Koreas are playing nicely). We leave at midnight on 5/7 and then lose a day and arrive at 7 pm Monday night in Chicago so 43 hours all in one day! WooHoo!
a reflection from Ryan Bognar;
The Southeast Asia study abroad trip has been an incredible journey filled with many long days, cultural experiences, and lifelong memories. We have done so much in such a short amount of time: canoed up the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, learned about the finance and marketing strategies of Abbott Labs in Singapore, visited the world’s largest twin towers in Malaysia, spent the day at Disneyland in Hong Kong, took a private tour of South Korea — and that’s not even half of it! I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to go on this trip and learn about business on a global scale. Southeast Asia is a market that businesses definitely should invest in and I’m glad I had a chance to visit all of these great countries I would not have had the chance to visit otherwise. This trip has changed my outlook on Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and South Korea and that is something I will always take with me as I continue into my career.
Our trip has come to an end. A successful, eye opening and tremendous experimce for all! A special shout out to Chinedu Obowu, Sherry Bubel , the Donors to our scholarship fund and the Gateway Administration for all of your support in these ventures and helping to bring education to life! Also, thanks to all of the families of the travelers for your support and encouragement! Until next time, the world awaits! I’ll be posting a collage of the various pictures the students took on the trip on the next 48-72 hours.
Predeparture:
