Today at UEF we learned about rural planning and development, specifically in the Mekong Delta area. The area is one of the primary agricultural regions of the country. The presentation was intended to prepare us for our trip to the Delta tomorrow. After this we had our language class. We reviewed our study of numbers and some specific phrases that we could use at the market in order to barter effectively. I feel like I will not gain a good grasp of the language, but I definitely know a few key phrases that help me to get by when English will not cut it. After lunch we headed to a small NGO (non governmental organization) called ACDI/VOCA with a smaller project called the Success Alliance. This dealt with the cacao farmers and helping them to refine their production process and increase the amount of money they can earn. The presentation was slightly scattered and unorganized but I still managed to get the basic idea of the project. They are currently funded by the USDA. After the presentation Dr. Berman explained to me the idea in more detail on the return walk to the hotel. My understanding is that the project is not intended to have a direct return for the United States. It is more of an altruistic type of aid investment in the Vietnamese economy. I do not understand all the politics involved but it seems that they program is good and is helping poor people to gain an improved quality of life. Tonight we went to a karaoke place. We ate there also. It was really enjoyable even though most of us are not very good at singing. Jake and Tom seem to be the ones who are actually relatively talented.
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