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We're home in Hawaii Nei.

What great memories!

Reflection by Annalise and Ms. David

One of my favorite things to do was go to the Night Market. It was easier to bargain with the vendors at night, the air was cooler, there were lots of interesting choices of clothing, and, unlike the daytime market, it wasn't too crowded. We had to dodge mopeds quite a bit, though! The worst part for me was walking away. It was unpredictable to know whether or not the seller would call you back when you walked away. If you really wanted an item and the seller wouldn't lower the price, you could walk away in hopes that she would end up lowering the asking price. But, if they just let you walk away, it was too embarrassing to go back. You just had to move on to the next stand.

Rows upon rows of earrings, belts, T-shirts, purses, jeans, sunglasses. Brands such as Abercrombie, Aeropostale, Levis, Ray Ban flash everywhere. Are they knock offs? We're not sure, and we really don't care one way or the other. They are enticing, and we are ready to barter--100's of thousands of dong in hand. "Madam, this look very good on you." I wish I could reply in Vietnamese. Mr. Dang tells us that we should never, ever accept the first asking price. The vendors expect us to haggle a bit. It's very hard to do--how do you walk away when the opening price is already cheap? Don't the workers need the money more than we do? We're torn between handing over our 500,000 dong feeling like we're being generous and the satisfaction of bartering and paying 60% (or less) of the original price. Why does getting a discount feel so satisfying? We're thrilled as we put our white silk blouse embroidered with golden thread into our bag. The vendor says "thank you" in English, bows to us a bit, and I can't help but notice a slight grin on her face. She also got "best price."

Allezboo Resort

Reflection by Logan

(Written on Friday about our day at the resort, Allezboo.)

Today was our day of rest at the Allezboo, a resort where we got a completely different view of Vietnam. When we arrived at the resort, my jaw dropped. It was beautiful! I definitely was not expecting a nice hotel right by the beach; I felt like I was in a hotel at Waikiki!

My roommates and I woke up at around 6:15 AM, and we met the others in the lobby at 7 so we could board the bus to go to the sand dunes. When we arrived there, we immediately had children asking us if we were interested in sledding down the hill for a small amount of cash. We were hesitant at first, but we couldn’t say no because we may never have another opportunity to go sledding on a sand dune again. Kim-Hee, Annalise, and I were the first three to slide down a hill that we thought was pretty steep. After we had rode down a few times, the children asked us if we wanted to ride down the bigger hill. We didn’t realize how big the hill was until we got there, and I have to say, I was actually scared! After the first few times we rode down the hill (and busted a sweat coming walking back up), the other girls rode down too, and it was hilarious watching their reactions as they rode down for the first time.

(Out of all the reactions I’ve seen this trip, nothing can beat Hayley’s freak-out while riding the ostrich; definitely one of the highlights of this trip.)

When we got back to the resort, a majority of us had booked appointments at the salon, where we were able to be pampered for about an hour. My experience at the spa was very relaxing, and the staff was so friendly to everyone.

This was one of my favorite days of the trip; I feel as if it served as somewhat of a bonding day with the other girls.

Made it back to Seoul

We are now at the gate in the Incheon airport waiting for our flight to Honolulu. We had a great day shopping and eating in the Insadong district. We will post a few more pictures and reflections when we get home. Aloha!