First Stop: Vietnam

One year ago, I was setting out on the trip of a lifetime. I had gone on plenty of fun trips with my family but I had never really been out of the United States. I was starting to get frustrated that all I'd ever seen of the world was just past my own doorstep, and that I was missing out on way too much. 

The Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University is great about encouraging students to experience the world around them, and one of the programs they offer is called Go Global. I started writing this entire trip as a single blog post before I realized that it would be the longest post of all time to talk about it all! So I'll break it down by each major stop on our trip so I can be sure to touch on all the highlights. 

 

Ice cream is a MUST if it's as hot as it is in Vietnam! This had to be some of the best ice cream I've ever had...fresh passion fruit. Wow. 

We had an incredible view from our rooftop.

After a few weeks of classes on the culture, business environment, and food in Southeast Asia, we started our journey by first heading to Hanoi, Vietnam. 

My first impression was simply that it was the hottest place I had ever been, but also that everyone was so kind and humble. We stayed in a place called the Old Quarter where it is just this incredible network of street vendors of all kinds. We explored for hours and would just get lost in it all. 

The very BEST thing I did while in Vietnam was attend early morning Laughing Yoga. This is something that HAS to be on every single bucket list! We rolled out of bed, were lucky enough to find this amazing park full of the most adorable Vietnamese people just laughing and laughing. It was one of those moments where you just look around and think, "wow, I am so incredibly lucky to be alive." It's a moment I want to relive every single day. 

Being in the hot, humid Vietnamese environment, makeup didn't last long and neither did any sort of hairstyle. I felt so sweaty and far from glamorous as we explored the beautiful world around us. However, I learned a lot about what it means to feel beautiful and I owe so much to the Vietnamese people for that! Everywhere I went, people were asking for my photo and telling me how beautiful I was. Above is a video from an encounter I had with a fun group of kids while we were at a museum. 

Beauty is such a fickle thing, and shaped so heavily by society. I grew up with strawberry blonde hair, plenty of freckles, and the palest skin you've ever seen. I've felt pressure to change my appearance to fit into what society tells me is beautiful, but in Vietnam was reminded that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder! Even though everyone in the states wants perfectly bronzed, people on the other side of the world are doing all they can to lighten their skin. No matter where you are in the world, no matter what society tells you is beautiful, remember that true beauty comes from within! It sounds SO cliche, I realize, but it is completely true. It's a lesson I had to travel across the globe to learn, but it was worth every mile.