LUC in HCMC (VIETNAM)

In case you are wondering, the longer version of the title of this posting is "Loyola University Chicago in Ho Chi Minh City."  The English edition of the local newspaper refers to Ho Chi Minh City as HCMC, so I took the liberty to do the same.

As you can see from the photo, I visited LUC's Vietnam Center and was warmly greeted by the receptionist when I arrived.  I have already mentioned that Julio Giuiletti, SJ is the Director of the Center.  I had a very informative visit with him at the Center.  He explained to me all of the programs and activities which the Vietnam Center coordinates.  It is a very impressive operation with programs for Vietnamese university administrators, study abroad students, Vietnamese students who have an interest in going to LUC for their undergraduate studies, and visiting medical professionals of LUC's Medical and Nursing Schools who volunteer at local hospitals.  For a Center with a small staff of 4, Julio has done an incredible job navigating the bureaucracy of the Vietnamese government to initiate and manage this remarkable array of programs.

Julio Giulietti, SJ with his staff.

Yesterday, after my tour of the Reunification Palace on on my walk back to the hotel (really, to a taxi to get to the hotel), I had the chance to revisit some of what I saw when Julio gave me a tour of the city.  Here are a few photos from that part of the excursion.

Interior of the General Post Office with Ho's portrait on the back wall.

A clock in the lobby of the post office.  Every other clock in the post office was for the time in major cities of the world, then there was California time!

Original maps (murals in the Post Office) of Indochina and Saigon, as they were then known.

And speaking of maps, this is a photo of a map of the world in LUC's Vietnam Center.  Julio explained to me that when the delivery of the map went through Customs control in Vietnam, the "censors" took some white out and covered the name of the South China Sea, since Vietnam does not like the reference, nor does it like China!

A happy bride and groom posing in front of the General Post Office, across from Notre Dame Cathedral.

When the bride became undone with her buttons, the groom helped!

Whatever the sign reads, it was over the entrance to a gate which was being guarded by a Vietnamese soldier.

Another Communist Party Office compound.  They are throughout the city in varying degrees of grandeur.

And so, I end this posting whence I began....