Stephanie Doyle had quite the adventure in 2011 and then again in 2012 when she traveled to Vietnam to recruit students for EvCC. While the intent of the trip was work, there was still plenty of time to explore the cities she visited, and learn about a different part of the world. Stephanie shared her experiences with EvCC at Tuesday Travelogues, a series presented by The Humanities Alliance, where people can come and hear about different places around the world through someone’s experience traveling there.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) was the first place Stephanie went. This is where she learned the 3 rules for crossing a busy street. Most people in Vietnam drive mopeds around the city and Doyle says they have traffic laws and crosswalks but no one seems to follow or use them. To cross the street she says you

1. Take a deep breath. 2 Don’t look; you might get hit, and finally 3. Just start walking. Stephanie’s rules for crossing the streets in Vietnam sound terrifying but she says it’s the only way to get across the busy streets.

If she isn’t afraid to walk into traffic, she definitely isn’t afraid to try new foods, and is one part of her experience she talked quite a bit about. While in Vietnam, she had the chance to try frog which she says is “really good, tastes like chicken.” Her favorite food she had was Pho, which you could get 24 hours a day.She says it isn’t like the Pho here, it’s has more flavor.

Stephanie’s favorite place to visit in Vietnam was Hội An, a place she visited during both of her trips there. In Hội An there is a little café called The Banana Split Café she went to the first time she visited Vietnam where she met a waitress named My. Doyle realized made a bigger impression on My than she had originally thought during her first trip, when during her second trip, My came running to her yelling her name very excited to see her.

Doyle has traveled many places around the world, Vietnam being just one of them. She was lucky enough to have a job that allowed her to travel, but she says if travel is something you are interested in, you should go for it.