A Taste of Vietnamese Culture!

Trying coconut juice at a local restaurant. 

Dinner time! Rice and chicken are popular meals along with seafood and fresh fruits and vegetables. 

More fresh coconut juice! 

A delicious rice dessert. It was deep fried and shared by our entire table. 

Foreign Agriculture Services

The first stop on my tour of Vietnam was a meeting with the FAS, Foreign Agriculture Services. Ching Bailey has served with the organization for 25 years and spoke to our group regarding the Vietnamese agriculture market. Representatives like Bailey serve as liaisons between American agriculturists and those over seas. They work with all aspects of agriculture including market development and trade policy. The work is specific to developing markets like Vietnam where goals include food security and market stability. 

Ching Bailey spoke to our I CAL group at the Sheraton Hotel. She discussed the current market trends, challenges and promise that Vietnamese agriculture has. 

Beautiful Butterflies!

You never know what you will find in the airport! While waiting for our transfer flight in Singapore to Vietnam, my fellow I CAL teammates and I discovered a butterfly garden in the airport terminal. Viewing the butterflies was a great way to pass the time. The flowers in the gardens were also a sight to see. 

There were many butterfly species and they all seemed to love these red flowers. 

This was my favorite flower masterpiece of the garden! 

Pineapple anyone? These pineapple slices were used to feed the butterflies.

Traveling to Southeast Asia

The hustle and bustle of an airport is composed with the flurry of travelers searching for departure gates, the feeling of ease when you complete security checks and excitement when you finally reach plane take off. The diverse aspects of travel are what make it so exhilarating. It is a process that I will complete after three flights, two days, time zone changes and thousands of miles. After, I will reach my destination of Southeast Asia. 

I will be half a world away in a foreign country. In Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore I will be submerged in a new culture for two weeks. There will be language barriers, I will be12 hours off my normal time zone and even miss my mother's birthday. Yet, this is all part of the traveling process. You must be flexible and have a positive attitude. Luggage may get lost, planes can be delayed and security will often take longer than you like, but reaching your destination is worth any slight mishaps. In all, the traveling process can be an adventure just as much as your trip. 

 Bethany Markay from Missouri State University and I enjoy our last American meal before heading over seas.  

Our team flew from San Francisco, California to Hong Kong, China, to Singapore and then Vietnam. Vietnam is the first country on our tour of Southeast Asian agriculture. With Passport in hand, I am ready to learn about international agriculture first-hand. 

Hello Hong Kong, China! 

I experienced my first airplane meal! (Complete with dragon fruit and rice rolls.) The entire flight duration was around 15 hours. However, we spent nearly 30 hours in travel time with flight layovers, time zone changes and security. 

Upon reaching Asia a few team mates and I enjoyed a refreshing Starbucks break! I had to try the latest Frapachino flavor. 

San Francisco

At 10 a.m. I had landed in San Francisco. I had traveled to California before, but this was my first time in the Bay Area. When I arrived to my hotel I immediately booked a day tour of the city. I boarded a double decker red tourist bus and soon was out and about in the city!

I was in San Francisco for weekend training for the International Collegiate Agriculture program. Myself and the other delegates assembled here to make introductory presentations and learn more about our impending trip overseas. 

But before we got down to work, I had sights to see! The "Hop on Hop Off" bus tour was led by a fabulous tour guide who took us to many of the famous San Francisco districts. This included China Town, the Victorians, "high end" shopping and piers.  

The highlight of my day was visiting the Golden Gate Bridge. This historic monument has been the backdrop of many Hollywood films and I have always wanted to cross it. Our tour guide had many stories about the bridge and other monuments. In all, the tour was filled with information, history and facts. It was a wonderful day across the bridge! 

Most children of the 90's will recognize this neighborhood. The yellow house in the middle of the Victorian District is where the famous sitcom Full House was filmed! 

The Golden Gate Bridge! Crossing this bridge was an item on my bucket list. I took many pictures of the moment but this was my favorite!

That "statue" was actually a man! 

Take Me Along!

Sorry Teddy, but I you might push my suitcase over the weight limit! He hopped in my suitcase as I was packing for an impending flight to San Francisco. I will spend the weekend in California training for 

I-CAL and preparing for the trip to Asia. The baggage weight limit is 44 pounds so Teddy, you will have to stay in Missouri. After a few tries my suitcase was soon within the weight limit! But, I will miss Teddy greatly when I am away this summer. 

Birthday Time!

I always thought I would feel "old" when I reached my mid thirties. At that time I figured life had reached its peak. Well on May 10 I turned 19. I have reached the last year of being a teenager. Now, I feel pretty old!

With age is supposed to come wisdom. I have gained an infinite amount of knowledge this past year. Not only academically (my professors should be happy to note) but also practically speaking. I may still be helpless when it comes to anything that has to do with my car, but I feel as though my "survival skills" increased dramatically after attending college. I feel confident I could survive on microwave mac n' cheese and stretch my clean clothes to the limit if necessary.

I can only imagine what knowledge I will gain in years to come. Who knows what the big 2-0 will have in store? 

I think we set a record for the number of college women in a Mexican restaurant! I was so happy that 25 of my closest friends were able to come to my birthday dinner.

My dear friend Mallory and I. 

It's Never Goodbye

"It's not goodbye, it's just 'see ya later.'"

Those were the words of a friend I met in Washington D.C. nearly two years ago. We met at the FFA Washington Leadership Conference and still keep in touch to this day. The fact is, that in today's world, and especially the agriculture industry, we never really say goodbye to one another. We meet again at leadership conferences, industry events and meetings. There is also Skype, Facebook and iphones which keep us in constant communication.

Still, I was pretty bummed when I had to say my fair wells to all of the amazing individuals I had met during my freshman year at MU. Luckily, I know I will see them again. Some I am even living with next year. Friends who were a door or hallway away last semester will be only a house down the road this upcoming year. Many of my friends and I will be sharing a neighborhood and class schedule next year.

First semester, we all agree, was about finding ourselves. Second semester of our freshman year was about finding our friends. When I came to MU in August I felt like everything was fast-pace and that faces just blended together. However, soon moments started sticking out. Moments like a loaning an outfit to the girl down the hall for a night out, remembering someone on the first floor whom you met at the Missouri Agribuisness Academy or sharing lunch with a group of random journalism students. Little moments soon clicked into big friendships.

Summer of 2012 will hold bonfires, concerts, float trips, visits to farms and many memories with friends. It's true, friendships are not on hold for the summer, they are constant.

 Friends until the end. 

Kailtin Flick, Amanda Neff, I and Sophia Hyder by the historic MU Columns. 

At the end of the semester, where else would we be but together? 

Sweet Summertime

Hello from Brammer Farms! After finishing finals, saying goodbyes to friends and moving out of my dorm (yes I will miss Schurz Hall) I find myself enjoying a few peaceful days of summer on the farm.  I cherish the moments I spend here more than ever. My Corgi, Teddy, is my constant companion. He's with me when I bake, watch Lifetime marathons, craft and catch up on the free reading I missed when I was studying for finals.

Many summers of my life have been spent at livestock shows, summer camps, family vacations and at the country club. Each summer holds a different memory. Last summer, I took college courses at North Central Missouri College and worked as a Sonic Car Hop. I continued to show my cattle and horses, this will be the first time I have not shown since I was 10 years old. Some summers I would even say I lived in the horse arena. I begged my parents to take me to every county fair in the area.

Every year our family would go to a different state for vacation. We have visited every state in the midwest region. Weekend trips to the lake filled with tubing and fishing were also common. Camping is still one of my favorite activities today! The summer I turned 16 was one of the most memorable. It seemed like I went to every leadership opportunity. Every week of the summer I was gone to a camp or on a trip.

But this summer will be different. Soon, I will be departing on a plane bound for Asia and then will live in Kansas City for my summer internship. Gone are the days of high school jobs, county fairs and relaxing with friends. I am excited for the opportunities I have been presented with but change always brings anticipation.

If there is one thing constant in life; it is the passage of time. Sitting here in a hammock on my farm, the world seems to slow down a bit. Life is peacful. Being surrounded by green pastures and red barns reminds me of 18 summers spent in bliss. I trust the impending summer will hold just as many memories and be a different kind of wonderful.

I came home to a surprise on the farm, a new bottle calf!