Majestic Rooftop Reception & Vietnamese Karaoke

Wow, there is so much to say .... I'll start with last night and work backwards. Our class officially started yesterday, and last night was our first night out as a group. All 24 MBA students, our esteemed professor Dr. Shultz and his former students from the Harvard Fulbright Center gathered together for a welcome reception on the rooftop of our hotel, The Majestic, in Ho Chi Minh City. The outdoor setting overlooking the Saigon River with a twilight view of the city was amazing. I found it fascinating talking with former students of Dr. Shultz and learning about their passion for entrepreneurship and building a better community in Ho Chi Minh, as well as throughout Vietnam.

To give you, our friends and family, a little perspective on the genius that is our Loyola professor, Clifford J. Shultz II, Ph.D., he has been teaching and consulting on Southeast Asia's socio-economic development and consumer behavior marketing practices for over 20 years. He pioneered this study abroad immersion at Columbia University in New York and has lectured at numerous worldwide conferences and universities including Arizona State University, and most recently, Dr. Shultz was recruited to join Loyola University Chicago's business faculty as a professor and Kellstadt Chair for the MBA program and undergraduate curriculum. In addition to being a smart academic and expert on the region, Dr. Shultz is also great karaoke singer. We found that out last night. Tell him that you heard it from the "Winter Quarter 2011 group," that his song is "Surfing USA" by the Beach Boys.

A special thanks goes out to our new friends from the Harvard Vietnam Fulbright Center who introduced us Loyola kids to Vietnamese karaoke last night. I'll let my other classmates catch you up on that experience. It was a fun night for all and in tandem with the rooftop reception really set the tone for the first night together.

Today in a couple of minutes, we are departing for a consulting meeting at Saigon Cosmetics and an afternoon meeting at Intel. Four of our classmates are making a business presentation to executives from Saigon Cosmetics.