Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Day 1 Stats
- Michigan to UC
- 557km / 346 miles
- 5h10m
- UC to Louisville
- 166km / 103 miles
- 1h37m
- TOTALS Day 1
- 723 km / 347 miles
- 7+ hours driving
Today marked the beginning of our education tour around the USA. Since arriving in the USA in mid-August, we have managed to start the process of Wordplay becoming an official GED Prep & Testing center, registered Wordplay Education LLC in Michigan, and renewing Huong’s status as an American Red Cross certified First-Aid/CPR/AED trainer. With all of that in the rearview mirror, it was now time to hit the open road and start visiting universities to see how Wordplay could enter a mutually beneficial partnership with them.
We grabbed our Starbucks, filled up the tank, & left Michigan bright and early. We drove straight through to Cincinnati, Ohio before stopping for lunch. We ate at Bob Evans for the first time ever. Huong enjoyed a turkey, gravy, & stuffing dish. JaJa devoured all of their broccoli (and had a little chicken noodle soup), Dennis smashed a cheeseburger with Frank’s Red Hot, and I had a chicken, avocado creation. The general consensus from the fam was that the food was really delicious. We’d never had anything like it. Perhaps most surprisingly, Huong finished her big plate of American food before anyone else. After lunch we changed clothes and headed to the University of Cincinnati to try to get a meeting.
Heading into UC, we didn’t know what to expect. We had our questions ready, but we didn’t know exactly who we wanted to talk to yet. Despite this, we really lucked out upon arriving. I chose to navigate to the bookstore as I feel like that’s always the main hub of any campus. This led us to affordable street parking. When we got out of the car and got our first glimpse of campus, JaJa asked, “Is this Harry Potter World?” (anticipating our upcoming trip to Universal Studios Orlando). From our car, we walked up the only sidewalk in sight and headed towards the bookstore. We were pleasantly surprised to see a large building with the words, “Visitor Center” on it right at the end of the path we’d been walking. From there we were able to speak with UC staff and determine who it was that we were there to see, and get a message to them that we’d like to meet if they were free. While we waited to hear back, we walked the campus to check out college life.
First, we visited the bookstore. College bookstores are always fun to check out. While there, we picked up a UC pennant to bring back to Wordplay. After the bookstore, Huong and the boys went to sit in the stands of the football stadium while I handled some business calls. Amazingly, we discovered that the UC football stadium is right in the middle of campus. We also learned that anyone can go on the field at anytime! The field is actually a super popular gathering spot for all kinds of occasions. I went down to the field with the boys and got some cool pics. While on the field, I got the call back that international admissions was free to meet with us.
Our meeting with international admissions was quite informative. We learned that UC has over 3,500 international students, including its very own Vietnamese Student Association. We also learned that UC has a presence in Vietnam with a one-person office located in HCMC. We asked questions regarding forming a strategic partnership, and learned how Vietnamese students can get accepted into the program at UC.
Overall, it was a really positive first day. After wrapping up at UC we hit the highway and made our way to Louisville.
Tomorrow we have a meeting scheduled with international admissions at the University of Louisville, and then we will be on our way to visit Vanderbilt University in Nashville, before making our way to Pensacola, Florida for a few days of rest and relaxation.
