Dear Prospective Study Abroad Student,

I took a few minutes to reflect and then delved into my journal. On January 16, 2005, I had written, "This trip is very special, not only for my benefit of understanding who I am but it is also a chance for me to show Vietnamese people what American culture is like through a Vietnamese-American, a Viet Kieu)." This was the first time I would be traveling abroad by myself, and this was going to be a long 6 months away from my family and friends. I felt somewhat insecure, but at the same time, I was ready for an adventure. I made sure I got the necessary shots and packed my bags.

Aunt Phuoc and a few others met me at the sizzling hot Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City and we headed toward Bao Loc, the region of tea and coffee in the highlands of Lam Dong. This trip was different compared to my past experience abroad. I felt as though knowing the families gave me an advantage because I was not just another tourist. After visiting for about a month, my relatives helped me make living arrangements and dropped me off in Ho Chi Minh City where I would be studying at Vietnam National University - Department of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language for Foreigners for the next few months.

I highly recommend that if you don't have relatives in the country, which you wish to study abroad that you arrange for a host family. A home stay is basically adopting a family and living with them during your stay in the country. The advantage is a cultural exchange where the family learns about Western culture through you, and you will be able to easily learn the host country's culture because you have personal tour guides.

Studying abroad for me wasn't just about going to school in a foreign country. It is a mix of learning the language in the class and actually being immersed and having to live out that culture. I was able to go visit various memorial places such as the Cu Chi Tunnels - the underground network of passageways built by the North Vietnamese army during the French occupation and later used by Viet Cong to infiltrate South Vietnam from Ben Dinh to Ben Duc; the Revolutionary Museum - features the photographs and artifacts to chronicles the Vietnam decade and struggle for independence; and the War Crimes Museum - recounts the horrors of modern warfare. I was also able to travel to North Vietnam to visit Hanoi and Central Vietnam to visit Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An, etc.

For me, the best moments of my life in Vietnam was not being featured on the national TV station for the special April 30th Independence Day celebration, rather, they are moments that I spent building friendships with the following people: My Hanh, Thuy Tien and the girls from St. Paul convent; the Korean friends, particularly Young Suk; the active young adults who do a lot of charity work, particularly Anh Hai and Anh Khang. These friendships are priceless to me. These friends are truly the ones who have changed my perspective of Vietnam and they have opened my perspective to a world perspective. Thank you my friends, cam on cac ban.

Feel free to contact me at nguyentq@stthom.edu and visit the website for Vietnam National University below.

Sincerely,

Tram "Chum" Nguyen

Here are a few pictures from my journey and some thoughts:

After a few months of studying at Vietnam National University, I took a short trip to explore the city of Hue in Central Vietnam with my two aunts and my cousin Chau. My relatives and I gathered around the xich lo as we waited for the man to pedal us around the city. As we visited the old citadel and the imperial palaces, I was taken away by the historical imprints left by the Vietnamese emperors and the social elites that I could only read about in my history class. I thought to myself, "I am really standing right here, the place where the Vietnamese emperors and kings used to live." I was awestruck with the historical richness of the Vietnamese people as I wondered how many people had walked on the same pavement that I was standing on. I felt as if this location connected all people in time. The structural magnificence of the palaces revealed the immensely rich culture of Vietnam and I could not help but want to touch the walls to leave my own imprint in Hue's Dai Noi.








August 13-15 2006. I stood in front of one of the most famous pilgrimage sites in Vietnam, La Vang. La vang means yellow leaf and refer to the story of the appearance of the Virgin Mary who said to take this la vang, boil it and drink it to heal sicknesses. As I stood there and held my cousin's hand, I felt that I had connected to all of the Vietnamese people. Through the eyes of a Vietnamese-American, I am able to realize unique differences and similarities of Vietnamese and American culture. I am the hyphenated-American that seeks to identify and be the bridge that opens up dialogues between Asian and Western cultures.









Children are symbols of the innocent and pure. By their presence, they have taught me patience, sincerity and justice. These two Vietnamese girls living in the rural part of Ninh Binh a province in North Vietnam have the potential to be great leaders if they are given the proper education. I humbled myself down to their size and I wanted to be a mediator to do something for them. I wanted to help them receive an education just like the one I was receiving.






As I sat in the boat on a small section of the Mekong Delta, I held up a handmade coconut-leaf grasshopper that another child had given me when I visited the coconut plantation in the province of Ben Tre. I talked to the little boy and asked him what he wanted and he said "Em muon di hoc." Roughly, that translates to "I want to be able to go to school." Only with this opportunity to study abroad in Vietnam and to learn the reality of people's lives on trips such as this one did I come to realize that education is a key to proper sustainable development. From this experience abroad, I wanted to make a difference. One of my goals now is to return to Vietnam to help build schools for the children because they are the future.



Contact information: (They both speak and write fluent English)

(1) Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Secretary: Miss Duyen Hai Bui
Department of Vietnamese Studies
and Vietnamese Language for Foreigners (VNS)
University of Social Sciences & Humanities (USSH) - Vietnam National University
HCM City
+ Address: 10-12 Dinh Tien Hoang, District 1, HCM City
+ Tel: 84-8-8225009
+ Fax: 84-8-8229390
+ Email: vietnamhoc@hcm.vnn.vn
+Website: www.vietnamese-language.com.vn


(2) Hanoi, Vietnam

Staff: Mr. Min Van Pham or Ms. Thuy Anh
International Cooperation Office
University of Social Sciences and Humanities
336, Nguyen Trai St, Thanh Xuan Dist, Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: (844) 858-3798, Fax: (844) 858-3821
Email: qhqt_xhnv@vnu.edu.vn
Website: www.ussh.edu.vn/gioithieu_en.htm



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