Ok so I’m back…basically outta guilt. I feel bad b/c I was so gung ho on this blog and requested lots of help from my blogmaster and then to ditch it? Well, that’s just ingratitude.
So here we are.
It’s September 2007, probably a year after I started this thing. And I’m still in Vietnam. I did go home for the summer but since April, I have been working for a VNese- American non-profit organization called East Meets West Foundation.
It’s funny how things work out but basically I had heard about this organization last May when I was first in VN when I picked up a book written by EMW’s founder, Le Ly Hayslip. The book is called “When Heaven and Earth Collide” and it goes through Ms. Hayslip’s trials during and just after the VN war.
It partly motivated me to look for a job in VN and so once I made the move to Danang, I discovered that the EMW office was just around the corner from my office at the University of Danang. So, I met the staff and after a series of unexpected but v. welcomed events, I ended up with a job offer.
Now I’m the EMW editor and one half of the Communications team. I work on project reports, proposals, the magazine, and will continue to update as many publications as needed. It’s a great job and I’m happy to be here.
Here’s some of our project areas:
-clean water systems
-school and hospital construction
-dentistry
-heart operations
-scholarship programs
-compassion homes and emergency family relief fund
-ophanages
See www.eastmeetswest.org for more info 
As my time here draws to a close, the Canadian Consul General based in Ho Chi Minh City and the Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam are paying visits to the central region.
I met with the Consul General last week at the university and as I write, the Ambassador is in Danang. If I get a chance to talk to him, that would be very cool. These visits are a great way to wrap up my internship, and it’s exciting to see that Canada is interested in education in Vietnam. I wonder what these visits and discussions will lead to….hopefully more linkages between these countries. 
When I first started blogging, I thought it was a great idea, but nowadays I don’t know where the time goes and so I never seem to update.
It’s now March and of late, I’ve been doing a lot of writing and editing for the International Cooperation Office. In the process, I’ve been exposed to a million academic terms in Vietnamese and I think I’ve retained about 10 of them! Let’s just say that Vietnamese is a hard language and that I haven’t even begun to master it! Gulp! Anyway….
I’ve been writing some articles on this office’s events which have been posted to the University’s website. One of my major projects has also been the revision of the University’s brochure or introductory guide which will be published sometime this year. I’m glad that some of my work will be out in circulation, and although it doesn’t have my name on it, there’s still a bit of secret satisfaction to know that I was able to help.
I drafted up a visitor’s living guide to Danang for the University which will help foreign professors and students get acquainted to this city. As part of this task, I spent an afternoon whirling around town on a motorbike collecting addresses.
My internship is pretty much over, and I’m sorry that this blog doesn’t reallly reflect a whole lot. I didn’t realize that blog maintenance would be take time…
At this time, I’m still helping out at the University and have a couple visits coming up. Today, I met a Thai instructor who will be teaching at the College of Foreign Languages, and on Thursday, there’ll be a French delegation….I don’t have many details but that should be fun.
I expect changes on the work front for me in the near future since my time in this capacity is almost up. And then, I’ll write again. At this time, I just have to wait and see what pops up.
Hustle, bustle! My days in the International Cooperation Office keep flying by! It’s the end of January already – wait, it’s February 2nd and also my friend’s bday today. We’re going to Bambino’s, the fabulous French restaurant in town, for raclette. Should be good! I’ve been a bit neglectful of my working log of late, and I meant to write about this last year (haha). In late November to mid-December, the inaugural student group from the Australian National University (ANU) arrived for an intensive 3-week geography course which also encompassed Vietnamese language, culture, and social development. I’m sure the planning of this trip took forever since their schedule was jam-packed. They were split into groups on gender dynamics, tourism, health and reproduction, and environment and went around town, visiting hospitals, companies, factories etc. to try to get a feel of the current situation in Danang with the respect to these areas. I attended some of their seminars, Vietnamese lessons, and group presentations.
One afternoon, I accompanied a couple students on a trip to the beach to meet with local women selling seafood. We asked them (with my broken Vietnamese translations) about fishing, busy seasons, their schedules etc. and as we were talking, we met a young girl with a tear-streaked face who was wandering on the beach road. We asked her where she was going, and it turned out that she had just been kicked out of her house for refusing to marry someone her family had chosen. I believe she was just 20, but came from a poor fishing family. She didn’t have any place to go it seemed so we took her out for a snack. Afterwards, she continued on her way to…some place. It was random and quite sad to stumble upon such a situation but apparently, this is a “normal” story for Vietnam.
I also joined the ANU group on their visit to a Binh Dinh village where we stayed for 3 days, living with locals. Again, I was pretty fortunate because this showed me another side of Vietnam, one which I am pretty removed from in Danang. This was the Vietnam one thinks about: rice paddies and water buffalo and fields that stretch for miles. We went to a local wedding at 8am and s/o signed me up for a karaoke solo….good thing I have a standard song (in English) to fall back to in times like these!
One day when the Internet connection is better, I will post some pics!
Hello! I’ve been bad about updating the blog of late. Here’s a quick note though. Last week, the second in command at the US Embassy in Hanoi visited the University of Danang. He came for some discussions with the UD President, to talk to the Catholic bishop in town, and also to meet students. I sat in on this Q&A session and it was quite an interesting few hours.
I’m not sure how diplomats usually act, but this one was extremely frank and honest with his perspectives on Vietnam, its culture, and what he likes and doesn’t like about the country. I was surprised because I expected standardized answers and flowery comments, but this guy was truthful to the point of brutal honesty. He mentioned some questionable practices that he’s observed during his time here, which I would be hesistent to raise with an all Vietnamese crowd. However, perhaps because he was speaking to university students, he felt that he could challenge them and participate in a lively discussion.
In any case, a different type of afternoon visit at the uni which I need these days because I’m currently editing a lengthy and oh so fun brochure!
Hello! As a fun perk of the job, I was invited to take part in a photo shoot or “simulation” of students in a classroom at the new English Language Institute (ELI) building. Funny thing is that after the session, I received an email requesting my permission to have a photo blown up into a large poster that will be hung outside the ELI for two or three months. My colleagues think it’s a great way to meet people: all I have to do is say that I’m the girl in the photo outside Danang’s newest educational building and I’m set. I think it’s great.
Here’s the photo they chose, and of course, I was completely unprepared and thus, not wearing makeup! Oh well
Can’t wait til the big one goes up!
Hello again!
The expat community in Danang is quite small, and so after observing classes for a week, I bumped into the same friendly ppl over and over again. An American couple, who run High Mark, have recently played a signifcant part in helping me adjust to the culture. They have lived in Danang for two years and are in the midst of delivering an intensive business course (marketing, HR, finance, and strategic management) to the Danangian business community.
What they do is host a small group of American business owners (who fly over on their own dime and volunteer their time) and they teach a one-week seminar on Western practices and tips for how to implement some of these strategies into the Vietnamese companies. In the afternoons, they visit the VNese participants’ factories and offices and offer their suggestions. It’s an executive business level program, and because I work for the International Cooperation Office, I get to observe!
It’s really great b/c so many things are happening at these seminars. The VN business ppl are very eager to learn and ask tons of thoughtful questions. I’m very impressed and envious of the translators b/c they speak great English and VNese….give me ten years and maybe, just maybe, I’ll get there : )
Also, by meeting business ppl in Danang, I may be able to find some interesting employment opportunites. Today, one of the directors asked if I’d be interested in doing some part-time work for him. We’ll see where this takes me but it’s definitely exciting so far:)
OH, and when the Americans arrived in Danang on the weekend, I was invited to go on the city tour and dinner (complete with French wine and VNese dancers) with them, and that was considered to be “work”! = lots of fun : ) Please see the photos.
Although teaching English full-time is not for me, teaching for friends once a week or so is a very easy way to make a couple bucks when you’re feeling poor = my case
Actually, it can be pretty fun as a hobby. Vietnamese usually speak softly so to see a Vietnamese girl like me with a booming voice is not a common sight, and well, it makes for an interesting class
However, if you are someone who likes to teach, there are opportunities in Danang and it’s a really beautiful city. Just c’mon by and you may find yourself living a wonderful beach life in Danang. It’s definitely something to think about
BP sponsors an accounting course at the university which is based on the CPA (an American accounting designation) curriculum taught in the Philippines. It’s a one year program that’s offered to students after they’ve graduated with a bachelors and I am so impressed with the students.
And for some strange reason, accounting always seems to follow my life…Am I meant to become one? Je pense que non!
They have accounting, business communication, finance, and business math classes. I think sometime this week, I’ll talk to them about resumes and my own job experiences. It’ll be Q&A session #45 for me!
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been observing classes at the university in hopes of establishing exchange programs with Western universities. However, because that’s a fairly large task, I’m trying to see which classes are offered in English and to make a list of them in case exchange programs are explored in more detail.
So far, I’ve been to the engineering and technology campus where about 85% of the students are male. Unfortunately, I was wearing a brightly coloured outfit that day and received a lot of catcalling 
I sat in on an English class for first year engineering students. Then I visited an education class and did a short intro/Q&A session with them.
The next day, I went to the economics campus (on my bike!) to visit the Towson students who are Vietnamese students who will be heading to the USA to study next year. They are currently trying to pass their TOFEL exam so they have an American couple who are businesspeople assisting in their class. It was really fun to see what problems Vietnamese students have with English. Vietnamese ppl are somewhat interested in me because I look like them but have very different ideas and opinions. These students speak very nice English so now I can choose if I want to speak Vietnamese or English, but I always choose VNese AND French
