Vietnam in Retrospect

Looking back on my experience in Vietnam, I cannot express how happy I am that I participated in this program. Although I’ve studied abroad previously, it is hard to compare other programs to this one. My previous study abroad program was a language program and although it was the opportunity of a lifetime, AU’s graduate study abroad program in Vietnam offers you the chance to intensively study the history, politics, culture, and economy of this emerging and strategic country.

While the program was enjoyable, I will not deny that it was very challenging. You really do a semester’s worth of work in three weeks. Although this is very exhausting, after finishing the course, I wished there was some way to take all of my courses this way. I really don’t think there is a better way to study a country.

In the morning, we would conduct our seminar at the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences. This seminar would run roughly 2 ½ hours, and occasionally guest speakers would visit us. After the class, we would spend the afternoon meeting with a wide range of people, who had expertise on the topics we were studying. Here’s an example of some of the people we met with: officials from UNDP, USAID, NGO leaders, leaders of top Vietnamese economic think tanks, former politicians, company leaders, and legal experts. Besides these meetings, we made site visits to Vietnam’s industrial parks, where we could examine, first hand, Vietnam’s attempts to move its economy to higher-end industries. After these visits, we would have the evening to soak up the culture, and read, of course. In all, after studying and discussing a topics on Vietnam's economy and politics in depth, we had the chance to meet with and question the people that worked with these issues on a daily basis. Furthermore, by studying Vietnam’s political economy, I felt as though we could appreciate Vietnam from a different perspective. Just viewing Vietnam’s infrastructure, and local businesses, was highly illuminating.

Besides these opportunities, we also got to experience Vietnamese culture first hand – the dizzying motorcycle traffic, Vietnam’s well-known dishes (pho, banh mi, bun, etc.), and Confucian culture. It was fascinating to see the similarities between Vietnam and China. As Confucian countries, with Communist legacies, and rapid economic growth, and similar governing structures there were several similarities. Despite these similarities, Vietnam is very unique, and does not have the warmest relationship with China – to say the least. While we were in Vietnam, there were some skirmishes with Chinese and Vietnamese boats in the South China/East Sea. Furthermore, during our stay, massive ant-China protests took place outside the Chinese embassy in Vietnam (however, we just read about this, we never witnessed it).

Another reason Vietnam was fascinating was because after several years of military engagement during the Vietnam War, Vietnam’s history is uniquely tied with that of the United States, and the history of the Vietnam War permeates much of American culture. We had a chance to meet with NGO leaders that dealt with issues relating to the destruction caused by Agent Orange, and we went to the Vietnam War Museum. While the museum had an obvious agenda, it was eye-opening.

Lastly, during our trip we had the chance to travel. During the first two weeks we stayed in Hanoi, and during the last week we travelled to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). While it is regrettable that we could not view more of the country, we covered a lot of ground during these three weeks. During this time, we visited Ha Long Bay, which is truly one of the most beautiful sites in the world. We also travelled to the Mekong River, where we had the chance to ride in canoes in the Mekong River, bike through the jungle and visit the “floating market”, which is exactly what it sounds like, a market on the river. After studying issues such as the importance of the Mekong River for millions of Vietnamese, and its environmental degradation, it was interesting to see life on the Mekong. As an agricultural society, it was fascinating to see how many people relied on the Mekong River for their daily lives. Furthermore, as we were studying Vietnam’s economy transformation, it was interesting to see how many migrant workers traveled to the urban powerhouses of Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi.

The Vietnam trip was the opportunity of a lifetime, and I would highly recommend it to anyone considering doing it in the future. There is truly no better way to study a country.