By Eric Tran
Words cannot describe how transformative my time abroad was. I am back home now after being in Vietnam for two months for an internship, and I miss Vietnam every day. The best part of my time in Vietnam, aside from the rewarding work that I have done in-country, was just the sheer sense of cultural immersion that I have experienced. Growing up in San Diego, I was always exposed to a literal melting pot of cultures—Vietnamese culture included. Then, when I went away to college, my entire sense of Vietnamese community collapsed. I barely knew any Vietnamese people on campus, and none of my close friends were Vietnamese like they were back home. The only time I ever got to speak Vietnamese during the school year was when I called my parents every night. Needless to say, I felt isolated from my culture and my heritage. So, when I learned that I got accepted to an internship in Hanoi, which I had never been to before, I was ecstatic. Being surrounded by people that shared the same language, customs, beliefs, and even being surrounded by people that looked like me was insanely refreshing. Prior to this, I had not been in Vietnam for over twelve years, and my oh my has the country changed. Being able to explore it, on my own, as an adult, was an amazing experience. I tried new foods, visited beautiful places that I had never been before, and reconnected with old friends while making some new friends along the way. I will never forget just how perfect my time in Vietnam was, even if I did have the stomach flu..twice!
In regards to the actual work that I did, I found teaching to be extremely rewarding. Speaking both English and Vietnamese definitely helped, and teaching students that were around my age was also a lot more convenient. I taught at a primary school for two weeks while the university that I taught at was out for summer break, and it goes without saying that the kids were A LOT harder to work with! My students and I also had a unique relationship that they had never had before with their previous English teachers. Because there was no language or culture barrier, we got along very well, and I became good friends with many of the students that I taught. We hung out outside of the class numerous times, and leaving them to return to America was undoubtedly a bittersweet moment for both parties. We have group-chats though, so we have been keeping in touch and that is enough for me! I also participated in a summer camp sponsored by my host organization, and I also befriended many people at that camp. We, like the university students, also have a group-chat, and they even treated me out to a delicious dinner before I flew home.
As for how I have grown personally, I would say that the growth that I have been fortunate enough to achieve has been immeasurable. I learned that I am capable of doing amazing things, even if I may doubt myself initially. I taught my various English classes for about 6 weeks by myself until the school found someone to teach with me, and during that time, all I could think initially was, “Oh my God, how am I supposed to craft my own lesson plans and teach eight different classes the lessons for an hour and a half each class by myself?” I felt like there was no way on Earth that I could find enough material to last that long, and I thought the classes would be too difficult to keep under control and manage by myself, but I would say that by the second or third week, things kind of fell into place and I did not feel all of that pressure anymore. The students and I found our groove, and it kind of just continued throughout the rest of my internship. I would also say that I grew a lot as a Vietnamese person. In America, recently, I felt as if my Vietnamese identity was slowly fading away, but the time I spent in Vietnam turned that right around. I got to speak Vietnamese every day, read Vietnamese every day, and write in Vietnamese every day too. In the United States, I only usually have to speak it, but now, being in a place where I have to pull out all the stops language-wise, I definitely feel as though my Vietnamese proficiency has improved tremendously, and I think my parents are proud of that! In terms of other people, I have also learned that others generally genuinely want to make the world a better place. I lived in a house full of other volunteers, some of whom have been in Vietnam for years. They do not get paid for the work that they do, but they stay and do this difficult work because it is rewarding for them and they get to improve the lives of the Vietnamese people. I felt proud and thankful to be able to be a part of something bigger than myself alongside others who felt the same way. Lastly, I want to talk about how this summer has reaffirmed to me what I had always felt to be true about myself: above all else, I care about making the world a better place through the power of education. Through my work, I have directly impacted the lives of others in a positive manner, and I can physically feel the weight of that work, and it will forever resonate within me. More than ever, I want to pour my heart and soul into making quality education more accessible to everyone throughout the world, and the work I did at this internship has been the first step towards achieving such a lofty goal.
I am extremely grateful to have been afforded such an opportunity, and I will work to pay it forward by doing as much as I can to better the lives of others in the world, through education as well as through other means.
Some of my students treating me out to some Korean barbecue! (It was delicious)
Kayaking in Ha Long Bay was literally breathtaking!
Me and the other volunteers in the house going out for a late-night boba run!
The camp shirt they gave everyone didn’t fit me, so spotting me isn’t all the hard! This is from the summer camp that I did—it was insanely fun and meaningful.
Me and my friends from the summer camp going out bowling!
I hiked 12 miles in slides, but the views were definitely worth it in Sa Pa!
