Faculty Letter - Vietnam
Encountering Vietnam
Dear Prospective Student: 
I'm writing to personally welcome you to the UCR Summer Travel Study in Hue, Vietnam. Located in the center of the country, Hue was the imperial capital of the Nguyen dynasty in the 1800's and has retained much of its classical charm amidst Vietnam's current economic boom. Students and faculty will stay in a courtyard hotel just outside the eastern wall of the old imperial palace.
For students interested in Asian cultures and history, Hue presents an incredible opportunity. In a country famous for over 1700 unique culinary dishes, 1400 of them come from Hue; and students from a recent program were treated to incredible (and i
nexpensive) food. Three of them participated in a cooking class and learned to make some dishes including Hue's famous vegetarian food. For students interested in modern politics and history, Hue is located both geographically and culturally between the northern and southern poles of Vietnamese culture. Two recent program students worked with veterans from different sides of the Vietnam War to study how life in the city changed during and after that war. In a rapidly developing country, Hue also presents other opportunities for students to learn about development through first hand experience. Students in the pat have volunteered at orphanages and health clinics, learning first hand about public and private efforts to alleviate poverty. Finally, living in Hue is simply fun! Located 5 km from the white sand beaches, students can take a quick (and cheap) taxi to the beach for an afternoon. Vietnam's Royal Academy of Music houses nationally and internationally known musicians, who give performances and provide lessons. Hue is also home to a unique form of Vietnamese martial arts that students may wish to study (warning: practice time is 5am!)
Hue University's College of Foreign Languages offers an intimate, challenging environment for learning. Students study Monday through Thursday mornings in a Modern Vietnamese History survey that includes short trips to some of the sites where this history took place. We'll visit war sites, tombs of kings and nationalists, and after class make trips to some of the town's best eateries. 
The faculty at HUCFL is fluent in English, most having received MA training at universities in Australia, the UK, or the US. The Department of Vietnam Studies will offer short lectures on Vietnamese culture while language teachers from the Department of English will offer Vietnamese language training at all levels from beginner to advanced. Teacher-student ratios in the language course are at most 1 to 2, giving you an opportunity to accelerate quickly or for beginners to be able to communicate basic terms with locals during your stay here. HUCFL also provides a van and chauffeur to bring students to and from the classroom on all days.
Courses will take Mon-Thurs mornings and Tues-Thurs afternoons, but time is especially reserved on the weekends and other times for your own explorations. People in Hue are famous in Vietnam for their friendliness, and you are encouraged to meet them. My wife, Ms. Hong-Anh Ly, has extended family in Hue, and her aunts and uncles can provide students with introductions to performers, musicians, scholars, kite-makers, and others. We frequently invite students to her auntie's house located a block from the hotel for a home-cooked meal, and we encourage stud
ents to visit families of friends and HUCFL teachers to learn more about everyday life in Vietnam. In addition to this free time, I have planned several trips this summer so students have an opportunity to see some important places in Vietnam. We'll make a weekend trip to Hoi An, a small port that was once a booming 17th century center of the Asian silk trade with many old Japanese-style houses over 200 years old that housed the primarily Japanese and Portuguese merchants there. On the way, we'll stop at China Beach in Danang, the beach where U.S. Marines first landed in 1965. Later in the course, we'll make a four-day trip to Hanoi, Vietnam's ancient and modern capital. Few students realize that the city of Hanoi is almost one thousand years old (founded in 1010). Besides its modern past, Hanoi is home to 8th century Buddhist temples, an Old Quarter over 800 years old, and its own regional food and traditions that make it a must-see stop.
What do you need to get prepared for this adventure? You need a passport (get it now!) and can begin the process by talking with Mely Fitzgerald. Mely is the up-to-the-minute source for students and parents with logistical questions (financial aid, immunizations, etc.) I'll try to answer some of the other questions briefly here. Previous students brought their mobile phones so that their parents (and local friends) could contact them. Newer phones (tri-band) work best. Both Hong-Anh and I carry mobile phones and are reachable by them and by email 24/7. We also stay at the hotel with our children Xuan Anh and Kian, so we are reachable in person day and night. There are Internet cafes next door to the hotel, so you may not wish to bring a laptop; but having it in your hotel room for writing papers is an added convenience. All students brought bicycle helmets as I emphatically require them if you intend to ride bicycles around town. Parents will want to know about medical facilities in Hue. We have a French-trained, English-speaking physi
cian who will visit the group in the first week to talk about staying healthy in Vietnam; he is also available for house-calls and teaches at Hue Medical College. In the past, we called him for a few stomach related cases, and students recovered quickly usually within the course of a day.
If you are interested in this program, I encourage you to drop me an e-mail (dbiggs@ucr.edu) and to contact Mely. You can get in touch with her at the Summer Sessions Office at (951) 827-3044 or 827-7128 or by e-mail at TravelStudy@ucr.edu. Please also visit the blog from last summer 2009, filled with pictures of the students and our adventures and of previous years - 2006 and 2007.
Students in the past have come from UCD, UCSB, UCLA, The New School (NYC), Fullerton, and UCR; and I'm happy to put you in touch with them if you'd like to ask them about their experiences. Chúc Mừng Nam Mới (Happy Lunar New Year) and we look forward to seeing you this summer.
David A. Biggs
History Department
| Member of NAFSA: Association of International Educators |
