Admittedly, I was nervous before leaving for Vietnam. There was so much that could go wrong in a place far from home. Even for the first night, those nerves persisted. Vietnam felt new; it was different from the US in an undeniable way. Luckily, our partner university, UEF, understood precisely what to do.
The morning after, we had breakfast and a visit to the tailor at the hotel. It was a nice opportunity to talk to the other Plus3 students and the two main guides from UEF, but the whole time I was thinking solely about what the “welcome ceremony” would be like. I don’t know exactly what I thought it would be, but I was nowhere near the truth. The ceremony was actually awe-inspiring. We got off the bus to a literal red-carpet welcome with hundreds of UEF students and faculty. Every student was excited to talk and take pictures. Afterwards, we went to an auditorium to listen to speeches and music, play games, and continue talking to the UEF students. Oftentimes in the US, welcome ceremonies feel like formalities before you can get to more interesting activities, but this ceremony had passion and was overall very engaging. Not once did I feel bored or zoned out during the ceremony.
Following the ceremony, we boarded a bus for a city tour. Looking back on it, I can’t think of a better activity to make international students feel comfortable. The weather was comfortable, aside from some light rain, and the tour provided an excellent opportunity to explore the city during the day while forming connections with others. What really stood out to me was the proximity of residential and commercial buildings. You could drive down one road with normal, family-owned properties, take a few turns, and end up in a heavily tourist, commercialized area. I believe this is indicative of the pace of development. City real estate developers and the government are still in the process of urbanization, where market forces haven’t yet convinced residential homeowners to sell to larger corporations.
After the tour, we ate at a comfortable restaurant and had a similar bus ride back home. I can’t help but appreciate the hospitality and friendliness we were shown. I met many UEF students whom I’m excited to speak to going forward, and all of my worries have been assuaged.