This past Friday, I attended a day-long Cultural Immersion program offered at UHCL. In the past they have explored countries such as Iraq, India, and The Netherlands. This year we explored Vietnam. I was hesitant to attend, not knowing what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised with the experience.We met in the morning for fried spring rolls, dumplings, Vietnamese sandwiches and their sesame "cookies". Dr. Van Tran gave a brief, though sufficient history of the country from its beginnings as Viet (or people) Nam (area south of China), expansion south into Khmer Empire, French colonization, American war, Communism, to its recent economic development. Our Provost and Dean, School of Business, discussed our campus' outreach into the country to offer western business practices. In the Fall 2006 we had 555 international students, representing 7.2% of our total student body. Of those, Vietnam has the second highest number of students, behind India.
We also heard about a new Smithsonian exhibit highlighting 30 years of Vietnamese contributions to America following the fall of Saigon (32 years ago today.) Then we filled two chartered buses for the ride to the Vietnamese Buddhist Center in Sugar Land. I have never visited a Buddhist temple before and was duly impressed. We were so far behind schedule that we couldn't walk the grounds, but we did remove our shoes and sit in the temple, while the Master and four monks presented a Meditation for Peace and Happiness in honor of the Virginia Tech shootings. 
I found myself I reflected on this while listening to the monks chant. I found myself comparing this temple with a Catholic church. They have a large Buddha; we have a crucifix. They accept monetary donations in a beautifully decorated red envelope, we pass a basket. They have ritual prayers, statuary, a monastery, burn incense, and preach love and kindness.
We were almost 90 minutes off schedule when we arrived for lunch at Thien Phu. Each table had at least one Vietnamese student to show us how to eat the food. We started with a "salad" of celery, basil, mint, peanuts, pork, and shrimp among other things. Then they started bringing out bowls of mint and cilantro, plates of rice paper over bowls of hot water, and four meat entrees. Ngo showed us how to wet the rice paper and fill it with mint, chopped peanuts, meat, and roll it up to dip in fish sauce. Having Ngo there definitely eased the intimidation factor of trying new dishes, and surprise - I liked most of it.
After lunch we walked into the parking lot to view the Vietnamese War Memorial honoring the American and South Vietnamese soldier. Another statue behind it honored the refugees. Then we were whisked away to Little Saigon Radio where a beautiful reception awaited us. They had a large variety of Vietnamese desserts, which were not very sweet. We heard from the CEO of Little Saigon Radio who spoke of opportunities in America. We also heard from Duy Loan Le, an amazing powerhouse: the first woman Senior Fellow for Texas Instruments. I am so impressed that they had her there to speak to us - more so that she was still there even though we were probably two hours late.
After our speakers, Little Saigon Radio brought out some entertainment. A UHCL student sang a traditional Southern song, and these little 10-year old girls played the đàn tranh, a zither style instrument. When they were finished, it was nearly 5 p.m. and we had to get back to campus. We were quite late.
Overall, I'm glad that I participated in this immersion. I do feel like I understand Vietnamese-Americans and perhaps our own Vietnamese students a little better. There are some strong cultural differences between our countries, and I feel we have as much to learn from them as they have learned from us. I will be less intimidated to go into that part of town, and eat at Vietnamese restaurants. It was a very worthwhile, thought-provoking experience that makes me realize how little I know about the world and other cultures. I can't wait to find out what country will be highlighted next year.
