Vietnamese National Day

9th September 2008 was Vietnamese National Day, we had a gathering in Shi Lei's room to get to know more about what National Day means to Vietnamese. Exchanges of national anthems was sang. Students told us that Vietnamese people are very patriotic and nationalistic, in particular towards Ho Chi Minh. Compared to Singapore, from my point of view, Vietnamese people are much more proud of their country, and are willing to show it, where else in Singapore, individualism in certain cases is of a higher regard than nationalism. And people such as bloggers Mr.Brown and comments on the newspaper would sometimes talk about differences with regards to government policies.

Everytime during this day, many people will go down to Ho Chi Minh square to observe the morning national day ceremonial march, following which, many people would start queing up for a glimpse of Ho Chi Minh on this day, which also happens to coincide with the death anniversary of Ho Chi Minh. We went down to see the ceremony that day, and was greeted by a huge crowd. At first we wanted to que up as well but the que was simply too long, however, our Vietnamese friend who came along with us still wanted to see the body of Ho Chi Minh, in my view, reflection of the deeply nationalistic Vietnamese people.

Standing at attention for the flag raising ceremony


National Day Rally, where many different companies were showcased to show their support for National Day


The extremely long que just to get around a 5 mins glimpse of Ho Chi Minh on this memorable day


Public performances on National Day


Daniel Foo

Vietnam will be celebrating its independence on the 2nd of September! So far, the streets have been decorated and there is a festive atmosphere. Everyone that I met is asking me if I know Independence Day is coming soon. How would I not know if all the streets are covered with flags and more pictures of Uncle Ho? : )

Therefore, I suggested to the club that we should have a club meeting on Independence Day! And the members were all very excited. I was surprised when they really came for the club meeting bringing their National Flag along. I told them that in Singapore, less and less people are hanging the national flag up during National Day. Daniel was so funny, he told the class that when the economy is back, no one puts up the national flag, which I think is true too. Daniel commented that the number of flags being hang during national day is a reflection on the popularity of the PAP government. The students were quite perplexed about it. They replied that everyone in Vietnam put up the National Flag. There is no law that said you have to, but everyone will just do it. Looking at how all the streets in Hanoi are draped in flags, they don’t really have to explain further.

I think that students in Vietnam and Vietnamese on the hold are openly more nationalistic than Singaporeans. Not just during Independence Day. For ex, if I tell them I study Southeast Asian Studies and that I like to concentrate on Vietnam specifically, they will most probably come up to me and thank me profusely for expressing my interests in their country. I think they really appreciate people who are interested in their culture and their people.

But the most interesting discovery is that while Mr Lee Kuan Yew have done a lot for our country’s development, we ( I mean Singaporean youths nowadays) are not really that appreciative of his efforts. Or maybe we do not really care or express it? This is totally unlike the case, might be generalizing, but all the students I met in the English club basically remembered Uncle Ho Chi Minh and remember him fondly as the Uncle. I tried to hint that maybe some Vietnamese might not feel the same towards Uncle Ho, but it seems like they could not understand why any Vietnamese will not be thankful towards Uncle Ho and see him as the leader of the people. Don’t believe me? They told me that they regularly wake up early at around 5 plus to go to Ba Dinh Independence Square, just in front of Ho’s mausoleum. I asked them “To Do What? “Hmm, to take part in flag raising national ceremony and to sing the national anthem. I could only remember all those morning assembly I used to skip in Junior College… lol

“Do you know on Independence Day, we also celebrate our loss for Uncle Ho? He died on Independence day, so this day has double meaning to all Vietnamese!”

“ I bet it is going to rain again! It always rain on Independence Day course the sky is crying for Uncle Ho!” and ya it did drizzle. But most importantly, I got their point. : )

-- shi lei

About Animals

This discussion was about the various issues regarding animals : such as animal rights, animals as pets, and animals as food

Presented by Linh and Ha

The group that came to this discussion was quite small, however, despite of this, the discussion carried out was more personal, and involved greater inputs from participants.

Linh talked about animals as food, and whether it was ethical to eat certain animals as food, particularly in Vietnam, this would be food such as dog meat, cat meat, and various other controversial animals. As she had pets at home, she found that this was very cruel. Adding to this point, she also mentioned that people do not see food as animals, but rather, food as food, which is why they would eat meat, the psychological effort of seeing animals being killed for food is quite influencial.

An interesting quote was made by Thuy, in that in Vietnam, the financial situation isn't that stable, hence, it is very important to be able to survive. Survival comes first and people would find all sort of means to earn money, food being a good avenue, hence the sale of all kinds of meat besides the convential chicke, beef and pork. This includes dog-meat, embryo eggs and little sparrows, these 3 of which are the most popular non-convential food in Vietnam. However, it is still split in opinion with regards to the rights of these animals. Thus the current situation in Vietnam, with both modern thinking and the notion of survival.

This was followed up by a point made by Shi Lei, on the issue of cosmetic testing on animals, and whether it was ethical, again , this brought a very good discussion in to topic, again split into different viewpoints. Most notably animals lovers and non animal lovers. The issue of survival comes into effort once again. If these testings are not done on animals, who else can they be done on. Is the value of life in an animal of equal importance to that of a human being. This session left me pondering alot, a rather deep but well analysed reading.

Daniel Foo

About Money

Today's session was a discussion on the subject of money

Presented by Ha and Manh

A look into the values of money. How important is money to you?, financial stability and moods of survival. A play was presented on a lady on a boat that was about to sink, the driver could save her, but wanted money to do so.

Money and morality, would you sacrifice morality for money. What would you do for money. This play discussed into consideration the importance of money. Is it worth sacrificing your values for the sake of money. Again, in Vietnam, the standard of living is low, and generally, from what I believe, many people are looking for ways and means to earn money to earn a living for their families. To a certain extent, some Vietnamese would even look to every opportunity to earn extra money. Such as going rounds in a taxi, selling a bread for an exorbitant price, especially for foreigners, higher prices are often found in items sold for foreigners than when a Vietnamese buys something. This could be due the poor financial stability statues in Vietnam, much which can be done to improve upon the situation.

The presenters, Ha and Manh


Attentive listeners


A look into jobs was also portrayed, and Shi Lei and myself gave a presentation on jobs in Singapore, whereby it is rather easy for University students to get part time jobs as tuition teachers, earning quite abit as compared to Vietnamese for each student. Another issue discussed was how much pockey money would a student get, which generally is not much as mentioned by students, one student of which mentioned that her parents only give her around $50 a month. Certainly below average. However, Vietnamese are known for their survivally quality and something they know is if the years of war didn't stop them, what could. Acceptable of the situation and the ability to survive withe what they have is one of the admireable traits of a general portion of Vietnamese people.

After the session, me and Shilei went to the houses of Thuy and My, of which Thuy's family runs a food business in the 1st level of the house. An expression of the closest of family in Vietnamese society and the concept of family and work, or time spent with family, as a key aspect to success in developing concept. We also played a local Vietamese game, and drew on the hands of the person who was last It was an enjoyable experience and we got to know how close Vietnamese friends were and the usuage of such games and also got to know a greater bond of friendships and uniqueness in Vietnam.

On the way to Thuy's house, visit to a unique pagoda


Vietnamese card game , whereby Vietnamese would draw on the losers hand~~

A Night of Cultural Food

The English Club today had a meeting a Shi Lei's room, in which individual members brought food from home or from outside that were unique to Vietnam in a potluck food session. 2 Foreign friends were invited as well, Dr Vattana from Laos and Sammy Norris from the United States of America, both of which contributed some delicious food as well, such as pizza, a western cultural dish to share among the Vietnamese students.

Some of the delicacies on show by the Vietnamese students include
Fried Nem,(Fried Spring Roll) Pho Chuon(Spring Roll) Bun Cha (Vietnamese Noodles)

Western food from our special guests , pizza!


Thuy and Ha, enthusiastic students!


Daniel Foo

Today's session is on the food culture of Vietnam. And I sort of got my first cultural shock.. well I prepared and cleaned up the tables so we can eat on the tables, but the studetns came in and immediatedly started spreading newspapers on the floor.. so we end up eating on the floor. However, I realised this was better, as we could sit close to each other and see everyone faces as we crowd around the food.

Every member brought along something that they either made or bought. There was introduction to the types of food there was, and they taught us how to go about eating them. Actually, VIetnamese cusine is not that easy to eat correctly. With all the sauses, nuoc man ( fish sauce), nuoc tom (prawn sause) and nuoc chanh ( lime juice) you dont know when is the correct one to dip your food into. Also, if you are not used to Vietnamese cuisine, you will not know how to eat your rice paper with the vegetable and other ingredients properly. How I know? cos Sam our American friend and Dr Vatana sort of used to eat them separately, until they were showed by our English club members the correct way to eat it.. the food that the members brought along reflected the food preference of the vietnamese, mostly hervs and fresh greens, so this is the reason why they are all so small in size!!!! haha

We played some games so as to encourage interaction. Bascially, it invloves formulating questions ( of course in English so that they will be given more clues to solve a puzzle. at times, most of the members were lost, but after close to half an hour of struggling.. they managed to solve Daniel's puzzle. Most importantly, I think everyone is starting to become more comfortable with each other. : ) so there is more laughter and talking in the club.. which is really really good for us!

and to congratulate them, I ordered pizzas to go around..but i think pizzas paled in comparison to what the members have brought.. maybe I am turning vietnamese in my food preference too.. hehe.
-shi lei

About Love

Group meeting today was a discussion on the subject of love.

presented by Thuy and My

This was an interesting subject, we discussed about what love is, and how much would you sacrifice for love. What is the nature of love in relationships. Does love conquer all, or is it more than just feelings. How important are other considerations or factors outside of feelings, such as family , money.

It was discussed that in the ideal world, love conquers all. But we do not live in an ideal world, and there are other considerations to look into. Such is the importance of practicality in love. During the discussion, it seems as though being in a relationship in Vietnam is not something like a big issue like that in Singapore, with some students shunning away from the admittance of having a relationship. In Singapore, and from my personal experience, it is quite pressurizing , be it from friends or family, to be in a relationship, the dating game was seen as the "in" thing in Singapore. This is not the case in Vietnam, maybe it could be due to the respect given towards the issue of "love" as something more than a feeling or commodity. This could be because of the importance of family in Vietnamese society, developed mostly by the advent of Confucianism in the past.

Out of around 10 students present, only 1 of them was in a relationship, and only 1 of them had a relationship in the past. Given their average age of 19 years, this is quite a staggering statistics and shows that relationships and practicality may by of great importance in Vietnam. This could also be because of the social status of many Vietnamese, money being an issue of an important consideration. As Vietnam is still in a developing stage, many people have to work very hard to make ends meet. Thus, in a relationship, love could be seen as a way out of poverty, or as an important consideration along with income level. This could explain the trend of Vietnamese brides and the low statistics of relationships between Vietnamese couples.

This point was further reiterated by a performance of a "redone" play of "Romeo and Juliet" on the context of Vietnamese society, in which a girl found a guy with an Iphone, decided to marry him for his money, and the guy using money as a tool to get a wife. When the girl dies, the guy simply gets his money back and moves on to find another wife. This has many implications of the values of love among Vietnamese. The issue of love and money as an important consideration among certain Vietnamese

Some pictures on the session :
A scene from the Vietnamese version of the play "Romeo and Juliet"
During group discussions
Presenters My and Thuy

Some of the many members who turned up

Daniel Foo

LOVE ALL AROUND!!!

This is what My and Thuy proclaimed when they started off their first presentation tonight. Of course, they were more interested in Boy-Girls relationship, even though claiming that parents love for their children is the first love that everyone experienced : )

It was funny how they show a Nokia commercial where the 2 stars fall in love with each other because of a Nokia headphone??? They called the commercial funny, and all the rest agreed so too. I thought they were going to say something about the commercialization of love, like talked about how love is measured by more and more people as the providing of material goods.

Told them they have to save more just than “ funny, strange”. When comments were asked to be given, I always get this 2 words from everyone. I feel so tired having to keep encouraging them to say more or to and to develop their ideas further. I really hope to help them improve their English, and I am glad I have been patient with them. I do not want to scare them off by appearing bored or irritated

Then the meeting turned “funny” quoting the favourite word of the club members. There was a rendition of “Vietnamese Romeo and Juliet”. Juliet fell in love with Romeo course Romeo had the latest I phone which Juliet’s mum refused to get for her. It might be nonsensical at first sight, but actually it was a comical show on how realism and practicality is more important than love in Vietnam now? Unfortunately, Juliet died in an accident and passed away. Romeo came back to retrieve the I phone so as to use it to court other girls. Was really surprised that most of the girls agreed that Romeo is smart in doing so.. I am like.. hmm? What are they actually thinking of?
-shi lei

The First Meeting

The first meeting was a very productive session held between students of Vietnam National University and the National University of Singapore.

A round of introduction was carried out, followed by ice breakers to get to know each other better. This was followed by an introduction of the club, the various objectives, application of committee members, and follow up after departure of Singaporean leaders, Daniel and Shi Lei.

After a round of introduction, a video was shown to present to the students an inlook into Singapore's history of development. Focusing mainly on the transportation system, in particular, the use construction of the Mass Rapid Transport System or MRT. The show was a production from the Discovery Channel.


This was followed up by an indept discussion into the developments of Singapore and China. In particular, was a discussion on the different modes of transportation in Singapore and Vietnam, in Vietnam, that being motocycles or xe may, and in Singapore, cars. Experiences of public transport was also mentioned, such that in Vietnam, it is rather crowded and not as safe as in Singapore, as valuables have been reported stolen in buses quite frequently. Also discussed the use of private transport in Vietnam, such as bicycles and motobikes. Bicycles being the preferred mood of transport among students as it is not as expensive. Singapore, on the other hand, has many cars on the road, this was discussed in question of whether this was a symbol of the developed status of Singapore.
Daniel Foo

Glad to see everyone today!

after the round of introduction, of course we discussed on the purpose of the club and the motivations behind it. Cant believe that they are all so young, mostly 18. I realised I referred them as " the kids" to Daniel when talking about them, course they all look so young and fresh!

show them a documentary fron National Geography, told Daniel it would be good as they can know Singapore through the optics of the development of Singapore transportation system. there were impressed with our MRT system, and they said that Vietnam had been trying to build one too, but have not been very successful. Considering that VIetnam just got its bus system apart a few years back, I think MRT might have to wait for some time.. : (

Most of the students here actually major in Thai studies, if they have meet maybe xin en or Alexandra, it would have been so fun. they can start practising their thai togehter... I am surprised so many of them are acutally in THai studies, thought there used to be like "enemies", maybe really a few centuries back with all the warfares.. haha, must switch my mindset to the present days...

but it is really good knowing them, somehow I feel with them, I wont be lonely in VIetnam. Especially when i will see hem twice a week!

English club here I come! looking forward to all the outings that we will have!

Shi Lei : )

VNU English Speaking Club

A warm welcome!

This blog is dedicated to the various events of the Vietnam National University English Speaking Club - founded on 9th August 2008 under the guidance of teacher - supervisors Dr.Chinh and Mrs.Thanh Thi Ho. This English Club is an internship opportunity organized in collaboration with Vietnam National University and National University of Singapore.

The objective of the club is firstly to promote the usage of English for conversations and presentations in order to achieve a good command of the English language. In addition, students would also get to learn from various foreign exchanges with foreign students from other countries. For a start, there will be cultural exchanges between Singapore and Vietnam. Lastly, this club also provides a good opportunity for students on both sides to learn from each other, and know about different perspectives and viewpoints with regards to various issues.

In addition, outings will be organized to learn from outside the four walls and to promote a greater friendship and understanding of the culture and lifestyle of Vietnam.

looking forward to the success of the club

Daniel Foo

Meet with Co thanh today. Really hope that this is not just going to be boring internship in front of the computer desk! I want to meet as many people as possible, and this is really the perfect chance considering that all are university students! just like us! I feel weird if I ahve to teach English, but an English Club sounds fun cause we dont really have to teach, but come together just to interact and help the students gain confidence using English and also to have opportunities to use English!
: 0

we proposed to Co Thanh to start the club early, there was nothing much to do since semester will only start in September in Hanoi. but for now, DAniel and I are in desperate need for FRIENDS and to do something..

shi lei