We got invited to participate in Bach Khoa University, Parable English Club's Halloween Night session. I was quite surprised to know that Halloween is quite widely celebrated in Vietnam~~, even though it is very much a western cultural celebration.
The experience was great, the place was well decorated, with some students also dressed up for the occasion. It began with a discussion on whether we believed in ghosts, and from this discussion I noticed that a majority of the Vietnamese students do believe, not so much in ghosts, but in spirits, something very related to certain aspects of their culture, such as anchesteral worship, something very close to Chinese religious culture. Also, they also celebrate the Hungry Ghost Festival, thus, having very close links to Chinese culture..
This was followed by the telling of a ghost story in Vietnamese. Apparently, although I didn't understand it, but judging from the faces of the students, I think it wasn't that scary. I decided to be brave after that and went up to tell my own ghost story, but yea, its either they didn't understand my Singaporean English, or it wasn't scary, maybe because of the cultural context of the story as well, which was more Singaporean. Anyway it was a joke told in a scary way.
After that we had a competition to paint faces, and I so happened to be the model for one of the students to see who could paint the scariest face. Overall it was a fun experience and I got to learn about the hybridization in Vietnamese culture, and the foreign cultures that they do embrace, such as Halloween
Cheers
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Women issue
25 October Club Meeting
Hi everyone! This is late but still I hope all the beautiful girls in my club have a happy and memorable 20th October and that you have received lots of gifts etc. While the excitement for Women's day might have left you as everyone geared up for the preparations of the mid term exams,(I know that exams is coming soon in 2 weeks time and everyone is busy preparing for it) I would like to call the club together this Saturday in my room at 9.30 am!
We will be discussing about issues related to women.
As there will be no one in charge of presenting this session, I encourage everyone to think of a 10 min "speech" that is related to any issues on women. For eg you can talk about education for women, job opportunities
for women, or what you think about being women in a patriarchal society etc, even prostitution (controversial topic!) or maybe the lack of women representation in different organizations in Vietnam, and the possible developments in the future.
Hopefully we will have a fruitful discussion and hope to see some new faces around!
Cheers shi lei
Daniel prepared a very good presentation on “mail order brides”.
Singapore – the role of women has been changing throughout the years by varying degrees. These days, I feel that women really carry a heavier burden in the past. The roles that women do have now include :
1)Taking care of the household , being a caregiver in the family
2)Working in a duel – income family.
Also, as the standard of education among women rises in Singapore, this has led to a decrease in the marriage rate among Singaporeans, as it is harder for an educated women to find a husband as he more or less needs to be of the same equal standing as him.
Vietnam – Vietnamese brides
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FScBxMqC9cI
My personal opinion of this phenomenon of the increasing roles and demands of women is because of this, the men has to step up and be counted. Ultimately, women do need to feel a sense of security and in a family, they do want to let the guys take the lead in the household. Thus, this has led to varying degrees of definition in marriage. One such example is Vietnamese brides, as can be seen in the video, the men cant provide or take care of them, hence, they have to look for other alternatives for themselves.
Is marriage
1)a commodity – to attain certain privilages not attainable by marriage to a poor Vietnamese.
2)A sacred entity formed out of love
This really get the class into a heated discussion. Linh shared with the class how one of her relatives married a korean and she is very happy after her marriage. She also talked about her friend who have an American boyfriend, but out of love too. However, some of the class disagreed with her and said that her friends were just some of the luckier ones. Indeed there were some who married for money and there were many who were abused in their marriages. Many agreed that it is impossible to fall in love at first sight and agree to marry. But not because they are greedy, they just want a better chance for the future. Somehow the conversations drifted into the direction of the recent murder case that shook Hanoi. A korean student killed and burnt the corpse of his Vietnamese girl friend who was two timing him. I was surprised that everyone in the class do not sympathize with the victim, saying that she deserved it for being “too loose” and bringing it onto herself. I was a bit shock by the words of them, but it really reveals something about their mindset. The students from this club are all younger than us, around the age of 18.
The role of women in Vietnam – chronological order
1)heroic, indomitable, loyal and resourceful - Anh hung, bat khuat, trung hau, dam dang
2)trung hau, diu dang, thanh lich, te nhi, dam dang” or loyal, gentle, elegant, tactful yet resourceful
3)Tac phong cong nhiep va hien dai” is defined as the rise of the modern and industrial women, spending more time outside homes, beyond parental supervision, having more freedom and able to express individualism
According to the values of Dnaiel's Church, the role of women is to be a helper, and a caregiver. And the role of the men is to be a leader in the family. Women can work and have a duel income family as well , as long as, the men are responsible for the family, and are the head of the household, this is how the family progresses.
And to end the session off, daniel decided to tell a joke : )
A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.
''House'' for instance, is feminine: ''la casa.'' ''Pencil,'' however, is masculine: "el lapiz.''
A student asked, ''What gender is 'computer'?'' Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether ''computer'' should be a masculine or a feminine noun.
Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.
The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender (''la computadora''), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine (''el computador''), because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.
It took me really long to explain to the English club before they finally understood the joke. It was funny for they started asking me the gender of the different objects in my room!
shi lei and daniel>.<
Hi everyone! This is late but still I hope all the beautiful girls in my club have a happy and memorable 20th October and that you have received lots of gifts etc. While the excitement for Women's day might have left you as everyone geared up for the preparations of the mid term exams,(I know that exams is coming soon in 2 weeks time and everyone is busy preparing for it) I would like to call the club together this Saturday in my room at 9.30 am!
We will be discussing about issues related to women.
As there will be no one in charge of presenting this session, I encourage everyone to think of a 10 min "speech" that is related to any issues on women. For eg you can talk about education for women, job opportunities
for women, or what you think about being women in a patriarchal society etc, even prostitution (controversial topic!) or maybe the lack of women representation in different organizations in Vietnam, and the possible developments in the future.
Hopefully we will have a fruitful discussion and hope to see some new faces around!
Cheers shi lei
Daniel prepared a very good presentation on “mail order brides”.
Singapore – the role of women has been changing throughout the years by varying degrees. These days, I feel that women really carry a heavier burden in the past. The roles that women do have now include :
1)Taking care of the household , being a caregiver in the family
2)Working in a duel – income family.
Also, as the standard of education among women rises in Singapore, this has led to a decrease in the marriage rate among Singaporeans, as it is harder for an educated women to find a husband as he more or less needs to be of the same equal standing as him.
Vietnam – Vietnamese brides
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FScBxMqC9cI
My personal opinion of this phenomenon of the increasing roles and demands of women is because of this, the men has to step up and be counted. Ultimately, women do need to feel a sense of security and in a family, they do want to let the guys take the lead in the household. Thus, this has led to varying degrees of definition in marriage. One such example is Vietnamese brides, as can be seen in the video, the men cant provide or take care of them, hence, they have to look for other alternatives for themselves.
Is marriage
1)a commodity – to attain certain privilages not attainable by marriage to a poor Vietnamese.
2)A sacred entity formed out of love
This really get the class into a heated discussion. Linh shared with the class how one of her relatives married a korean and she is very happy after her marriage. She also talked about her friend who have an American boyfriend, but out of love too. However, some of the class disagreed with her and said that her friends were just some of the luckier ones. Indeed there were some who married for money and there were many who were abused in their marriages. Many agreed that it is impossible to fall in love at first sight and agree to marry. But not because they are greedy, they just want a better chance for the future. Somehow the conversations drifted into the direction of the recent murder case that shook Hanoi. A korean student killed and burnt the corpse of his Vietnamese girl friend who was two timing him. I was surprised that everyone in the class do not sympathize with the victim, saying that she deserved it for being “too loose” and bringing it onto herself. I was a bit shock by the words of them, but it really reveals something about their mindset. The students from this club are all younger than us, around the age of 18.
The role of women in Vietnam – chronological order
1)heroic, indomitable, loyal and resourceful - Anh hung, bat khuat, trung hau, dam dang
2)trung hau, diu dang, thanh lich, te nhi, dam dang” or loyal, gentle, elegant, tactful yet resourceful
3)Tac phong cong nhiep va hien dai” is defined as the rise of the modern and industrial women, spending more time outside homes, beyond parental supervision, having more freedom and able to express individualism
According to the values of Dnaiel's Church, the role of women is to be a helper, and a caregiver. And the role of the men is to be a leader in the family. Women can work and have a duel income family as well , as long as, the men are responsible for the family, and are the head of the household, this is how the family progresses.
And to end the session off, daniel decided to tell a joke : )
A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.
''House'' for instance, is feminine: ''la casa.'' ''Pencil,'' however, is masculine: "el lapiz.''
A student asked, ''What gender is 'computer'?'' Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether ''computer'' should be a masculine or a feminine noun.
Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.
The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender (''la computadora''), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine (''el computador''), because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.
It took me really long to explain to the English club before they finally understood the joke. It was funny for they started asking me the gender of the different objects in my room!
shi lei and daniel>.<
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Relieving Stress
English Club Meeting at Bach Khoa University
“Relieving Stress”
21st October
Today we went over again to Bach Khoa University for English Club meeting. The topic today was on “Relieving Stress” since mid term examination is just around the corner. Also there is a Women Day celebration and it was so sweet that everyone has a gift for all the girls in the club. : ) On women day, it is hard not to feel special. There are gifts for women and everyone is extra nice too
Meeting was interesting and I think Daniel have the most fun of all. He was selected to act in a role play and I think he really acted quite well. Truong was the main lead in the first role play when he had to persuade his friends out to play with him despite having exams just round the corner. Scenarios were simple but their aim is just to let students use English in a fun way.
Then there is also sing along session! Like usual, English club in bach Khoa ended with singing as everyone just love to sing. But I realized it is a good way to train pronunciation. And even the shyest person can just sing along too, so it is really a good way to train English too. In fact, Daniel got so inspired that he is going to hold an English Karaoke session with out club.
I think it is a successful meeting and the objective is met. Through all the fun we had, it gave us a break from our work, my Vietnamese and ISMs. If only my Vietnamese lessons can be this fun too! I am sure I will pay attention in class then without always wanting to fall asleep P
-shi lei
Today was another guest meeting to ITEC, or Information Technology English Club at Bach Khoa University, the focus being on dealing with stress, at first, we got into groups to discuss what stress is about and what are the various methods to deal with it, following which, there was a play in which each group had to send a representative to act as a stressful person while the other groups had to act out ways to help the person destress.
My group's task was a student who has having stress from studying for her exams. It was quite hilarious in that some of the ways we suggested was to go for a picnic , where there was a foreigner native English speaker (myself) who can teach you, and who is handsome as well. Another situation discussed was if a Father was in a bad mood, how would you persuade him to lend you money to buy a present for your girlfriend, which the other groups came up with a many reasons, most of which has elements of respect for the Father, something Vietnamese culture has a great emphasis on, the values of family respect, even in the midst of stress and this is something which I have learnt about Vietnamese culture. Overall I would say their English is really of a commendable level and it was a very interesting discussion.
Apart from that, as it was Women's day, the 3 women present at the meeting were role played as princess, and we would be contestants to see who could get the hand of the 3 princesses , we played games such as guessing the names of English songs, and seeing who was the best singer in English songs. It was fun, certain English songs are very popular among the Vietnamese students, and although I lost the singing round, not because of my voice I would think, but because the other contestant was more sincere in his song. I lost with a vote of 1 to the rest of the students present. Sincerity and Faith being shown by the Vietnamese student contestant competition against me, some of the values that Vietnamese treasure and believe in a great deal of.
I had a very enjoyable time, and I learnt alot from this session about Vietnamese culture, in terms of dealing with stress, receptivity of popular culture in English music and personal and relationship values of love and sincerity which Vietnamese people hold highly, a key aspect of family values.
Cheers
Daniel Foo
“Relieving Stress”
21st October
Today we went over again to Bach Khoa University for English Club meeting. The topic today was on “Relieving Stress” since mid term examination is just around the corner. Also there is a Women Day celebration and it was so sweet that everyone has a gift for all the girls in the club. : ) On women day, it is hard not to feel special. There are gifts for women and everyone is extra nice too
Meeting was interesting and I think Daniel have the most fun of all. He was selected to act in a role play and I think he really acted quite well. Truong was the main lead in the first role play when he had to persuade his friends out to play with him despite having exams just round the corner. Scenarios were simple but their aim is just to let students use English in a fun way.
Then there is also sing along session! Like usual, English club in bach Khoa ended with singing as everyone just love to sing. But I realized it is a good way to train pronunciation. And even the shyest person can just sing along too, so it is really a good way to train English too. In fact, Daniel got so inspired that he is going to hold an English Karaoke session with out club.
I think it is a successful meeting and the objective is met. Through all the fun we had, it gave us a break from our work, my Vietnamese and ISMs. If only my Vietnamese lessons can be this fun too! I am sure I will pay attention in class then without always wanting to fall asleep P
-shi lei
Today was another guest meeting to ITEC, or Information Technology English Club at Bach Khoa University, the focus being on dealing with stress, at first, we got into groups to discuss what stress is about and what are the various methods to deal with it, following which, there was a play in which each group had to send a representative to act as a stressful person while the other groups had to act out ways to help the person destress.
My group's task was a student who has having stress from studying for her exams. It was quite hilarious in that some of the ways we suggested was to go for a picnic , where there was a foreigner native English speaker (myself) who can teach you, and who is handsome as well. Another situation discussed was if a Father was in a bad mood, how would you persuade him to lend you money to buy a present for your girlfriend, which the other groups came up with a many reasons, most of which has elements of respect for the Father, something Vietnamese culture has a great emphasis on, the values of family respect, even in the midst of stress and this is something which I have learnt about Vietnamese culture. Overall I would say their English is really of a commendable level and it was a very interesting discussion.
Apart from that, as it was Women's day, the 3 women present at the meeting were role played as princess, and we would be contestants to see who could get the hand of the 3 princesses , we played games such as guessing the names of English songs, and seeing who was the best singer in English songs. It was fun, certain English songs are very popular among the Vietnamese students, and although I lost the singing round, not because of my voice I would think, but because the other contestant was more sincere in his song. I lost with a vote of 1 to the rest of the students present. Sincerity and Faith being shown by the Vietnamese student contestant competition against me, some of the values that Vietnamese treasure and believe in a great deal of.
I had a very enjoyable time, and I learnt alot from this session about Vietnamese culture, in terms of dealing with stress, receptivity of popular culture in English music and personal and relationship values of love and sincerity which Vietnamese people hold highly, a key aspect of family values.
Cheers
Daniel Foo
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Visit To Bat Trang
Today we visited Bat Trang ( Pottery Village ) together with the Information Technology English Club. Bat Trang is an area on the outskirts of Hanoi, around a 1 and a half hour journey from Hanoi.
At Bat Trang, we got learn and got to see how to make pottery! Right from scratch, something the people of Bat Trang are very familiar with. It was quite a difficult experience I must say. Ended up that I let the owner help me to make a very beautiful cup, which I also told him to write the words "Hanoi 2008" in it~~ The first step was to mould the clay ino the shape that you want, burn it if you want it to be harden, and burn it again for up to 1 week if you want it to be glazed and made like a real pottery.
Apart from making pottery, a favorite among people who visit the place, we also went to the pottery market, the highlight of the place, where there were many craftsmanship pieces, mostly made of pottery, including teacups, accessories, paintings, and many other things. It was quite an eye opener experience seeing how many and how creative things could be made with pottery. The whole place was filled with things, mostly pottery, something that these people are very proud of. One of the interesting things I noticed about Vietnam through this was the naming of streets, which are related to what the village is about , be it in the past or the present, such that Bat Trang literally means pottery village in Vietnamese. Another example would be "Bach Khoa" which means many faculties in Vietnamese.
At Bat Trang Market
Giant Vases
Pot luck lunch at Bat Trang
Making Pottery
The wall design of a ceramics house
Cheers
Daniel Foo
At Bat Trang, we got learn and got to see how to make pottery! Right from scratch, something the people of Bat Trang are very familiar with. It was quite a difficult experience I must say. Ended up that I let the owner help me to make a very beautiful cup, which I also told him to write the words "Hanoi 2008" in it~~ The first step was to mould the clay ino the shape that you want, burn it if you want it to be harden, and burn it again for up to 1 week if you want it to be glazed and made like a real pottery.
Apart from making pottery, a favorite among people who visit the place, we also went to the pottery market, the highlight of the place, where there were many craftsmanship pieces, mostly made of pottery, including teacups, accessories, paintings, and many other things. It was quite an eye opener experience seeing how many and how creative things could be made with pottery. The whole place was filled with things, mostly pottery, something that these people are very proud of. One of the interesting things I noticed about Vietnam through this was the naming of streets, which are related to what the village is about , be it in the past or the present, such that Bat Trang literally means pottery village in Vietnamese. Another example would be "Bach Khoa" which means many faculties in Vietnamese.
At Bat Trang Market
Giant Vases
Pot luck lunch at Bat Trang
Making Pottery
The wall design of a ceramics house
Cheers
Daniel Foo
Saturday, October 18, 2008
day trip to museum of ethnology
Today we are going to the west of Hanoi, Cau Giay district where the Museum of Ethnology is located. We have heard of the museum as being the best in Hanoi and Ha had suggested that we should go on a day trip there.
The Tay Stilt house at the back with Thuy playing on a swing like structure : )
The Tay Stilt house at the back with Thuy playing on a swing like structure : )
With some of my friends at the front gallery
Traditional weaving of the Cham minority
It is really tiring but a fruitful trip. We got to know much more about the different minority groups in Vietnam, their style of housing, what they eat, what they play and what their believed etc. It was good to see that all my Vietnamese friends are as interested as me in the ethnic minorities. I remembered one of them asking me how many races Singapore has. I told them we have 3 main races. She said that they have around 54 and the best thing of all is that they learned to live peacefully together. Even though there are still a lot of things to do to improve the lifestyles of all, at least they can accomplish things better and faster in an environment of peace and hope. Which I totally agree : )
However, I also enjoyed myself as it was fun wandering around playing different games with my friends in the club.
Thuy and Ha skipping rope! I really forgot that skipping ropes can be so simple but fun: )
Turn out that there are many couples taking wedding photos, and I really like this one! see how happy and bless the bride looks. Because of her, I decided that Ao Dai is the prettiest traditional costume!
-Shi Lei
It was a full day at the museum, learnt many things from the Vietnamese students, as well as from the various exhibits at the museum, got a glimpse of what are the various ethnic minorities there are in Vietnam and where they come from, and what their lifestyle is like, particular among the groups on display which I noticed is the Hmong ethnic minority, located at and around the region of Sapa, which there are many kinds, 2 of which are the Black Hmong and the Flower Hmong. At the museam, we got to see the machines which they work with to produce their beautifully decorated clothes, the traditional houses that they stay in, as well as got to play some of the games that they would play at leisure.
These games include skipping rope, and an interested game involving a ball and chopsticks, whereby you would throw the ball in the air the take the chop sticks, something like 5 stones, a traditional Chinese game.
Also on display are some of the religious sculptures of the ethnic minorities, that had a wide variety of symbolism, such as fertility.
Overall, we had a very enriching experience. And this visit had helped developed my understanding of these ethnic minorities in Vietnam, particularly with my visit to Sapa as well, which I got to meet first hand, these ethnic minorities, lived at their villages and got a description of what how these minorities lived. Here's a short video presentation at Sapa on the life of a particular group of ethnic minority, the flower Hmong.
As a tourist destination, at Sapa, I got swamped by people from these ethnic groups asking me to buy things from them, following which they would follow me and the group all the way to the various villages in order to sell their things, which are clothes and other traditional items, mostly made out of cloth and sewn. It is quite disheartening to know that some of these sellers were children, being told by their parents to sell these items, instead of going to school, which they could not afford or was too far away from their houses. My friend told me that buying from these children was not the solution as they would be encouraged to continue on with the types of jobs they are doing now instead of going to school to develop a more promising future.
In turn, we also got the chance to visit the weekend flower Hmong market at Bac Ha province near Sapa, where villages would gather there once a week to trade goods as well as find prospective partners. It was a very busy atmosphere, with a huge crowd of people everywhere. The tour guide recommended us to go eat some of the local delicacies of the region, but when we found out how it looked liked and what it was as we didn't know the English translations for the names of the food, we decided not the eat it, as it didn't look too appetizing, perhaps its our differences in food culture and taste likings..:)
In all, the museum trip, coupled with the visit to Sapa, deeply enriched my understanding and situation of these ethnic minorities. And I really feel that their lives can be improved a great deal through humanitarian help. Something that can be achieved through funding and greater developments. At the area, I decided to give away some pens and my friend followed up with some notebooks as I was told they had to keep reusing notebooks and didn't have enough pens. When I gave them the items, their faces of these children from the ethnic minority groups started beaming with joy and happiness, which gave me a deep sense of fulfillment as well. Simple items to us, but yet meant so much to them and their future. It touched me deeply and I would in future, consider doing humanitarian work in this region. :)
Cheers,
Daniel Foo
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Of Mangas and Japan
Today we invited the club to meet with Kenta, our Japanese friend. This is because many of them are interested in Japanese mangas and Linh is going to do the presentation on mangas for our club meeting.
It was funny seeing Vietnamese translated versions of Japanese manga, and they were excited trying to ask each other if they have watched this and that. I am glad that Kenta is here, for most of them, that is their first Japanese friends. Trouble is Kenta's English isnt really good either, but I think they slowly understand each other thought the process takes quite long.
I do not understand why so many people are crazy over manga in SIngapore. And I am really surprised that even in Vietnam, some of them are crazy over it. And turned out that there is going to be a cosplay tomorrow near our place, so we might go together to see a cosplay ( where people dressed up as characters from different manga). I was surprised to hear from Linh that she herslef had participated in a cosplay before.
It was funny hearing them said that the first time there was a cosplay in a park in Hanoi, many older Vietnamese were very shocked. They thought that they were foreigners from another country. However, after hearing speak in Vietnamese, the usual comments were that "they were crazy bunch of people". I dont think that they are really crazy but I must agree they must have look weird and shocking to the elders.
And how did Linh get her costume? she made it herself! i cant believe how much sacrificies she make for the sake of manga. Despite only having 5sgd for pocket money a month ( she cycles to school and eat at home), she managed to save her 5sgd to buy mangas. And to save on the cost, she made her own manga costume. I cant really comprehend her zealous over it. But oh well, I am thinking that youths in Vietnam is really influenced by external forces, they are not so "untouched" by foreign trends after all : )
shi lei
It was funny seeing Vietnamese translated versions of Japanese manga, and they were excited trying to ask each other if they have watched this and that. I am glad that Kenta is here, for most of them, that is their first Japanese friends. Trouble is Kenta's English isnt really good either, but I think they slowly understand each other thought the process takes quite long.
I do not understand why so many people are crazy over manga in SIngapore. And I am really surprised that even in Vietnam, some of them are crazy over it. And turned out that there is going to be a cosplay tomorrow near our place, so we might go together to see a cosplay ( where people dressed up as characters from different manga). I was surprised to hear from Linh that she herslef had participated in a cosplay before.
It was funny hearing them said that the first time there was a cosplay in a park in Hanoi, many older Vietnamese were very shocked. They thought that they were foreigners from another country. However, after hearing speak in Vietnamese, the usual comments were that "they were crazy bunch of people". I dont think that they are really crazy but I must agree they must have look weird and shocking to the elders.
And how did Linh get her costume? she made it herself! i cant believe how much sacrificies she make for the sake of manga. Despite only having 5sgd for pocket money a month ( she cycles to school and eat at home), she managed to save her 5sgd to buy mangas. And to save on the cost, she made her own manga costume. I cant really comprehend her zealous over it. But oh well, I am thinking that youths in Vietnam is really influenced by external forces, they are not so "untouched" by foreign trends after all : )
shi lei
Monday, October 13, 2008
English Song Night
Got invited to "English Song Night" at Bach Khoa University, had a very good time. The nature of the meeting was that 2 songs were being presented by teachers, with missing blanks and meanings being of the song being explained. An innovative and interesting way to learn English!
I also noticed the atmosphere was rather good, and the students were very much willing to learn and sing these songs to improve their English. The two songs that were sang were "I Will Remember You" and "Don't Worry, Be Happy", generally written in the context of the culture which the song originated from, such as "Don't Worry , Be Happy", which came from a Jamaica and hence used English slangs that were used in Jamaica and lyrics that were sort of in a relaxed tone. This, I thought , was a good way to learn different cultures as well.
I also noticed the atmosphere was rather good, and the students were very much willing to learn and sing these songs to improve their English. The two songs that were sang were "I Will Remember You" and "Don't Worry, Be Happy", generally written in the context of the culture which the song originated from, such as "Don't Worry , Be Happy", which came from a Jamaica and hence used English slangs that were used in Jamaica and lyrics that were sort of in a relaxed tone. This, I thought , was a good way to learn different cultures as well.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Military Class
After hearing alot about the military classes that our friends have to take, we decided to go check it out ourselves today. We thought it was going to be practical today, turned out that it actually was a theory class : (
The teacher came in wearing his army uniform. I wasnt really used to seeing a uniformed teacher. He was lecturing the class about the importance of military studies and I could see no one in the whole class was interested in what he has to say. In fact, everyone was doing their own work. The teacher seems to know it but he just droned on and on in his seat. I did not have the textbook so I stared at him, staining to catch some words and practising listening for my Vietnamese. And a funny thing happened. I was scolded by him for not looking at the book but staring at him!! haha, i though he would have praised me for being the only one paying attention. Turn out that he thinks everyone looking down at the desk is paying attention to him and reading the textbook. One of the club member, Phuong, immediately pulled a book out from her bag and asked me to pretend reading it.
In the end, we spent the military class passing messages to each other across the table. I even helped them to do their english readings. I sort of pitied the teacher course I dont really think that my classmates are intersted in what he was saying. But I would have enjoyed the practical part of the module better as we will be allowed to shoot using rifles! However, the girls are more worried than enjoying the class. If they fail their military class, they would not be able to pass their University examinations and might have to redo it again.
Judging at the history of warfares in VIetnam, i think that having military lessons is actually jusitifed. It is better to be ever ready so that no one will take Vietnam by surprise. : )
-shi lei
Went to attend a Vietnamese lecture class today, thought it was a history class, but it turned out to be a military class. Well. As I didn't really understand most of what the lecturer was talking about, I shall just write about the observations that I made with regards to classroom culture!
The University in Vietnam does not go according to modules that are taken with different classmates. Rather, the structure is that each student has a fixed class of students that have similar subjects of study, making it sort of like a classroom environment, something similar to the junior college and secondary school system in Singapore.
Also, unforeseen circumstances could happen, such as power shortages, which can be quite a regularity, this would results in class being shortened or canceled. In this case that I attended, class was shortened.
The general atmosphere was ok, like a normal school atmosphere. Like Singapore, students did not need to wear school uniforms. However this varies abit between Universities as at Bach Khoa University, I noticed that students had to wear the school t-shirt for exercise periods. Again, something different from Singapore Universities in that they have physical education periods as well as military training and theology periods, sometimes including visits to the army museum.
In high schools and universities students would be encouraged to wear "Ao Dai" or the national costume of Vietnam during special occasions, a symbol of Vietnamese culture.
Students wearing Ao Dai
Overall, I couldn't say that I really enjoyed the lesson because I didn't really understand it, but it was nice eye-opener to see how University is like in Vietnam.
Cheers,
Daniel Foo
The teacher came in wearing his army uniform. I wasnt really used to seeing a uniformed teacher. He was lecturing the class about the importance of military studies and I could see no one in the whole class was interested in what he has to say. In fact, everyone was doing their own work. The teacher seems to know it but he just droned on and on in his seat. I did not have the textbook so I stared at him, staining to catch some words and practising listening for my Vietnamese. And a funny thing happened. I was scolded by him for not looking at the book but staring at him!! haha, i though he would have praised me for being the only one paying attention. Turn out that he thinks everyone looking down at the desk is paying attention to him and reading the textbook. One of the club member, Phuong, immediately pulled a book out from her bag and asked me to pretend reading it.
In the end, we spent the military class passing messages to each other across the table. I even helped them to do their english readings. I sort of pitied the teacher course I dont really think that my classmates are intersted in what he was saying. But I would have enjoyed the practical part of the module better as we will be allowed to shoot using rifles! However, the girls are more worried than enjoying the class. If they fail their military class, they would not be able to pass their University examinations and might have to redo it again.
Judging at the history of warfares in VIetnam, i think that having military lessons is actually jusitifed. It is better to be ever ready so that no one will take Vietnam by surprise. : )
-shi lei
Went to attend a Vietnamese lecture class today, thought it was a history class, but it turned out to be a military class. Well. As I didn't really understand most of what the lecturer was talking about, I shall just write about the observations that I made with regards to classroom culture!
The University in Vietnam does not go according to modules that are taken with different classmates. Rather, the structure is that each student has a fixed class of students that have similar subjects of study, making it sort of like a classroom environment, something similar to the junior college and secondary school system in Singapore.
Also, unforeseen circumstances could happen, such as power shortages, which can be quite a regularity, this would results in class being shortened or canceled. In this case that I attended, class was shortened.
The general atmosphere was ok, like a normal school atmosphere. Like Singapore, students did not need to wear school uniforms. However this varies abit between Universities as at Bach Khoa University, I noticed that students had to wear the school t-shirt for exercise periods. Again, something different from Singapore Universities in that they have physical education periods as well as military training and theology periods, sometimes including visits to the army museum.
In high schools and universities students would be encouraged to wear "Ao Dai" or the national costume of Vietnam during special occasions, a symbol of Vietnamese culture.
Students wearing Ao Dai
Overall, I couldn't say that I really enjoyed the lesson because I didn't really understand it, but it was nice eye-opener to see how University is like in Vietnam.
Cheers,
Daniel Foo
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Eating at the roadside.. : 0
4th October 2008
Today, we met in the evening instead of the usual Saturday morning. We decided to go on a night out to the different night time hang out of them. We met at Bach Khoa, the area where many schools and universities are concentrated. Most of the students have fond memories of the area here as they studied in this area in secondary or pre-university level.
They told us the history of this area, and we learnt that the name of the street which Daniel and I are staying in is actually name after the first principal of Bach Khoa University. : ) Actually, Bach Khoa area is where most of the technical Universities are located, eg Back Khoa Technological University, Open University, University of Architecture, University of Dentistry, University of Education blab la to named a few..
After walking around looking at the different road side vendors, we finally found one that we would like to try. Manh kept joking about bringing us to eat the half formed eggs or the pig blood soup and even dog meat. But I told him that I wouldn’t dare to try and declined politely. The shop that we ended up in sells snacks and finger food. And we found something familiar: you tiao!! And this is the point when Daniel makes everyone laugh.
Daniel tried to tell the story of the origins of you tiao. But I think his version is the modern version: a man scored 10 Olympics medal but was betrayed by someone… I had to tell him that the man was Yue Fei, the famous Song dynasty general. And, no he didn’t get 10 Olympics medal. He got 10 summons from the emperor to retreat back to court when he was winning the war with the Mongols. He was betrayed by a court official and his wife who were jealous of his achievements. Chinese fried you tiao to symbolize the frying of the couple in hot oil for betraying Yue Fei and causing his death.
But now, we only remembered the taste of the you tiao. Not a lot of people remembered the story behind it and the loyal general who sacrificed himself. Surprisingly, our Vietnamese friends told us they knew the story too, and that is the story of their you tiao too! Even though our you tiao tasted different from Vietnamese you tiao, ours being more floury and much bigger, it is the symbol of Chinese influence on Vietnam.
shi lei
A taste of street Vietnamese food!
My and Thuy, students of our English club, took us to the roadside to eat Vietnamese snacks. An interesting eye opener was that Vietnamese people like to sit on really low chairs and really low tables and just soak in the atmosphere , while enjoying the food being served.
Another thing I learnt about Vietnamese culture is the way they call the eating house servers, usually shouting "em oi!" or if the waiter is older "anh oi(males) or chi oi(females). In Singapore we would just raise our hands and wait to be served. I would conclude that Vietnamese people have a more family orientated culture, and these terms would usually refer to references for family members. Also, that Vietnamese people are quite outspoken and familiar with each other in the calling of these terms, like as if they have a bond between each Vietnamese person, regardless of whether they knew the person or not, a kind of similarity shared through the language and culture.
Well, the food was local snacks in Vietnam, such as fried dumplings , spring rolls , french fries, something like the "Old Chang Kee" in Singapore, but Vietnamese style. It was interesting to see a wide variety of these dishes that they have, and they were rather cheap and delicious as well!. A diversification of something similar to Chinese snacks, but done in a Vietnamese way. Such an example would be "Banh Bao" or Bread Bun, this is similar to what the Chinese have in "Bao Zi" or buns, just that in Vietnam, its specialty is having mushrooms and an quill egg inside, the most common Bao in Vietnam and something unique to them. Another instance is the "quey" in Vietnam, which is a miniature version of the "You Tiao" in Chinese food!
Chinese "You Tiao"
Vietnamese "quay" , which is much smaller in size than its Chinese counterpart
The low chairs and tables.
photos courtesy of oishiieats.blogspot.com
Banh Bao , with mushrooms and a quill egg inside
Overall, it was an enjoyable night of food and drinks! As well as a good experience of Vietnamese roadside food culture!
Cheers,
Daniel Foo
Today, we met in the evening instead of the usual Saturday morning. We decided to go on a night out to the different night time hang out of them. We met at Bach Khoa, the area where many schools and universities are concentrated. Most of the students have fond memories of the area here as they studied in this area in secondary or pre-university level.
They told us the history of this area, and we learnt that the name of the street which Daniel and I are staying in is actually name after the first principal of Bach Khoa University. : ) Actually, Bach Khoa area is where most of the technical Universities are located, eg Back Khoa Technological University, Open University, University of Architecture, University of Dentistry, University of Education blab la to named a few..
After walking around looking at the different road side vendors, we finally found one that we would like to try. Manh kept joking about bringing us to eat the half formed eggs or the pig blood soup and even dog meat. But I told him that I wouldn’t dare to try and declined politely. The shop that we ended up in sells snacks and finger food. And we found something familiar: you tiao!! And this is the point when Daniel makes everyone laugh.
Daniel tried to tell the story of the origins of you tiao. But I think his version is the modern version: a man scored 10 Olympics medal but was betrayed by someone… I had to tell him that the man was Yue Fei, the famous Song dynasty general. And, no he didn’t get 10 Olympics medal. He got 10 summons from the emperor to retreat back to court when he was winning the war with the Mongols. He was betrayed by a court official and his wife who were jealous of his achievements. Chinese fried you tiao to symbolize the frying of the couple in hot oil for betraying Yue Fei and causing his death.
But now, we only remembered the taste of the you tiao. Not a lot of people remembered the story behind it and the loyal general who sacrificed himself. Surprisingly, our Vietnamese friends told us they knew the story too, and that is the story of their you tiao too! Even though our you tiao tasted different from Vietnamese you tiao, ours being more floury and much bigger, it is the symbol of Chinese influence on Vietnam.
shi lei
A taste of street Vietnamese food!
My and Thuy, students of our English club, took us to the roadside to eat Vietnamese snacks. An interesting eye opener was that Vietnamese people like to sit on really low chairs and really low tables and just soak in the atmosphere , while enjoying the food being served.
Another thing I learnt about Vietnamese culture is the way they call the eating house servers, usually shouting "em oi!" or if the waiter is older "anh oi(males) or chi oi(females). In Singapore we would just raise our hands and wait to be served. I would conclude that Vietnamese people have a more family orientated culture, and these terms would usually refer to references for family members. Also, that Vietnamese people are quite outspoken and familiar with each other in the calling of these terms, like as if they have a bond between each Vietnamese person, regardless of whether they knew the person or not, a kind of similarity shared through the language and culture.
Well, the food was local snacks in Vietnam, such as fried dumplings , spring rolls , french fries, something like the "Old Chang Kee" in Singapore, but Vietnamese style. It was interesting to see a wide variety of these dishes that they have, and they were rather cheap and delicious as well!. A diversification of something similar to Chinese snacks, but done in a Vietnamese way. Such an example would be "Banh Bao" or Bread Bun, this is similar to what the Chinese have in "Bao Zi" or buns, just that in Vietnam, its specialty is having mushrooms and an quill egg inside, the most common Bao in Vietnam and something unique to them. Another instance is the "quey" in Vietnam, which is a miniature version of the "You Tiao" in Chinese food!
Chinese "You Tiao"
Vietnamese "quay" , which is much smaller in size than its Chinese counterpart
The low chairs and tables.
photos courtesy of oishiieats.blogspot.com
Banh Bao , with mushrooms and a quill egg inside
Overall, it was an enjoyable night of food and drinks! As well as a good experience of Vietnamese roadside food culture!
Cheers,
Daniel Foo
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