My life and work so far
Posted by Paul Schulmann on July 10th, 2011
My host sister, mother, and me at dinner
Hi again,
Just to remind those of you who are following my blog, I am working as the assistant to the dean at Vietnam National University’s Faculty of Tourism Studies in Hanoi. So far , my experiences in Vietnam have been incredible. I never thought that I would enjoy living here as much as I do. In general, I find that the Vietnamese people are the kindest, most generous, and most genuine individuals I have ever met. I am constantly in awe of how generous and kind people are towards me despite Vietnam’s difficult history with foreigners. It is almost impossible for me to walk down the street or to work without somebody calling me over to share a cup of tea with them. At first, I ignored people when they would yell “hello” at me , but I laugh now when I realize that people just want to talk with foreigners and do not have ulterior motives with their generosity.
I enjoy my work very much. I really like working with students at the university, and the experience has made me seriously consider entering the teaching profession. It is very gratifying to help students with their dissertations, projects, and English skills. I never, however, considered education as a serious career possibility. My experiences here have inspired me to apply to teaching fellowships next year in the United States. In addition to discovering how much I like the education field, I hope that my work here helps me make inroads into this increasingly difficult field of work.
Graduation Party
I have been fortunate enough to do some traveling around Vietnam as my university was closed for a week for renovations and entrance exams. I went to Sapa and Hoi An. From the perspective of the internship, the experiences were rather interesting. As I work for the Faculty of Tourism Studies, just traveling around Vietnam gives me insight into this burgeoning sector of the Vietnamese economy and gives me a better idea of what the students study and why they study it. In spite of the rapid development of the tourism industry, one gets the impression that the Vietnamese working in the field could seriously benefit from help with their English. It occurs at times, that one is unable even to book a trip with a travel agency because few speak English at an adequate level to work with tourists. Additionally, one notices that the managers and supervisors of hotels and agencies are often non-Vietnamese, likely because their respective countries are better equipped to educate them in various languages and management techniques. Experiences such as these give me insight into the importance of volunteers like me who have the time and the ability to help students improve their English, which from what I can tell, has truly become the de facto language of the tourism industry.
Edit- Hoi An
