Week Five

This week's lecture was on Impact Assessment for the students in Gender and Development as well as preparations for a conference on Sexual Harassment Law in Vietnam. Though Vietnam's Labor Code (Law) states that sexual harassment is prohibited in the workplace, it does not define it nor does it provide direction for filing claims. The Women's Union is pressing to have this clarified in the Code because the Code will be updated next year. After the update, it will not be amended for another 10 years. More lunches and dinners this week! Eric and I will be 5 pounds heavier when we arrive back in the U.S.

 Gender and Development class

 Some of my office mates: Ngoc, Jackie, Jackie's colleague and Eric (who joined us for lunch)

 Presenters, translators and workshop Chairs- Sexual Harassment Law in Vietnam

 Tung, Phuong, Ha, Linh and me

Women's Day celebration

Week Four

This week I taught Contract Negotiations and Performance Management for students and faculty. The Performance Management workshop was interactive and focused on how the staff at VWA feel about the performance appraisal system at VWA- things they wanted modified. They also discussed those things that keep them from doing their best work and then problem solving those areas of concern.
We were invited to several outings- one being dinner with VWA's maintenance supervisor and his family. Generally speaking, Vietnamese parents want their children to learn English as English is now being taught in most schools beginning in kindergarten. Having a guest who speaks English as a first language is a special occasion. Therefore, we spent most of the dinner hour speaking with his 11 year old daughter, Thu,- she did very well- and her parents (Manh and Dung) were so proud!

The Vietnam Women's Academy has two buildings, the old building (4 floors) and the new building (15 floors). Classes are held in both, though most of the administrative offices, guest housing, conference rooms, and student housing are in the new building.

On Saturday we traveled to Ninh Binh- also known as dry Halong Bay because the limestone mountains take the shape of those in Halong Bay- the mountains there rise out of the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the most beautiful sights you will every see! Quan, our good friend, purchased a U.S. army jeep last year and was anxious to take us for a ride. The open air riding down the highway was fantastic. Once in Ninh Binh, we traveled the river by boat, hiked to caves and then headed to Cuc Phuong National Forest--we hiked in the forest/jungle for 4 hours--though we heard the cry of monkeys, we never saw them!

Week Three

This past week was packed full of teaching, taking Vietnamese language classes, meetings with potential research funders and invites to dinner. Lectures included organizational behavior, writing articles for international publication and cultural differences. Eric, of course, co-taught the cultural differences workshop with me along with Hoa, our friend's niece who just returned from Lehigh University. I continue to edit papers for the conference "Women Entrepreneurs in Industrial Revolution 4.0" which will take place on October 18th at VWA. We will have presenters from Viet Nam, Indonesia, Germany, the Netherlands and the U.S. (me). Two of my colleagues, Katelin Maher from USAID-Vietnam, and Jennifer Kuhlman, Director of the Solidarity Center, Hanoi, will be attending and meeting separately with Dr. Kim Ahn, Vice Director of the VWA.

English Club 

 

Eric and Hoa

To celebrate the Autumn Festival, we were invited by Lan Ahn and Vinh to Tuyen Quang- a town about 2 hours north of Viet Nam- where the festival originated. Dinner that evening was quite an affair as we were joined by the Chairman of the Province and some of his staff. The next day we traveled further into the country-Lam Binh- where we stayed in an upscale stilt house followed by another big dinner/celebration with officials and friends from the local area. As customary, we all sat in circles of 6-8 people each and were served "family style". Eric was a "good" guest and made the rounds to each circle, socializing and toasting- a "must do" for men in Viet Nam.

After dinner, mattresses are laid out under the eaves of the stilt house with curtains for privacy--the sounds of the surroundings lull you to sleep. Pho Bo for breakfast at the nearby government building and then back to Hanoi for another full week of work!

Friday and Saturday

The activity continues to ramp up every day we are here. Friday was filled with meetings about future workshops that the faculty want me to conduct- it seems they want to pack in as much as possible while we are here in addition to the original schedule. Yikes! Friday afternoon Eric and I attended a meeting with the English Club (with about 10 students)-discussed many topics (good practice) and agendas for the following meetings which we have been invited to attend. In the evening, Eric and I were invited to Lan Thao's birthday party (daughter of our friend Lan Anh) with the rest of the family-picture following. Today we decided to motorbike outside the city to try and find our way to the chicken farm to visit our farmer friend, Phung and Minh- but we got lost and headed back to Hanoi before it got dark. We think we now know where we made the wrong turn and will try again another day! Enjoy the photos!

Lan Ahn's family

Eric and Bao

The food just kept coming!

It's amazing what people transport on motorbikes

On our way out of the city

Watch for animals in the road!

The river just to the north of Hanoi is a boat highway

Rice drying season

Week Two

The week began with a lecture on 'Labor Relations in the US' to 40 undergraduate students in the Business Administration major. We started with an overview and then broke into small group discussions about the similarities and differences between Vietnam/US labor relations. My interpreter, Mr. Tung, had studied the material prior to class and, as I understood from the students, did a great job interpreting (from English to Vietnamese and back again!). Most of Tuesday was taken up by editing conference papers in preparation for a women's conference which the Academy is hosting in mid-October. The abstracts and papers were quite interesting--the theme of the conference is Women and Entrepreneurship in the Industrial Revolution 4.0. I'll also be presenting a paper from the U.S. perspective. On Wednesday, Eric and I were invited to a 2 hour conversation with the English Club where we simply sat in a circle and talked about many different topics- the purpose, of course, was to practice English. Today I'll begin preparing for next week's lectures, catching up on emails and other work not related to Vietnam.

"All work and no play..."
Of course, with Eric around, the fun never ends. He is quite industrious, curious and loves an adventure, so while I'm working, he does his own thing---by himself, with his friends and then makes new friends. When I'm not working, I get to join in the fun. This week we have had invites to several dinners and lunches- some with friends, some with VWA faculty. The motorbike runs beautifully and we now have some new "sturdy" helmets which we have decided will come home with us since we plan to make more trips back to Vietnam in the future. Last night we were caught in rush hour traffic which is just an amazing mass of cars and motorbikes, all vying for an inch or space to move forward- some of us gave up and the sidewalk then became part of the road. It was a madhouse. We decided, instead of battling with the traffic, we would stop for coffee until the roads cleared- it was great fun watching the madness of rush hour while sipping cafe sua da!

We were also invited over the weekend to visit the Citadel- the old "Forbidden City" which is currently being excavated. We toured the Citadel with Ms. Chi, her husband, and baby followed by Bun Cha- one of my favorite dishes in Vietnam.

 

 The room where the Vietnam War strategy was executed

 Entrance to the Citadel

Celebration for the start of the school year

Ms. Nga and Ms. Thu Huong, Vietnam Fulbright Directors

Our room

Vy and Thao, VWA students

View from hallway balcony outside of our room

The Six Week Journey Begins

Eric and I arrived in Hanoi at 11pm after a long flight--13 hours to Seoul and then another 4 to Hanoi. We were met by Vy and the Academy's driver, Mr. Giang. Vy is a student at the Vietnam Women's Academy where I'll be teaching for the next 6 weeks. She later introduced us to Thao, another student and friend. Vy and Thao were very helpful over the next several days as we attempted to settle in. I will post several photos at a later date, but the broadband isn't so broad, so am having a difficult time uploading!

Where we live: We live in a room on campus- a bed, 4 chairs, a desk, a small fridge/microwave, a clothes rack, an ironing board and a TV. To the left as you walk in the door is a small room with a toilet and the next door on the left is a small room which includes a shower head, a sink and an automatic washing machine. We have an air conditioner and hot water now which is wonderful!

Where I work: For the next six weeks, I'll be teaching labor relations and other related topics to undergraduate students and faculty at the Vietnam Women's Academy (VWA). The Academy will be celebrating its 60th year and is an arm of the Vietnam Women's Union (VWU): a women's socio-political and developmental organization mandated to protect women's legitimate rights and strive for gender equality. There are approximately 15 million members in the VWU at the national, provincial, local levels. The VWA has been a training ground for members of the VWU and has now expanded to become an accredited university. Since 2013, it has created 6 bachelor's degrees in the areas of social work, business administration, law, gender and development, multimedia communication and tourism. In fact, it is the only university in all of Vietnam to offer a degree in Gender and Development.
 
The first 3 days: The first days in any new culture are always a blur. The combination of jet lag, new people, new conditions, HOT weather, etc add up to feelings of anxiety, excitement, overload and exhaustion. It helps to have been through this phase before and to know that it is temporary. It also helps to have a husband (Eric) who reminds you to breath and relax. He's the best. So here's the summary:

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were start-up days where I met with faculty to discuss my teaching schedule, conference presentations and workshop activity. There were festivities for the start of the new school year as well as an evening gala for the freshmen. All of the dances and song were performed by VWA students. Very impressive! The Vietnamese culture is famous for its festivities and this begins at a very young age. While I was busy getting oriented, Eric did his thing: rented a motorbike, purchased local phones, joined in during the lunches and got together with friends for coffee/beer. More to tell, but signing off to motorbike to our friend's house for dinner....here we go on a fun filled, hard working journey!