Xin chào!
The last week was packed with our normal workload for the University and we also got a competition called “rural Hoi An”. The task: go out and do field research regarding one topic by interviewing people. We got 5 days and presented our findings on Friday at the Study Center. As there was a prize to win, the teams were really engaged in the competition.
There were five teams that focused on different aspects of rural development studies. The winner team dealt with “women and vegetables” and interviewed several women along the supply chain – from the farmers in the vegetable village outside of Hoi An to the female vendors on the vegetable market in the city centre. Other groups interviewed different families in order to learn about their family and household structures or interviewed vendors at the market, tailors and shoemakers.
After this busy week everyone was ready for the weekend. Some of us went to Mỹ Sơn 45km from Hoi An. My Son is an ancient holy city with different stone temples and today there are still several ruins that can be visited. It is located in a beautiful and hilly area in between jungle and it’s really worth a visit.
Luckily, we started our tour at 5 o’clock in the morning and when we arrived Mỹ Sơn, there were hardly any tourist except from us and the heat was still bearable…
On our way back we had a Vietnamese coffee in one of the local cafés. The coffee couldn’t be fresher as it runs through the filter that is placed on the glass. It is served with condensed milk and ice – and compared to our coffee at home it is very strong and very sweet. Traditionally, a glass of green tea is served with the coffee.
In the afternoon we arrived– a bit sunburned and tired – in Hoi An and although it was a wonderful day trip, I’m always happy to come back to our lovely Hoi An!
Tonight we are following an invitation for a costume party that was organized by some students. The theme is “a Vietnamese wedding” and after the bachelorette party yesterday we already got a slight idea how engaged people are in the theme! 😉
Greetings from lovely Hoi An,
Lisa
Read about development studies in Vietnam:
NO: Utviklingsstudier i Vietnam
SE: Utvecklingsstudier i Vietnam