We are now half way through our semester with development studies, and I think that all of us enjoy the student life in Hoi An. Our days usually starts with breakfast at Balance café. Then I rush to a nearby coffee shop to pick up my daily coffee and bring it to morning class.
I feel that “developments” is something everyone can relate to and find interesting, regardless of continuing developments studies or not. The lectures we have had the last couple of weeks raises questions about different approaches to development. And for me the most interesting topics so far has been equality and gender in relationship to development. Even though I think “developments” in general is interesting and useful for further studies. I have had days where I have felt very confused in which direction I want to continue. Also, the feeling of limitation in relation to what I can do to improve todays issues and dilemmas has occurred. Because there is a lot of issues, and there is no right answer to how to improve or remove them. There is no right approach to follow, and that can be quite overwhelming. Earlier we had a lecture that included a short documentary about forced sterilisation of woman in Peru. The documentary really made an impression on me and I even had to cry of frustration after class. I just had to tell myself that I was happy that I had the chance to listen to those woman’s stories and that awareness of this issue is better than not knowing. Follow the link if you are interested.
When that is said, not all lectures make such an impression. And we often do different activities after lecture and there is a lot of time to explore the city life. There is always someone to ask to join dinner, movie night or whatever. I got a question from a friend back home the other day, she asked me what I had been doing that day. I found it odd that I could answer that I had been to school, reading at a café, working out at the local gym and had dinner with friends. You might think that life in Hoi An is quite different from the life in Norway, but when you have been here for a longer period of time, you’ll find yourself in a routine. However, I cannot say that I can eat dinner at different restaurants every day in Norway. This is luxury! The temperature, the sun, and the opportunity to bike to the beach for a swim are things in my everyday life that friends back home are quite jealous of.
