In this current moment week 5 of 10 has just started. The time has flown by incredibly quick and it is crazy that we are almost half way done with our time in Hoi An with Kulturstudier. In these five weeks a lot has happened. We have of course started school, experienced different lecturers teaching us about a range of different topics, tried new types of delicious food, celebrated Vietnamese new year, bicycled A LOT and gotten a deeper understanding of Vietnamese’s culture. The weather has also treated us well and we have enjoyed the beautiful sunshine.

Week 1:

Our first week was filled with a lot of exploring of the city, the beach and taking in the beautiful town. As I had heard before coming to Hoi An, the city is filled with lanterns and that is absolutely true.

The week ended with the traditional welcome party with Kulturstudier. We all gathered at balance, had an amazing meal, different games and ended with some tone death karaoke. In all it was a lot of fun.

 

Week 2

This was a week were a lot of exiting things happening. It all started with the celebration of the Vietnamese new year!! Happy Tet!!

The week ended with a full Vietnamese day. Kulturstudier had organized a day where we would go and explore the city, the food and so much more.

We started the day with some traditional Vietnamese breakfast at a local restaurant. From there we went to a coffee shop and drank some Vietnamese coffee and played some lottery. We won a lot, but also lost a lot! Oh the dangers of gambling…

The quiz we had after the coffee was my favourite part of the day. We were divided into groups of three, and had to bike all around the city to find the answers. Because of this we got to see so much more of the city which we might not have discovered if not for the quiz.

We also had a cooking class and Vietnamese bingo that day. The bingo was so much more entertaining then the bingo I have ever played before. It was singing and bingo in one, the Vietnamese way! Our Vietnamese day was as you can see a big success.

Week 3:

As week three started we began to settle more into our new daily routine. Breakfast at Balance café, riding our bikes to school, lectures starting 08.30 and biking back to Balance for lunch. After this we all would do different things. Some might workout or start on the reading for the next day. We also have football practise every Wednesday which is so much fun, and this week we played our first game against a Vietnamese team. I’m not going to lie… it started quite bad for us, but we got better in the second half. It was a fun match with good people.

We also went on a field trip to Ka Tu this week. Where we did field work in two different villages. My group was researching about how they were handling trash. It was very interesting to see a different part of Vietnam and learn more about the country. We stayed in the second village over night and slept in a commune house.

 

We hade a lot of fun with the children in the villages and played many games with them. Leaving the village behind was a bit sad because of all the fun we had there, but at the same time we were excited for the unknown adventures still waiting for us in Hoi An.

Week 4

Fist week with not too much on the agenda. But we still explored some more of the city and relaxed a lot. I feel like every time I go though the Old City there something more to discover. Just pick a new alley and you will find a new café or a shop.

The weekend was spent at the beach and fruit shopping at the market.

Hopefully the next weeks won`t fly past as fast as the first weeks, but I`m excited for the rest!

 

-Pernille-