LAV@NUS

Chào các cô! Chào các bạn!

Quang Lộc

Tôi tên là Quang Lộc. Năm nay tôi 21 tuổi. Hiện nay, tôi là sinh viên sinh học năm thứ hai, học ở Đại học Quốc gia Singapo. Sau khi tốt nghiệp, tôi muốn làm nhà khoa học ở Singapo. Tôi thích nghe nhạc pop, chơi cầu lông và xem phim. Tôi trông thấp và gầy. Tôi định đi du lịch ở Việt Nam. 

Before attending Viet 1 class, I have very limited experience and knowledge about Vietnam. The few things that I probably know about Vietnam would be its capital Hanoi, a state called Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnamese noodles (phở). After 1 semester of exposure, I have not only learnt about the basics of the language, I have also immersed myself in Vietnamese culture through watching an old yet meaningful movie, listening to Vietnamese songs and talking to real Vietnamese people. Not only that, I got to taste very delicious Vietnamese food, especially the banana cake during the introductory lecture. Indeed, the promise given in the introductory lecture, that we’ll travel Vietnam in 1 semester had been realized. I ‘travelled’ to Vietnam and now, I would really love to go to Vietnam for real.

Quỳnh Anh

Tôi tên là Quỳnh Anh, tên tiếng Anh là Jane. Tôi hơi nói nhiều, trông hơi cao, da trắng và tóc dài. Năm nay tôi hai mươi mốt tuổi, sinh viên năm thứ hai, Đại Học Quốc gia Singapo, học ngành sinh học. Hiện nay tôi đang học tiếng Việt ở trường, vui quá! Tôi cũng muốn đi du lịch Việt Nam!

I took this Vietnamese 1 module together with four friends without knowing that this module is one of the most fun modules that I’ve ever taken so far in my university journey. I have travelled to a few countries but I have yet to explore Vietnam. Nevertheless, I have been to some Vietnamese restaurants back in Malaysia, and have tried a few delicious Vietnamese cuisines such as Gỏi cuốn and Phở bò. After learning much more about Vietnam, especially after Unit 8 (Ăn Uống), I want to try more Vietnamese food! My friends and I are also planning a trip to Vietnam during our three months semester break and we’re very excited about it! My experience related to Vietnam is very limited, but after the exposure to Vietnam in our classes, I have tried more Vietnamese food, watched a Vietnamese movie, and listened to a few Vietnamese songs. I really enjoyed all of them!

Quang Minh

Tôi tên là Quang Minh. Năm nay tôi là sinh viên năm thứ hai, học ngành khoa học xã hội. Tôi thích dọc tiểu thuyết và nghe nhạc không lời. Tôi học tiếng Việt vì các bạn tôi cũng học tiếng Việt. Khi trong lớp tiếng Việt, tôi rất vui vì các cô Việt rất vui tính, tốt bụng và thân thiện. Tôi chưa đi du lịch Việt Nam nhưng sau khi học xong lớp tiếng Việt một, tôi muốn đi Việt Nam. 

Learning Vietnamese for 1 semester in NUS from cô Bích, cô Quỳnh and cô Lê has been quite an exciting, rich and fun-filled journey. Coming from a small town in Malaysia, I knew very little about this vast and colourful world that we’re living in. I have never travelled to any other country except when I first came to Singapore to study. However, a window was opened for me to peek into the hidden charm of Vietnam when I embarked on this venture to learn the Vietnamese language few months ago. I was given the opportunity to marvel at the culture, lifestyle and beauty of Vietnam aside from studying the language itself. I never knew that a place so close to my home country would have so much to offer in terms of attractions, food specialties and cultural depths. Indeed, this whole experience I’ve gone through in Vietnamese class is more than just books and pens; it sheds a new perspective to me about understanding and appreciating the diverse culture of this world. Just as the proverb goes, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes”. 

Why did we choose Nha Trang and what we have learnt

We wanted to explore the hidden side of Vietnam instead of the well-known places like Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi when deciding the place for our project. So, we came across Nha Trang, one of the most renowned beaches in Vietnam. While researching about Nha Trang, we find ourselves to be deeply amazed and mesmerized by the many wonders and breathtaking panorama that this place has to offer. 

There are many exciting water activities such as scuba diving and snorkeling available at Nha Trang. Other than the beautiful beach, there is also the Alexandre Yersin Museum, commemorating Alexandre Yersin as the bacteriologist that discovered Yersinia pestis. Two of us who are life science students were greatly interested to learn something like this through a language module! The other well known museum in Nha Trang is the National Oceanographic Museum, where tourists can feast their eyes upon tanks of colourful marine lives and admire the vast collection available there. The Long Son Pagoda, with its enormous Buddha statue visible even from afar is also another unique landmark in Nha Trang. One can take in a magnificent view of Nha Trang city from where the statue is standing. 

We also discovered an array of mouth-watering delicacies available in Nha Trang such as the famous noodle soup with fish (bún cá), spring rolls (nem nướng) and of course, seafood! Just browsing through the pictures of these specialty dishes in Nha Trang is enough to tempt us to visit this jewel land in Vietnam. Truly, this travelling project propelled us to look at Vietnam from a different perspective after realizing that the country offers more than what meets the eye, be it tourism destinations, local food or exciting activities. We have had an enjoyable time in this project as well as listening to the other groups’ presentation on different places in Vietnam. We gained more than what we bargained for in this module!