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Coming home to Hoi An

The preparations for my journey to Vietnam started about nine months before I left Frankfurt International Airport. I had found out about the course through the Kulturstudier web page, browsing the Internet on possible places to spend a semester abroad. First contacts were easy and I gained confidence that it was the right thing to go for.

Germany was cold when I left and I remember handing my winter jacket to my sister at the airport, I knew that there was no need to bring it along. Coming out of Hanoi Noi Bai Airport in the evening the following day, I felt a warm breeze and even though it was still winter, the temperature was pleasant.
Spending the evening in Hanoi was truly a culture shock. The streets were packed with motorbikes and bicycles. The cab from the Airport passed pedestrians, bicycles and water buffalos on the highway into the city. It was definitively not what I had expected. I remember trying to find out, if the taxi drivers’ repeated honking had any system, or if he just did it randomly. Now, being experienced with Vietnamese traffic, I understand that a good horn is the best way to keep out of accidents.

I got to Da Nang on the following day and to my surprise met some of my fellow students at the Airport. We shared a taxi and for the first time rode along the beautiful stretch of coastline that lies between Da Nang and Hoi An. The road is smooth, wide and new, leading through an area that is destined for development. So far three resorts are up and running, several more are in planning. There were people burning their garbage on one side of the road, and the construction of a golf course on the other. It seemed like the right spot to study development.

The course started with a broad introduction to Vietnam and Vietnamese culture. We learned about the history, food and customs of the Vietnamese. Activities such as a bicycle tour were offered and this way making friends was easy. Tet was coming up the following weekend and flowers, red banners and busy people crowded Hoi An’s streets and alleys. A small but flashy Christmas tree decorated the reception, and every street showed a big ‘chuc mung nam moi’ banner – happy new year – the Vietnamese were in the mood for celebration and we received a warm welcome.

During the week we had to get up early. The bus left at 7:30 o’clock and the lectures started at 8:00 o’clock. After a week most of the students had gotten themselves bicycles and started the day with a beautiful 20 minutes bike ride along the canals and through the rice fields. Getting to the Study Center in time was a treat for getting up so early. A game of Fusball and a “ca phè sua dá” the Vietnamese ice-coffee eventually got me going.

Lectures were interesting, covering a wide range of topics from broad theories to local projects. The seminars once a week offered opportunities to discuss the material critically and students from different backgrounds contributed with alternating viewsThroughout the course we had four different lecturers, from very different backgrounds and each of them had a different style of lecturing. Our campus was in an extra-ordinary setting, on a small river island a stone throw from the beach. There was the noise of passing tuk tuks that interrupted us every once in a while, and when you gazed out of the window you could see fishermen casting their nets from the edge of their small wooden boats. All this made it a unique learning experience.

It has been six months since I arrived in Vietnam. After the course I spent two months travelling and then started to work in a development project two hours north of Hoi An. I try to go back to Hoi An at least once a month and I noticed that every time I get there, riding down the main road from the beach into the city along the canals and past the Study Center, it feels a little bit like home. Well, at least it’s a wonderful place to come back to.

- André van Waegeningh