Students get a taste of Vietnam at IPA Coffee Hour

by Jennifer Johnson
The Collegian
Issue date: 3/5/08

The International Peer Assistants (IPA) held a Vietnam-themed Coffee Hour Feb. 13 in N2220 of the College Center on Clarkston campus.

The lunch-time event centered on a presentation called "Journey to Vietnam," given by students Khoa Dao and Khuyen Nguyen. The presentation provided some basic facts about the Southeast Asian country, including information about its economy, language, education, climate, daily life, night life, large cities and tourist attractions.

The hour began with a few announcements about Study Abroad from The Center for International Education's Adrianne Langston (the event occurred a day before Study Abroad applications were due), and a March tax workshop for F-1 students. Afterwards, IPA members lead the 30 or so students in attendance in an icebreaker that thrust the room into a flurry of activity.

After tables and chairs were replaced, and the PowerPoint begun, Vietnamese students in the audience were asked to point to their birthplaces on a map of Vietnam (pictured). In addition to sharing information about where they came from, both presenters shared personal pictures of schools and tourist spots. Nguyen gave the presentation in a pink Ao Dai, traditional dress in Vietnam, and at the presentation's end, treated the audience to a slow dance that she said was intended to "represent the purity of Vietnamese women."

After attendees learned a little about Vietnam, they got a taste of it: in addition to refreshments, different kinds of rice, noodles, basil and shrimp rolls and sweets were available for students to sample as a slide-show of Vietnam's scenery continued on screen.

Most students said they'd heard about the Coffee Hour from friends, through email, or on campus bulletin boards. But some students attended through different means; Criminal Justice major Kaled Ali, 20, and Drafting/Architecture student Robert Sims, 19, were hanging out in the student center when an IPA member told them about the Coffee Hour and invited them to join.

"I had no idea what it was really about, you know, but they were cool. 'Just come and have a good time,' they said. And now I'm eating fried rice and shrimp rolls," said Sims.

The next IPA Coffee Hour on Clarkston campus will explore Venezuela on March 25 at 12:30 p.m. in N2220.