Experiential Learning in a Culture of Kindness

Kindness comes first in Vietnam. “How are you doing?” is not a simple greeting. It’s a genuine invitation for connection. Students who study abroad through Pitzer in Vietnam are welcomed into communities eager to open their homes and share their culture.

As the co-coordinators of the Pitzer in Vietnam summer program, Tam Tran and Cong Ho are the first people to greet students when they arrive. They are a married couple who have been involved in the program since its founding in 2017.  Tran is a professor at Huế University and teaches about Vietnamese language and culture. Ho is a central logistics manager at a brewery company, and he also serves as a visiting scholar at Huế University.

Pitzer’s Office of Study Abroad & International Programs approached Tran in 2015 about developing a program in Vietnam. Pitzer staff told Tran that they wanted to teach students more than the language. They wanted students to live and breathe the culture.

Pitzer in Vietnam Highlights

• Six-week summer program 
• Homestays with host families 
• Language learning in Vietnamese
• Internships based on student interests
• Study trips exploring imperial tombs, Hindu temples, Hạ Long Bay, etc.
• Coursework about culture and society in contemporary Vietnam
• Learning at the public, research-oriented Huế University

One way that Tran and Ho support cultural immersion is leading study trips. They take students to various landmarks in northern, central, and southern Vietnam. From the natural beauty of Hạ Long Bay to the grandeur of the imperial tombs in Huế, these landmarks introduce students to the country’s diverse communities and histories.

Pitzer in Vietnam includes two courses. Intensive Vietnamese instructs students in the language as they also practice speaking with their host families and language buddies. Modern Vietnam guides students through Vietnam’s transformation from colonization to the thriving and developing country that it is today.

“We share with students the miraculous achievements economically, culturally, and politically that Vietnam has achieved for the last 20 years,” said Ho. “We share with the students to help them understand more deeply the future of Vietnam.”

Students also pursue internships with local faculty or non-profits. Tran and Ho connect students with people and organizations based on their passions—whether in public health, mental health, research, or teaching English. Ho said that these internships help students learn “how to communicate and engage in the community in a different way of thinking.”

“They are participating and they learn how to belong, not to observe or come help or do charity,” said Ho.

Tran pointed out that students’ living experience also shows them Vietnam outside of the classroom.

“Students stay with the host family rather than a hotel where they take care of themselves,” said Tran.

According to Tran, host families show Vietnam’s culture of kindness firsthand. Students have told Tran how America’s stress-driven culture discourages vulnerability, but the people of Vietnam offer a different way to live.

“The people are kind,” said Tran. “They ask all the time, ‘Do you need any help?’ or ‘Do you have any troubles?’ [Students] tell me how their family in Vietnam, even though they are busy, wakes up early to prepare them food. They always sit together and talk together.”

Because of this welcoming atmosphere, students gain confidence. They are more willing to share their problems and experiences with their host families and with Tran and Ho. They form deeper emotional bonds as a result—so much that students don’t want to say goodbye at the end.

“It’s the most wonderful, meaningful time of their life when they are in this program,” said Tran.

Learn more about Pitzer in Vietnam.