Saying "Tạm Biệt" (Goodbye) to Our New Friends - by Emma Forest (USFSP, Biology Major)

July 26 2013

Our last day at Vinh University began with an air of apprehension as people prepared for their highly anticipated final presentation. We had worked on these as pairs (American and Vietnamese student) for two weeks by this point.  Students walked into the conference room with an air of both confidence and butterflies and set up for the multimedia presentations on a range of exciting topics from "Sustainable Energy Production", to "Future of the Mekon River Delta". At one magical moment during her presentation on "Buddhism:  Religion or Culture?", Ashley led students through a meditation, the room felt at ease and appreciated the moment.  At another, Blake and Robinson tossed out candy to the audience.  We appreciated that too!  And, what a surprise it was to have four of last year's study abroad students (one American and three Vietnamese) come back this year to talk with us and show their support to this year's group on our final day.

Then, to surprise the Vietnamese students, Karlana shared the American student's plan of staying in a 5-star hotel on our final night together.  The Vietnamese students had never experienced that luxury and a smile spread across each face as we anticipated the excitement of the evening.

After the final lunch across from the university, students packed up and headed for Muong Thah Song Lam Hotel in downtown Vinh. With luggage in hand, we got the keys and quickly head up to see the beautiful city view from the high rise hotel rooms. With a few hours to spare, students head down to the luxurious, oval-shaped outdoor pool 

then to the top level bar for a few final cups of Vietnamese coffee. The girls then gathered in Ashley’s room to start the beautifying process before the night. The attire for the night was the traditional Vietnamese ao dai (pronounced ow zai), which was personally tailored by a small shop-owner near the university.

Feeling like celebrities,
we headed off to the restaurant dressed up for the wonderful night ahead of us. We entered the seating room and took in the settings: beautifully set tables, dimly lit and surrounded by a luscious garden and stream with fish and wildlife. Dinner was served and we all satisfied our appetites with delicious Vietnamese cuisine.

The night’s festivities started with a presentation of awards: an honorary professor degree for Fred McCoy and a gift to Dr.Khoi. They graciously accepted the gifts and received a warm round of applause. Then, Professor Sarath and Dean Biafora took the microphone and began to hand out special awards to each Vietnamese student.

Every award described the special talent that every Vietnamese student brought to the program. From “Most Congenial” a.k.a. Tu Mai to “Most Likely to Make Students Laugh”, a.k.a. Trang Lee, each award fit each student perfectly. The sense of pride and camaraderie was palpable.

After the student presentations, Karlana took the microphone and gave Professor Sarath and Dean Biafora their well-deserved gift from the students, nifty Hanoi-made shopping bags, and a signed photograph of the students standing in front of 18^th century temple in Hue. Both professors expressed their gratitude and returned the favor with a very special gift of authentic Vietnamese chili sauce for the students. However, one of the most memorable gifts of the night was the performance of “We are the World” by Professor Sarath and Dr. Biafora. The background music of Michael Jackson’s song started unexpectedly playing from the speakers and the students all thoroughly enjoyed the humorous performance, giving them a resounding applause.

The night of musical performances had just begun and within a few moments the Vietnamese students took the spotlight and started to perform a classic Vietnamese song and choreographed dance. After a moment or two of disorganized, scattered clapping, the room got in tune to the song and joined the merry dance. The night proceeded with a heartfelt speech of thanks and gratitude from each American student.

We all shared our thoughts and memories of the most life-changing experience most of us have faced. After we passed the microphone across the room, Karlana continued to MC, and the room was treated to several more performances from Dr. Khoi’s wife, the students from the previous Vietnam trip, and a hilarious “Mullet-rap” from Ashley. Every time someone performed the room burst into contagious applause and laughter and the warmth spread throughout the night. Before the night ended, the final performance was when all students, Vietnamese and American got up on stage and performed Michael Jackson’s “We Are The World” and the Hokey Pokey, led by Robinson for old time’s sake. Although the Vietnam trip had come to an end, a life-long friendship had begun which the closing ceremony could not end that.