"The Dukes" - Part 1

I always tell myself that no matter who you are and what you do in life, whether it's a lecture in class, or just an observation you're making, there's always something you can learn from. The past week I was participating in DukeEngage Vietnamese Buddy Program with 10 students from Duke University in North Carolina and, needless to say, I have learned a lot. Whether it's because of my motto or because they basically ooze an intellectual glow as they walk, I feel like I'm absorbing knowledge from them. You know when a duke appears, there will be music playing as he proceeds? It's just like that. Hence I call them "The Dukes".

Chi, the president of USSH International Exchange Club, recommended me to CET for the program. This is the second time I participate in a long-term cultural exchange program after my first in August 2013 with a group of Meiji University students from Japan. I remember that one time, the whole Japanese student group bowed down before us to thank us for supporting them; so if anything, that makes me even more self-conscious about the differences between our cultures. Meanwhile, another part of me was particularly excited because I'm going to study abroad in the States this fall. I could make some new friends in America even before going, ain't that great?

Day 1 (June 19, 2015) - Scavenger Hunt

We all gathered in CET office and started to introduce ourselves. Joining the Dukes and Vietnamese buddies in the scavenger hunt are the girls in Public Health team and their roommates. After the introduction we were allowed to freely pick our partner. Both sides were a little bit hesitant at first but we all eventually found ourselves a partner. I met Preet, a passionate sports fan whom I called "an opportunist" when he told me a few tips on how to make it at UCF with my skills. Since I joined and won a scavenger hunt a couple of months before this, I was so determined to win. I think Preet was in it to win it as well, he was in such a good spirit.

Preet was daring and pretty much went all in for our tasks, that included taking a photo inside a bank and in a cafe next to a barista who was working inside the counter.

Forget my derp face, the barista was so confused when Preet came in

You get extra points for being creative. So we went all the way and took "creativity" to the next level.

We're so 3008. You're so 2000 and late.

The movie theater task cost us a lot of time as we struggled to find our way up to the place. When we came down, we were caught up by several other teams and still missing two things off the the must-have list. After executing our postcard task, we took a cab ride to Tan Dinh Market to finish the list with buying in-season fruits. While in the cab, we had a little chit chat and talked about tailored suits, Preet was in shock to know they are so cheap in Vietnam, costing from $50 to $200, I personally thought that was a lot to be honest; then to add more to the cheap Asian image that I have, I learned that suits in America cost me more than a year of earnings from my current part time translating job. How fascinating.

Then we arrived at the market. Preet was mesmerized by the appearance of dragon fruit / pitahaya and insisted on buying it. So we did and brought it back to the CET office. Before going back to office, I was so greedy I wanted to get everything off our lists so I told Preet to go to the office and I would run back and forth in front of the building to find things. I found nothing! It was stupid of me and I ended up being 3 minutes late. We didn't even place within top 3. I had to kiss those ice cream vouchers goodbye while Preet was there eating the dragon fruit that we bought. It was proven a mission impossible to finish the whole thing by yourself.

Later that day, we went to a fancy Vietnamese restaurant to have a welcome dinner. The Dukes were dressed nicely while I was wearing shorts with a T-shirt that was too big, I looked way too sloppy for such a scene.

(Source: CET Academic Programs in Vietnam)

I enjoyed the food and the company. The burnt crispy rice was amazing, it is actually the dish that this restaurant was named after, "Cơm Niêu". Michael, sitting in front of me, struggled with chopsticks at first but he managed to execute the art of eating with chopsticks a few dishes in, I would say he's a great observer. Son and Hooman shared awkward exchanges as they used lots of hand gestures and different facial expressions to communicate. Speaking of Hooman, I really think he looks exactly like Mitch Grassi from Pentatonix. Well I didn't expect him to know Pentatonix when I told him that but apparently he did and so did Michael! (I totally underestimated the Grammy Award-winning platinum-album-selling acapella group that is Pentatonix right then.) Anyway, I had a really great time.

So the first day faded to an end and I realized, as per usual of me, I was shy and holding back, it's definitely something that I have to work on if I want to make friends in America. Still, with more to come, I know it would be a good opportunity for me to start honing my socializing skill, which had eroded horribly during high school years. I'm grateful for everyone that I met and grateful for the chance to participate. Shout out to Chi, my beloved IEC leader. Thank you for believing in me.