Brittany Huynh
UMBC Faculty-Led: Interpreting Vietnam: The Past and the Future
Major: Information Systems
Minor: Psychology
Jump To: Predeparture Post, In-Country Post 1
Predeparture Post
Hi everyone! I’m Brittany Huynh. I am an Information Systems major and Psychology minor, and I will be entering my senior year at the end of the summer. My study abroad program takes place in Vietnam and centers on Creative Nonfiction writing.
One of my goals for 2026 was to travel to another country. I’m big on new years goal-setting, so when I saw a flyer for UMBC’s 2026 Summer Abroad programs while studying in the library one day, it felt like a lucky opportunity I couldn’t pass up. As a Vietnamese American student, I thought this program would be the perfect opportunity for me to embrace my heritage and explore the country where my family is originally from.
I’m leaving for Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon), Vietnam’s busiest city, in just a few days. Although I’m feeling a bit nervous and dreading the 20-some hour long plane ride, I’ve been looking forward to this trip since I applied for it last spring semester. I’m having pre-departure nerves and excitement at the same time!
I’m eager to explore and understand urban Vietnamese culture in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. I’m super excited to try the street food like vermicelli noodles, baguette sandwiches and iced coffee while sitting outdoors and appreciating the city energy. I’m also eager to learn about Vietnam’s history and how life has been rebuilt since the end of the Vietnam War. During my time in the rural village, Dong Ha, I’ll get the chance to meet with local leaders and learn more about their humanitarian efforts to expand the community’s resources. For instance, we will be collaborating with PeaceTreesVietnam, an organization that works to dispose of war remnants and provide explosive ordnance risk education. While there, we will also help to concrete a kindergarten school yard. Overall, I think what I’m most excited about is to be able to connect with the local community, hear personal stories and see perspectives that are completely different from what I know. Spreading kindness and fostering connection are my favorite things to do, so I’m very excited to work with PeaceTreesVietnam and hear the stories of Vietnamese people from all walks of life. Also, I’m excited to use my Vietnamese speaking skills. Growing up in a multi-cultural household, I often switched between speaking English and Vietnamese. However, I find it difficult to pronounce some tones after going long periods without practicing Vietnamese. Each day there will likely help me strengthen my language skills, so I’m glad I get a chance to speak Vietnamese in Vietnam.
While I’m looking forward to gaining a deeper understanding of Vietnam’s culture, history and community, I’m also looking forward to learning more about myself as a person, traveler, and writer. During my time in Vietnam, I want to overcome my nervousness by doing something like haggling with a street vendor. Even though I am an extrovert at heart, I sometimes find myself feeling intimidated in some social situations. I want to feel free to express myself and connect with people without feeling limited by fear. I really want to ask every single question that comes to my mind during this trip so I can step out of my comfort zone and feel more confident in my social abilities. Our program leader, Annie Nguyen, suggested that we keep travel journals with us the entire time we’re there. With that in mind, I’m interested to see what I’ll write down during my days in Vietnam. Reflecting on my past experiences to better understand my emotions is something that I love to do, so I’m thrilled to be able to flip through my travel journal later on in the future.
As I prepare for my departure to Vietnam over the next few days, I am transforming my nervousness into optimism and anticipation for what’s to come. I’m reminding myself of the reasons why I wanted to take this opportunity in the first place, such as fulfilling my goal of traveling to another country this year, embracing my heritage, and connecting with great people who I can learn a lot from.
Thank you for reading! I look forward to writing my first in-country post once I’m a week into my trip. There, I’ll be able to write an update on the sights I’ve seen, any notable experiences, reactions, and possibly food review. Bye, Gặp lại nhé! (See you later!)
In-Country Post #1
Xin chào (Hello) from Vietnam! I’m currently one week into my study abroad program, and so far have had a jam-packed schedule. Quick update – the plane ride was long, but tolerable. I’ve eaten lots of specialty dishes, some of my favorites are banh mi and carmelized pork. I’m spending the first few days in Ho Chi Minh City, then I’ll be leaving for Dong Ha to do service learning work. I haggled with a vendor at Ben Thanh flea market, something that I said I wanted to do in my last post. I’ve spent lots of time getting to know my two program leaders and five fellow students, which has probably been my favorite part of it all.
Getting to know the five other students and two leaders on my trip has been such an amazing experience. I’m so grateful that we all bonded so naturally. During our leisure time, my peers and I have been enjoying Vietnam’s cafe culture. On every street there are plenty of cafes that sell tea and coffee, filled with small tables facing the bustling roads. We’ve used our cafe time to chit-chat, or to relax after our daily excursions. I’ve eaten lots of dishes that I’m familiar with back home, however here I find that the flavors of the dishes are stronger, saltier and the fish sauce is more potent. The food and drinks here are delicious, and I’m happy I get to enjoy them with good company.
An experience that really refreshed and inspired me was our introductory meeting with PeaceTreesVietnam (PTVN). PTVN showed us a hands-on demonstration of the different kinds of metal detectors they use in forested areas in Central Vietnam to search for explosive ordnance. I found it shocking how PTVN’s de-mining team still finds war remnants to this day. In our meeting with a landmine survivor, the gentleman shared with his story of an accident from his childhood involving explosive ordnance that left him disabled. He greeted us with a huge smile on his face. It was very touching to see him interact with us in such a vulnerable, yet hopeful and positive way. When he sang us a traditional Vietnamese song, I was pleasantly surprised by his beautiful voice. It was very inspirational to see him talk to us with such enthusiasm, it reminded me how resilient people can be.
Experiencing lifestyles so different from what I’m used to has made me realize how joy and meaning can be found in ways other than the pursuit of material wealth. I’ve realized that having a community and being generous are things that I value the most. Going back to my pre-departure post, I stated that I was excited to connect with locals and hear their stories. Whenever I can, I chat with locals to gain real insight on what life’s like here. The locals that I’ve talked to here have been so hospitable and eager to help. They are so friendly, excited to teach Vietnamese words and practice English with us. I really admire how knowledgeable they are about the environment and wildlife.
On our third day, we went from HCMC to Can Tho, a town located along the Mekong River Delta, to visit the Cai Rang floating market on a boat ride. There were many vendors selling various meals and fruits from their small boats. I got a Cà phê sữa đá (iced coffee) from one boat, and then we got a kilogram of chôm chôm (rambutan) to share from another. I had never experienced anything like it before, it was fascinating to see so many local people and tourists eating bowls of noodles on boats, with some not even wearing life jackets. It was such a fun and unforgettable experience being at the Cai Rang floating market.
After the floating market, we took another boat ride to the Son Islet, where we were shown around by a young woman that I got a chance to chat and practice my Vietnamese with. From our chats, I discovered many things about her and her village. As we walked through the village, she pointed out her home, giving me a glimpse into what everyday life looks like for the people who live there. Later, we visited an attraction where we placed our feet in the water as fish swam around our feet and legs. She explained that the villagers consider these fish to be lucky and do not eat any fish that willingly swim up to them. She also shared that because the village is separated from the mainland, families travel by boat to take their children to school and run errands, with each trip taking about 30 minutes. She even taught me how to say “we are college students” in Vietnamese, mình là sinh viên! This experience was so memorable because although we had just met, she felt familiar to me like she could be a relative. Hearing her stories gave me a greater appreciation for my Vietnamese heritage and connection with the culture.
Looking back on these first few days, I’ve been getting to know my peers and have had lots of fun. I’ve strengthened my understanding of why I want to travel at all. I love traveling with other people and I feel so lucky to have made such good friends in my program. I love learning about the history, people and cultural practices of the places I visit, and so far, my itinerary has allowed me to do so. This being my first international trip as an adult was such a great pick since I already speak the language, which made it easier to get around, also my heritage gives me less of a culture shock here.
Overall, it has been a success so far. I feel really connected with my cultural identity being here, it’s such a great feeling! I’m really looking forward to the rest of my trip and writing my next update! Thanks for reading. Bye, Gặp lại nhé! (See you later!)
In-Country Post #2
Xin chào (Hello)! Welcome to my second blog post in Vietnam. During the first week, we spent time in the bustling parts of Ho Chi Minh City. Then, we traveled to Hue, which has historic landmarks like the Hue Citadel from the Nguyen Dynasty period. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the citadel because I was sick, so I had to sit out for the entire day. Despite my illness, I’m glad to be recovering and look forward to the rest of what we have planned for our second week, including service-learning projects, site visits and some leisure time.
Toward the end of my first week, I got food poisoning that had me completely out for two days. Having not traveled internationally for the last 15 years, I was afraid that this might happen. Luckily, I recovered during those two days and resumed activities with my group once I felt strong enough to. During the second week of my trip, I got the chance to participate in service learning work with PeaceTreesVietnam (PTVN). On the same day as our field visit with PTVN’s demining team, we went to an elementary school and got the chance to chat with fifth graders who were in summer school. During our visit, my program and I spoke to the students, helping them practice their English speaking skills. I was surprised by how well prepared the students were. They each had a piece of paper with questions to ask us in English, with the corresponding Vietnamese translations. The small group of students I sat and chatted with were shy with their English, however they opened up once they found out that I also spoke Vietnamese. They exchanged small personal details with me like where they’re from and how many siblings they have. One girl even asked, “Do you have a husband, yet?” I thought it was adorable how kind, curious and respectful they were with me. I love working with kids, so I found this experience to be so sweet and unforgettable.
The following day, our next service-learning project was helping build a new concrete kindergarten school yard in a rural village. After a two-hour bus ride through bumpy dirt roads, winding around mountains lined with lush greenery, palm trees and farms, we arrived at the village. The wooden houses sat high on stilts to protect them from landslides during the rainy season. Beneath the houses, women and men lounged in hammocks tied onto the houses’ stilts, shaded from the blazing sun. It’s customary to not wear shoes inside houses, therefore each doorstep was filled with piles of shoes like Crocs and sandals. Between the stilts, lines of clothes hung to dry. There were cream-colored dogs with pointed ears running around, along with groups of boys and girls with tan skin and black hair. The men sat outside of their houses in plastic chairs smoking cigarettes and laughing with one another. We arrived at the kindergarten and were greeted by friendly teachers and construction workers working on the tile cement yard. Some of our program members shoveled soil into a large mixing drum, while myself and other members pushed wheelbarrows of the soil-cement onto the yard, where construction workers used wood and metal tools to flatten the mix. Once the soil-cement mix was smooth, we laid out a few lines of concrete tiles. As we worked, the children gathered around, some even smiled, waved or said, “Hello, what’s your name?” Contributing to the community, even in a small way, was incredibly rewarding and I’m glad that I was able to do so alongside my peers.
Now that I’m on the second week of my trip, my time in Vietnam is soon coming to an end. For the rest of the week, we have one more day of service learning work planned where we will be helping PTVN with a tree planting project, then visiting another village to watch a presentation on how to stay safe on land with explosive ordnance. Once we finish our service learning days, we will head to Da Nang, Vietnam’s fastest growing city, where we’ll have free time to relax by the beach and hangout. Although there were times I felt uncomfortable and irritated because of my stomach sickness, I have been surrounded by lots of good people. I was mostly recovered after two days of resting from my stomach illness, however I still felt off in the days that followed. Therefore, I’m grateful that my program leaders have been understanding and supportive of me and my peers. Sometimes, we felt exhausted or sleepy and our program leaders have been mindful of that. Traveling can come with unexpected consequences, therefore I’ve been trying to stick with the schedule as best as I can. I’ve sat out on a few activities when I felt like I truly needed to. I find it important to prioritize my health and not be afraid to miss out.
My second week has been packed and busy, however I look forward to the last several days of my trip. I’m looking forward to writing my final post once I return home. Thanks for reading. Bye, Gặp lại nhé! (See you later!)