Thanks for taking the time to read about my project! Living in Vietnam for the past two weeks, you would think blending in as a local would be easy, but surprisingly everyone has been able to tell I am a foreigner right away. However, I have learned a few pointers foreigners should keep in mind when visiting Saigon:
1.) Face masks are a must. In the midst of a highly polluted city, air quality here in Saigon is not the best.
2.) Eat only local food. Most of the time, people contract food poisoning because local people cannot properly prepare dishes present in other countries. Do not eat an American-styled burger in Vietnam, make sure to try the authentic cuisine!
This week I got the opportunity to visit the high school of Sương Nguyệt Anh. The high school consists of over 1000 students from grades 10-12. I was lucky to be paired with the 12th grade teacher and class - even having the opportunity to sit in and learn like one of the students! I was also invited as a guest speaker to talk about my experience with American education and the differences that I was able to see. Unlike school back in the United States, students here are continuously learning or taking extra tutoring classes. A typical day for a Vietnamese student will start at 7am and can end as a late as 9pm. This is not to mention extra weekend studies to prepare for upcoming tests. The students here don't get the opportunity to join extracurricular activities or participate in school events -one of the many aspects American students sometimes take for granted.
Enough about the differences, back to the main focus of my project. Same routine as last week, I distributed and collected anonymous surveys to understand whether the academic performance of Vietnamese high school students was influenced by their eating habits and nutritional intake. I collected a total of about 150 surveys from one class from each grade to fully understand the awareness of nutritional impact of each age group. I have yet to compile the surveys into an excel document, but I did receive many mixed opinions on how much nutrition played a role in their lives. Many did not change their eating habits before an exam, while others ate protein rich diets for breakfast in efforts to preform better. I will have a more concrete conclusion after I read through all the surveys in the following weeks!
Next week, I will visit a middle school to determine how Vietnamese students from 5th to 9th grade emphasize nutrition.
Thank you for reading and I'll update you all again next week!
Best,
Crystal Vo
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| The 12th grade class at Suong Nguyet Anh that welcomed me into their class. |
I love hearing about your experiences with the lifestyle of Vietnam and I'm glad you're enjoying your trip! I agree that we often take extra curricular activities for granted here, and I'm looking forward to the results correlating the students' nutrition to their education. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThis is so interesting!! Sounds like you are having an fantastic experience in Vietnam. It's fascinating that their day can stretch all the way to 9pm. When I was in Morocco, the students had to do the same thing. With that, school must be much different in comparison to our school routine here. Regarding the project, having around 150 surveys will make your conclusion that much more accurate. I look forward to learning more about the outcome. Have fun!!
ReplyDeleteBeing forced to eat local cuisine because they can't properly prepare foreign food doesn't really sound like a downside. I didn't know that kids in Vietnam didn't get the opportunity to take extracurriculars. I can't wait to see what other interesting things you find out over there. Good luck and have fun!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear your having a great time. I really look forward to hearing more about your findings, after you're done reading and compiling the surveys. Have another great week!
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