My expectations

In general:

What I mainly want to gain from this experience is a broader understanding of my own culture, their way of life, norms and traditions - which are major elements that will contribute to my development as an individual.

I myself am Vietnamese (but have practically lived in Denmark all my life) but I was raised with Vietnamese culture, traditons, norms and values. I have been visiting Vietnam 3 times - twice with my parents and once with my class (Univerisity College Lillebælt, Pædagoguddannelsen in Odense, Denmark - Bachelor in Social Education) for 3 weeks were we travelled from noth to south.

I always manage to gain new experiences (good and bad) and new knowledge each time I’ve been there. The journey to Vietnam has never been the same, even though I mainly visit the same cities.

I believe what have made the experiences different each time, is the interaction between me and the local people I meet - rich and poor. When they tell me their stories, how they survived the war, how determend they are on chasing a fulfilling life, how creative they are on using the resources from the nature for their survival. It makes me reflect on my own life/situation - it puts everything into new perspectives.

Work wise:

Regarding the work challenges, then I must admit that I’m aiming for a greater insight regarding pedagogic work in the Kindergarten in Vietnam. I will observe the teachers everyday structure, to improve my understanding for their pedagogic work. I am aware of, that their methods are significantly much more different than in Denmark – however, that’s why I need to adapt into the work environment. I can still be critical on their methods, but I still need to reflect on the working situations, before I jump too quickly into the conclusions. I’m aware of, there’s a reason for why they choose this kind of pedagogic method in praxis – and that’s the understanding I need to have an insight in.

Furthermore, as I speak Vietnamese (not fluently), I do kind of expect, that I will develop a larger Vietnamese vocabulary. I’m aiming for being better at using body language and reading others body language too. The way we express ourselves isn’t universal - even though some body language is common worldwide, each country still has their own way of expressing one selves. I expect to have a greater comprehension on how the Vietnamese use their body language. That is definitely one of the main goals of this journey.

Personally:

I think my biggest challenge is I’m going to live in an entire different country, where everything such as culture, traditions, norms, eating habits, traffic, and language is alienated from my usual life. It will not worry as much as it will motivate me, as I think I great adapting skills. However when everything has become an everyday thing to me, I will eventually miss Denmark.

My biggest concern is the fact that I will be missing my boyfriend. Lacking his presence or sharing all these great experiences with him, is new to me. It’s going to be extremely hard with plenty of agony and frustrations. However, I’m not going to let it be an obstacle for going through this journey – it’s just another challenge! At the end of the day, I appreciate his blessings for letting me go, deep understanding and support for giving me this opportunity for chasing my goals.

Being Danish in a foreign country means that I will be more aware of how Danish I really am, than what I normally would consider myself to be. In Denmark I consider myself Vietnamese, and I only consider myself Danish when I’m outside the Danish border. I think it’s very common for a Danish individual with a different ethnicity. Of course there are the cons and pros by being Danish-Vietnamese, as I also know the Vietnamese mentality, know how to behave in public, respect for elders etc. but I still think the local people would consider me as a foreigner, because of the way I express myself as an individual, is more westernized.

When I return:

I hope I will have heaps of great experience - positive and negative which I can learn from. I Hope this journey will give me so much joy, make me wiser on life, give me good memories that I always can look back to. Most of all, I hope all these experiences will mature me more than ever.

I expect that I have been wiser on the Vietnamese culture, that my limits have been challenged – that I have become more aware of my strengths as my weakness.

In laymen terms, I hope my work experience as a trainee has taught me more about the social system. The hierarchy system in this institution is not a coincidence – the fact is, that there’s a connection between the social system and the pedagogic work in praxis in Vietnam.