By Jessanna Buschur, Bluffton University Icon intern
Focus on: My Vu, Vietnam
Senior, Business Major, Bluffton University

My Vu, a senior at Bluffton University, has seen parts of the world that most persons only read about. She has visited Thailand, Sigapore, Malaysia and China, and Europe is on her world-wide wish list. While My says that Thailand is a favorite for shopping, she calls Vietnam home.

She lives in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. It has nearly 6 million residents. My says that she especially enjoyed eating sea food at home, so she buys a lot of fish and shrimp to cook while at Bluffton.

A popular form of Vietnamese transportation that she misses is called a "piegio vespa," which is a sophisticated type of motorbike. My says that she enjoys watching the people in Hanoi because of their unique styles.

Attending a Mennonite High School in Pennsylvania as an exchange student, My learned of Bluffton through a college fair. My said she decided to attend Bluffton because of everything the school had to offer and the friendly people she found here.

One of the first persons she met at Bluffton was Chris Jebsen, the director of admissions on campus. He picked her up at the airport and bought her a fan, pillow and bedsheets. My said she still remembers this four years later, and continues being impacted by what she calls "the kind people at Bluffton."

Life in Vietnam is very different from Bluffton, according to My. Going from a city of six million to Bluffton is a big change. My said, "Because it is a city, (Hanoi is) not a really friendly community like Bluffton. When you go out in the streets, you don't say 'hi' to strangers like people do here."

While her native language is Vietnamese, English is a requirement for students in Vietnam beginning in elementary school. But, because students are only taught grammar and writing, context in the English language has been hard to understand for My.

She said, "I remember when I first came here I didn't know what to say when my host family asked if I was tired. The only words I knew to say were 'of course,'" so her host family let her sleep. When My was asked, "How are you doing?" she wondered, why are you asking what I'm doing?

While living in the United States and attending Bluffton has come with its share of challenges, My says that she has had a positive experience here.

My plans to eventually return to Hanoi and pursue work in business or accounting. My describes her homeland as a great place to travel and visit for landscape and cuisine. Located on Vietnam's east coast, there are a lot of beautiful beaches that she looks forward to returning to.