SEVEN REASONS - UCR Summer in Hue 2018

Let's start with the three most common negatives: (1) can't afford it, (2) can't convince my parents, (3) can't find the time. Cynthia and Lien  - "Making Rice" travel project - 2015 1. Money . The cost of the program covers (1) lodging, almost everything but lunch, dinner and a giftshop allowance; (2) in-country travel by bus, plane to Hanoi, daily excursions; (3) course fees for 8 units.  However, did you know that you can apply your student aid to summer? (For details see ( http://studyabroad.ucr.edu/fleap/ )You can also apply federal and California grants (like Pell grants), and finally there are merit-based and need-based scholarships!!!   In past trips, roughly half of the students going receive a significant mix of scholarships, financial aid and small grants to offset the cost of the program by several thousand dollars! Take advantage of these grants as a student !!!  Its unlikely that post-graduation you will find anyone willing to

Our Group 2015 - My Intro We have taken over sixty students to Vietnam in four trips, and one thing we've observed with our program compared to others is that our students receive a lot of attention as they get acquainted with the surroundings in Hue. This is especially important  for students who have never traveled outside the U.S.  Because we are a husband-and-wife team and we live at the guesthouse with students, both Co Hong-Anh and I are able to respond to problems, small and big, very quickly. Co Hong Anh, as the program's local resource coordinator, is also instrumental in helping students meet local artists, navigate red tape, and achieve travel-writing dreams! She's a native Vietnamese speaker, however, like many VN-heritage students, she was born in U.S. and grew up with "kitchen Vietnamese" before traveling to Vietnam as a college student. She then worked in Vietnam for six years while I did my PhD research there as well. Combined, we have l

Many studies have shown how study abroad experiences can help students to put their academic program in focus and even realize new professional aspirations. By getting outside  the campus, study abroad programs like "Encountering Vietnam" help students to develop their learned skills while coping in a fun, foreign cultural environment, learning how to use language and inter-cultural skills to do everything from finding directions to producing documentaries! The "travel writing" project is especially useful for majors in social sciences  as we not only engage in primary research and trips but also discuss in seminars the methodology of interviews and the ethics involved in such work. Follow Blanca Lopez and Nga's' travel project.   One reason why this program is especially good for focusing career tracks is that besides visiting amazing places, students get to spend five weeks in a small-seminar setting with many opportunities to discuss research,

Most history courses at UCR do their best to transport you to other times and places where history happened. In this course, half of the ten scheduled history lectures are "walking lectures". They take place at the sites where the history happened: the streets of Hue for the Tet Offensive, a mountain valley town for a study on war and postwar life in the highlands, pagodas where Zen travelers stayed in the 18th century, etc. Have a chance to read historic sources and then compare  them to the real thing. Read about a trip with a famous VN ecologist to a former US Special Forces  base in the mountain village A Luoi .

Khai Dinh's Tomb - from Henry Leung This trip balances an intensive immersion experience in Hue with weekend trips to some of Vietnam's most amazing natural and cultural wonders. The trips pair up with readings in the history course - HIST 189. After the first week, the group visits ancient Cham monuments built in the 8th century and a medieval trade port where Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese sailors mixed with Vietnamese settlers and other travelers. Also, even in Hue, we stay inside the ancient walled city ! Every day you will cycle or taxi to the University and the guesthouse on ancient streets, just a few blocks from the old imperial palace. Read Ampava Khongmongkorn's post on a visit to Hue's largest Buddhist temple. We visit Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, for three days and will explore the ancient and modern center of Vietnamese society, staying in the "ancient streets," old mercantile quarter, visiting archeological digs uncovering

Whatever your  story, your heritage, your culture, this program offers the opportunity for you to explore Vietnam, its language and culture at any level from total beginner to advanced, native speaker. The lecture course (HIST 189) is really much more  than an on-campus lecture course. "Encountering Vietnam" breaks students into separate groups to study Vietnamese language 3 hrs a week. IntroLab teaches enough basic Vietnamese to be dangerous at the open-air market. KitchenLab is especially focused for students who may have some spoken Vietnamese (around the kitchen table with Mom and Dad) but are not literate  in the language.  AdvanceLab is for students who want to explore advanced topics. Cô Hồng Anh (Professor Biggs' wife) leads the IntroLab while Hue University language lecturers guide the more advanced groups. Check out the story of David Le who, after serving in the military returned to UCR on the GI-bill and went with the group in 2015. David develope