Dean of Admissions, Dane Rowley, travels 5 cities in 5 days to recruit students from Asia He’s launching Augustana’s focused effort to welcome more international students to campus.
5 Cities in 5 Days – Part 2
Thursday – Hanoi
After a late flight we traveled (very slowly even though there was no traffic) to our hotel for a quick nap before needing to be up for our day in the capitol of Vietnam. This was my first time there and I wasn’t sure what to expect.
I was mesmerized by the sights and sounds of the place. It is less developed than Ho Chi Minh City but it is catching up fast. buy viagra online Hanoi also has a much deeper sense of what Vietnam was before the war, during it’s French colonial days and even before that. In fact we saw pictures of Ho Chi Minh and other patriotic/propaganda (depending on your point of view) flags and posters celebrating the anniversary of Vietnam’s independence day from France immediately following World War II.
During the day we met with students at the United Nations International School in Hanoi and with educational counselors and students at an agency.
In between we took a ton of pictures from our taxis and even had time for a quick walk around beautiful Hoan Kiem Lake where the Turtle Tower is in the heart of Hanoi.
By now we are all so exhausted from a busy schedule and a flight every day of the week. Can’t wait to Ho Chi Minh City for 2 days!
Friday – Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is probably more easily recognizable to Americans as Saigon and was the capitol for the South during the Vietnam War. There are still strong western influences there and the incredible economic development there in the last 15 years challenges the notions of what a major city in a communist country looks like.
We spent Friday cris-crossing the city going from the American International School to Saigon South International School and finally to the International School of CMC.
Saturday we participated in an incredibly well run program in collaboration with the Yola Institute.
Along with my enthused translator we participated in a college fair for students and parents and I had 6 interviews with some of the most interesting and intelligent students I’ve seen in a long time.
In fact I didn’t even need my translator all that much because of the students solid English skills.
Vietnam has great potential for Augustana and my time here was very well spent. The Pho was pretty great too.
