UEHxSPU Cultural Connections: The touchpoint of Vietnam

UEHxSPU Cultural Connections: The touchpoint of Vietnam - Thailand culture

With the goal of paving the way for learners to integrate into cultural diversity and gradually become global citizens, the Department of Students Affairs (DSA) organized the Cultural connections "Love Thy Neighbor" in order to welcome a delegation of lecturers and students from the Department of Business English, Sripatum University (SPU), Thailand.

As a long-term partner of University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH), Sripatum University (SPU) had a study and sightseeing trip to Vietnam from February 22 to 24, 2024 co-organized by the UEH School of Foreign Languages. During the study trip, the SPU lecturers and students had the opportunity to exchange cultures and participate in cultural and interactive activities, while sharing the traditional cultural beauties of the two countries at UEH English Zone.

Cultural Connections at the UEH English Zone with Sripatum University, Thailand.

At the beginning of the event, students from both countries had extremely unique cultural and artistic exchanges through art performances with traditional features imbued with national identity. With ao dai and familiar melodies "One day I'll come to you... To say hello Vietnam" and "Let's spread our arms... Join the clouds to celebrate the coming of Spring", UEH students have sent the warmest welcome to the lecturers and students of Sripatum University.

SPU students also prepared traditional Thai dance performances with colorful costumes. Starting with the tune "Ree Ree Khaosan", a traditional game during the Songkran festival in the Central region of Thailand. To start the game, two players stand facing each other, raise their arms high and clasp their hands to form a door. The remaining players must line up in a line, placing their hands on the shoulders of the person standing in front, then go through the arched door and start singing "Ree Ree khaosan". When singing the part "Whoever is behind will be caught"... the door quickly lowered to catch the person inside. With game rules similar to "cat catching mouse" in Vietnam, UEH students quickly understood the game rules and had "peek-a-boo" moments with SPU students.

And the next part of the show is the Lakhon dance performance on traditional music and the dance performance "Ram Tone Khong Dee Korat", the Isaan dance of the Northeast region of Thailand with long, fast drum rhythms. This is also a famous dance on the occasion of Songkran, Thailand's traditional New Year's holiday, representing the cultural beauty of Northeast Thailand.

The artistic performances showcase the traditions of the students from both nations.

Besides all the amazing and lively cultural performances, UEH and SPU students also experienced some typical Vietnamese food. Traditional Vietnamese candies such as green rice cake, peanut cake, banana candy, sesame candy,... the highlight of the teabreak is "Bánh mì Má Hải" - a brand created by UEH alumni. Through teabreak, SPU students have experienced bánh mì, a dish that is close to many generations of Vietnamese students. The delicious taste of Bánh mì Má Hải and the prosperous start-up story of UEH alumni took the SPU students by surprise.

Other cultural connections program activities include teaching students how to count from 1 to 999 in both Vietnamese and Thai, as well as decorating traditional conical hats. Participants in the event gain some understanding of the cultural and lifestyle similarities between students from the two countries.

Vietnamese conical hat decorating and counting lessons are two activities that promote the diversity and magnificence of Vietnamese culture.

The cultural connections event "Love Thy Neighbor" successfully ended in a happy and warm atmosphere at the UEH English Zone. UEH and SPU students had surely gained unforgettable memories through all the activities and games at the event. Nguyen Gia Han, an UEH student, expressed: “I am really happy to register for the cultural connections event and have the opportunity to make friends with Thai students. I hope that exchange programs at UEH will continue to expand and become more regular so that our students have the opportunity to learn and interact with many international students as well as introduce our country's unique culture".

The Cultural Connections program was established to give UEH students greater chances to study and practice foreign languages in order to become "UEH ambassadors" and share Vietnam's distinctive culture with friends around the globe. To register and participate in English exchange events, please interact and follow the UEH English Zone fanpage to update the latest information about upcoming programs.

Let us remember the great times we had with EZ!