Cold, snow, and lots of signs

Hoa Ngo, MVCC's visiting professor from KGCC in Vietnam, is experiencing snow for the first time.

When I was planning to come to the U.S., Sandy Engel, Director of International Education at MVCC, said, “If you want to be like home, stay home.” I smiled, and knew I should expect to learn new things. 

After a week, I think I can write a book about differences between Vietnam and the U.S. I have experienced quite a lot of interesting and “shocking” things.

Number one: weather change. It’s cold in America. Everyone says so and now I know that, too. But I am not looking forward to experiencing such cold weather. Excited then disappointed - that’s my feeling about the weather. I hate putting on layers and layers. Last Saturday I saw some rain, too. Perhaps America welcomes me with its different types of weather.

My sisters and colleagues back home are really excited that I can see snow. So finally I have a picture of me with the snow (although it’s hard to see me in my aodai, but I am really wearing one). I hope that the weather will be better soon to give me a chance to look more fashionable.

 A country of signs

It seems to me that people don’t show others how to do things, they figure out how to do things by themselves. Everything comes with instructions, even  food. In Rach Gia, the city in Vietnam where I live, we go to the market and buy lots of food and we cook them as we want to; but here in America I see the food in boxes with ingredients and instructions and nutrition facts outside. That’s weird! 

Everywhere I go, I see signs like “Push” or “Pull” or “Press.” On the way to Rome campus last Saturday, I saw a “Deer” sign, something I had never seen before. All these things are totally strange to me.