De Anza College students will have the opportunity to study abroad in Taiwan and Vietnam this summer.

Director of De Anza Global Education Partnerships John Swensson has been with previous study programs to Vietnam and has visited Taiwan as well.

“This is the best teaching and the best learning that you ever do,” said Swensson, who helped found the Vietnam program that has run since 1998.

He stressed that culture is always a focus of the trips.

“You’re not spending eight hours a day in the classroom,” he said.

English instructor Karen Chow will be an instructor for the Vietnam program, which will start on July 3 with classes at De Anza for two weeks before heading to Vietnam, where students will be from July 21 until Aug. 12. The program will start in Hanoi and make its way down south to Saigon, visiting attractions such as the old imperial city of Hue. The program is open to all students, who will be able to earn up to 10 units of credit in EWRT, ELIT, or SOC.

Students will meet up with former De Anza sociology instructor Vu-Duc Vuong, who now lives and teaches in Hanoi.

“Professor Vuong has a lot of connections in Vietnam,” Chow said, “so we’re going to have plenty of opportunities to interact with locals, and perhaps even students.”

Chow said course content will include Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American literature. While course content is still being finalized, she believes Vuong will focus his teaching on sociology related to Vietnam.

The trip to Taiwan is being headed by Li Wie Sun, a Child Development and Education faculty member and Taiwan native. This will be the first time De Anza sends students to Taiwan.

Students will be able to earn seven units applicable towards the child development program. Students will visit 12 child care programs. For part of the trip, De Anza’s sister college Hung Kuang University, a four-year school, will host students.  Sun also looks forward to visiting the Waldorf School, which she said is very well regarded throughout Asia.

Sun said any country’s education system is influenced by their unique culture, and students going on the trip will have an opportunity to see this.

“To see the cultural influence in education … that’s what I’m hoping for them to learn,” said Sun.

Highlights of the program will include a visit to a 37-story Buddhist temple in Puli that houses 1,200 monks and nuns.

The Vietnam program will cost $3,800, while the Taiwan trip will cost $3,500. Both prices include plane tickets, lodging, food and transportation within the countries. Both require $500 deposits, which the programs encourage students to make as soon as possible.  Financial aid is available for both.

For information about the Vietnam and Taiwan programs, contact Karen Chow at [email protected] and Li Wie Sun at [email protected].