Students at De Anza College have the opportunity to study and explore the culture of Vietnam over the summer of 2018. The summer session will provide interested students the chance to earn up to 14 credits and explore Hanoi, Sa Pa, and Saigon along with local Vietnamese college students.

Classes start from July 2 and the first of the three week session will be here on campus. Students are to be flown in Vietnam from July 9 to July 30.

The trip is being overseen by the Director of Global Education Partnerships and former Army Officer, John Swensson, who has been to Vietnam during the war in 60s and has been taking students annually to Vietnam since 1996.

“The main goal of this trip is to absorb culture as much as the students can,” he said while excitedly uncovering all the details about the trip.

26 students will be going with Mr. Swensson, accompanied by Counselor KD Le, who will be offering HUMA 10 (Sexuality), HUMA 50(stress management), CLP 70, along with EWRT 1A, 1B, 1C, 2 and ELIT 10, being offered by Mr. Swensson.

Counselor Le expressed her excitement about the trip saying, “This is not an opportunity for the students, but also for teachers to experience the culture and art.” She also reassured students about their safety as she is fluent in the Vietnamese language and Mr. Swensson has been to Vietnam multiple times and has built up rapport with the people there.

“John has organized events with university in Vietnam so they can interact with Vietnamese college students.” Ms Le said  “Students can learn about the culture through experience, compare and contrast the different cultures.”

Students are also provided with health insurance for the trip and are also provided with scholarship opportunities and federal aid. For more details on financial aid, students are encouraged to talk to the Financial Aid Office

“We are here to provide any kind of help to the students interested in the trip,” Mr Swensson said.

International students unsure about their visa status and immigration formalities can contact Mr. Swensson.

Summer Zhao, 21, economics major, originally from Beijing expressed her excitement about the summer session and her sincere liking for South East Asia.

“I love travelling and South East especially. Last year, I went to Thailand and had been wanting to go to Vietnam,” said Zhao.

Students are encouraged to explore on their own in Vietnam or any other neighboring country after the end of the trip.

Students have until the first week of May to decide if they want to go to Vietnam. A meeting on Nov. 15 in the Santa Cruz Room at 12pm is being held for more details.