Vietnamese students attending BGSU say they faced challenges before arriving at Bowling Green and during their first months at their new university, but have embraced their community here.

Vy Huynh and Quan Le are just two of the 35 Vietnamese international students attending BGSU this semester, according to International Programs and Partnerships.

Studying abroad is not something Vy Huynh planned to do after graduating from high school in Vietnam. She had very little experience with English, and being the youngest, she was not ready to live far from her family.

Huynh’s older sister studies abroad, so her parents encouraged her to study abroad, too. 

When BGSU representatives from education abroad came to Vietnam when Huynh was in eleventh grade, she hadn’t yet decided what she was going to study. 

 Similar to Huynh, Quan Le met a representative from BGSU at a study abroad fair in Vietnam. After an interview, she was offered scholarships, which ultimately led her to attend the university.  

“I [knew] I [wanted] to study science because I love science, but I wasn’t sure what kind of science I want[ed] to go into,” Le said.

Le said she loves biology, but when she learned she couldn’t do much with a basic biology degree, she knew she had to find an alternative. Le looked through BGSU’s list of programs and majors and chose biochemistry. 

Huynh also did some research and did a workshop to try to find a major, then she had the chance to talk to a woman who was in interior design. After that conversation, she decided she wanted to become an interior designer.

Huynh decided to attend BGSU and study abroad, but at the time, it was hard to get a student visa. She had to come up with a plan in case her visa did not get approved. 

“[Getting a] visa [was], not a sure thing,” Huynh said. “Even though you have perfect information or English, nobody can say [for] sure or not.”

Within three months, Huynh was able to get an interview with an ambassador at the U.S. Embassy and her visa was approved.

These students’ challenges didn’t stop once they arrived in Bowling Green.

Because of her choice of major, Le said she’s usually the only international student in her classes.

“Sometimes, there are others, like one or two, you know,” Le said. 

Many of Le’s friends take ESOL classes, classes where international students can connect. She passed the writing placement test and was placed directly into a general writing class instead.

“In a way, it saves my time, but on the other hand, I don’t have, like, a lot of time to make friends with other students,” Le said. 

As she transitioned to BGSU, Le was also met with many challenges when it came to communicating with other students and teachers in English. 

“It was hard, it was really hard because, like, when you learn a second language, it’s very different,” Le said. “Like, if you’ve learned it in a classroom setting, it’s so much more different when you have to use it.” 

Le went to an international high school in Vietnam where she would interact with teachers who were from different countries, but she still struggled with language barriers once she got to BGSU.

“Because if you go to school, if you are in class, if you say something incorrectly or people don’t get you, you can ask. You can have your friends help you,” Le said. “But when you get out there in another country, you have to speak the language to survive.” 

For Huynh, it was hard making friends in her first year because of language barriers. She wasn’t confident in her English when she first came to BGSU and was scared to talk. 

“In my first year or second year, I [wasn’t] really comfortable with my English,” Huynh said. “So, like, when people are talking about something like their life or their conversation, I halfway understand halfway not because, like, they talk fast and then they use some slang words, like that culture thing, I don’t know,” she said. 

Huynh struggled with English in her first year. She wasn’t sure about the culture, or how to study at the university, and felt like she had to learn everything by herself. 

“At that time, I would say I use[d] the dictionary a ton of time,” Huynh said. “Like in the class, I go like this,” she said. During an interview with Falcon Media, Huynh picked up her phone, opened the dictionary app, and typed in words and phrases.

Things have gotten better for Huynh, especially since she’s not taking as many difficult classes at once. She struggled with taking classes like philosophy and sociology at the same time. 

“It was too many things, too much information at one time,” Huynh said. “A little bit of a hard time at that time.” 

However, Le and Huynh said their experience at BGSU hasn’t been all negative. Despite the barriers they faced, the two women were able to make BGSU their own. 

Le said she was able to make friends whom she reconnected with when she came to campus.

“I was very lucky because there’s a company, there’s a service that connects to the school, so we knew each other before we came here,” Le said. “We have a group.” 

Le said she and other international students have time to build relationships with one another at international student orientation, which happens about a week before the beginning of the semester.

Huynh started making friends once she started working a part-time job. She started out working at Panda Express in the Falcon’s Nest, now she’s a math teaching assistant. 

Le became the president of the Vietnamese Student Association last semester. In her role, Le feels like she has a family among the international students involved with the organization.

“We are very close. All our members work together, our executive board [members], we work very hard together,” Le said. “I think we’re also very lucky because our members are very energetic and enthusiastic about introducing our culture to the community.” 

Things for Huynh are different compared to her first semester. Her communication has improved, and people are patient with her when it comes to things that she doesn’t understand.

“Everything changed because like, every professor, every friend, they try to stay patient and listen to me and explain to me everything I don’t know at that time like my first year,” Huynh said. “So, I’m like, really more confident when I’m talking with them and then I’m trying to, like, share what I have with them, and I can make more friends.” 

Huynh will be graduating at the end of the spring semester and is staying in the U.S. where she’ll be pursuing her master’s degree at another university. 

“I [hope] I can open my own company,” Huynh said. “In my free time, I can do teaching in interior design. I love teaching.” 

Le will also be graduating at the end of the semester. She plans to pursue a master’s in business administration at BGSU to work in the biochemistry industry as a liaison between the administration and the lab.