As I was contemplating on whether I should go abroad to get an advanced college degree, I was asking myself a question: What if a Vietnamese national wanted to study abroad? Where would they start?

I started ‘googling’ with the keyword ‘du hoc my’ for an answer and I found tons of services, but I did not know which to pick from. I then turned to a friend who is currently studying abroad in University of Central Oklahoma for a quick answer. Here are the bits of knowledge that I’ve gathered so far:

1. Go to a study abroad agency for initial advising:

- Price: $300-$800

- Service: Provides school information, reviews student grades, and recommends schools

- Requirements for students:

+ Qualified TOEFL  or IELTS scores

+ Financial statement that can cover the expense for 2 years

+ Copy of passport

+ Copy of all diplomas

+ Completed application

- Time until receive letter of acceptance, if accepted: 3 months

2. Apply for a Visa:

- Cost: Advising agency offer mock interview for $800

- Requirements:

+ I-20 form (comes with acceptance letter)

+ Proof of intention to return to Vietnam upon the completion of the degree

- Time frame: 1 week

So this is all just paperwork. After completing this, the students can start finding housing and prepare for the rest of the complicated process of living alone in the foreign country.

I also asked my friend a couple of related questions:

1. What are the benefits of studying abroad?

-Studying abroad is a current trend in Vietnam. There are international universities in Vietnam, but the quality of education is not up to par with foreign schools. In schools with many Vietnamese students, the students do not speak English as well. Regarding the benefits, if one holds a foreign degree, one can earn a higher than average wage in Vietnam that allows them to live comfortably.

2. What about international high school?

-There are some international high schools tailored to the children of foreigners. The cost of attendance is high, however (about $13,000/year). The schools are sponsored by many international organizations (including Cambridge University) and offer International Baccalaureate (IB) courses.

3. Given two identical job opportunities (same type of work, same level of salary), with one being in Vietnam and the other in a foreign country, which would you choose?

-Vietnam.

4. Given two identical universities, one in Vietnam and the other in a foreign country, which would you choose?

-Not Vietnam

5. What some of the popular majors?

-Business and Engineering. Nothing related to the medical field because people usually do not want to return to Vietnam once they have obtained a medical degree.

I hope the readers can find this article somewhat eye-opening, but again, the answers only come out of one sample student. I wonders if there are large surveys out there that can give us a better estimate of the studying abroad trend among Vietnamese.

Following are some pictures of real and fake products in Vietnam. “Hang Gia” represents fake product, where as “Hang That” represents real product. Courtesy of VnExpress.net:

The fake one has golden stamp next to the Dove logo.

The fake one has the silver spiral instead of a pink one.

The fake one has sharp mirror edges while the real one has round mirror edges.

Grass-sledding

Think you can’t ski in a tropical country? You’re wrong again. Grass-skiing is the newest sport that has just recent sprung up in Vietnam – a country where conventional skiing and snowboarding is virtually non-existent. With 20,000 VND ($1.50), you are entitled to a grass-sled and a push down from the local employee. The sled speeds up to 40km/hr (25mph) on the slightly steep hill and accomplishes your childhood dream of being a superhero. The Vietnamese locals also claim this game to be an effective stress reliever.

With 60,000 VND ($4.50), you can rent the “skiing gear” for an hour. And for the first-timers, there will be free classes to teach you how to ski and fall properly to avoid injuries. What are you waiting for? Go wild!

From the United Nations

Vietnam’s human rights record is scheduled to be reviewed for official approval at a Thursday plenary session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council in Switzerland. The review is part of a regular process it conducts every four years.

The Southeast Asian nation is one of 192 member states of the UN to go through the Universal Periodic Review which is a new mechanism of the Council.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Vietnam announced on its website that Vietnam will give replies at the session to recommendations concerning basic legal rights of people arrested for security charges, law on protection of whistle blowers, abrogation of death sentence, respect to religious freedom and the establishment of the independent agency for national human rights watch.

According to the UN regulations, international organizations and other countries are able to present reports on human rights records of any nation during the review process, according to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights website.

The result of each review is reflected in an “outcome report” listing the recommendations made to the State under review (SuR), including those that it accepted.

By: Huong Giang

Betty Nguyen from CNN.com

Vietnamese people have made important contributions to society in business, politics, media, sports and culture.  We want to recognize some of the most influential members of our community.

Betty Nguyen anchors CNN’s Newroom program, making her one of the most public Vietnamese figures.  Ms. Nguyen made her mark in American journalism by winning countless awards: Associated Press Award, Legacy of Women Award, Great Women of Texas Honoree, and a regional Emmy award. By 2004, she was an anchor for CNN.

In 2005, Betty reported from the Houston Astrodome and gave the public a first hand look at the devastation of hurricane Katrina.  Shortly after that, Betty traveled to Vietnam to cover the massive flooding cause by monsoons that year.

More on Betty at her profile on CNN here.

Source: Times, AFP Photo/Hoang Dinh Nam

For the first time, Vietnam shares the top 10 outsourcing stage with giants like India and China.  Since 2004, A.T. Kearny Consulting began publishing a Global Services Location Index that captures top 50 off-shoring countries in the world.  Rankings are based on three basic categories: financial attractiveness, people and skills availability, and business environment.

This year, Vietnam leaped 9 spots from its 2007 ranking to be number 10 on the list, beating out Mexico and Brazil.  The index shows that while countries like India and China remain most attractive for outsourcing, Southeast Asia and the Middle East are gaining preference over Central and Eastern Europe.  This is due to a recent rise in the quality and availability of labor forces in these regions.

For years now, I’ve been hearing that there is a growing middle class in Vietnam.  So people are getting richer, but how will this affect Vietnam’s economy?  Well, when you have more money, you’ll spend more, a lot more!

A recent study by Vietnam’s General Statistics Office shows that Vietnam’s retail sales growth outstripped GDP growth from 1997 to 2007.  Over ten years, retail sales rose by 352% while GDP grew by 265%.

This is the kind of convincing evidence I’ve been looking for to show how important the middle class in Vietnam is to its future.  Similarly for  entrepreneurs, this new statistic proves that there is a large market to take advantage of and tremendous opportunities in Vietnam.

Since Vietnam’s key export markets, the US, the EU and Japan, are expected to experience negative GDP growth in 2009, we cannot expect much optimism for Vietnam’s export driven economy. Its GDP growth rate for the first quarter of 2009 was the lowest in over a decade at 3.1%. The Economic Intelligence Unit published a gloomy forecast of Vietnam’s 2009 GDP growth rate at 0.3% compared to 6.2% in 2008. The IMF and World Bank on the other hand released more positive figures for 2009 at 4.7% to 5%.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese government has distributed $1 billion in stimulus and a second stimulus package is on the way. The impact of these packages, however, are still debatable.

For a more in-depth analysis on Vietnam’s economic conditions and outlook, read Dr. Le’s “Vietnam’s Growing Pains” at the Far Eastern Economic Review.

Here are a few examples:

• European companies currently have 796 investment projects in Vietnam – combined capital of $12 billion.
• Bilateral trade between the European Union (EU) and Vietnam is worth $76 billion, $50 billion of which are Vietnamese exports
• Last year’s bilateral trade between the EU and Vietnam grew 17.6%

See Vietnam Business Finance for full article.