It is difficult to overlook the strong presence of culture at Nicholls–annual crawfish boils and pirogue races, colorful Mardi Gras parades–but did you know Nicholls is home to many international students who come from cultures much different from South Louisiana’s? According to recent university enrollment statistics, Nicholls enrolls 99 international students hailing from 36 different countries from around the world.

Though each international student comes from a uniquely different culture, Linh Nguyen, freshman from Vietnam, has traveled farther than any other international student to attend Nicholls.

Linh’s hometown of Ho Chi Minh, known before the end of the Vietnam War as Saigon, is 9,416 miles away from New Orleans. According to Wikipedia, Ho Chi Minh is the most important economic center in Vietnam, with a population slightly over seven million.

Though this is Linh’s first semester at Nicholls, she is not new to American culture. She attended two years of high school in Houghton, New York before deciding to make Nicholls her home. As if coming to a foreign country was not by itself a big task, this big city girl had to adjust to living in small towns, both in New York and Louisiana. These are towns five times smaller than any given ward in her home city.

Because high school was fresh in her mind, Linh explains how school in Vietnam is different from a typical school in the States.

“I would go to regular school from 6:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.,” Linh says. “Then, I would go to my extra class (the subject varied each evening) from 5p.m. to 7 p.m. and my English class from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.”

She says she would then take a shower and study until well after midnight, repeating this same schedule the following day.

When speaking of her family back home, Linh unmasks a significant difference between Vietnamese and American society. She says in Vietnam it is not uncommon, nor is it considered disgraceful, to lie or cheat in order to achieve desired ends.

“Because people employed by the government make so little money, it is expected that they use their positions to their advantage,” Linh says.

According to Wikipedia, the 1999 Vietnamese national census declared 80 percent of the country had no religion. However, Linh says most of the country goes to temple. Though Linh’s family does not claim a particular religion, she says they do attend services at the Buddhist temple on special occasions.

Food, of course, is a distinct characteristic of every culture. In some regards, Vietnamese dishes are similar to Cajun dishes because many of them have rice. However, unlike Cajun or American dishes, the Vietnamese usually do not eat bread with their meals, Linh says.

“We eat bread as a snack,” Linh says. “We don’t eat it on the side of a potato like you do here.”

Vietnamese cuisine also features a variety of noodles and vegetables, some very different from the ones found here.

“We eat a lot of vegetables, but we don’t eat them like you do in a salad,” Linh says. “If we mix plenty vegetables together, they are cooked.”

Linh also expressed her feelings about Vietnamese music. Though she personally likes most American artists, she explains the older Vietnamese generation listens to a type of music that, when typed in her electronic translator, means “love duets.” Though Americans may initially imagine John Travolta and Olivia Newton John dancing the night away, it seems that these “love duets” are similar to country western love duets.

Linh said her generation has been influenced greatly by Western culture. From music to food, students flocking to other countries to attend school bring back with them the tastes and customs of those places, directly affecting many traditions of Vietnam.

Linh says she chose to attend Nicholls because the University has quality programs for the cost of its tuition.

Though this is Linh’s first semester in college, unlike most freshmen, she seems sure of her future plans.

“I want to get my masters here (in the U.S.),” Linh says. “Then I want to work for two years and travel before I go home.”

Linh says she is looking forward to the years she has ahead of her at Nicholls.

Though she is surviving in America and is enjoying her time, Linh says, “I may never get entirely used to American culture.