- History and Culture Class Part 3
- Language Testing
- Saying Goodbye
- Ice Cream and Street Food
Today was the last history and culture class with Nguyen Ngoc Tho. We learned about the significance of yin and yang in Vietnamese culture. Yin and yang work together but are opposites like man and woman and day and night. Odd numbers are yang numbers and are considered good luck. The Mekong River used to contain eight river mouths. However, this was an even number so one more river mouth was created. Colors also have meaning. Red, blue, and yellow are yang colors, and white and black are yin colors. Red and blue are good, yellow is power, white is mourning, and black is death. This is why white is worn at funerals and yellow is worn by emperors. South and East are yang directions and West and North are yin directions. This is why people put their door on the East or South side of their house. House prices are lower when the door is on a yin side. Men and Women are thought to have three souls. Historically, talisman masters were used to treat sickness by calling back one of the souls they thought left the patient’s body. The professor also explained that Vietnamese ideology is shaped by Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. The language teacher then walked in. We were put into groups and tested on what we learned throughout the trip. The students gave us leaves shaped into flowers and animals and then took pictures with us. When we were eating lunch, the advisors announced that we were not going to go to VinaAcecook because of Chinese protestors. At the hotel, some of us met up with UEF students and got ice-cream. We ordered street food later on motorbikes and went to a park.
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