France vs. Vietnam, BU style

Thursday, in CAS Room 223, France and Vietnam called a truce. Well, not the actual countries-although one student claimed that the Vietnamese like the French better than Americans (ouch)-but in BU terms all existing feuds between the Vietnamese Student Association and French Cultural Society were settled. Regardless of whether there were any feuds, the two clubs joined forces for “Soiree Indochine” or “Spring Roll Nite” which brought together two cultures invariably different but inherently one.

Photo by Briana Seftel

President of French Cultural Society, Nhu-Y, came up with the collaboration in hopes of expanding the knowledge of French culture beyond France.  Since France colonized Vietnam, it only seemed apropos for the clubs to join forces for a night of food, history, and music. The selling point for the soiree was of course the food. First there was crepes with Nutellla, strawberries, and bananas, which was about the messiest but tastiest item I’ve eaten all week. That was the French part. Then came the Vietnamese spring rolls, which you can think of as small Asian burritos. After and between eating, two international students from Vietnam shared a slideshow of pictures with the group, and talked a little about their culture. In a slide about food, they even through in a picture with the title “dog meat” under it. I actually could not tell if they were joking or not. Hmmm….also the vice president of VSA was dressed in ao dai, a silk tunic worn all over by Vietnamese women. It was great to hear about the country and their intricate culture since most of us learn only about the Vietnam War in school.

Vietnamese spring roll. | Photo by Briana Seftel

The Vietnamese Student Association aims at preserving and celebrating Vietnamese culture, and the event did just that. Towards the end Nhu-Y gave members a language lesson on the alphabet, and we also learned how to see hello, goodbye- pretty much the basics.  Even some French-Vietnamese music was playing, which sounded like a solid mixture of both. All in all, it was a very successful and tasty night. Here’s to good France-Vietnam relations! Now let’s hope the U.S. stays on Vietnam’s good side.

About Briana Seftel

Briana Seftel (COM '14) is an aspiring journalist with an appetite for adventure. When not writing for the Quad, she enjoys exploring the great city of Boston.

View all posts by Briana Seftel →

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