This is my third day in Vietnam, and I am finally beginning to recognize landmarks on campus. My morning routine consists of walking down a long sidewalk to the Canteen for an iced coffee (black), and grabbing oat-flavored snacks from the adjacent campus store. Today is our first Monday in class, and we are all still getting to know each other; what I enjoyed most about our course today was having the opportunity to speak with both my peers from Cornell and from TDTU to get a sense of everyone’s research interests.
After an introduction, we were each given the opportunity to delve into a particular topic related to labor in Vietnam by giving presentations throughout the week. I chose to present on labor laws and unions along with four other Cornell students. As we discussed our upcoming schedules, the excitement in the room was palpable; not only would we have the opportunity to hear about the research of TDTU instructors, we would also have the opportunity to speak with both industry and NGO stakeholders, including representatives from IKEA and Better Work Vietnam.
As I continue to move forward and hone my topics of interest, I am most looking forward to speaking with representatives from IKEA to get a fuller sense of how multinationals in Vietnam operate, particularly at the administrative level. With this in mind, I hurried to pack my things and headed to the Canteen for a lunch of tofu, fresh vegetables, and steamed rice to continue to get to know my cohort.
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