Bao Ngoc Diep

How did studying abroad affect your academic and/or professional career?

Before the program in Greece, I spoke no Greek and had no intention to come to that country, not even learning Greek or Ancient Greek. After going to Greece, I fell in love with how caring and friendly the Greek is and how beautiful the language is. I ended up learning Greek and continuing my service at Ecogenia as a Social Media Intern in the Fall and submitting an application to exchange to Oxford to learn Ancient Greek. This journey has changed my life. For good.

How did you explore your hobbies, interests, and passions abroad?

I have explored my passion for languages when I first learned some Greek through Professor Beck. I was so fascinated because I had not ever pictured myself speaking such an elegant language. From that, I explored that life is so short to fulfill my love for languages that I have to learn Greek now and for good!

Why would you recommend your respective abroad program or location?

Greece is such a great country. It is beautiful, rich in cultures, the people are so nice, and they have a lot of tourists, of which you can hear Spanish, Italian, Turkish, etc in one restaurant. Also, it is a great country to try an interesting language. Greek is so pure and interesting that you should try to pick it up once in your life, I promise.

What should students consider when applying and preparing for their time abroad?

I think students should consider the food and the weather. As I have experienced the severe culture shock when I first came to the US, I adapted to the lack of Asian food and the intolerable unpredictable weather in New Orleans. However, I know from my friends, mostly Asian, cannot survive without proper Asian rice and food.

Did your identity impact your study abroad experience?

My identity does matter. Specifically, I am a Vietnamese Chinese of which makes me extra-Asian. Therefore, sometimes I was stared at during the trip because there were not many Asians here and there in Greece. Also, finding good food place is also a matter because it was hard to find an Asian restaurant and if it was not, the restaurant was mostly so far away.

Share a story about a time you experienced cultural immersion.

As an international student from Vietnam coming to the US for university and jumping right into such a special place like New Orleans, I was so culture shock. The food is different that I cannot eat and survive for the first few days; even the KFC and MacDonald's are different in the US, compared to Vietnam! The people are so different, they behave and speak differently, way more differently than I used to think. They shocked me a lot in the first semester of my university life but then I learned how to research for the underlying culture and history to explain the differences and how to compromise to adapt. I think I have accidentally increased my survival rate by doing that.