My name is Monica Lobato Barreira. I’m 47 years old, and I’m from Spain. I started working at ULIS in January, 2019. Well, to clarify the path that led me to ULIS, I would say, it was a result of various circumstances, among others, the native Spanish teacher had to return to Spain and the students had a new Spanish teacher, but he was Vietnamese, so, being a Spanish mother tongue, I went on to cover the conversation classes at ULIS.

I do not usually make preconceptions before visiting a country, I believe that only the own experience and coexistence with the people of each country, can give you an idea of what this is. You can only discover a country if you let its habitants guide you. And then, when it came to Vietnam, I realized that this was an opportunity to grow up humanely, and I really did.

I remembered on the last day of class, when all the students gave me two kisses and a big embrace to say goodbye and vice versa. It was very exciting because with that gesture they made me realize that not only had we practiced the Spanish language, but we had really shared part of our culture. I know that in Vietnamese culture physical contact is not frequent, so it seemed like a wonderful gesture, it was a moment of “emotional multi-culture”… the most difficult to achieve. Gracias chicas!

In terms of ULIS, I think the working environment is fantastic in every aspect. You always work in an atmosphere of great spirit of collaboration. Everything is solved in the best way, often by the willingness of all the people you work with. Students are curious to learn and to know about cultural aspects that are more than just knowledge of the language.

In the mention of Vietnamese people, food and culture, I like everything! The friendly and smiling people. I like the food, and above all, I like discovering Vietnamese food culture, at all times, without having to wait for the pre-established time tables, as normally happens in Europe.

Vietnam is very interesting to me culturally, because there are big differences between the north and the south, but also between the different regions of the north, with more than 80 different ethnic groups, in which each one has been able to maintain the characteristic traits of their own culture, all this in an atmosphere of conviviality and respect. This makes Vietnam an extremely culturally rich country.

Well, my time at ULIS has come to an end, and I will have to return home for a year, and probably return to Hanoi in the future. If I come back to ULIS I hope that we can share activities with the students of the different faculties, by organizing events such as music, cinema, gastronomy, etc that help all students and teachers of ULIS get to know the culture of the countries of which language courses are offered. And…I wish you all the best!!