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Quan Ly moved to the United States when he was two-years-old. During high school, Quan went back to live in Vietnam during the spring and summer of 2001 to be with his family in the beautiful countryside of Da Nang, Vietnam. Now attending college in the United States, Quan has decided to share his high school experience with us.

6:00 AM: Quan wakes up to do his morning chores which includes fetching water from the communal well (according to Quan, it takes a strong immune system to be able to drink Vietnamese water; his first week back, he got diarrhea!), feeding the livestock, and cleaning up the house.

7:00 AM: Quan prepares to go to school. He dresses in a white, collared shirt and black pants, a standard Vietnamese uniform.

7:30 AM: Quan heads out to school. He grabs some Banh mi (bread), slaps on some soy sauce and butter, hops on his bike, and rides out to school.

8:00 – 12:00 PM: At school, Quan studies intensively; he has the same basic courses as American students: mathematics, history, French and Vietnamese.

12:00 – 2 PM: After 4 hours of school, Quan finally receives a break. He rides his bike home to enjoy some of his aunt’s cooking for lunch, which often consists of pho, rice, and chicken. Lunch lasts for about half an hour. The rest of the time, Quan is engaged in either studying, taking a nap, or socializing with neighbors and friends.

2:00-5:00 PM: Quan heads back to school to finish off the afternoon lectures.

5:30 -8 PM: Quan arrives back home after a long day of class (and we thought we had it bad!) to continue with household chores (i.e. sweeping, tending the garden, cleaning the chicken coop). Once his chores are done, Quan commences studying.

8:00 PM: Dinner Time. The entire family gathers to eat dinner together. The dinner usually consists of rice, fish bought at the market, chicken, steamed vegetables, and eggs.

9:00-10 or 11:00 PM: Quan either studies or hangs out with friends. It all depends on the workload. Usually about 11 PM, Quan finally gets to bed and is prepared to start the whole day all over again.

picture source: www.glue.umd.edu/~gelbach/scott/ pictures/hoi-ann-vietnam.jp