On Sunday, Sept. 14, the Vietnam Student Association (VSA) hosted a collaboration meeting with the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations (UVSA) Midwest in Bowman Park. The event welcomed around 50 attendees and included the distribution of around 100 bánh mì with three different flavors: barbeque, chicken and Vietnamese ham.
Bánh mì, a famous Vietnamese street food sandwich, combines a crisp, airy Vietnamese baguette with savory fillings and fresh vegetables—usually cucumbers, pickled carrots, daikon, cilantro and peppers. The bread is light and crunchy on the outside with a soft interior. Inside, it is typically filled with a choice of meatpork, chicken, pâté, or Vietnamese ham. A touch of chili hot sauce or soy sauce adds creaminess and depth, an optional addition that adds tanginess and flavor to the dish.
At the event, four schools were in attendance: Purdue University, Indiana University (IU) Bloomington, IU Indianapolis, and DePauw University. The meet and greet between the schools deepened the connection of the overall Vietnamese community and created a special bond between peers.
The retreat kicked off with an icebreaker game, matching partner pictures. The rule is very simple: Partner A has to find their partner with the matching cartoon character picture taped on their back.
Lewis Le ‘27 from IU-Indianapolis shared his experience. He had a lot of fun and would definitely come back to DePauw to visit his friends here if there are more events like this.
After the icebreaker, An Tran ‘29 from Purdue University shared some thoughts with DePauw’s VSA executive board, particularly that she really enjoyed the atmosphere and being able to tag along with the upperclassmen as a freshman.
The event was followed by more games: capture the flag , tug of war, shuttlecock kicking and picture bingo.
Vi Pham ‘27 conveyed his thoughts regarding DePauw’s representation for this year’s Midwest Retreat event. For the past year, DePauw was never a part of the event due to the distance from the host location. Because of this, with the collaboration of three other schools, the UVSA has decided to have DePauw as the main meeting spot for this year's event.
“The overall event was very meaningful. I met a lot of my Vietnamese friends, especially from different schools. The event embraced an opportunity to connect with friends and highly reminds me of the sense of community,” Trinh ‘28 shared.
Despite the 80-degree heat on Sunday afternoon, the collaborative meeting went well. Luong ‘28 gave some thoughts on the tug of war, “To be honest, the heat on that day was so extreme, but everyone reported they all enjoyed the game, since it reminded them of their childhood.”
Although a lot of students expressed a shared feeling of joy, satisfaction and fulfillment, there was some sadness due to goodbyes and separation at the end of the day. Be that as it may, one of the first meet-ups between the Vietnamese community of DePauw and other schools, this would never be a goodbye, but a “see you again”.
