Groveland Twp.- Dane Granlund and Jennifer Martin-Granlund wanted their children to experience another culture.
So when an opportunity to host a foreign exchange student presented itself this summer, they took advantage. As it happened, it was July 4 when they met a representative from a foreign exchange student service at a craft show. Less than two months later, they welcomed Yen (pronounced Ian) Le into their township home, to join their children, Bailey, 16, Hunter, 12, Josie, 9, and Grayson, 4.
They chose the Vietnam girl (whose American nickname is Isabella), due to the fact she had already spent a year in the U.S., as an exchange student in Indiana.
‘They wanted us to take another, but we only have seven seats in the van,? laughed Dane. ‘They gave us profiles of all the students and we got to choose where ours came from…We chose her because she was our first and she had already been in the states for a year, so we thought the culture shock wouldn’t be as great. We wanted a girl, so Josie would have a sister, and not be the only girl. It’s been good, we have lots of fun. It’s interesting to hear the cultural differences.?
Le, who celebrated her 17th birthday on Nov. 26, is fascinated by American culture. In her home city of Vung Tau, located a few hours from Ho Chi Minh City in South Vietnam, Le and her friends watch American television shows and movies including ‘Hunger Games? and ‘Transformers.? She began English lessons about seven years ago and because of her desire to improve her English fluency and learn more about the culture, she first came to the U.S. last year as an exchange student in Indiana. Despite the much colder weather and missing her parents, she returned for another year, arriving Aug. 23 in Michigan.
‘It’s interesting in America, the American personality is different than Vietnam,? said Le. ‘It’s more open and friendly here, when you first meet? you smile a lot and talk. In Vietnam, people are nice to each other, but when you first meet, there is more of a wall. In America, you talk and feel like you’ve known each other forever. You connect more. I really love America. There is space.?
She is also enjoying the difference she has noticed in American education. Le enjoys having a locker here, which isn’t needed in Vietnam, where high school students remain in the same classroom with the same 40 students for three years. The schedule there changes daily, with five subjects per day and 13 subjects total per week and teachers rotating in and out of classes, which on most days goes from 7 a.m.-11:30 a.m. On Mondays there is also school in the afternoon, from 2-5 p.m. Students also attend school on Saturdays. While Vietnamese students have more subjects, they do not have electives and the freedom to choose what they study. Instead, all students study math, biology, chemistry, history, literature, and government, for example? and generally at higher levels and younger ages than what they are taught in the U.S. Additionally, they have a class that isn’t taught in U.S. public schools at all.
‘When you go to 11th grade you learn to put guns together and take them apart,? said Le. ‘They teach some basic military and how to do basic first aid (in the same class). After high school, you have to take a test for university. If you do not pass the test and you are a boy, you have to serve in the military.?
School athletics are virtually non-existent in Vietnam.
‘We dont have sports in Vietnam, we go to school to study,? she said. ‘We have something like a dodgeball tournament once a year just for fun in school, but we don’t have sports. I was in pom pon last season and I joined cheerleading in Indiana and did softball last year and will do it again this year. And I joined drama club.?
She notes that in Vietnam, art and music are only taught in middle school, although she doesn’t enjoy creating art, so it doesn’t bother her. Here in the U.S., she loves her broadcasting, accounting and U.S. government classes, as well as psychology, which, along with snow, she calls ‘cool.?
In Vietnam, Le lives with her mother, an accountant for a medical company, and her father, a college physics teacher. The only child notes that in Vietnam, houses are close together, and are usually built up, with multiple stories. Yards are small, without much space for pets. Motorcycles are the preferred mode of transportation in Vietnam, with Le estimating they are 80 percent of vehicles.
Besides her family, she misses Vietnamese food, especially bun rieu cua, a particular kind of noodles, although she enjoys American food including barbecue ribs and bacon hamburgers.
‘My host family is really good at cooking and dessert,? Le said. ‘American dessert? you guys are good at sweet things. I like everything. We have ice cream in Vietnam, and cake, but not as good as American.?
Le won’t return to Vietnam until next summer, when she will take her university test. She would like to return to the U.S. to attend a university, majoring in communications with a minor in international business.