Nhan Phan 24'

Katherine Boo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Behind the Beautiful Forevers, wrote, “I had little to lose by pursuing my interests in another quarter - a place beyond my so-called expertise, where the risk of failure would be great but interactions somewhat more meaningful.” In many ways, that quote guided my Vietnamese summer adventure.
In my pursuit to understand more about the place where I grew up, I spent one and a half months traveling alone across Vietnam, embarking on an adventure of a lifetime where I got the chance to meet people across the country and document their stories in my podcast series. In this presentation, I will present to you the lessons and experiences that I have garnered about not just the thrill of what it means to travel (especially in a post-COVID age), but also the lessons of Vietnam’s grappling with modernity and cultural preservation and the country’s evolution from its war-torn past. In this workshop, I want to redefine how you think about travel and tell you about how experiential travel has changed the way I see my home.