Here at UVT, students wear chef uniforms to school.
Dressed up for the part.
They are to finish their last leg in Hospitality and Tourism at one of the Australian Universities.
Humble dreams, yet tangible outcomes.
I respect young people who knew what they want to be when they grow up/old.
At their age, my family and society at large were pushing for doctors, dentists and designers (architects).
Now, everyone is aware of new trends and options.
Pathways to success. Gateways to employment and empowerment.
Dining and touring experience.
The new economy. Nouveau riches.
Chinese shoppers in New York, Milan and Paris.
Shop til they drop. Maybe one day, these shoppers will stop by and be served by our graduates.
A cappucino here, an expresso there. Ring the register.
Count your money, and take it to the bank.
Forget not your humble origins. Forget not time spent here at UVT, conjugating and even copulating.
We turn Vietnamese boys into English-speaking men.
We help turn students into culinary stars.
Don’t doctors, dentists and designers need to eat and travel?
Well, maybe my parents and their friends were too particular and restricted in their choices.
Maybe they stumbled upon the trail of success in their time, but times has changed.
We are better informed and more practical.
We put our money where our mouth is. We eat, love and pray.
Someone needs to be in the kitchen. It’s hot in there. And the training hours are long. They need to log in enough hours to graduate. And while in uniforms, they are reminded of who they will become. A far cry from their humble origins.
Thang Nguyen 555 