Today is Saturday, October 20th, 2007- Vietnamese Women’s Day. It is a national celebration of women in Viet Nam. The entire week, students brought their female teachers flowers and some sang them songs. On Friday, our department went out for dinner and a movie paid for by the department. There are only a handful of men teachers but we came out in support of our colleagues. Family members were also invited.

With 55 people showing up, dinner turned out to be a festive occassion. Our dean was offered flowers, three toasts were given (two in competition with the table next to us), and we ate Thai hotpot. ‘Not as spicy as I would have liked, but still very good. The 9 males that attended gathered at one table- mostly on one end. When guys get together, the combined testosterone brings about the usual jokes. It has to be hardwired into our makeup. Jokes and conversations that I hadn’t heard since the U.S. were plentiful that night. References to a magic number were used to tease one of the teachers that did not know its meaning. Toward the end of the dinner, the lightbulb turned on.

The celebration of women did not have any feminist undertones as would have been present if such a holiday were held in the United States. A celebration of this nature would probably not have been as large scale at the general public level. The department’s event was planned by one of the male teachers in appreciation of our female colleagues. It was very festive and provided an opportunity for all of us to get to know each other better.

In Viet Nam, there are 2 Women’s Days. One is the national holiday that was recently celebrated on October 20th. The other is International Women’s Day celebrated in the Spring.

I am looking forward to comparing International Women’s Day in Viet Nam, the U.S., and worldwide.