For context, upon entering the university program, I was incredulous to notice that my culture hardly ever came up in either the discourse on Northeast Asia, or Southeast Asia – thus, it would not be inaccurate to say I went through a mild identity crisis. In retrospect, I suppose I should have done a bit more reading on the subject from a Taiwanese perspective; though, with a new life just beginning, I was caught up with learning how to interact with this new and exciting environment. Which is why I was both apprehensive and incredibly hopeful for this class, it being the first to feature my home country, Vietnam, in the curriculum. On one hand, I was curious about foreign academic perspectives on Vietnamese culture, and on the other, I was all the more excited for the chance to share what I knew – hoping that the professor and my classmates, who mostly saw my culture from a removed perspective, would understand and appreciate my input on the subject.

Fortunately, I was not disappointed. My teammates were all helpful and supportive, welcoming my contribution to our group’s performance despite it not being done in very good Mandarin; the lessons’ contents were on principles, philosophical ideals and history yet were not restricting – all was interesting and accessible, and through discussions, the professor allowed us space to share our own thoughts as well.  At half a year since I began university, I finally felt valued and found a sense of belonging. Beyond shared wisdom and budding relationships with like-minded peers, however, I had also gained an understanding of effective delivery. From watching and interacting with my professor and classmates, I was led to an unexpected – nevertheless cherished – revelation: in teaching, expertise matters, though only as much as the willingness to learn and exchange knowledge between all who is involved, be them teacher or student.