Hard Work and Homelet
By: Mudit Marwaha, Engineering ’27
GRIP: Sustainable Development in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
My fellow interns at Nuoa aren’t just work colleagues. They are my Grab Car commute buddies and the first customers of Homelet! Well, Homelet isn’t technically a restaurant. It’s just me and my coworkers Shaomin and Marcus eating omelets in my apartment in Ho Chi Minh City before work. But if it was real business, Homelet (Home+Omelet) would definitely be a great name.
I believe these morning meals are a perfect example of the impact that my colleagues have had on my experience in Vietnam. We’ve explored the city together, struggled with Microsoft Teams together, and are now planning a business trip to Nuoa’s other office in Hanoi. Living 15,000 kilometers away from the comforts of Home and Penn, my new friends have been an amazing support system.
As a Computer Science major, I recall being quite confused during our onboarding sessions when coworkers would throw around jargon such as B2B SaaS, KPI, and CPC. That’s where having two other interns studying at Wharton came quite handy. I’d like to think I returned the favor during the more technical portions of our training, and am now looking forward to combining our skill sets on various projects over the next few weeks.
Besides my fellow Penn students, Nuoa has an amazing team of interns from other universities around the world. Being in Vietnam, the software tools used here are quite different from what we use in the U.S. Thankfully, a fellow intern from Brown who had been at the company for some time sat down with me and patiently explained what each tool was used for. My time in Vietnam is full of stories of kindness such as this one, and I’m grateful that everyone has been welcoming to us – despite the language gap and my lack of chopstick prowess.
One way that Nuoa has fostered a sense of community amongst its employees is that we always have lunch together. On Mondays and Fridays, we go out into the city and all eat at a restaurant – which is chosen by a heated debate and if necessary, a formal poll of everyone at the office! Even on the days where we stay in and call in a Grab Food order, we still all sit at one long table together. Not only have I gotten to try lots of Vietnamese dishes (Pho Ga is my favorite), but I’ve gotten closer with my colleagues through these meals. In fact, we even advised one intern on his upcoming Saturday night date! Perhaps someday, I’ll even invite the whole office to try a delicious breakfast at Homelet.
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