In 2016, I had the incredible opportunity to join a research project titled “Effects of Risk Communication and Gender on Flood Mitigation Behavior of Households in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.” The project was led by my mentor, who not only brought a wealth of knowledge but also a friendly, fun, and supportive personality to the team. His guidance was invaluable throughout the project, and the lessons I learned from him extended beyond research, teaching me about life and resilience.

Our goal in the study was to understand the flood mitigation behaviors of rice-farming households in the Mekong Delta, with a particular focus on their perception of climate change and how risk communication affects their decision-making. We conducted interviews with around 300 households in Dong Thap and An Giang, regions where rice farming is the primary livelihood. These conversations opened up a window into the lives of farmers dealing with the growing uncertainty brought by climate change.

One of the most rewarding aspects of this fieldwork was learning to conduct risk games and choice experiments. These methods were new to me, but my mentor, with his patient guidance, taught me how to design and implement these tools effectively. In the risk games, we presented participants with hypothetical scenarios to assess how much risk they were willing to take to mitigate flood impacts. Meanwhile, the choice experiments helped us understand their preferences for different flood mitigation measures. It was fascinating to witness how households, shaped by their personal experiences and perspectives, responded to these exercises.

Meeting and talking with the rice-farming households was the heart of the experience. Each household shared unique insights about their lives, their fears, and their strategies for coping with increasingly frequent floods. While some families expressed concern about the impact of climate change on their crops, others were more rooted in traditional methods, hesitant to adopt new practices. It was humbling to see their resilience and how deeply gender roles influenced their decisions. Understanding how they viewed flood risks and the information they received about these risks gave us crucial insights into how communication could shape their preparedness

Beyond the technical skills I acquired, such as conducting experiments and analyzing data, the most significant lessons came from my mentor. He taught me that research is not just about collecting data but about truly understanding the people behind the numbers. He showed me the importance of empathy, patience, and listening to local communities, something that transformed my approach to fieldwork. His light-hearted humor and positive attitude also made even the longest days of data collection enjoyable, showing me that research, like life, requires both hard work and a sense of fun