Celebrating Tet away from home, international students remind themselves to sacrifice for themselves and their families

Unable to gather with family and relatives on the occasion of Lunar New Year, each Vietnamese international student finds their own way to enjoy the cozy atmosphere on the first days of the new year.

A Tet celebration activity of Vietnamese international students

Take advantage of working extra during Tet holiday

Looking at his friends eagerly packing their luggage to go home to celebrate Tet with their families, TTH, a Taiwanese international student currently studying in Taipei City, could not help but feel sad. Because he was one of the cases who decided to stay in this city to earn more living expenses. "On normal days, each hour of work can earn about 190,000 VND and this number can increase many times during Tet holidays, so I take advantage of this opportunity to have expenses to send back to my family," H said.

However, this does not mean he will "miss Tet", the male student said. That is because he and his friends at school plan to go on a spring trip on the first day of the new year, as well as take the opportunity to call their families on New Year's Eve to encourage and wish each other a happy new year. "In Taiwan, the Tet atmosphere is not as vibrant as in my hometown. People mainly spend the last days of the lunar year with their families and do not organize large-scale activities", H. said.

"It makes me feel sad, but this is my own choice and no one forced me to. Anyway, I have celebrated Tet with my family many times, so being away for a few years is okay, because I know what I am doing is to support my parents, and also to make the family's future brighter," the male student confided.

H.'s story of celebrating Tet away from home is not unique during the spring. Each international student has a different situation, and each decision not to return home to reunite with family also has behind it an unavoidable cause, like the story of Hanh Doan, a student at Eötvös Loránd University (Hungary).

Hanh Doan confided that she misses the weather, Tet food in her hometown and the moments of receiving lucky money from her family.

Doan said that although she could return home because Tet this year came earlier and did not interfere with her school schedule, she still had to temporarily put her plans on hold to try to complete her thesis on time. "Having to stay in a foreign land, of course I miss Vietnam very much, especially when I see pictures of friends updated on social networks, I feel even more sorry for myself and afraid of missing out. I am also a bit sad because I have not received lucky money for the past two years," Doan confided.

"I also miss the warmth of spring in Ho Chi Minh City, and the jams and parties at my grandparents' house every Tet holiday," she shared.

Find your own way to celebrate Tet

However, the female student cannot help but feel lucky to have her own "small community" in Hungary, who are fellow countrymen willing to travel together right before New Year's Eve to "escape" the cold of the first day of the year in Europe. Or on the first day of the New Year, the whole group will organize a hot pot meal with "toppings" (food) bought at the Vietnamese market, hot pot broth brought from Vietnam, and also "cannot lack Tet sports" such as chess, Doan said.

"On the morning of the first day, I will also call my family to wish them a happy new year, and on the second day, I will go to the Danube River to take souvenir photos in ao dai. That day, I will also eat pho and bun bo to have a taste of Vietnam, and finally, I will spend the third day of Tet for my family and myself," she said. "I wish everyone a bright, healthy, peaceful 2025 and that all their wishes come true. I wish other international students, even though they are physically far away from home, their souls will always turn towards their homeland."

Tue Minh (red shirt, second from right) at a Tet event at school

In Canada, Nguyen Quy Tue Minh, a student at Seneca Polytechnic, confided that she could not return home this Tet because of her busy school schedule and the high cost of airfare. Browsing social media these days, the female student said she could not help but feel homesick and miss the Tet atmosphere in Vietnam, because "here it does not feel like the New Year is coming soon". "I even ordered ao dai from Vietnam to take Tet photos", Minh said.

The female student added that recently, her school also organized a New Year's Eve event for Vietnamese international students, with many games and New Year's dishes such as banh tet, spring rolls and gio cha... "On New Year's Eve, I will also go to the temple to get luck and collaborate on a New Year's music event in Canada, with lots of food, drinks and folk games," she shared.

Meanwhile, To Vo Ngoc Vi, a student at Central Michigan University (USA), said that this is the first year he celebrates Tet away from his homeland and family. Just a few days into the new semester, Vi said he and his Vietnamese friends plan to have hot pot together and then continue to focus on their school schedule. "Even though I'm far from home, I always miss my homeland and family. I will try to study well and finish early to quickly have the opportunity to celebrate Tet with my family," Vi confided.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/don-tet-xa-nha-du-hoc-sinh-dan-long-hy-sinh-vi-ban-than-gia-dinh-185250128165407465.htm