Warm Tet of international students in Ho Chi Minh City

The 2024 Lunar New Year in Vietnam left unforgettable impressions and memories for international students from neighboring Cambodia.

During the days before Tet, Ms. Phan Thu Nguyet (born in 1975, residing in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City) took the opportunity to take her adopted daughter, Choun Voleakmakmitona (born in 2004, Cambodian, studying at Ho Chi Minh City University Preparatory School) shopping for Tet items. Since adopting Choun Voleakmakmitona, her life has become more joyful and meaningful.

International students eagerly celebrate Vietnamese New Year

Ms. Thu Nguyet is the head of the Thu Duc City Poetry Club, a member of the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association, and has adopted four children. However, when adopting her daughter, an international student, she still hesitated and thought because she was afraid of difficulties in communication and culture. However, Ms. Nguyet feels very happy to have another obedient and talented foreign daughter. In the days before Tet, the mother and daughter have a lot of time to gather, shop together, and enjoy the spring.

“The singer and musician Xuan Chanh and I adopted two Cambodian children; we took them out to eat, bought notebooks and clothes so they could feel the love. We gave love, took it as joy, happiness and helped strengthen the friendship between the two countries,” Ms. Nguyet expressed.

Mrs. Nguyet also brought her adopted daughter home and taught her how to cook Vietnamese food. Choun Voleakmakmitona really likes Vietnamese pancakes so Mrs. Nguyet especially taught her daughter how to make delicious dipping sauce.

This year, Choun Voleakmakmitona stayed to celebrate Tet with her foster mother for 2 days and then returned to Cambodia with her family. Choun Voleakmakmitona shared that she does not speak Vietnamese very well yet, so she will try to learn to write, so that at night she can confide in her mother, say she loves her and thanks her for loving her, and take her out to celebrate Tet. To help her foster daughter understand more about Vietnamese traditions and culture, Ms. Nguyet said she will take her to visit more historical sites, participate in poetry, singing, cultural and artistic activities...

Hen Samart (5th year student, general medicine major, Nguyen Tat Thanh University) said that he is very excited to celebrate the traditional New Year in Vietnam. Hen Samart shared that he has been in Vietnam for 6 years and feels the difference between New Year in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Hen Samart (far left) and friends celebrate Tet in Vietnam. Photo: NVCC

“Because I have been in Vietnam for a long time, I consider this my second home, so I bought ao dai and conical hat. I am also very excited because during Tet, Vietnamese students have a much longer holiday than in Cambodia. I can go out until the 30th and 1st in Ho Chi Minh City before returning home for the holiday,” Hen Samart said.

Hen Samart shared that she had eaten the Tet feast in Ho Chi Minh City, and especially enjoyed eating rice with braised pork, banh tet, and bitter melon soup. “I found it very interesting to learn that bitter melon soup helps to dispel the hardships of the old year and welcome a new year of good fortune and happiness. Vietnamese language and culture have become much more interesting to me thanks to meaningful stories like this,” Hen Samart said.

Hen Samart said that due to the nature of her job, she is often in the hospital and comes into contact with many patients with serious illnesses. However, during the traditional Tet holiday, everyone forgets their difficulties and hardships and gathers together to welcome the new year with more effort and hard work. “I feel the importance of Tet to every Vietnamese person. Although the patients are undergoing treatment, they still happily celebrate Tet with their family members. I love and appreciate life and the good experiences in Vietnam even more,” Hen Samart shared.

Keo Linda (born in 2001, a Cambodian student studying at Nguyen Tat Thanh University) also said that she was very happy to celebrate Lunar New Year in Vietnam. Linda shared that she was welcomed by her Vietnamese best friend's parents to her home in Cu Chi district (HCMC) to celebrate Lunar New Year 2023 and was very impressed with the customs and cultural traditions of the Vietnamese New Year. What impressed her was the warm, happy, and busy atmosphere of her friend's family when they went to buy flower pots, bonsai trees, and Tet decorations. Especially on New Year's Eve, after watching the fireworks, she received a lucky money envelope from her friend's mother.

Linda also said that she wants to celebrate more Tet holidays in Vietnam so that when she returns home she will not have any regrets. “The time studying in Ho Chi Minh City gave me many memories. My friend’s parents also adopted me and welcomed me home to celebrate Tet as a family member. I feel very warm and my homesickness is reduced,” Linda said.

THU HOAI

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