Russian girl falls in love with Nghe An

(Baonghean)In the cold snowy land of Russia, Julia had known Vietnam since she was a child. Through the stories of her grandparents, parents and information in books and newspapers, Julia imagined a heroic country that had defeated the strongest enemies in the world; and at that time, Julia did not think that one day she would fall in love with a Vietnamese boy...

Having heard many people talk about the Russia cafe at 78 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Vinh City, and stories about the beautiful Russian owner, we were curious to find out. The lovely cafe is only about 80 square meters wide, with Russian landscape paintings hanging on the walls and a green cloth backdrop in the middle with the words "Forever love between Vietnam and Russia". As soon as we sat down, we were greeted warmly by a foreign woman in her 30s with long blonde hair, a delicate oval face, and affectionate blue eyes. She walked over, gently placed a glass of green tea on the table, and spoke broken Vietnamese: "Please! What would you like to drink?" Our first impression was that the owner's manner and service attitude had created a very special feeling for the customers.



Julia and her husband's coffee shop.

She happily talked to us; but because her Vietnamese vocabulary was limited, she had to ask her husband, Hoang Trung Hai, for help. She said: Her name is Suvareva Julia Alecsandrovna (Julia for short), born in 1980 in the town of Verkhovare, Vologda province, about 500km from Moscow. She met Hai in 2002 in Russia, when they both worked as employees in a Vietnamese market in the town of Verkhovare. Julia was a saleswoman, and Hai was a person who regularly brought imported garments from Vietnam. After many contacts, the two had feelings for each other, then dates to go out in the pine forest in the snowy winter, love came without knowing when. Hai confided: "I went to Russia to work just hoping to save up some capital to return home, but I never thought that one day I would end up with a Western girl."

At first, Julia's family was a bit hesitant because the two of them were from two countries thousands of miles apart, with very different cultures and languages. Moreover, Julia's family only had two siblings, so her parents did not want to leave their daughter. However, having had a long-standing affection for the country and people of Vietnam, Julia's parents were finally convinced by Julia, and in early 2003, the two held a wedding ceremony according to Russian customs at Julia's family's small house on the Vologda River. On the wedding day, many Vietnamese and Russian friends came to congratulate the young couple. At the end of that year, their first son, Hoang Quoc Viet (Russian name is Nhikita), was born in the snowy land, making their family even happier.

But the nostalgia for his homeland still lingered in the heart of the Vietnamese man. After 10 years of doing business in Russia, Mr. Hai confided to his wife his intention to move the whole family back to Vietnam to live. At first, Julia's parents did not agree for many reasons, such as the remote location and differences in culture, customs and practices... but then because they loved their "Vietnamese son-in-law", the whole family happily agreed. Mr. Hai said that from not wanting their daughter to marry far away, when their son-in-law "transformed", Julia's parents not only agreed but were also very thoughtful. Julia's mother also told her daughter, as the Vietnamese often say, "the boat follows the rudder, the girl follows the husband", when you return to Vietnam, remember to fulfill your duties as a daughter-in-law, a wife, always remember your parents and do not forget Russia, if you return to Vietnam for a while and find it unsuitable, both husband and wife can return to the town of Verkhovare to live with your parents...

In 2008, they sent their children back to the country first, and in 2010, they returned to Vietnam to reunite with their family. To help Julia gradually get used to the new climate and living environment, Mr. Hai rented a house in Hanoi, where many Russians live for a while, and asked for Julia to work as a waitress at a restaurant near West Lake. After a while, she got used to the climate and lifestyle in Vietnam, so he discussed with her about returning to her hometown in Nghe An. In September 2012, they rented a place at 78 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street to open a coffee shop and named it Russia, and hung many pictures of Russia so that Julia would feel that her homeland was always nearby. The couple also wanted to turn this place into a meeting place for people who have been attached to Russia and love the land of the White Birch.

Mr. Hai said: When she first got married, Julia did not know Vietnamese, did not understand anything about the customs and lifestyle of her husband's family, so she encountered many difficulties. According to Julia, the most difficult thing was the way of addressing each other, she got everything mixed up. Many times when meeting relatives in family gatherings, she could only "laugh" because she forgot the names. Eating with chopsticks was also a challenge for Julia, it took her more than a month to get used to eating with chopsticks. Mr. Hai became his wife's Vietnamese teacher, all difficulties were overcome, Julia gradually adapted to life, she knew how to talk to her mother-in-law. Julia was friendly with the neighbors, behaved skillfully and gently, so everyone loved her. Julia's mother-in-law loved her more and more each day.

With her mother-in-law's kind guidance and teaching, she was taught how to cook rice and prepare Vietnamese dishes, and because she learned quickly, she was able to make a few dishes in no time. As a daughter-in-law living far away from home, Julia confided: I miss Russia very much, I miss my parents, relatives and friends, so I have many sleepless nights... To ease my longing, I often talk to my parents and friends back home via the Internet. My husband and I are trying to settle down so that this year we can welcome my parents-in-law to visit.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Su, Julia's mother-in-law (in block 7, Truong Thi ward, Vinh city) shared: "Julia is very eager to learn and honest. I taught Julia like a daughter in the family. Gradually, Julia also adapted to the family lifestyle." Julia once confided: "I really like living in Vietnam, Mom!". When asked what the most difficult thing about being a Vietnamese daughter-in-law was, Julia shared: "Everywhere, there are differences in the way people behave between people. However, if there is an effort from both sides to open up to understand, sympathize, and share with each other, it will create a truly happy life."

And when asked how she felt about being a daughter-in-law in Nghe An? We saw her blue eyes shining with joy and happiness. Mr. Hai was very gentle and loving, helping her a lot, so her homesickness was also reduced a lot. And when asked what was interesting to her in Nghe An? She happily said: "Oh, there are many things, in a cold country, I really like the hot sun, I like the fish sauce mixed with lemon and chili, I like Vietnamese fish dishes. I like the mountains, rivers, temples in Vietnam and swimming at Cua Lo beach. This year is the third year I have celebrated the traditional Tet in Vietnam, I know how to wrap banh chung and I really like to eat it because it has a very typical Tet flavor. I believe that when my parents and brother come to visit, everyone will be very happy with my happy life here."

The beautiful Russian girl's smile and happy eyes made the atmosphere in the Russia cafe warmer, even though outside the cold winter drizzle was pouring down.

Hoang Hao - Pham Ngan