The feelings of those living far from home during Tet (Vietnamese New Year).

(Baonghean) - In the early days of the Year of the Rooster 2017, we received touching stories from Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuan and Ms. Pham Thi Nhai, a couple from Nghi Xuan commune (Nghi Loc district). They have spent nearly 10 years living and working abroad in South Korea; the following words they shared are the heartfelt reflections and anxieties of those far from home, thinking about the spring season and remembering their homeland.

“Another Lunar New Year has passed without my wife and I being able to gather around the pot of sticky rice cakes with our family. Having been away from home for almost ten years, the longing for our homeland grows stronger in each of us. That longing intensifies every time Tet (Lunar New Year) comes around. We miss our parents and our daughter terribly, but we have to put that aside because life in a foreign land is still so difficult…”

The Nghe An expatriate association organized a Lunar New Year celebration in South Korea. Photo: Thien Thien.

My husband and I are from the same village. Our love blossomed after we finished high school. Neither of us passed the university entrance exams, so we decided to go abroad for work. South Korea was our choice for our future. We left our families behind and went to South Korea, where we worked stamping parts for fitness equipment in Chungcheongnam Province.

After a few years abroad, we decided to tie the knot in a simple wedding ceremony in this cold country. Our families were already close, so the wedding went smoothly in our hometowns. Once this most important event in our lives was over, we continued to make a living.

More than 10 years have passed since then, and every year we celebrate the traditional Lunar New Year in a foreign land, our hearts yearning for Nghe An. Since sending our daughter back to Vietnam to be cared for by her paternal grandparents, my wife and I have been taking advantage of our breaks each day to talk to her via FaceTime. Even though we get to see her adorable, chubby face and hear her babbling as she learns to speak, we still miss her very much.

As Tet (Lunar New Year) approached, the chilly weather intensified my longing for my daughter more than ever. After our FaceTime calls, my wife and I hugged each other and sobbed, and although neither of us said it out loud, we both knew we had to work hard so we could quickly return to the great love of our lives.

Like Vietnam, Koreans celebrate the traditional Lunar New Year every year. During the Lunar New Year, Vietnamese workers like us are given time off by our companies. In Korea, the traditional New Year is called Seollal and lasts for three days: from the 30th of the 12th lunar month to the 2nd of the 1st lunar month. Every year, before our leave, my wife and I plan to call our friends working all over Korea to prepare for a New Year's gathering. We usually choose someone's house and together we make or buy banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes), jam, sticky rice, etc., to celebrate the New Year. Far from home, being able to celebrate with fellow countrymen in a foreign land, eating Vietnamese food, and hearing the authentic Nghe An accent makes everyone feel like they are celebrating the New Year in their ancestral homeland.

This year, too, we have a three-day Tet holiday. Even though we miss home terribly, few people go back to their hometowns. The plane tickets are so expensive; we'd only be home for a couple of days before having to fly back. On the 30th of Tet, my wife and I cleaned the house together, went to the market to buy fruits, sweets, and vegetables. A chicken and sticky rice for the ancestral worship, along with a pair of banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes), are indispensable dishes for this day. Banh chung are still sold here, so it's easy to find them at the supermarket. Our parents sent some Vietnamese sausage from Vietnam beforehand and it's already stored in the refrigerator. The only difference is that there's no peach blossom tree to display in the room; instead, there's a vase of vibrant red roses. Even so, we consider it a proper Tet celebration for those of us working far from home.

The Nghe An expatriate community in Madison County (USA) is making banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes) to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

During the Lunar New Year holiday, friends and fellow countrymen flocked to our apartment. Even those living hundreds of kilometers away took the subway to join us in celebrating the New Year. It's the New Year, and meeting people from our hometown in a foreign land is the best thing ever. Some sang, others shared stories, and some sobbed like children because they missed home. Some hadn't celebrated the New Year with their parents for five or six years. Every year, someone cries during the New Year... The atmosphere of the New Year should be joyful and lively, but for those living far from home, the deepest longing remains: for the sticky rice cakes, the red blossoms of peach trees, the New Year couplets… a poignant longing for the flavors of the New Year in our homeland.”

Perhaps, the night of the 30th of Tet (Lunar New Year's Eve) is the most poignant moment for migrant workers like us. On New Year's Eve, my wife and I called each other via FaceTime to see our parents and our precious baby daughter. This was truly a priceless gift for us. Our daughter's first Tet was also our first Tet away from our child. In her grandmother's arms, our daughter babbled, clapped her hands, and said things that melted our hearts. I cried until my eyes were swollen from missing her. I gave birth to my daughter in South Korea, and she was separated from her parents when she was only 3 months old. Here, because of work and the need to make a living, we couldn't afford to take care of her. So, when I saw her innocent eyes, her pure smile, and even the sadness on her face through the phone screen on New Year's Eve in a foreign land, I just wanted to fly home and hug that tiny body. But what can we do? Our lives ahead are still full of worries, and even husband and wife, despite living in the same room and working in the same city, sometimes can't even talk or share a meal together.

Tian Tian(take note)