A family portrait and a piece found again.

(Baonghean)A few years ago, studying abroad was still a trend, a dreamlike prospect, but now, parents and students have a clearer understanding of the nature, conditions, benefits, and difficulties of studying abroad. Summer is the time when many international students "parachute" back home to visit, their suitcases filled with gifts for family and friends, along with memories, feelings of nostalgia, and the joys and sorrows of their study abroad experiences...

"Traveling a day's journey... brings a basketful of tears."

Many international students, especially female ones, jokingly share that fish sauce and tears mixed with rice are the main dishes during their first days in a foreign land. This is a particularly difficult time for all international students, as they leave the nurturing embrace of their families to face many aspects of life. From renting a house, getting paperwork done, opening a bank account, buying insurance, to cooking, shopping, or even figuring out how to resolve conflicts in relationships with those around them, everything is new to these young people who are just starting to feel lost and far from their "corneryard and sky." Faced with these unfamiliar and overwhelming pressures, it's inevitable to have moments of weakness, silent tears, or even regretful self-questioning: Have I perhaps strayed too far from the protective embrace of my loved ones?

This heart-wrenching question constantly torments the hearts of those studying abroad, especially during traditional holidays like Lunar New Year, the Vietnamese holiday of family reunion. On social media, international students often post photos of themselves making sticky rice cakes (bánh chưng) together and celebrating New Year's Eve to ease their homesickness. Amidst the warm atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship, there are still glimpses of poignant tears and heartfelt messages of longing for home: "This spring, I won't be coming home."

International students in Paris make banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes) to celebrate Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year).

The anxieties of those on the home front.

Ms. Pham Thi Thu Suong (from Con Cuong) has two sons who both studied abroad in France (one from 2006-2012, the other from 2009). She called them every week, asking about their meals, studies, work, and even their... love lives. Knowing her worrying nature, her eldest son didn't dare tell her about a football injury he sustained, breaking his left arm. It wasn't until he returned to Vietnam for work that Ms. Suong learned about it. She scolded him with tears in her eyes, holding his hand tightly. This is a common feeling among parents; how can one not feel heartbroken seeing their beloved child alone in a foreign land, with no one to care for them when they are sick?

Then there are those "families" of international students where the young parents have to manage everything on their own from beginning to end, without the support of their extended family like couples in Vietnam. Ms. Dang Thi Bich (Vinh City) sadly recalls 2009, when her daughter gave birth to her first child in France. She put her work aside to go and take care of her, but due to paperwork problems, she had to stay in Vietnam, only able to call and chat to encourage the couple. In 2012, her daughter gave birth to her second child. Fortunately, this time her daughter-in-law obtained a visitor visa to visit her grandchild and take care of her daughter-in-law after childbirth. Looking at the photos of her now grown-up grandchild, smiling brightly with her grandmother, Ms. Bich's longing for her grandchild and daughter is somewhat eased, but she can't help but feel a pang of sadness at not being able to be with her daughter when she needed her most.

How many parents, though living in Vietnam, have hearts that beat according to the time zone of a distant land, regularly waking up in the middle of the night every day, every week, or every month to call their children, asking about even the smallest things, only to silently sob when the cold wind, the subway noise, and the unfamiliar language seem to drown out the loving voice of their child on the other end of the line...

The complete picture

It is only when you travel far that you truly appreciate what was once familiar. While students eagerly anticipate leaving home and spreading their wings for freedom in new horizons, traveling around the world reveals that family is both the starting point and the destination of each person's journey. Or at least, family is the most solid and secure support system, offering peace and rest before continuing on life's path. Dang Tien Cuong (24 years old, Vinh City), a computer science student in South Korea who recently graduated with honors on his thesis, "Applying Machine Learning to Fast Vietnamese Typing," said: "After graduation, I plan to return to Vietnam to live and work. Only in my homeland will my achievements have practical meaning and be recognized and celebrated. Moreover, I want to be with the people I love."

This is also the sentiment of many international students around the world, who aspire to return to contribute to their homeland and live in the loving embrace of family and friends. Being surrounded by family, doing small but heartfelt things for those they cherish, is enough for international students to feel their connection to this land is never broken, to know they are missing but not lost pieces of the family picture. That picture, faithfully waiting for those pieces to return.

Text and photos: Hai Trieu