For foreign students, Tet is both an exciting experience and an opportunity to learn more about traditional Vietnamese culture.

For domestic students, Tet is an exciting time, filled with anticipation of returning home to their families. For many foreign students studying at universities and colleges in Vietnam, it is both an exciting experience and an opportunity to learn more about Vietnam’s traditional culture.

Students Lou Vargas (France) and Hitomi Okamara (Japan): Celebrate Vietnamese Tet to better understand Vietnamese culture

Falling in love with Vietnam through books, newspapers, and films in France, Lou Vargas chose the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies, Hanoi University to learn about Vietnamese people and culture. After a year of studying Vietnamese in France, Lou went to Vietnam to continue his second year.

Having enjoyed Vietnamese food and heard friends talk about the traditional Tet holiday, Lou decided to stay for the Lunar New Year to learn more about Vietnamese culture. On this occasion of Lunar New Year, Lou had the opportunity to learn more about Vietnamese customs and practices during Tet, the food, and New Year wishes.

Lou Vargas said: “I am looking forward to learning more about Vietnamese Tet and this year I will go back to my hometown in Nghe An to celebrate Tet with my Vietnamese friends so I am very happy because I will learn more about Vietnamese customs on Tet. I want to know how Vietnamese families celebrate Tet. I will probably buy some things and bring them back, buy fruit for my parents and buy jams, candies to give as gifts”.

Sharing the same feeling of celebrating Tet in Vietnam for the first time, students Hitomi Okamara - Japanese nationality, studying at Hanoi University and Oshani Aluthsale - Sri Lankan nationality, studying at Hanoi University of Science and Technology said that the reason for choosing to celebrate Tet with their classmates' families was to understand more about the culture and customs of celebrating Tet of Vietnamese people. They also learned about Tet dishes in the northern provinces such as: banh chung, gio, canh bamboo shoots,...

The children also learned about Tet dishes in the Northern provinces such as: banh chung, gio, bamboo shoot soup,... (photo: monngonmoingay.net.vn)

Talking about their plans for the upcoming Tet holiday, Hitomi and Oshani said: “I want to experience what Tet is like in Vietnam. Vietnamese people go out on the first day of the new year to seek luck for their family and themselves. I will go see the festival of my friend's hometown”. “I will go to my friend's house in Bac Giang to celebrate Tet. She said she will teach me some traditional Tet dishes. I really like that. I hope to learn some dishes at her house like fried spring rolls. I really like this dish so I will try to learn to be able to make it”.

For student Shehan Ruwanma Perera - a Sri Lankan national studying at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, celebrating Tet in Vietnam not only helps me learn about Vietnamese culture but also gives me an opportunity to introduce Sri Lankan culture and cuisine to my classmates. Therefore, Shehan plans to visit some of my classmates' homes to experience the flavors of Tet in different places. Shehan has prepared some typical Sri Lankan dishes for my classmates.

“I prepared curry for my friends. I have cooked some dishes for Vietnamese friends, but Sri Lankan food is very spicy and salty. Vietnamese friends do not like salty and spicy food, especially slightly spicy curry. I plan to cook it for Tet when I go back to my hometown, but I will reduce the spiciness to suit Vietnamese friends,” Shehan shared.

Also staying to celebrate Tet in Vietnam, many students choose to travel and celebrate Tet with the people to discover the beauty and warmth of Vietnamese people. Soren Drott, an Australian citizen, a second-year student in the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University) said that this year he will travel and celebrate Tet in Da Lat. This is the second time celebrating Tet in Vietnam, but Soren still feels excited and expectant. The most impressive thing for Soren during the traditional Vietnamese Tet is the warm and happy atmosphere when the whole family reunites.

Many students choose to travel and celebrate Tet with the locals to discover the beauty and warmth of Vietnamese people.

Soren said: “I will go to Da Lat, then go buy new clothes, get a haircut, go out to celebrate Tet, around February 19th I will go to Cau Dat. Celebrate Tet with a farmer family. That person is very kind and cheerful. I am interested in many Vietnamese customs during Tet. I like Vietnamese food, banh tet is very delicious. This year is a special Tet because the second day of Tet is my birthday.”

It is easy to see that foreign students celebrating Vietnamese New Year are looking forward to Tet to learn more about Vietnamese traditional culture. Whether celebrating Tet at their friends’ house or traveling to celebrate Tet, these are all interesting experiences for students, to remember and love more the traditional Tet in particular and the country and people of Vietnam in general./.

According to Vov.vn