From the land of birch trees to become a daughter-in-law in Nghe An

(Baonghean) -For nearly 10 years now, the image of a blonde-haired, brown-eyed foreign woman waiting for her child in front of Nghi Duc Primary School (Vinh City) has become familiar to the locals here. And if it weren't for her typical Eastern European features, people would have thought she was from Nghe An...

Nađiya is the familiar name that people in hamlet 12, Nghi Duc commune often call her when talking to her since she became a daughter-in-law in the hamlet. Asking about her house, everyone knows because from the outside, this is a very special house: the walls are covered with cobblestones, full of green trees and flowers, the iron gate is only half-closed as if ready to invite any guest into the house...

The love between her and martial artist Ngo Xuan Vy began in Zaporozhia City (Ukraine) when he was sent by the General Department of Sports and Physical Training as an expert to develop Nhat Nam ethnic martial arts in Eastern European countries. After stops in the Russian Federation, Latvia, Beelarut... Ukraine was his final stop. Because here, the female student of the University of Medicine held him back. Talking about that love affair, he laughed: "Living abroad for many years, I never thought of marrying a woman from another country. But when I met Nadiya, I was captivated by her blond hair, brown eyes, gentleness, and delicacy like a Vietnamese girl.

Married since 1995, the couple spent 8 years in Ukraine before settling down in Vietnam. This was a difficult decision for Nadiya because from childhood to adulthood she mostly lived in Zaporozhye City with her parents and younger brother. However, determined to “follow the boat, follow the woman” and knowing that her husband “although abroad, his heart is always in Vietnam”, she did not hesitate to give up her job, house, and friends to return to Nghe An – her husband’s hometown.

When she first returned to her hometown, she encountered difficulties due to differences in language, climate, and customs, but thanks to the love and support of her husband and his family, Nadiya quickly integrated. The neighbors may not understand what she says and she does not know what they are thinking, but she feels warm because she sees friendliness and sincerity in everyone's eyes. The neighbors admire her because they cannot believe that a foreign girl can follow her husband to live in a remote countryside, far from the city center in an old level 4 house...

To “follow local customs”, the first thing Nadiya had to learn was to learn to speak. Vietnamese is not easy to learn because of its many complicated words, many tones, many accents. Nghe An language is even more difficult because of its many local words and heavy accents. However, in just over a year, Nadiya spoke Vietnamese fluently and could understand all the common words that people often used. She shared: “When we first came to Vietnam, my children and I often spoke Russian to each other. However, after a while, when I asked my children in Russian, they did not answer… Gradually, I followed my children to learn Vietnamese, when they learned a word, I also learned a word, when they learned a poem, I also tried to learn it.”

Then Nadiya learned to live like a Vietnamese mother. That is, going to the market every day, cooking, taking her children to school... For someone who is used to living in a modern, vibrant environment, it is quite strange, but then three children and regular classes and extra classes make her have no time to rest. Being so engrossed in that cycle, for the past 7 years she has not had the opportunity to return to Ukraine, although every year because of her husband's work, he travels back and forth between the two countries a few times.

Ms. Poda Nadiya and her husband with old photos.

Every time she misses her parents and her homeland, she brings out the album her friends gave her before she returned to Vietnam, which shows her family's house covered in flowers, the town hall, the school she attended, and the rows of bare trees covered in white snow in winter... Nadiya and her husband also especially love animals. In her house, there are dozens of types of birds, all of which she calls affectionately, such as Susa, Luzia... Seeing them playing with starlings and red-whiskered bulbuls, calling them "children", she feels that life is really simple and easy. Because she loves her husband, she has never not supported any decision of his. For example, martial artist Ngo Xuan Vy gave up all his work and fame abroad to return to Nghe An to rebuild the Nhat Nam martial arts movement. He quietly converted to Buddhism... On holidays, New Year's, Christmas, Thanksgiving... friends and relatives come to her house to enjoy vegetarian dishes cooked by her and her husband.

Over 50 years old, having gone through ups and downs and many successes, martial artist Ngo Xuan Vy always thanks his wife, who gave him a home, gave him children and gave him peace every time he returned to his family. That happiness is simple and too ordinary but is the motivation, the strength for him to continue to carry out unfinished plans, ambitions and dreams of making Nhat Nam martial arts one of the world's cultural heritages and quintessence.

My Ha