Romanian Ambassador Valeriu Arteni: Returning to Vietnam is like returning home!

Ambassador Valeriu Arteni shared: I had a great advantage when doing diplomatic work in Vietnam because before that, I loved Vietnam with all my heart. During the period 1971-1976, he was a student studying Vietnamese at the Faculty of Vietnamese Language and Literature (Hanoi University). He recalled that here he learned a standard, systematic and beautiful Vietnamese language from the best teachers. In Mr. Valeriu's eyes, Vietnamese is a magically beautiful language, its rhymes and tones have created a rare melody and emotion. Therefore, "the idea that Vietnamese is difficult to learn and not interesting for foreigners is too hasty a conclusion" - he said.

Romanian Ambassador Valeriu Arteni - former student of the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Language from 1971-1976

Mr. Valeriu learned Vietnamese during the war, he and his students from Hanoi University had to evacuate to the countryside around Hanoi. Other foreigners might have been afraid of the bombs and bullets and immediately fled back to their country during that extremely fierce period, but he was willing to stay and endure hardships with his Vietnamese teachers and friends. Mr. Valeriu always mentioned those memories with pride and called them "valuable" experiences in his life. Because for him, Vietnamese can only be understood more deeply and "realistically" when it is present in real life and blended with cultural values ​​and customs revealed at the most emotional moments. Mr. Valeriu returned to that countryside when he became the Ambassador of Romania and was extremely happy that hundreds of people there still remembered, loved and welcomed him.

The Ambassador not only speaks Vietnamese very well but is also friendly and welcoming when receiving guests at his home, in accordance with the customs of a true Vietnamese: "Vietnam is my second homeland and every time I pack my luggage to go to Vietnam, I feel like I am coming home."

Just ask him a question about Vietnamese, and he can spend a whole session talking about how beautiful and different Vietnamese is; how profound it is. He had to secretly go alone to the 4th floor of B7bis Bách khoa (Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language) to practice Vietnamese every day to be able to use Vietnamese well and reach the hearts of Vietnamese people. "An ambassador has to study a lot and study very hard" - he said. He listens to, reads and speaks Vietnamese regularly and long enough to see the changes and developments of the language in the context of the internet entering Vietnam, when media and social networks exploded, when international integration became increasingly clear... - interesting and natural changes brought about by life that, according to him, linguists cannot ignore.

Romanian Ambassador Valeriu Arteni and Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thien Nam (Head of the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Language) at a meeting to prepare for the 50th anniversary of the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Language on November 16.

The Vietnamese driver who has been with him for decades was carefully entrusted by him to take his guests home. He jokingly said: This is your most important job today! And we - his guests - were touched and secretly thought: How close and lovely an Ambassador like you is! We took the opportunity to take a photo with him to show off: We have met an Ambassador who understands and loves Vietnam the most that we have ever known!