International Cultural Festival - A vibrant and colorful festival

The festival kicked off in the mid-morning with a Photovoice exhibition showcasing the Vietnam experiences of international students. Through self-taken photos, amateur photographers captured diverse aspects of Hanoi life and famous landmarks such as Sa Pa (Lao Cai), Trang An (Ninh Binh), Mui Ne (Phan Thiet). Interestingly, they explained the content and meaning of the photos in Vietnamese - the language they have been taught by teachers at VSL.

While everyone gathered to see the exhibition, international and Vietnamese students were busy decorating the main gate of the Faculty, the booths and making the final preparations for the fun that would take place in the afternoon. By about 2 pm, under the soft yellow sunlight of a late winter afternoon, the entire campus of the Faculty was immersed in a festive atmosphere. In 11 food booths - set up on the outer edge of the playground, the kitchens began to fire up. This year, there were 4 booths of Vietnamese students and 7 booths of international students. Besides the "independent" camps of students from China, Japan, Korea, Bulgaria, Cuba, Russia, there were also mixed camps, for example, the joint camp of students from Laos, Mongolia, Germany, France, Hungary, etc. In the yard, groups of Vietnamese and international students were gathering to play Vietnamese folk games. Amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the audience, groups of Vietnamese and international students took turns competing in games such as tug of war and sack jumping. The games were extended with a familiar bamboo dance - a performance that does not discriminate against age, nationality, or social status, so it attracted the enthusiastic participation of many teachers and students.

The second half of the afternoon was for culinary activities. At this time, the Vietnamese and international student booths had finished cooking and started selling traditional dishes. Except for the chefs and vendors, everyone attending the festival was eager to visit the booths to enjoy the culinary flavors of each country. If the Vietnamese student booths attracted attention with their spring rolls, rice rolls, banh beo, vermicelli with crab soup, vermicelli with duck, etc., the international student booths were equally attractive: mixed hotpot, dumplings, hot green tea, strawberry tea (China), crepe cake (France), seaweed rice balls (Korea), beer and Lao spring rolls, steamed cassava, grilled bananas (CuBa) ... The organizers went to each booth to enjoy and judge the culinary awards - making the culinary atmosphere even more exciting. With very cheap prices, enthusiastic service attitude and especially because of curiosity, the booths all sold very well. The culinary program ends in the late afternoon.

The night brought gentle, charming breezes. The gentle scent of milk flowers spread throughout the space, promising a magical, passionate night. At the invitation of Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thien Nam - Head of the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language, representatives of domestic and foreign universities and alumni of the Faculty came to join in the fun. On the side of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, there was the presence of Associate Professor, Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan - Vice President of the school and Dr. Pham Minh Cuong - Deputy Head of the Student Political Affairs Department. The night also witnessed the presence of Prof. Inagaki Tsutomu, Prof. Ohashi Kenichi (Rikkyo University - Japan), Prof. Tuong Vi Van - Director of the Center for Vietnamese Studies - Thanh Cong University (Taiwan), Prof. Dr. Dinh Van Duc - President of the Association of Former Teachers of VNU - former head of the Faculty of Vietnamese Language and Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Chinh - Head of the Faculty of Linguistics - former teacher of the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language. Among the alumni who returned to visit the Faculty, three embassies stood out: Mr. Valeriu - Romanian Ambassador to Vietnam - alumni of the 1972 - 1976 class; Mr. Saadi Salama - Palestinian Ambassador to Vietnam - alumni of the 1980 - 1984 class, Mr. Andrew Holt - First Secretary of the British Embassy in Vietnam - alumni of the 2013 class. Of course, we cannot fail to mention Mr. Justin Jorden - consultant of the Melbourne Court (Australia) - alumni of the 1986 - 1987 class. After Vice Dean Dao Van Hung announced the awards for the food stalls of the countries, Dean Nguyen Thien Nam delivered the opening speech of the festival. In his brief speech, in addition to wishing for a successful Christmas and New Year, he did not forget to mention the statement of the Director of VNU at the opening ceremony of the 5th International Conference on Vietnamese Studies held on December 15-16: "VNU is proud to have the largest Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language in the country". Speaking loudly refers to the 60-year history and current training scale of the Faculty. Vice President Hoang Anh Tuan, on behalf of the school, congratulated the Faculty on its festival and presented gifts to international student representatives. The atmosphere of the night became more solemn when the Ambassadors stepped onto the stage to share their feelings on their return to visit their old school. For Ambassador Saadi Salama, “returning to the Faculty of Vietnamese, now the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language after more than 36 years to attend the International Cultural Night 2017 at the invitation of the Dean, Associate Professor Nguyen Thien Nam, is no different from returning to the homeland. This is where I learned the first words of Vietnamese and experienced my first sleep in Vietnam on October 14, 1980”. As for Mr. Jay Jordens, “Decades have passed, but I have not forgotten the dedication of the teachers in the faculty. I have returned to Vietnam many times for work, and each time I have visited the faculty, I feel like “We return to our own pond to bathe”.

However, the atmosphere of the night was immediately re-heated with impressive performances by both distinguished guests and the host. While Mr. Andrew Holt impressed the audience with the Vietnamese song “Nhận chồng”, Vietnamese and international students demonstrated the endless creativity and the ingenious cultural integration of youth through a series of performances that were both traditional and modern and imbued with the Vietnamese spirit: Xam singing “Vui nhat co cho Dong Xuan”, dancing “Sac hoa”, dancing “Bong bong bang bang”, singing duet “Truong Son Dong - Truong Son Tay”… In between the exciting performances, the Faculty Youth Union launched the Cultural Ambassador Club - a playground to promote the connection and progress between international students and Vietnamese students studying at the Faculty.

The party ended but neither the host nor the guests wanted to say goodbye. There were warm hugs, tight handshakes, fluttering hearts and many rays of hope. It can be said that the International Cultural Festival and New Year's Eve 2017 organized by the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Language was a true festival, both diverse and lively - a sign of promise for a sustainable future awaiting the Faculty.

Dang Hoang Giang