Students of the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language celebrate Christmas and New Year early.

On the afternoon of December 19th, the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies & Vietnamese Language of the University organized the International Cultural Day to celebrate Christmas and welcome the New Year 2010. This was also an opportunity for international students studying at the Faculty to display images and souvenirs introducing their countries, participate in various traditional games, and especially to introduce many traditional dishes from their home countries to their international peers.

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From 2 PM onwards, in the campus of the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language, food stalls with various cheerful decorations began selling dishes made by students from different countries. Each stall typically sold two main dishes at very student-friendly prices: 10,000 VND per serving. The Japanese stall offered the traditional ONIGIRI – Japanese rice balls filled with salmon or pickled plums – and MOCHI – grilled Japanese mochi. The German stall sold bread with potato soup. The Venezuelan stall had hot fried donuts, while the Cuban stall had its "specialty" milk rice and corn soup. The Chinese stall offered two very characteristic dishes of Chinese cuisine: dumplings and glutinous rice balls. The Korean stall sold sweet Korean pancakes and TOKPUPKI – a thick stew with various vegetables, rice cakes, and spicy flavors. The Vietnamese stall, run by young Vietnamese teachers, sold fried spring rolls, Southern Vietnamese beef noodle soup, and Hue sweet soup. Among the dishes, the record for the best-selling item probably belongs to AREPA – a donut made by Venezuelan student Carlos Estrada. By 4 PM, this delicious and easy-to-eat donut was already sold out. Around 5 PM, nearly a hundred Chinese students studying at the International Faculty of Hanoi National University, having heard about the International Cultural Festival, came to participate, causing the stalls to operate at full capacity but still unable to meet the demand of customers.

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Besides food stalls, students also displayed characteristic cultural items from their respective countries through small souvenir booths. Korean students also organized a coin toss game to support the Vietnam-Korea Rehabilitation Center (for children and people with disabilities). Another fun program that attracted many foreign students was a quiz game with prizes. Participants drew lots and answered questions about the Vietnamese language, culture, and history, such as filling in the blanks in Vietnamese proverbs and solving Vietnamese riddles. Many students answered correctly and received prizes from the organizers.

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The cultural program, one of the main activities of the International Cultural Festival, began at 6 PM. The host was American student Whalen Charles, whose voice was clear, resonant, and expressive. More than 10 spectacular and vibrant performances provided the audience with wonderful moments of enjoyment. Japanese student Kenta Ijima excellently performed "Wish," a very famous hit by singer My Tam. Meanwhile, Taiwanese student Hsia Jung Hsiang sang the song "Homeland" by composer Giap Van Thach, adapted from a poem by Do Trung Quan, with heartfelt emotion. Norwegian student Jorgen Arnes sang "Fading Autumn Leaf" by Trinh Cong Son with deep emotion and poignancy. Korean student Kim Ju Rong received enthusiastic applause from the audience for his heartfelt rendition of "Vietnam, My Homeland" in both Vietnamese and Korean. Korean student Oh Tae Hee skillfully performed a modern Korean dance while singing. One of the most breathtaking performances of the program was the introduction and demonstration of Kendo by two Japanese students. Chinese students from the International Faculty, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, also enthusiastically participated in two group songs: "Dust of Chalk" in Vietnamese and the Chinese song "Tong yi shou ge" (Song of Unification)...

Speaking at the exchange event, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Kim - Vice Rector of the university - expressed his joy and praised the rich and unique activities of the students at this year's international cultural festival. Associate Professor Kim also extended his best wishes to the students on the upcoming New Year, wishing them, their teachers, and their families a successful and happy new year.