Visit the home of "the valedictorian with expressive eyes"

In the recent university entrance exam, the valedictorian of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities also had the highest score in the C block in the country (27 points). Vu Thi Phuong - a simple name but arouses my curiosity.

With just over a week left until school starts, I decided to take advantage of the weekend to visit the home of the "valedictorian with the expressive eyes".

The student of Hung Vuong High School is from Thanh Ba town - Thanh Ba district - Phu Tho province. After a few additions, I was shocked to know that the total distance for the round trip was nearly 280 kilometers. After a while of thinking, I still decided to choose a motorbike for the initiative.

At 9am, I arrived at Thanh Ba town. I called, but the line was busy. But it wasn’t difficult to find out where the valedictorian of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities lived.

Even though I had called the night before, the whole family seemed surprised. "I thought someone was calling to tease me," Ms. Mai (Phuong's mother) explained.

After a few minutes of introductions and getting to know each other, I asked permission to start my work and did not forget to ask the whole family to make themselves at home.

Phuong's family's modest house is located on a quiet street in the middle of Thanh Ba town. In front of the door is a row of coffee tables belonging to her mother. For more than 10 years, almost all expenses for Phuong and her sisters have depended on that. Phuong's father is a machine installer with a low salary and often has to be away from home, so he can only send a little money to his mother and children occasionally.

Today Phuong's family held a party to celebrate her passing the entrance exam. The outside space suddenly became cramped, so they had to stack the table and chairs in a corner to make enough room to walk around.

Phuong's nickname at home is "choe" because of her "crime" of talking too much, but only when I sat down at the table was I "interviewed" by Phuong:

- Uncle, is college difficult?
- Oh, there are only 4 faculties that open high-quality classes? If my faculty doesn't have that class, it'd be boring...
- Does your school have many extracurricular activities?
- I heard it's hard to find a job if you study social sciences. Is that the case at your school?
- I really like living in the dormitory, can you help me get one?

And only after parents reminded them did the frequency of questions decrease.

After dinner, while Phuong was doing her "dishwashing duty", I took a closer look at the rest of the house. The inner room was about 1 meter lower than the outer room, connected to the kitchen, with a temporary layer of foam insulation on the roof. Another meter lower was the well area with a yard of about 10 square meters.

Seeing me staring at the bookshelf, Phuong immediately explained:

- I'm a boarding student so I only studied at home after my graduation exam. I studied by myself because going to a review center is not as effective. Many students in my class also studied by themselves. 30 students passed the exam, the remaining 2 students are waiting for their second choice to be considered.

- Where are all Phuong's books?

- I gave away everything after the exam, only kept a few literature documents, but now I have lent them out.

- So Phuong will definitely pass the exam right after the test? At that time, how many points do you think you will get?

- Not really. I just hope to get around 7 points for each subject. I was very worried while waiting for the results. Especially when my friend across the street bragged that he got 24 points, my whole family was afraid that I would fail.

- What do you think about the Literature test?

- I think question 1 is basic knowledge, question 3 is not difficult. As for question 2, it is an open question, so we really like it. When taking the exam, we just hope to do questions like that, to freely express our thoughts.

- Why did Phuong choose the Faculty of International Studies? Why not Journalism when Phuong had many works published in the Thieu Nien Tien Phong newspaper?

- I found journalism too hard and not suitable for me, I only dared to dream. When I chose the Faculty of International Studies, my parents did not support me much. But I was still determined to put pressure on myself to study foreign languages ​​well and have the opportunity to travel to many places.

I was about to ask more about the valedictorian’s study method when my family suggested that I take a nap to avoid getting tired. Anyway, Phuong had shared her experiences in the newspaper, and the way home was still far, I thought lazily and took the opportunity to look through some of the photos I had taken before sleepiness came.

At 1 p.m., I went out to the front door of the house to take pictures of the coffee shop. At this time, the street was deserted, only occasionally a car passed by. There was still one more photo missing: the portrait of the valedictorian. I always try to avoid being staged, but in this situation, I was really embarrassed. A relative of Phuong invited me to visit her house and garden of more than 3,500 square meters, right behind Phuong's house. I immediately agreed because I knew this was the last chance.

- Hey Phuong, those birds look hungry.

- Try feeding it a guava... This one doesn't seem to like it... Okay, I'll eat the last one, I won't give it any more.

So I still have to use "tricks" to get a complete portrait photo.

After nearly 5 hours at the valedictorian’s house, I still didn’t have a satisfactory photo. Perhaps I was too subjective before the trip. Trying to stay now would only bother everyone. After 2 pm, the sunlight began to change direction, I said goodbye to the family of the valedictorian of block C in 2009. See you again on the day of admission, September 5, in front of the gate of the School of Humanities.