Double valedictorian of Southeast Asian Studies chooses rare foreign language

With a GPA of 3.77/4.0, Tran Thi Khanh Vi (22 years old) is one of the valedictorians graduating with honors in 2023 from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. She is a student of class K64 Southeast Asian Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies.

The Hanoi girl said that a few months before the national high school exam, she still had not decided which major or university she would register for. By chance, at an admissions consulting program, she heard about Southeast Asian Studies and learned that this was a new major that had been separated from the previous Oriental Studies major.
“At that time, I simply thought that a new major would have many opportunities and not too much competition for jobs. Moreover, the program had many credits taught in English and I could learn a native language, so I found it very interesting. So I decided to choose it,” she recalled.
In the Southeast Asian Studies program, students are given the choice of studying Thai or Indonesian. Khanh Vi initially intended to study Thai because of its popularity in Vietnam and had never heard of Indonesian. However, in the summer before enrolling, she tried studying and “surrendered” to the Thai alphabet, so she decided to study Indonesian.
Indonesian uses the Latin alphabet and has many words similar to English, so she found it easier to learn. After studying it, she saw the potential in Indonesian, the official language of the world's fourth most populous country, and was even more determined to pursue it.

She often watches Indonesian Youtube channels and listens to music to stay interested in studying. Her house is quite close to the Indonesian Embassy in Hanoi, so she can conveniently participate in many events there.
“I find this language very romantic, so Indonesian love songs are always on my playlist,” she shared.
In 2021, Khanh Vi won second prize in the Indonesian singing contest for students of the BIPA Indonesian language course organized by the Indonesia Promotion Center - Umah Indo in Hanoi. In 2022, she won first prize in the writing contest to celebrate Kartini Day (a holiday honoring the beauty of the soul, intelligence and appearance of Indonesian women) organized by the Indonesian Embassy.
Thanks to that, she was sponsored for a 2-week study tour in Gresik - a beautiful city located in the east of Java Island, Indonesia. This is a reward under the "Short Indonesian Culture & Language Program For Foreign Speakers Indonesia 2022" program of Universitas Muhammadiyah Gresik (UMG).

Besides visiting famous tourist attractions, she learned how to play the traditional gamelan orchestra, tried making rujak fruit salad or nagasari cake, danced Damar Kurung and painted Damar Kurung. These are all typical cultural features of Indonesia.
In Gresik city, she was particularly impressed by the many colorful and neatly planned houses. She also loved the mosques here, because she was overwhelmed by the beauty and sacredness that the masjid brought.

“The food in Gresik is both amazing and cheap. One phrase I still remember is ‘tidak pedas’ – not spicy. If you forget to say this, the spicy dishes can make you spit fire,” she revealed.
At the closing ceremony of the program, Khanh Vi had the honor of reciting the poem “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” (Unity in Diversity - the national motto of Indonesia) in front of the entire hall. Two weeks in Gresik helped her have a clearer picture of the beautiful and friendly country of Indonesia, as well as more determination to learn Indonesian.
Her graduation thesis in English was titled “Feminism in the novel Tarian Bumi by Oka Rusmini”. Tarian Bumi is a famous novel in Indonesian literature and her thesis scored 9.5/10 points.

Before doing her thesis for a semester, Khanh Vi met her supervisor through the subject “Literature and Arts in Southeast Asian Countries”. Thanks to this subject, she felt very interested in the literature of the region, especially Indonesia. Then, thanks to her homeroom teacher’s suggestion, she contacted the lecturer who taught that subject and asked her to be her supervisor for her thesis.
While analyzing the work in Indonesian, she had the ambition to translate the original novel from Indonesian to English herself, despite her limited Indonesian language skills. With the help of tools and self-comparison with other translations, she attempted to translate the entire work before analyzing it.
According to Khanh Vi, Indonesian is very flexible and polysemous, so finding the right English word to describe it requires a lot of effort. Although the translation is not the main focus of her thesis, she is satisfied that she has provided a good enough translation for her thesis readers to understand the work she is analyzing.
After graduating, Khanh Vi decided to continue her master's degree at the university and is anxiously awaiting the admission results. In addition to her major, she continues to study advanced Indonesian and is pursuing a job that is suitable for her major and foreign language.
"I'm really looking forward to the future with many plans ahead," the double valedictorian expressed.