Cultural activities

Butterfly dance in Rooster New Year celebration

I bought a DVD of VNese musical show in commemorating 30 years of the VN war, and quite disappointed at it. It is not a DVD of promoting the culture and the beauty of our folk music or typical national musical intruments, and the most important of all is the Vietnamese language to the young generation who were born abroad. We are told to be the descendants of a fairy (our MOTHER) and the dragon (FATHER), but when I watched the DVD, I saw a bunch of kids whose parents try to speak good English, but their Vietnamese is terrible. How can they maintain a cultural activity and teach their kids if even them, they can speak proper Vietnamese? The show was a mix of English songs (why? why? why?), and bring up a stupid Vietnamese-Malaysian reality show star from France on stage who can not speak any Vietnamese and let that girl say that she presents the whole Vietnamese community in Europe really pisses me off.

Although the meaning of each Vietnamese really depends on the intonation and the person to whom we are in conversation with, it is not as difficult as chinese. We are lucky enough to have the alphabetical system, what the children have to learn is the accents. Every accent that we add on a word gives a different meaning. In VN, most people who are in Hanoi speak correct Vietnamese, but in rural parts, people make a lot of mistakes, for instance, in Hai Phong city (where you can take boat to go to Ha Long Bay), they pronounce "n" as "l" and vice-versa. So, when you meet a VNese girl who told you "I nove you" :-), you know she definitely is from Hai Phong. I met many of them here, btw, married to Belgians. And for the info, they are supposed to be the most beautiful girls in VN, but very dangerous. Hai Phong is also a city where the criminal is the highest, and many killers or mafia groups in VN originally from Hai Phong.

The central of VN is famous as being stingy, of course they work very hard, and money is difficult to get from them. Usually both North and South people have little sympathy towards the people from the central. Also their accent is very special and difficult to understand if we don't pay attention to. But I can understand them because living in the Central of VN is very tough, it is a land where you can not plant anything, too hot, during the war, these people were the ones who suffered the most.

Saigon, I am lucky that I was born there and was educated in traditional North family, where delicate, and "rules" were applied. For a woman, at home she has to obey her father (thank god, i didn't have one :-)), when married, obey husband (I don't think I will have one like that either :-)), and when husband passes away, she has to listen to her son. My grandfather was the head of the family, and my grandmom had never said anything against him, I don't know if this was a long suffer or unconditional love, but I could see them caring for each other, was it love? When he was sick, she was the one who stood next to him in the hospital, and when she was sick, he would make rice porridge for her :-). Well, after my grandfather passed away, my uncle is the one who decides everything, eventhough he is not living in VN because he is the oldest son. Of course, sometimes that doesn't work with my aunt, my sister or me :-). Anyway, the people who live in the South are more relax, and friendly compare to rigid Hanoi, probably life is a little bit easier, and they are also more honest, straightforward... Too much that it can become rude.

There is only one VN for me, there is no North or South VN but Republic Socialist of Vietnam. I don't like those who say they are Vietnamese but don't manage to speak the language. One of my friends say that some Asians are like banana-outside yellow but inside white, but there are many sort of bananas, I want to be a banana that yellow both inside and outside.

I have a serioud back pain today, couldn't do much the whole day but stay in bed and read a book. I start feeling abit useless and depressed, I hope it will pass soon. Brian wrote me a mail, he is now in China, and maybe is on schedule to be in Saigon mid Oct. If I am there, it will be nice, otherwise I am sure my friends will take care of him :-). Going to back to bed now, having a serious headache.

Well here are some pictures of Rooster New Year...