Letter from you on the 3rd day of Tet: “I will be a coffee bean in boiling water…

“I wish I could be like coffee beans, only when at 100 degrees Celsius will the coffee beans have the right aroma and appeal. Just like when I go through challenges, I can appreciate the hardships I have gone through…”

Dear Mom and Dad!

Dear Mom and Dad, as I write this letter, it is snowing outside. I am happy to welcome the first snow season in England, each snowflake covers the roofs and treetops in white.

Today, I have just sent a brother back to Vietnam after he finished his Master’s course. He told me: “So I will be able to come back to eat my mother’s cooking soon…”. Hearing that, I miss home even more, I miss my mother’s dishes, I miss the jars of pickles my mother used to pickle, I miss the sound of the monochord that my father played every night. Things that have been very familiar to me for the past 23 years…

So this Tet I am away from my family…

Dad always advises me to study hard to gain knowledge and intelligence, because life is sometimes a difficult problem, I have to use my smart brain to solve it.

Dad always wants me to be independent, to think more maturely, to be more mature so that I can see all problems clearly, so that I can live far from home without my parents having to worry.

I believe that I have used my youth to gain valuable experiences and therefore I am not afraid or hesitant when I step into a new life in England.

Do you remember that 2 years ago, on a motorbike trip to the far west of the country, I had an accident due to a container truck going in the opposite direction encroaching on the road, I narrowly escaped death because I was lucky to be thrown into the mountains.

Your little daughter even dared to hide from you and go cycling across Vietnam for a month in the summer with her teammates. It was not until I came home that my fair face had turned black from cycling under the scorching sun that you found out.

I have seen with my own eyes the beautiful natural scenery of the country, I have crossed the majestic passes of Vietnam from the South to the North, such as Hai Van Pass, Cu Mong Pass, Ca Pass, Cu Hin Pass,… just by a bicycle. Perhaps the hardships and difficulties in the process of cycling have tempered my will and discipline.

Sometimes I think that I have encountered danger, have almost died, have suffered injuries, have experienced such challenging and thorny moments of youth, so that a weak girl like me has become stronger. My legs are getting stronger and stronger, my hands, though small, no longer tremble before every difficulty, Mom and Dad…

The intellectual path that I am taking in a foreign land is also the path for me to grow up, for me to discover my own strength as well as the burning desire to reach my dream. I cannot stay in the warm arms of my parents forever.

I wish I could be like coffee beans, only when the temperature is 100 degrees Celsius will the coffee beans be fragrant and attractive enough. Just like when I go through challenges, I can understand the hardships I have gone through.

Do you know?

I study 3 sessions a week, class time is 2 to 3 hours per subject. The number of study hours in the UK is not as much as in Vietnam, students spend more time researching and discussing. International students are diligent and self-motivated to read books and study lessons after class. I have been caught up in that cycle, trying to improve my knowledge.

Near the end of a semester, it is Christmas break, I am lucky to find a part-time job as a babysitter. My kind British boss also taught me some traditional British dishes, I hope that one day when I return to Vietnam, I will make these dishes for my parents to enjoy the flavors of England.

Dear Mom!

I remember that my mother told me that she was very happy when my father invited her to visit relatives in Russia when he was on a business trip there. After that, my mother was pregnant with me in Moscow and named me Viet Nga to commemorate this memorable milestone. I also hope to bring my mother that little happiness, except that now the person who invited her is not my father but my little daughter.

My current wish is to invite my mother to visit me in England and she will witness the changes in Europe after more than 20 years. I know very well that every summer in Vietnam, my mother has a headache due to the after-effects of war shrapnel, the cool weather in England will not make my mother suffer from the hot and humid heat and headaches. She will not have to take medicine, will not have to go to the hospital for acupuncture because of the persistent pain anymore.

Because of this little dream, Mom and Dad, I probably won’t come home for Tet this year, I will still go to school, I will still work part-time. Sometimes I’m tired, I have to take Panadol pills.

When I went to England to study, I set very big goals. I also became strict with myself, setting strict goals for myself. I am grateful to my parents for allowing me to study far away, it may be a challenging path, but I believe that I will also find the best things on this path.

When I finish studying and return to Vietnam, I will definitely become a different girl. Stronger, more mature!

I hope to send an invitation and plane ticket soon so that my mother can visit me first.

I wish my parents good health, and that our family will have a warm and happy Tet.

Here, we can also wrap Chung cakes and make traditional Vietnamese dishes on Tet holiday.

Tet.

Kiss and love your parents!

Collected from an international student in England.