Mai: Xin chào tất cả mọi người! My name is Mai and I am from Haiphong, Vietnam.

Nam: Xin chào! My name is Nam Dang and I am from Haiphong, Vietnam too.

Mai: I am currently a third-year student at the Faculty of Journalism.

Nam: I am studying at the Institute of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science.

Holidays

Nam: The main holiday is New Year's Eve (Tết), and it is celebrated by people of all ages. We celebrate the New Year based on a Lunar Calendar, which is usually one or two months later than the Gregorian Calendar.

So, when it is New Year's Eve in Russia, it is also New Year's Eve in Vietnam, but only for one day, after which everyone comes back to work.

About the Lunar Calendar: it's like a spirit calendar for us. We don't use this calendar very often, only for traditional events and holidays.

Mai: My favorite holiday in Vietnam is the Mid-Autumn Festival (lễ trung thu). It is also known as the "Children's Holiday" because it is a time for children to watch lion dances and eat mooncakes. Mooncakes are similar to pies in Russia, but they can have sweet or savory fillings. They are very delicious. This holiday is also based on the lunar calendar and is celebrated during mid-fall when the moon is the most beautiful.

Traditions

Nam: One of the traditions associated with this calendar is that on the first day of every month, we avoid doing anything out of the ordinary. This means that if we don't do something on a regular basis, we also don't do it on the first day of the month. For example, we don't hold weddings, travel far away, or take flights.

It is not forbidden, but if something goes wrong, we believe that it is because it was done on the first day of the month.

Dishes

Nam: We traditionally don't have salads. Instead, vegetables are included in our soups, which are made with different ingredients. Have you heard of phở bò? It is a soup made with rice noodles, beef, and a variety of spices. Our dishes are often made with rice as well.

Arts

Mai: «My favourite author is Nguyễn Tuân. He was considered an eccentric in both his life and his literature. However, a famous Vietnamese writer once said that there are only two ways to read his books: to hate and tolerate them, or to love them. He is unique, but because he was different from others, he was seen as abnormal.

One of my favorite stories by him is about phở bò. According to him, both the cook and the person who eats the soup are artists. This is because the cook puts their heart and soul into making the dish, and the person eating it also does so with their heart and soul. That is why a meal is not just a meal, but a form of art.

Mai: This collection is a poem written by Lưu Quang Vũ and Xuân Quỳnh, a married couple. However, I like Lưu Quang Vũ more, so I will read a few of his poems:

«Đêm sâu quá, đêm nào biết ngủ

Chỉ con người đến ngủ giữa đêm thôi

Mà có ngủ đâu, người ta đợi mặt trời

Đợi lâu quá nên để cơn mơ chờ đợi vậy»

Basically it means: the night is long and it can't sleep, only people sleep, but actually we don't sleep, only wait for the sun, but it will be long to wait for the sun, so let sleep wait for the sun.

I think it's unusual in the way he thinks of ordinary cases, it’s a unique way.

Proverbs

Nam: Kính trên nhường dưới. This means: a person should respect the superior people (superior here means older) and be inferior to the inferior ones (younger).

Miệng nói tay làm. This means: when the mouth speaks, the hand must also do. When a person says something, he should do it (not postpone it, but do it immediately)”.