Her wish is also shared by many other Vietnamese American students at a Vietnamese language class which has just been opened in Hanoi by the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (COVA).
Although the overseas Vietnamese in the class do not speak Vietnamese fluently, they are eager to talk in Vietnamese. If they do not know any words they use English or body language and ask us to translate into Vietnamese to learn.
20-year old Tiffiany Bui Minh said this is the second time she has returned to Vietnam to learn Vietnamese. She is a fourth year student at the City College of San Francisco.
Minh said her family left Vietnam in 1975 and she only knew Vietnam through the stories of a beautiful homeland with friendly and hospitable people told by her grandparents and parents, which remain imprinted on her memory. She said she has always wished to return to her homeland. Before coming back to Vietnam, she was very afraid because of her poor Vietnamese. But when she arrived in Vietnam and met Vietnamese people, all her worries vanished. She was welcomed everywhere. She said she loves Vietnam so much and is determined to learn Vietnamese until she’s fluent so she can return to Vietnam more often to teach English.
It’s her hope that after getting back to the US, she will continue to practise speaking Vietnamese to Americans of Vietnamese origin and listening to the Vietnamese teaching programmes run by VTV4 and VOV.
So far, Minh can speak Vietnamese quite well and she can speak Vietnamese without using English.
Minh said she has to practise speaking Vietnamese so often in order to become a teacher here and to improve her knowlegde about Vietnamese culture.
Jerry Tran, a third year student at the San Francisco University said this is the first time he has been to Vietnam. Although he was born and grew up in the US he can speak fluent Vietnamese. He said his whole family talks to each other in Vietnamese. He returned to the homeland with an aim of gaining a better understanding of Vietnamese culture.
Tran really wants to visit as many landscapes as he can. He did not feed any distance when meeting Vietnamese people. “I want to do something for the country,” Tran revealed.
Tim Le Van, another student from the San Francisco University said he is very happy to join the class. When he masters Vietnamese he can gain a deeper understanding of the homeland and his origins. He is very impressed by Vietnamese people and cuisine.
Despite speaking little Vietnamese, Dang Thieu Van tried to speak in Vietnamese. She said she is determined to study Vietnamese although it is very difficult to learn. As a Vietnamese person, she feels she should know her mother tongue. After attending the class, she will go back to the US and teach the language to Vietnamese Americans. She really wants to research the history of different regions and people across the country.
Professor Jonathan Chuong Chung, head of the group and teacher said most students in the class were born and grew up in the US but really want to learn Vietnamese. Despite being short, the class helps them to grow to love Vietnamese culture, land and people. Visits to regions across the country will also help them gain a better understanding of their homeland and then they will be able to introduce images of the country to international friends.
According to Tran Trong Doan, COVA vice chairman, the activity aims to promote Vietnamese culture in the overseas Vietnamese community to closely connect them with their homeland. The COVA plans to open another class to attract not only overseas Vietnamese people in the US but also in many other countries. It will also send teaching documents and teachers to countries, which have a lot of overseas Vietnamese to teach Vietnamese to overseas Vietnamese in their new countries.
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