First time welcoming the New Year in Vietnam
This year, Rono Max and Astride Napuse Yamaimai, students from Vanuatu, decided not to return home but to stay in Vietnam to celebrate the New Year.
In Nha Trang, you can immerse yourself in the brilliant spring space with streets filled with flowers and houses decorated neatly.
Astride Napuse Yamaimai, a student at Khanh Hoa University, shared: "I feel very happy and attracted because the streets and houses of people are decorated very beautifully with many flowers. This brings joy and happiness to everyone.
Not only strolling through the spring streets, students also learn about traditional Tet customs such as making banh chung, banh tet, the meaning of Tet feasts and family reunion.
Many friends said that although they are far from their hometown, the warm atmosphere has helped them feel close and familiar.
Cultural exchange, connecting international students
At Pacific University, 15 students from Vanuatu celebrated Vietnamese Tet in the coastal land for the first time. According to school representatives, this is the first year the school has foreign students studying, so many cultural experience activities have been organized.
The exchange program "Warm kitchen, good music, forgetting the way home" creates an space for Vietnamese and Vanuatu students to cook and enjoy traditional cuisine of the two countries. From dishes in Vietnamese Tet feasts to specialties of the Vanuatu island nation, each dish becomes a cultural bridge.
Student Belenka Kaenbo, who is studying Business Administration, said: "I think Tet is not just a holiday but also an opportunity for families to reunite, connect, share and love. In my hometown, there are no festivals like this.
Belenka's impression is the image of people busily buying flowers, preparing food, wrapping cakes... creating a bustling atmosphere different from normal days.
On this occasion, student Xavier Tanake also plans to visit some locations in Nha Trang such as Vinpearl Nha Trang before coming to Da Lat to learn more about Vietnamese culture.
The whole province currently has about 30 international students studying at universities choosing to stay in Khanh Hoa during Tet. Schools all organize exchange and encouragement activities so that students can feel the care and warmth as if they are in their own homeland.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Cam, Head of Student Affairs and Communication Department, Khanh Hoa University, said that the school has 23 foreign students.
Among them, 20 Lao students have returned home, and the remaining 3 are foreign students. During Tet days, you will be immersed in the traditional Tet atmosphere like students in Khanh Hoa. This both helps international students become more attached, confident and have memorable memories during their time studying in Vietnam.
For many young students, the first spring in Vietnam is not only a new experience but also a memorable memory of a Tet full of humanity, where sharing erases geographical distance.
