In the subconscious of many Vietnamese people, Tet It is an opportunity for people to reunite and gather with family. Wherever they are, the bustling atmosphere of the last days of the year always makes people away from home feel excited, looking forward to the day they can return to celebrate a warm and happy Tet with their families.
However, Tet This is an opportunity that not everyone has the opportunity to return home, especially those who work abroad. Many of them have been for two, three or even four years in a row Celebrate Tet in a foreign country.
Promise… I’ll be back next year!
Gia Lam (22 years old, Dong Thap) is currently an intern at an automobile plastic manufacturing company in Hyogo province (Japan). Lam said that in his memory, the last Tet he had when he gathered to eat rice and make cakes and jam with his family was two years ago.
In 2020, after completing his high school program and holding a diploma in hand, Lam put aside his university dreams and began learning Japanese with the hope of becoming an exported worker to Japan, earning money to help his family. family.
In April 2022, when the Covid-19 epidemic was no longer raging, after many flight reschedules, Lam officially went to Japan to work as a laborer.
Lam shared that the biggest reason why he chose to leave his family for two years in a row was because: “The amount of money I earn in a month here is sometimes equal to what my parents in Vietnam earn for nearly half a year.” Not only Lam, but for many young people who are exporting labor to Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, this is also the reason they choose to stay and celebrate Tet in a foreign country.
The last days of January in Hyogo (Japan), at 6:30 a.m., in the cold below 5 degrees, Lam woke up like every day to prepare for his shift at 8:30 a.m. Lam company is located on a mountain. Small, about 15 minutes by bike from the hostel. The road to work is quite steep. On snowy days, the road is slippery. Lam has had to walk many times because he fell off his bike.
Two weeks ago, Lam picked up the phone to call his family. On the other end of the line, Ms. Tuyen (48 years old, Dong Thap) heard her daughter’s voice: “Hello… Mom!… I’ll come back next year for Tet!” Mom and I, stay at home and remember to stay healthy.” Lam finished speaking, both ends of the line suddenly became quiet. A moment later, Ms. Tuyen replied: “Yes!… Remember to stay healthy.”
Like Lam, this is the fourth Tet for Thao Ngan (26 years old, Dong Thap) to celebrate Tet in a foreign country. Before coming to Japan, Thao Ngan worked for more than a year as a worker at a garment factory in Binh Duong.
When she was still working as a worker, there were days when Thao Ngan had to work overtime continuously for 10-12 hours. The salary she received each month after deducting food and rent was not enough to take care of her children in the countryside. I heard that some people with children in the neighborhood go exporting, their monthly salary is sometimes 3 or 4 times higher than in Vietnam. For the sake of her children and because she wanted to ease the burden on her parents in the countryside, Thao Ngan was determined to learn the language and export abroad.
Thao Ngan is currently working as an intern for a mechanical company in Hiroshima city (Japan). Recalling the first days of coming to Japan, Thao Ngan felt sad: “One day it was snowing white outside, the temperature was below 0 degrees Celsius, even though I wore many layers of clothes, I was still cold and couldn’t move, only when working. It took a while to get used to the weather and work.”
Sharing about the reason why it has been four years since celebrating Tet in a foreign country, Thao Ngan said that currently in Japan, people only celebrate the New Year, there is no Lunar New Year like in Vietnam, so on those days, workers Still have to go to work. Furthermore, plane tickets from Japan to Vietnam during Tet are much more expensive than normal days, so Ngan plans to return another time.
“Everyone misses home, but thinking about the children who are still in school and the family is busy and difficult, so I try to do as much as I can. Moreover, returning home now is very difficult to find a job with the current income” – Ngan shared.
Choose to stay in a foreign country for a bigger Tet
Not only Gia Lam or Thao Ngan, in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea, there are currently many international students or Vietnamese export workers choosing to celebrate Tet in foreign countries.
No family nearby, no cakes and jams my mother made, no peach branches or apricot branches my father displayed on Tet. However, with the spirit of solidarity and mutuality, many Vietnamese exporters in these countries always know how to cultivate and create Tet holidays full of togetherness.
For Gia Lam, Tet last year, after work at the company, Lam and some Vietnamese friends gathered together to make dishes such as braised pork, bitter melon soup, sauerkraut, and some types of jam. candy… then eat together and chat to welcome the new year.
With the experience of celebrating Tet in a foreign country, Lam said he has learned how to make more Vietnamese dishes, so this year Lam plans to continue inviting friends to come cook and celebrate New Year’s Eve like previous years. There is no family, but the atmosphere of reunion and gathering around the dinner table will make “exile” children like Lam feel less homesick.
As for Thao Ngan, Tet every year is like any other day, Ngan has to get up very early to go to work and come home late in the afternoon. This year, Ngan plans to take a day off early before Tet to go to supermarkets to buy clothes and supplements to send back to Vietnam for her parents and children.
During Tet, after work, Ngan and her Vietnamese friends plan to go to the supermarket to buy ingredients to wrap banh chung and banh tet, then light a fire and sit together to welcome the new year.
Reluctant children like Gia Lam and Thao Ngan choose to celebrate Tet away from home for many years, always dreaming of eating the dishes their mother cooks, and cleaning and decorating the house with their father for Tet. Above all, being able to gather with family around the dining table and fire to celebrate New Year’s Eve, telling each other happy and sad stories of the old year.
Never before have children like Gia Lam and Thao Ngan stopped thinking about family. In their mind, they just need to try a little harder, and the next Tet will be a full and warm one for the family. than.
(PLO)- Is it okay to not go home to celebrate Tet? The most common answer I receive is this: “Crazy! Why don’t you go home… what if we never have the chance to meet again…
HONG THAM
