Vinh city – Hometown and a family event

It has been 3 months since the last time I visited my hometown for summer break. It was a blast when I hanged out with my old friends to enjoy fresh and cheap seafoods and couple of beers along the beach. Now the winter is comming, I got 4 day-off including weekend to take some rest and take part in a small family-event which I want to share on my blog.

My hometown is Vinh, the city of Nghe An province. It is located in the North Central of Vietnam, beside the River Lam. I was born and raised there before I moved to Hanoi capital for the university entrance 8 years ago. Nghe An is well known for the birthplace of President Ho Chi Minh who is the founder of Viet Nam. I think what make my hometown special is our distinctive accents and dialects. (E.g. “mi đưng mần chi đó?” = “mày đang làm gì đấy?” = “What are you doing?”. Sometimes I find it kind of funny.

Me and our dog Red in his “house”

I arrived home one day before the 1^st anniversary of my uncle’s death following lunar year which is a tradition of Vietnamese. My uncle, who is the third older brother of my mother, was a brave soldier in the national liberation and reunification. Returning from the war with a bullet stayed in his body and only 1/4 of his lung left, he kept fighting in daily life and luckily got 3 children, 6 grandsons before his old wound took his life one year ago. On this occasion, the government officially recognizes him as a war hero by giving his wife a martyr certification. It was my pleasure to present at this sacred moment, together with my mother, all 7 uncles and aunts, and relatives. It is such an honor, right?

The moment when people give a minute of silence in my uncle’s anniversary

I learnt how to organize the table (lack of a shrimp disk)

To say about Vinh city, the big advantage of living in Vinh is low cost of living, in compared with other big cities like Hanoi or Danang. I know many places of interest in Vinh where you certainly like when you come there. For example, the heart of the city is Ho Chi Minh square. There are a lot of spaces for walking, running, and holding special events such as fireworks welcoming lunar New Year. With the development of Vietnam economy, recent 10 years witnessed a rapid improvement in the city’s infrastructure. The appearance of publish transportantions like bus helps citizen to easily goes back and forth between city and villages. Moreover, private cars are affordable to many families. As a result, the traffic jams during rush hours have sparked out as a big challenge for city’s authorities.

Short flying cam video about Vinh city by an American

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeHziSBCxgY)

However, one of the main downsides of Vinh is it’s slowly development in every aspects including economy and technology. If you like to live in the vibrant city, Vinh is not your smart choice. The pace of life here is quite peaceful, and totally different with the hustle and bustle of big cities. I must admit that it is one of the reasons why I chose to stay at Hanoi after graduation instead of returning back to Vinh.

I have been to many cities in Vietnam and Korea, but I still regrard Vinh is one of my favorites. I am young and I am trying my best to follow my dreams, but some days in the future, I’ll contribute my ability to build my hometown a better place.  ^.^