Women of Vietnam

I tried to make something cool, but not coming out with a lot of ideas, and here what I got. This is my first sketch on paper... ^^~ Tried to put things to computer, using Wacom.. :||| A little bit different from the first draft... ^^~ but, at least, it was ready to print... :D now, doing vinyl printing. It was really quick, just a couple of minutes. :)) Here is the product of vinyl printing. It is ready to peel.  Here is a blank white T-shirt. Put some colors on it... Already peeled the vinyl and ready to do the press heating... :D Another use of iron, press heating =))) And this is the final product after 10 minutes ironing. It was so fascinating to have something done by myself. A closer look. It is OK, not too bad. Cheer!!!

I feel it is weird when I start writing something that sounds like an introduction for this blog "Women of Vietnam" at almost the end of it. Let me start with the blog's name - Women of Vietnam. Initially, the name I chose was Women in Vietnam. It was OK but did not sound totally satisfying. The reason why I picked "of" instead of "in" originated from the fact that I am now living in a minor immigrant group. Most of them have been outside of Vietnam for years and years and some do not speak Vietnamese fluently. Yet, they and I are all Vietnamese. We promote our cultural literacy by practicing Vietnamese traditions and passing them from generation to generation. As long as we have the Vietnamese soul, we are Vietnamese, no matter where we live. Yes, as is the name, my blog is about Vietnamese women. It was hard for me to narrow down the topic for this blog. I do not think I am supposed to do so, but I want my blog to be concentrating (I could...

As I mentioned in the previous about the Trung Sisters, i n the memory and to express the appreciation of the Trung Sisters' devotion to our country, every year, the Trung Sisters Festival is organized in the 6th of the first lunar month at their hometown - Me Linh, Hanoi. Some highlights about the festival are presented by  Vietnam Visa Easy  as below: The festival starts with kingdom palanquin procession, war elephants, and gifts from Ha Loi communal house to the Trung Sisters’ Temple. The procession took place in the jubilant, boisterous atmosphere, colorful flags, the drums, cymbals, and melodious octets. Thousands of people attending the kingdom palanquin procession at The Trung Sister Festival The prestigious and righteous elders of the village were selected to play drum, gong on the festival. Two suites of palanquin were carried by beautiful healthy girls of the village. At two sides of the road, the local people set up altars in front of the door to welcom...

Learning a language at school is not fun as it is supposed to be. Outside of school must be more fascinating. I find this Youtube channel fun and helpful for those who want to try some Vietnamese. Let's start with the most simple one. Counting from 1 to 10 is just a piece of cake after the below video: Now, try something harder!!! This is how to say animals in Vietnamese : and it's getting tougher when you get to fruits in Vietnamese : and now, the most challenging part, not only about language things but also about social relations: Vietnamese titles . You'll see!!! 😈😈😈 I do not expect you guys to master Vietnamese after watching these clips. They are so funny that I cannot be waiting for sharing them to you!  Enjoy!!! 

I remember when I was still in elementary school, we did not have a lot of access to technology, so as video games or social networks like kids these days. Vietnamese traditional games were still popular back then, and they were our only choices for entertaining during the breaks. I hardly played the following game –  Chơi Chuyền , because it was supposed for girls (please do not say I sexually discriminated, it was like it used to be though). Chơi Chuyền is now a popular activity at some festivals, but not in daily lives. Source: internet   Chơi Chuyền  includes ten thin, well sharpened, round bamboo sticks and a ball, which traditionally is a fig, a miniature variety of eggplant, a small rock or a clod of clay. Nowadays, tennis balls are used instead. The player tosses the ball into the air. While the ball is in the air, she must quickly pick up the sticks and then catch the ball. Players often sing along a nonsense rhyme: "Cai m...

As I mentioned in the other post, bánh trôi nước is a Vietnamese traditional dish. Even though there are some arguments that bánh trôi nước is not totally Vietnam due to its Chinese origin,  it is a big part of our culture anyway. Bánh trôi nước varies in its taste and recipe but in general, it is cooked from rice, ginger, mung bean, and some additional ingredient.  I myself don't know how to make bánh trôi nước (I definitely will try someday). The below video introduces a recipe for bánh trôi nước which is the closest to what my mom cooks for me (I will tape a video her making it when I am back to Vietnam). :D

Áo dài  is the Vietnamese traditional costume. While "áo dài" is made for both men and women, it is usually attached to a Vietnamese woman. Though áo dài  is not worn on daily life as regularly as it used to be, it still plays an important role in Vietnamese culture. It is a must-have item on special occasions.  Áo dài  is the soul of Vietnam, and whenever you see a lady wearing áo dài , you see a Vietnam. Below are some pictures from my album. Some of them were collected from the facebooks of my friends and relatives. Áo dài  is the uniform for school girls in most of the public high school in Vietnam. This picture was taken in 2008 before our graduation day. My sister and her friend wearing a modernized áo dài   for their performance in a school festival in Vietnam My aunt and cousins wearing áo dài  in the Lunar New Year in February in Houston, TX A friend of mine wore a beautiful red áo dài  for her wedding d...

Bánh Trôi Nước (cake that floats in water) is a little sugary ball of sticky rice with either red-bean-paste or coconut-paste center. As a metaphor, bánh trôi nước is used to speak about a woman's fate in Vietnam during the old days. The poem was written by Ho Xuan Huong, who is known as "The Goddess of Vietnamese Nom Poem". An illustrated portrait of poet Ho Xuan Huong (source: Internet) Poem "Banh Troi Nuoc" in Vietnamese (on the left) and English (on the right). Illustrated by Quang Phan (the background is from the internet). P.s: A recipe for bánh trôi nước can be found here in case you are interested! :D

M any women have been instrumental in resisting foreign domination throughout Vietnamese history. Hai Bà Trưng (the Trung sisters) are among the most renown. They are considered as the two first national wartime heroines. They are forever etched in the hearts of the Vietnamese for having led a rebellion against the early Chinese domination of the country. Their story below is introduced by The Cultural trip. The original version can be found by this link . Hai Bà Trưng in the battle with the Han Empire The peaceful Trieu Dynasty of Nam-Viet was defeated by the Chinese in 111 B.C., and the Han Empire sought to annex all of Nam-Viet as part of its territory. They divided the country into smaller districts and assigned a puppet Vietnamese leader for each, all of whom were to answer directly to the Chinese governor, To Dinh. The two Trung sisters, Trung Trac, and Trung Nhi, were born to a general of one of the districts, Giao Chi, in rural Northern Vietnam, and despite Chinese ...