Since coming home two weeks ago, I had ample opportunities to use Vietnamese to communicate with my family and friends. I had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with my parents and sister and we talked a lot about the food we made, about school and work in Vietnamese. Afterward, we conversed remotely with my extended family, and, as expected, I was bombarded with a bunch of questions from my relatives. We talked a lot about how school is going and how my education was affected by COVID-19 as well as graduation plans. I do not remember the last time I spoke using just Vietnamese for such a long period of time in one day. It was unexpectedly exhausting. When I restarted my meeting with my language partner afterward, we discussed what we did over break in Vietnamese and we went over words that I didn’t understand.
- Phân tâm [fəŋ˧˧ təm˧˧] -- distraction or distract
- Thảo luận [tʰaːw˨˩˦ lwəŋ˨˩˨] -- discussion or discuss
- Tham khảo [tʰaːm˧˧ kʰaːw˨˩] -- consult, refer, or reference
- Bạc phận [ɓaːk˨˩˨ fəŋ˨˩˨] -- misfortune
In order to keep up with these words and future new words, my partner and I created an Anki deck that I can access for learning or to expand at any time.
Additionally, we also talked about my future plans. Since next semester is my final semester, we talked a lot about what I want to do after graduation. The first thing I want to do is find a job, but I am also considering graduate school. However, if I do decide to go to graduate school, I want to take a gap year and do some travelling to gain some experience, so we ended up talking about that extensively.
For my first destination, I want to visit my mom’s hometown -- quê hương [we˧˧ hɨəŋ˧˧], a village -- quê [we˧˧], near the city of Phan Thiết [fan.tʰíət]. Phan Thiết is a coastal city in southern Vietnam known for its fishing industry and seafood manufacturing, especially the production of fish sauce -- nước mắm [nɨək˧˥ mam˧˥]. Vietnamese nước mắm are usually made from a combination of fermented fishes such as anchovies, mackerel, scabbard fish and salt, and it usually has a pungent smell. My partner and I talked about how my family used to be one of the many residents in the region that produced nước mắm. My grandfather was a fisherman and my grandmother would used to use his catches to make nước mắm for personal use as well as to sell. However, when big manufacturers began moving into the area, most families were forced out of the business and my family was no exception.
We got really interested in how nước mắm is made so my partner and I watched a how it’s made video. Apparently, each region in Vietnam has its own nước mắm recipe and flavor, and Phan Thiết’s nước mắm is unique in that it has a slightly sweet aftertaste. After the video, we talked about the various ways nước mắm is a staple ingredient in Vietnamese cuisine. I thoroughly enjoyed this discussion, and I think that talking about topics I'm interested in is a great way to learn a language.
Comments
Han, I'm happy you've been having meaningful conversations with you language partner since being home for Thanksgiving break. I'm excited for you as you think through post-graduation plans and consider making a trip to your mom's hometown in Vietnam. It's cool that you are able to use the language now to build meaningful relationships and discuss your heritage and I hope you will have the opportunity to immerse in the culture you have been studying through the SDLC:)