Who’s responsible for my friend’s failed marriage

Mai has been my best friend since junior high school. Mai was a popular girl and was well respected by both teachers and students for her leadership in the school's activities. At grade 7, her parents got divorced. It was her mother’s third divorce by the time and she decided to stay single after the …

My life in landmark events

1989: I was born in a small village in Vietnam. My mum was a teacher in the local secondary school. My dad worked in a national park 20km away from home so he had to live there and only came home at the weekend by bicycle. My sister was 3 years older than me but …

My mum’s runaway from an arranged marriage

In the 1960s, the common time for a woman to get married in the countryside of Vietnam was after she finished high school, often before the age of 19. My mum was the only child in her family, and one of the few ones in the village, to attend college. Although the school fee was …

My two luckiest friends

I have two friends that are said by many people to be the luckiest humans in the world. They are both from very wealthy and happy families. They are smart, beautiful, and lovable. One girl went to an international university in Vietnam and the other studied abroad, both fully funded by their parents.They are both …

A wife must get on her husband’s bike, no matter how drunk he is

Chi is my cousin's wife. She got married at the age of 21 three years ago and now has 2 kids. As her husband is the only son of my aunt and uncle, she moved in with the in-law family to help look after his parents. My mom and I visited the family in the …

How did the 6-year-old me feel about having photos taken by strangers

I grew up in a countryside in Vietnam in the early 1990s. Most of my childhood were spent at my grandparents’ when my parents went to work. Shortly after the country opened the economy in 1986 my grandparents were among the very first people to start a family business by building a brick kiln right …

A teacher who never liked the National teacher’s day

At my junior high school we had a maths teacher who was over 50s but still had to support a 30-year-old son with Down syndrome and a daughter at 20s who suffered from cancer. Teaching was never a well-paid occupation in this small town and given the situation, he obviously didnt have an easy life. …