African guy and his 15-year journey of considering Vietnam as home

One summer day in 2008, from the window of a plane about to land, Uzor Nadis (a Nigerian) looked out at the blue lake, the alluvial land, the roofs of houses close together hidden behind the clouds. Nadis himself did not expect that 15 years later, he would have the name "Nam", loving and living on this S-shaped strip of land as his second homeland.

The house where Uzor Nadis lives is nestled in an alley in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City. People in this area are familiar with the image of the African man sitting on the sidewalk eating, speaking fluent Vietnamese and always waving to them when he passes by.

In the small room, he hung the Vietnamese flag and the certificates of merit he received during his stay here. "That's my little pride," Uzor Nadis boasted, in a southern accent.

Uzor Nadis grew up in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country. He was one of seven siblings, and his mother was the only woman. In 2007, his mother's sudden death left Uzor Nadis with great pain.

He had a mental breakdown and decided to quit his job as an actor and film producer to stabilize his mind. His boss quickly agreed, they wanted Uzor Nadis to find joy in life again.

The 20-year-old boy then wandered through many African countries, traveling to Dubai with his brother. When the trip was almost over, a friend suggested to Nadis: "How about going to Vietnam?". In Nadis's mind at that time, there was not much information about Vietnam, he only knew that the S-shaped land was a country that had just emerged from devastating wars.

Nadis thought for a long time and then agreed.

It was the summer of 2008. He took a taxi from Tan Son Nhat airport to his hotel and was stuck in a street full of motorbikes, honking their horns incessantly. Sitting in the car, Uzor Nadis called his friend: "Hey, I feel like I've been stuck in traffic for three days."

However, Vietnam completely conquered him in the following two weeks. Nha Trang with its white sand beaches, embraced by clear blue water, Hoi An with its ancient roofs, Hue with its heartbreaking beauty with green branches hanging down to the banks of the Perfume River.

In each province, he experienced the cuisine there, from pho, bun bo, com tam, bun cha to banh canh, banh mi... Nadis brought those experiences and beautiful memories back to Africa.

A year after returning to Nigeria, Nadis gradually regained his motivation to live. While working at the company, he received a call from a friend: "Hey, do you want to come to Vietnam to teach English?".

At this time, he was thinking of two things: staying with his familiar job or accepting to move to Vietnam to start a new life. In the end, he chose Vietnam.

Nadis' nickname is "Nam". Because his African name is too difficult to remember, the landlord where he lives calls him "Nam" for convenience. He accepts the name Nam as he accepts that he has fallen in love with and wants to be attached to Vietnam.

After a year living in Ho Chi Minh City, he decided to learn Vietnamese. His friends laughed and told Nadis: "Oh my gosh, don't waste your time because it's impossible. Vietnamese is very difficult." Indeed, the Nigerian guy is fluent in five languages, including English, French and three African languages. However, he still thinks Vietnamese is the most difficult language to learn.

He searched for centers that taught Vietnamese to foreigners. However, the tuition fee at that time of 500,000 VND/hour was too expensive for him. He decided to go to internet shops, rent a computer for 3,000 VND/hour, and listen to Vietnamese songs to memorize vocabulary. At first, Nadis struggled to remember all the sounds and punctuation marks.

He admitted that he learned Vietnamese from the streets, restaurants, and drinking parties with friends. He played soccer with Vietnamese people, ate balut, and experienced rice farming. Every time he said something wrong, they laughed and showed him the correct pronunciation. Gradually, the African guy spoke Vietnamese quite well, with a southern accent because he lived in Ho Chi Minh City.

One year, two years, then three years... passed. Up to now, Uzor Nadis has lived in this city for 15 years. He knows every street, alley, building, and characteristic of each district.

One day, a friend from Nigeria called to ask him to find some Vietnamese goods. From then on, Uzor Nadis realized that the demand for goods exported to African countries was huge.

"I quite like the slogan of high-quality Vietnamese goods. I thought about it and decided to find a source of supply in Vietnam to ship back to my home country," he said. For the past 10 years, Uzor Nadis's company has exported goods including food, garments, sanitary equipment, etc. Working with Vietnamese people, he realized that they are hard-working and diligent people.

And he himself feels that he loves Vietnam, from the way of life, the way of thinking to the people. During the years living on the S-shaped strip of land, he has had many times of laughter and tears.

In 2018, he sat in a coffee shop with friends to watch the fierce match of the Vietnamese team in the AFC U23 Championship in Changzhou, China. When the players scored, the surrounding space seemed to "explode" with cheers. At that moment, he suddenly burst into tears of joy. That was the moment he realized that Vietnam had become "home", an important part of him.

That evening, Nadis wore a red flag with a yellow star and joined the crowd on the streets to "go stormy".

"Tomorrow, let's go try beef noodle soup. I'll wait for you at 5pm" - Nadis replied to a message from a friend from the US on the evening of June 13. In just two days, this guest will return home and "beef noodle soup" is the advice Nadis gave him.

Nadis’ inbox is filled with dozens of messages from international friends asking him to take them on a Vietnamese culinary tour. They come to him because of the videos on his YouTube channel Afro Viet TV, which he founded four years ago.

He said that he always wanted to "tell the story of Vietnam to friends around the world". He traveled to the West to experience climbing coconut trees, to Tay Ninh to enjoy the specialty grilled beef, or to sneak into the market in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City to find a delicious pho lau cart... When his cousin from Nigeria came to visit, he showed her how to use chopsticks and eat bun mam.

The reaction of an African woman who first tasted a strong-smelling, flavorful Vietnamese dish has delighted many people. An account named Jazelle commented: "This looks so interesting! I will definitely come to Vietnam and try this dish."

Currently, Nadis' YouTube channel has 75,000 followers and 166 videos about Vietnam. Among them, the video of him trying balut has 1.3 million views. Most international tourists have expressed curiosity about this special dish.

Beautiful nature, rich cuisine, friendly people... In his eyes, Vietnam always has the potential to attract international visitors.

Uzor Nadis said he has many "mothers" in Vietnam, especially in the Western region. "I travel a lot. Every time I go to the countryside, they welcome me very warmly, invite me to eat, and let me stay overnight. "Mother" is how I affectionately call them," he shared.

Nadis often tells people that he grew up in Vietnam. He came here in his early 20s and became a grown man. For Nadis, the Vietnamese people taught him patience, forgiveness and a life full of love.

Like the time when his car broke down and he had to push it on the road, a man pulled over to help push it without paying. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he was also shared with bunches of vegetables, pieces of meat, trays of eggs...

"When talking about Vietnam, many people only know that this is a country that has emerged from war. I want them to come here, experience and see the difference. Vietnam is a beautiful country, the people are friendly and it is also developing and changing every day."

For Nadis, Vietnam is home.

Editorial: Regardless of skin color, language, nationality, many foreigners living and working in Vietnam over the years have attached themselves to and loved this land as their own homeland. With sincere hearts, they contribute and dedicate themselves to Vietnam in many fields, from economy, culture, cuisine, to tourism, education, environment. More than anyone else, they are foreign "ambassadors" who tell the most authentic stories about Vietnam to international friends. Dan Tri e-newspaper respectfully introduces to readers a series of articles Foreign "ambassadors" , introducing international friends who silently inspire beautiful living in the flow of modern life.

Content: Ngoc Ngan

Photo: Ngoc Ngan, Character provided

Design: Thuy Tien

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