Italian guy speaks fluent Vietnamese, tells stories about Vietnamese culture through... signs

Andrea Gallo conducted the interview while he was working in Uzbekistan. Throughout the conversation, he repeatedly mentioned Hanoi and promised: "I will return to this place, as soon as possible."

Because wherever he goes, the gentle memories of the capital's people, the ripe rice fields, the riverbanks or the bitter sweetness of a cup of old-town coffee... always follow him.

In the fall of 2012, Andrea Gallo first came to Hanoi with a scholarship from L'Orientale University.

In the first few weeks, the scorching heat of Hanoi made Andrea sweat, and his skin fungus became more serious. The red spots on his skin had appeared since he was in Italy. He went to the Dermatology Institute in Rome, paying 70 euros (about 1.8 million VND) for a 5-minute consultation with a doctor. In the end, they concluded that he could not cure the disease completely.

However, in Vietnam, a kind doctor gave Andrea a treatment that included two pills and a tube of skin cream. "The fungus was gone in two weeks, which was amazing. I appreciate the help."

Andrea said he grew up in an individualistic culture, which was completely different from what he felt in Vietnam.

"You will never feel lonely in Hanoi. When wandering on the sidewalk, you will always meet people who are willing to sit down and drink tea and chat with you. Back home, everyone sits together at the table, eating the same plate of food and chatting and laughing. They also cherish the reunion and family reunion during Tet. I love that picture of community culture," he shared.

According to Andrea, Hanoi has many similarities with Naples, his hometown. It is the third largest city in Italy, where old people play sports in the early morning and then cycle to school with their children. Students sit on the steps chatting and playing during break time.

Andrea shared: "When I first arrived in Vietnam, I felt so happy that I immediately signed up for a Karate course to join their activities. Even though I had never played any sport before."

Unlike most Italian students, he enjoys the traffic in Hanoi. Even though he sometimes has to spend hours stuck in rush hour traffic. In Italy, Andrea rides a Vespa, a popular scooter, but in Vietnam, he learned to ride a Honda Dream, a manual motorbike with pedals.

"Napoli is similar to Hanoi in terms of the streets packed with people and vehicles. However, I have learned two basic things. First, you must always stay calm. Second, try to keep your eyes on the road," Andrea shared.

During 6 years in Vietnam, Andrea has changed a lot, both in appearance and soul. He always gets responses when chatting randomly with someone on the street, he smiles more and feels happier. And, the delicious dishes from North to South have made him… gain a few kilos, changing the goatee that is often seen on Italian guys.

Andrea decided to stay in Vietnam, becoming a lecturer in the Italian department at the Hanoi University of Foreign Languages. He started organizing some conversation classes with the club. At the same time, Andrea also enrolled himself in a Vietnamese language course.

"Storms are not as bad as Vietnamese grammar," Andrea laughed, talking about his feelings about learning Vietnamese. At the beginning of his journey, his friends curiously asked: "Why learn Vietnamese, what do you need it for?".

The boy simply replied: "I study because I like it."

Compared to European languages, Vietnamese does not have verb conjugation, "masculine-feminine" or plural nouns... However, tones are a real challenge for Westerners.

The young man started listening to Den Vau, Le Quyen's music... He learned how to translate signs all over Hanoi, chatted with coffee sellers, played Chinese chess, and played three-card poker with his neighbor. They helped him pronounce more accurately, encouraged him, and praised him.

“For me, this kind of help is invaluable. And I assure you, it’s not like that everywhere,” he said. Above all, he wanted to truly understand Vietnam. As a language teacher, Andrea believes that language and culture go hand in hand.

"Imagine, if you don't understand Vietnamese culture, you will translate the language like a machine. Or in other words, you will read Vietnamese like Google Translate. For me, Vietnamese is beautiful when it is related to people, has sweetness, has rhythm, has expression, has body movements," Andrea affirmed.

The Italian also believes that if you learn a language out of obligation, you may pass the exam but quickly forget it afterwards. If you learn it for the love of it, you will remember it for the longest time possible.

After 6 years of studying Vietnamese, he can speak it fluently. He can introduce himself, stop his car by a ripe rice field, ask a farmer, or chat with friends in the old town.

Andrea said that since childhood he has been sensitive and curious about foreign writing and culture. When he came to Vietnam, he paid special attention to the worn-out sign, which the owner had carefully written "car repair, photocopying, parking, room for rent, selling tofu, haircut"...

Sometimes, he "bursts" with joy when discovering an old wall with slogans written on it such as "National unity", "Building new rural areas", "Implementing well to ensure urban traffic safety"... Most of the photos were taken by Andrea during his backpacking trips to Sapa ( Lao Cai ), Ha Long (Quang Ninh), Tam Dao (Vinh Phuc), Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Phu Tho, Nam Dinh, Dong Hoi (Quang Binh)...

Among them, he loved the photo of the wall with the words "Mr. Chung cuts hair" the most. The soft handwriting, painted in red and blue, and painted with two bright flowers really impressed Andrea.

He said: "It was a gentle sunny afternoon, I was driving a motorbike around Nam Dinh. The wall was under the shade of an old tree, the leaves cast shadows on the wall, in the distance I could still hear the sound of Cheo singing.

I found that wall in a warm, peaceful space in the Vietnamese style. I did not meet the owner because they had closed the shop. However, I am sure he must be a talented "artist" to be able to create such a vivid sign.

Another time, while cycling in the suburbs of Hanoi, he saw a sign that said: "Wall Painting" so he stopped to ask. People pointed him to a calligraphy artist's studio. After sitting down to chat, he realized that this person was the author of many of the wall art signs he had photographed over the years.

"He had a wonderful life. He started his career as a calligrapher in films. This job requires dexterity, meticulousness, and expressing the "soul" of Vietnamese culture.

For decades, he has been diligently working on his work, displaying it on walls and billboards. In an era of fierce competition with industrial fine arts, they still do their work with passion and are determined not to let it fade away," Andrea said.

The Italian guy posted a collection of photos of signs on his Instagram page called eyesonvietnamproject (Vietnam project-PV) as a way to express his love. Each photo he posted received many likes, and many foreign friends even expressed that "they fell in love with Vietnam thanks to Andrea's vivid photos".

"At first, I did it for fun, without any purpose, no project behind it, and I didn't ask myself why I took so many photos. However, after a while of "nurturing" this Instagram page, I knew that I wanted to tell the story of Vietnam," Andrea said.

Currently, Andrea's "little corner" has a total of 121 photos, captions of where the photos were taken, and content in Vietnamese, English, and Italian. The photos have received attention from international friends. They see them as "works of art" on the street.

Many foreigners "surfing" Instagram are also curious about his photos. They commented: "so interesting", "soft, lively handwriting", "wonderful"... Some people messaged Andrea to ask about the location of the blue and red signs, with neat handwriting. Most of them are language students, Vietnamese art lovers.

Occasionally, he still receives photo contributions from foreigners living in Vietnam who share the same passion. "Sending you this photo, it makes me feel how beautiful Vietnam is," an American sent Andrea, via Instagram.

Previously, about 20 of Andrea's photos were also sent to a photo exhibition at the Italian Embassy in Hanoi.

Even though he has changed jobs, the Italian guy still keeps posting these photos. Andrea said that makes him feel like he is still in Vietnam to continue traveling and researching.

Every time Andrea Gallo sees this photo, he is reminded of his fond memories of Vietnam, of cycling long distances through the countryside or of immersing himself in the silence of a temple nestled on a mountainside.

"Vietnam, wait for me, I will be back," Andrea said, before ending the interview.

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.

Article: Ngoc Ngan

Design: Tuan Huy

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