The only Vietnamese girl at Funabashi City Hall spreads national culture

Nguyen Thi Tra has had a special affinity for Japanese language and culture since she was a student in Nghe An . During her high school years, the girl born in 1998 had a special love for Japanese animated films. This was also the first source that ignited Tra's love for Japan and nurtured her dream of setting foot in the land of the rising sun.

When she became a student at the Foreign Trade University, Tra was determined to learn Japanese and had two opportunities to go to Japan. The first time was in 2018, when Tra won the special prize (champion) of the NASIC CUP Japanese speech contest, so she had the opportunity to go to Japan to participate in exchanges and sightseeing. The second time, the Vietnamese girl went to Japan as an international exchange student at Hitotsubashi University.

Tra said that every time she comes to Japan, she has memorable memories and receives a lot of help from people around her.

On her first visit to the land of cherry blossoms, Tra took the wrong train and arrived at an unfamiliar station at midnight with no SIM card and no internet connection. This was also the last train of the day. At that time, the young girl was lucky to meet a kind Japanese woman who helped her wholeheartedly and took her safely back to the hotel.

"Receiving enthusiastic help from a stranger was the first time I felt the warmth of the Japanese people," Tra recalled.

Nguyen Thi Tra is the first International Relations Coordinator of Funabashi City, Japan (Photo: NVCC).

During her study abroad, Tra also received a lot of help from strangers in Japan. The beautiful memories of the country and people of Japan further motivated Tra to dream of returning to this place to experience more.

The opportunity came to the young woman when the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam posted a recruitment notice for an International Relations Coordinator, a position under the JET program. This program is implemented under the cooperation of many Japanese government agencies including the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and the Council of Local Governments on International Relations (CLAIR) of Japan.

With her own efforts, Tra applied and was then appointed to Funabashi City Hall and became the first International Relations Coordinator of Funabashi City. In August 2022, Tra started this job and was the only Vietnamese person at Funabashi City Hall.

Funabashi is a city with a large foreign population (accounting for about 3% of the city's population), of which the number of Vietnamese people is the second largest (after China), and the highest growth rate in the past 5 years. Therefore, the city decided to appoint an International Coordinator to support foreigners, including Vietnamese people, while promoting international exchanges with city residents and promoting understanding of multicultural coexistence.

Vietnam - Japan Friendship Bridge

Nguyen Thi Tra takes a photo with Mayor Funabashi Toru Matsudo (Photo: NVCC).

For Tra, the job of International Relations Coordinator has a special meaning, being a bridge to help connect the two countries of Vietnam and Japan.

"Doing this job makes me feel like I bring more value to the community and I am very proud of that. I can bring the image of Vietnam closer to the Japanese people, contributing to the Japanese people, especially in Funabashi city, understanding Vietnam better and loving Vietnam more," Tra shared.

Tra has participated in organizing activities to promote Vietnam - Japan cultural exchange in Funabashi, thereby introducing and spreading the image of Vietnam to the city's people.

Tra has come up with ideas, planned and organized Vietnamese - Japanese cultural exchange events such as organizing Vietnamese cooking classes, Vietnamese singing experience events, Vietnamese Tet introduction events, exhibition events about Vietnam, intimate Vietnamese - Japanese exchange events...

Tra also participates in supporting cultural exchange activities and events of Funabashi city, promoting understanding of multicultural coexistence in the city such as representing Vietnam to perform at the Funabashi International Cultural Festival, participating in supporting disaster prevention lessons for foreigners, lectures promoting understanding of multicultural coexistence...

In addition, Tra also organizes lectures on Vietnamese culture for Japanese seniors at cultural centers in the city and universities.

Nguyen Thi Tra in a lecture on Vietnamese culture in Japan (Photo: NVCC).

As the only Vietnamese person in Funabashi City Hall and in charge of many areas of work, Tra also had to face many challenges to successfully fulfill her duties as an International Relations Coordinator.

When organizing events related to Vietnam, Tra will almost always have to plan and implement the plan by herself, so to organize an event, Tra will have to spend a lot of time preparing. There are many events that Tra wants to organize but resources do not allow.

However, Tra feels very lucky because in Funabashi city there are many enthusiastic Vietnamese people who are willing to support organizing events. Every time she organizes an event, the young girl receives a lot of support and help from the Vietnamese community in Funabashi.

"I am very happy to receive help from all the Vietnamese volunteers for the events I organized. I am very proud that the Vietnamese community here is very united and enthusiastic in promoting the image of Vietnam," Tra emphasized.

Vietnamese people perform Ao Dai to introduce Vietnamese culture at Funabashi International Cultural Festival (Photo: NVCC).

The most impressive thing for Tra was probably the Funabashi International Cultural Festival last October when she was able to call on about 70 volunteers to perform on stage together. Everyone performed a mother and child ao dai show, sang and danced to Vietnamese songs, bringing the Vietnamese atmosphere to the whole festival and leaving an impression in the eyes of international friends, especially the Japanese people.

On January 28, with the support of more than 30 volunteers, Tra successfully organized the "Happy Tet" event to introduce Vietnamese Tet to the people of Funabashi city.

The event was divided into two sessions: in the morning, there was an introduction to Vietnamese Tet, learning Tet songs, and performing arts; in the afternoon, there were 8 booths to experience including a food booth, a statue painting booth, a Tet decoration making booth, a folk game booth (dancing with bamboo poles, playing checkers), a wishing booth (teaching Vietnamese prayers), a souvenir photo booth, a Vietnamese souvenir booth, and a mini Vietnam exhibition booth. All were organized and prepared by Tra and Vietnamese volunteers.

Tra and volunteers guide Japanese children to dance bamboo poles in the "Happy Tet" event to introduce Vietnamese Tet to the people of Funabashi city (Photo: NVCC).

The event attracted many Japanese people to join the experience from early morning. Many Japanese audiences went on stage to experience the bamboo dance, especially the children. Vietnamese volunteers in traditional Vietnamese costumes took turns holding hands with each child to dance the bamboo dance, creating a bustling, friendly, and intimate atmosphere, imbued with the spirit of Vietnam - Japan exchange. After the event ended, many Japanese people were still humming the Vietnamese Tet song they had just learned.

Tra recalled that after the event, an elderly Japanese man came to Tra's office to say hello and boast that he had sung a song about Vietnamese Tet. This really touched the young girl.

Spread Vietnamese culture

One of the activities that Tra actively implemented in Funabashi city is organizing lectures on Vietnamese culture for the elderly Japanese people.

Each lecture will last about 2 hours, mainly introducing Vietnam (geographical location, capital, currency, national flag, ethnic groups, etc.), teaching about the differences in the cultural life of the two countries (such as the habit of taking a nap, traffic culture, etc.), introducing the landscape and people of Vietnam (famous landscapes, relics related to Japan in Vietnam, etc.), some traditional cultures and beliefs in Vietnam (such as worship culture, etc.).

Nguyen Thi Tra teaches Vietnamese singing to elderly Japanese people (Source: NVCC).

Tra said that after each presentation, she received a lot of positive feedback from elderly Japanese people.

"Some elders said that they had participated in a protest against the Vietnam War in Hibiya Park. Many elderly Japanese people still think that Vietnam is still at war. Some people think that Vietnam is still poor due to the consequences of war... But after attending the speech and watching videos about the country and people of Vietnam, the elders were amazed at the rapid development of Vietnam. Many people after listening to the speech understood more about Vietnam and loved Vietnam more," Tra said.

Tra also holds cooking classes, introducing and instructing Japanese people to make traditional Vietnamese dishes such as pho and fried spring rolls. Cooking classes are held for adults and cooking classes for mothers and children. For the Vietnamese singing class, Tra teaches Japanese people to sing a chorus that is repeated in the song, then sing the whole song, and when the chorus comes, the whole hall will sing together.

"Everyone studied very enthusiastically and was ready to sing Vietnamese melodies, which made me feel very proud," Tra added.

A class teaching Japanese people how to cook Vietnamese dishes organized by Tra (Photo: NVCC).

Tra said that fortunately, more than half of the people attending the event love Vietnam, while the other half start to have interest or curiosity about Vietnam. Therefore, Tra always receives positive encouragement from the Japanese people.

With her contributions and tireless efforts in spreading Vietnamese culture in Japan and promoting Vietnam - Japan friendship, Tra has been honored by the Japanese government as one of the typical young faces, the representative generation leading the future of Vietnam - Japan.

Tra is also one of 15 delegates, representing generations of Vietnamese people, attending an intimate meeting with President Vo Van Thuong when the Vietnamese leader visits Japan in November 2023 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations.

Sharing about her future plans, Tra said she will continue to promote Vietnam-Japan exchange activities as much as possible. This year, Tra plans to give speeches and teach about Vietnamese culture at elementary and middle schools in Funabashi city so that the younger generation in Japan will also understand more about Vietnam and love Vietnam more.

Tra also hopes to have more sister cities between Vietnam and Japan.

Nguyen Thi Tra (wearing glasses, third row from the bottom) is one of 15 delegates representing generations of Vietnamese people attending an intimate meeting with President Vo Van Thuong when the Vietnamese leader visits Japan in November 2023 (Photo: NVCC).

"Currently, Vietnam and Japan also have sister city pairs such as Hanoi - Fukuoka, Ho Chi Minh City - Osaka, Saijo - Hue... but not as many as the sister cities between Japan and Europe. As one of the friendship bridges between Vietnam and Japan, I hope that in the future, the two countries will have more and more sister cities, as well as more and more joint projects, cooperation and development together. I will continue to stick with my bridging work to contribute a small part to that great expectation," Tra said.

Editorial: Over the years, the Vietnamese community abroad has continued to grow in both quantity and quality. They have not only deeply integrated into the host society but also increasingly turned to their homeland, becoming an inseparable part and an important resource of the Vietnamese ethnic community, actively participating in the process of building and developing the country.

The Vietnamese community abroad has made an important contribution in introducing beautiful images of Vietnam to friends around the world, and is an important bridge for Vietnam's relations with other countries. And although living in all five continents, they still preserve the "Vietnamese soul", Vietnamese language, and Vietnamese culture through many different ways.

Dan Tri Newspaper respectfully presents to readers a series of articles "Homeland in the Heart" , introducing Vietnamese people and people of Vietnamese origin living abroad who always look back to their roots and wish to do something to contribute to their beloved homeland.

Part 4: People tirelessly promote the beauty of Vietnam to international friends

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