Nghiem Thi Linh is currently a third-year student at the prestigious Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), China, on a full scholarship. Few people know that she started out as an intern in Japan, working abroad under a 3-year contract.
"My family is so poor, I want to go out and earn money"
In the countryside of Nam Sach, Hai Duong, Linh's family's economy was very difficult. Her parents were farmers, and their income was not much. After 16 years of efforts to treat infertility by the farming couple, Linh was born in the family's overwhelming happiness. After so many years of chasing a child, the family's economy was exhausted.
Nghiem Linh has two younger siblings. During the days Linh was studying in her hometown, her parents had to struggle to raise their children. After graduating from high school, the 18-year-old girl thought a lot.
She longed to continue her studies, but her family's finances did not allow it. "After a long time of thinking, I told my parents that after graduating I would go to work to earn money, because our family was so poor," Linh choked up.
Years ago, Linh was an intern in Japan (Photo: NVCC).
After consulting with an acquaintance, the family decided to send Linh to Japan to work as a trainee. Months before leaving, the little girl studied Japanese from morning to night, preparing the only thing she had to do to get to a country thousands of miles away.
In 2017, the first time she was away from home, the first time she sat on a plane to a foreign country, the emotions in the little girl were hard to describe. Life in the poor countryside was so peaceful, Linh could not imagine what the upcoming job would be like. In that chaos, the only motivation was her family to help her wake up.
She works for an auto parts manufacturer in Japan. Her job is to check the goods - the last step in the production process. In addition to working 8 hours a day, she also works overtime.
When she first arrived in Japan, Linh felt lost and extremely frustrated. "The cultural and language differences shocked me. I had never done such a boring job and had to stand for so long every day, while I am an active and adventurous person," Linh shared.
For a whole month, Linh could not sleep, even though she was exhausted after a long day of work. Her mind was filled with sadness, despair, and even thoughts of death.
"Every day I couldn't sleep, my parents in the countryside couldn't sleep either. At that time, my family was my support, my motivation to overcome. It was only later that I realized I was depressed," Linh said.
Linh spent her days working hard in the factory (Photo: NVCC).
Gradually, her Vietnamese friends here also helped her overcome the initial difficulties. After deducting all expenses and spending very frugally, Linh also saved 20 million VND/month to send back home.
After adapting to the new working environment , the female worker also found motivation from the process of learning and improving her Japanese. Before going as a trainee, the girl had a passion for this second language.
"There are days when I don't get back to the dormitory until 9pm. But at 10pm I sit down at my desk to study Japanese. I spend 2-3 hours a day to practice this language. When I feel lonely and discouraged, learning Japanese helps me feel more relaxed and balanced," Linh said.
Turning point of life
In the land of the rising sun, the model of cultural exchange center helps foreigners living in the town have the opportunity to learn more Japanese taught by native speakers. If before she only had a Japanese book, now she has an impressive learning luggage.
Diligently studying Japanese was Linh's biggest motivation at that time. After only 4 months, this girl passed the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) level N3. 1 year later, she passed the JLPT N2 exam.
Not stopping there, Linh continued to persevere in studying to achieve the JLPT N1 certificate - the most difficult level of the 5 levels of Japanese language proficiency.
Taking advantage of every opportunity, Nghiem Linh won a full scholarship to a university in China (Photo: NVCC).
"When I'm not with my family, learning Japanese is the motivation that helps me overcome everything. The more I study, the more passionate I become about this foreign language. Through that, I also get to meet more friends and teachers," Linh said.
Previously, Linh intended to return home to do business after 3 years of working in Japan with the money she had saved. After obtaining the highest certificates in Japanese, she changed direction and hunted for scholarships to have more opportunities to study. She was determined that "she could not be a worker for the rest of her life".
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, her work permit in Japan was extended by one more year. During this time, she met Mr. Chu Duong (China). This person suggested helping her learn another foreign language. Linh said: "After he offered to teach me for free, I thought this was a new opportunity so I was very happy."
Because she had the advantage of learning foreign languages, the girl learned Chinese very quickly. In 2021, when she returned to her country, Nghiem Linh spent all her time studying Chinese to prepare for her new journey.
"At first, I also thought about returning to Japan as an international student. However, I had been there for a long time, so I also wanted to find a new environment. Therefore, I decided to hunt for a scholarship at a university in China," Linh shared.
After studying for the HSK exam (a Chinese proficiency test for foreigners, organized annually by the Chinese Language Testing Center under the Chinese Ministry of Education), Linh gradually prepared her application for a scholarship to study abroad and resumed her education.
According to the young female employee, the highlight in her application for a scholarship to study in China that helped Linh compete with hundreds of candidates from many other countries was the JLPT N1 Japanese certificate and the HSK 6 Chinese certificate - the highest certificate in the HSK exam.
She actively participates in school activities (Photo: NVCC).
At first, the girl was hesitant because of her age and her main weakness was her low average high school GPA, just over 7.0 points. Meanwhile, other candidates had very high achievements at this level.
In addition, Nghiem Linh also painstakingly wrote a detailed study plan of nearly 3,000 Chinese characters. She emphasized her strengths, her desire to enroll in the school, and her study plan for 4 years if she received the scholarship.
According to this young person, the full scholarship is awarded depending on many factors, not just on the academic results in high school years. The tireless efforts over the past time have helped the Hai Duong girl win a full scholarship from the Chinese Government.
Her efforts and perseverance in learning foreign languages have helped Linh grasp new development opportunities after a long time working as a worker.
This year, she will continue her study plan and spend more time improving her English. Knowing more foreign languages will help her dreams fly further.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/lao-dong-viec-lam/giot-nuoc-mat-noi-xu-nguoi-va-suc-bat-dang-ne-cua-co-gai-ngheo-20250211153006284.htm
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