With their love for Vietnamese culture, young Lao people like Maysaa Bouavone and Phoumphitath Oupaseuth are spreading the good values of the two countries' cultures. Through each simple video, they not only inspire but also strengthen the friendship between Vietnam and Laos.
Sharing culture through real-life experiences
Maysaa Bouavone Phanthaboouasy (born 2001, Laos) is currently a final year student of the Faculty of Economics, Quang Ninh University of Industry. Maysaa owns a TikTok channel with more than 1 million followers thanks to useful videos introducing traditional Vietnamese and Lao culture.
Sharing with us about the process of coming to Vietnam, Maysaa said: After graduating from high school in Laos, Maysa looked for opportunities to study abroad. She prepared her own application, registered for admission to many famous universities in the US, Singapore, Hungary... and was lucky to win a 30-40% scholarship.
With many new opportunities, Maysaa still has special feelings for Vietnam. “I have heard about Vietnam since I was a child through my grandparents’ stories. Vietnam to me is a beautiful, friendly country with a special friendship and connection with the Lao people. That always urges me to come to Vietnam,” Maysaa said.
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| Maysaa Bouavone Phanthaboouasy becomes a content creator sharing interesting and unique things that only exist in Vietnam with Lao youth. (Photo: Maysaa) |
Therefore, when she won second prize in the provincial ASEAN Quiz and received a full scholarship to Vietnam, Maysaa immediately agreed. After 3 years of studying, Maysaa decided to develop herself to become a content creator on social networks. Her main purpose is to share interesting and unique things that only exist in Vietnam with Lao youth, especially those who intend to study and work abroad.
Maysaa said: “I see that many young people in Laos have not had the opportunity to understand the life and people of Vietnam. As an international student, I want to use my own real-life experiences to help them have a more comprehensive view of the traditional culture here. Through my videos, I hope that young people in Vietnam and Laos will recognize the similarities and differences in cultural identity between the two countries, discover new things and become more emotionally connected.”
Maysaa’s videos quickly received support from the online communities of both countries. Thanks to that, the Lao girl became known and loved by many people. Maysaa said: “Once when I was filming, some people recognized me and said they really liked the content of the channel. Thanks to me, they learned many interesting things about Laos, through which they loved Laos more.”
Besides joy and excitement, she also felt a bit worried and pressured. Maysaa realized that she was not really fluent in Vietnamese, so sometimes the way she communicated the problem was not appropriate, and the words she used were still incorrect. However, that was the motivation for her to try to improve herself every day, creating a valuable Tiktok channel that attracts viewers. She reminded herself to constantly research, learn, and spend more time learning about Vietnam through social networking platforms, films about Vietnamese history, and real-life experiences...
After completing her studies, Maysaa plans to stay in Vietnam to continue her master's degree and experience many other provinces and cities in the S-shaped land. She hopes to create more content related to history, tourism, culture and people of Vietnam.
Laotian son-in-law and the desire to unite two homelands
As for Phoumphithath Oupaseuth (29 years old, from Bokeo province, Laos), making videos promoting Lao life and people to Vietnamese people and vice versa on the Youtube channel "Xom Lao TV" is a way for him to express his love for his wife's homeland. The Lao son-in-law has the Vietnamese name Hoang Duy Phuc, currently a Lao language lecturer at the University of Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. His wife is Nguyen Phuong Hoa (28 years old, from Da Lat city, Lam Dong).
Mr. Phuc said: “Since I was a child, I have loved reading stories about the country and its people as well as the deep affection that the two nations have for each other. Vietnamese culinary culture is also very attractive, making me even more determined to pursue my dream of studying abroad to have the opportunity to experience and learn more deeply.”
Coming to Vietnam in 2013 as an international student, he initially studied business administration at Hanoi University of Industry. However, after a year, he realized that this field was not suitable for him, so he decided to change his direction to study at the Diplomatic Academy. In 2019, after graduating from university, Mr. Phuc decided to stay in Vietnam to live and work. This decision was fully supported by his family in Laos.
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| Mr. Phuc's youtube channel "Xom Lao TV" received positive feedback from Vietnamese audiences. (Photo: Mai Anh) |
Stemming from the desire to become a bridge connecting two cultures, he cherished building a separate channel for Vietnamese and Lao people to understand each other better, creating empathy between the two countries. From this idea, the channel "Xom Lao TV" was born. This is where he shares many videos promoting the life and people of Laos to the Vietnamese people and vice versa. He also hopes to use his own teaching experience to guide Vietnamese people who want to learn and study Lao, and at the same time share images of his homeland Laos closer to the Vietnamese people.
The videos “What do Lao students say about the learning environment in Vietnam?”; “Do Laos and Vietnam have many similar ethnic groups?”; “Strange things in Vietnam that make Lao people difficult to understand”… were hosted and shared by Mr. Phuc himself, attracting hundreds of thousands of views from the online community. The videos also received positive feedback from Vietnamese audiences. Mr. Phuc said that, to him, it was a precious and cherished gift.
Sharing his future plans, Mr. Phuc said he will continue to develop the channel, promoting more images of the customs and practices of the people of the two countries. In addition, he plans to create more channels on "Lao Neighborhood Language" and "Lao Cuisine", bringing the image of his homeland closer to the Vietnamese people.
The story of Maysaa and Phuc is a typical example of the efforts of many young people in spreading Vietnamese and Lao culture. In addition to them, many other young people are also quietly carrying out the mission of connecting the two cultures through creative content activities, organizing events or community projects. They are unofficial cultural ambassadors, contributing to promoting the beautiful image of the country, people and cultural values of both countries, opening up opportunities for the Vietnamese and Lao peoples to understand each other better and together build a united future.
Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/nhung-ban-tre-lao-truyen-cam-hung-ve-van-hoa-viet-208120.html
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