Suspense until the last minute

With my fellow student Duc, who grew up in Germany, I visited one of the sights of Hanoi, the Temple of Literature, last Saturday. Even before reaching the temple complex, it was clear to me that this is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Vietnamese capital. Countless Tây, translated as "Westerners" in German, populated the entrance portal. The Confucian temple was built in 1070 and was home to the first academy in Vietnam. The temple complex consists of a total of five courtyards. In the courtyard of stelae, the names of particularly distinguished professors and graduates have been immortalized in the form of stone turtles. We also visited the beautiful buildings and took some photos.

On this Friday, the Vietnam National University, to which my faculty also belongs, organized a New Year's celebration for foreign students. However, at first glance, the setting was more reminiscent of a wedding celebration. Beautifully dressed reception ladies, white chair covers, and a red carpet leading to the stage completed the picture. I joined a table with a group of young people from Laos, who attracted attention with their traditional festival attire.

The evening event was characterized by a rich buffet and a variety of musical and dance performances, some of which caused great amusement. When the last performance by a group from Congo stirred up the mood once again, the party ended promptly at half past eight. Before the event completely dissolved, several souvenir photos were taken.

The next morning, it was once again time to get up early because a trip with the university to the Gióng Temple and the Non Nuóc Pagoda, not far from Hanoi, was on the program. After visiting this temple and the huge Buddha statue, we had our lunch in a restaurant. Alongside a small cultural program, we enjoyed our delicious eleven-course menu. That alone made the trip worthwhile. After lunch and a short tour, we boarded our bus and headed back.

Speed was of the essence because that day marked the most important football match in recent Vietnamese history. With a victory on penalties against Qatar, the local U23 national team qualified for the final of the AFC U23 Championship against Uzbekistan. Since then, the country has been in total football euphoria. Instead of the car convoys known in Germany, the Vietnamese had been riding their motorbikes through the streets with red flags for days. Every bar with a television set gathered a crowd of football enthusiasts who loudly cheered on their team. In the snowy football field in China, Uzbekistan coped better and lived up to their favorite role with an early lead. But Vietnam did not give up and equalized in the second half with a spectacular free kick. It went into extra time again and everything pointed towards another penalty shootout, until a corner brought the 2-1 victory for the Uzbeks in the 120th minute. The disappointment over the result quickly turned into pride for the young team's fighting spirit, and the streets of Hanoi echoed with "Viêt Nam Vô Dich," which means Vietnam Champion, late into the night.