Về Nguồn Finding Heritage
Vietnamse Student Association Newsletters, UC Berkeley
Septerber 2008,
Volume I, Issue1
Warm Welcome to my
Very Sexy Asians!
By Tony Vu
President
Hello everyone! I would like to give a warm welcome to
everyone here and to all the incoming freshmen, welcome
to Cal! The Fall VSA Cabinet is extremely excited to be
meeting brand new faces and to catch up with returning
members!
For Fall 2008, Cal Vietnamese Student Association
will strive to fulfill its three focuses on Academic, Culture
and Community. This semester’s diverse yet entertaining
events were planned by your newly elected cabinet, who
worked extremely hard at our retreat in Bodega Bay.
With events such as bowling, the 3 vs. 3 basketball
tournament, bonfire, picnic, and Fall Showcase, Cal VSA
hopes that you will join us for every event that sparks your
interest. We have so much in store for you this semester
that I guarantee it is going to be so much fun!
Keep yourself updated by joining our Facebook group
(Vietnamese Student Association), signing up for the
mailing list, and by visiting our website. With
a fresh new cabinet, exciting events and new
projects, we hope that you will enjoy your
semester with Cal’s Very Sexy Asians!
VSA is a great place to meet new people, learn
about yourself, your culture, your identity and
your roots. With a warm and familial atmosphere,
not only will you open yourself
up to new friends, but you
also learn to express yourself
in many forms that suit you.
VSA changed my life when
I joined; it will do that
same for you!
I <3 Cal VSA
and
Go
Bears!
Tony Vu
President
Finding Tê't Trung Thu
A Note from the Editor
Diep Tang
Publications Chair Fall 08
"Về Nguồn" is the title of the newsletter this semester. It can roughly be translated as "going back to the
origin." This semester, the quest to discover our rich
Vietnamese culture and heritage begins. Let's these
most amazing writings, along with you, conquer the
mysterious Vietnam or reminisce the wonderful experiences you have had there. Together, we are "Finding
Heritage."
By Khanh Le
Tết Trung Thu ("trung" meaning "middle" and
“thu" referring to the autumn season) falls on the 15th
of the 8th month on the lunar calendar—the day of
the biggest and brightest full moon all year. In many
East Asian cultures, Tết Trung Thu is an important and
popular holiday, a special celebration of abundance
and togetherness after the summer harvest. Growing
up in Vietnam, however, little me knew none of that.
Tết Trung Thu back in those days was simply… happiness. Festive, colorful, and giddy, it was as all true
happiness should be.
Tết Trung Thu was lines and lines of the largest,
most beautiful lanterns lining the front of every shop,
their brilliant shades dazzling even in the middle of
daylight. Whoever first decided that “money can’t buy
happiness” must never have been a child standing in
awe in front of this sight. Momma, you see, did buy
me happiness when I was five. (She however forgot to
buy me the two batteries “happiness” needed to run
on, but that was nowhere near enough to mar my joy.)
This lantern of my childhood was a small light bulb
inside a hexagonal prism, with decorative illustrations
on all its sides and six gorgeous tassels dangling off its
top. Its body, a transparent red plastic sprinkled with
shimmering gold flecks, filtered the light bulb’s white
light into a soft, warm glow—a red sphere of light not
unlike a mini-moon floating in darkness.
Tết Trung Thu was make-shift lantern festivals
with friends in the neighborhood. Under the moon, we
paraded around the field in front of our houses with
our mini-moons, chasing and laughing and huffing and
running. Our lanterns—traditional and contemporary,
fish-shaped and star-shaped, candle-lit and batteryrun—weaved in and out of each other into jumping
swirls of colorful lights. Our lanterns—traditional and
contemporary, fish-shaped and star-shaped, candle-lit
and battery-run—weaved in and out of each other into
jumping swirls of colorful lights. Only a traveling Continue on page 6...
Fall Showcase 2008:
Trở Lại Quê Hương—Returning to the Homeland
By John Viet
Culture Show Chair
Hello everyone! I’m glad to see you all
back to a wonderful Fall semester! Last year
VSA held its first fall showcase in a long time
to raise money for Vietnam VOICE and for
culture show 2008. We had an awesome full
house event with performances within VSA as
well as from community members alongside
a silent auction that raised $800. We hope to
continue the tradition this year, but as always,
to step it up to the next level.
When people enter the auditorium for the
Fall showcase, it won’t be merely a lecture
hall, but a transformation in time and space
back to Vietnam. Trở Lại Quê Hương will be
a showcase of talents of all sorts as a way to
share our heritage and culture as descendents
of Vietnam as well as Vietnamese Americans
By Ivy Ngo
VSA Member
The history of the Vietnamese people is rich
and storied, extending back thousands of years. In
popular imagination, the mythological roots of the
nation lie with Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ, who
together parented 100 eggs which hatched into
100 children. 50 would follow Lạc Long
Quân back to the ocean from whence he
came, while 50 followed Au Co to the
mountains.
The eldest son would later become
King Hùng Vương, the first of a series of
eighteen Hùng Vươngs in a dynasty that
was purported to rule from 2800 BC to
258 BC. Archaeological evidence dates
civilization to the 7th century BC, with
the discovery of large bronze drums.
This period is named Đồng Sơn, after the
drums.
One of the most defining epsisodes in Vietnamese history was the period from 111BC to 939 AD,
when Vietnam was conquered by the Han Dynasty
If you’re interested in dancing,
singing, acting, poetry, videos, or any type
of performance or display art please contact
me at: [email protected] to let me know
how you want to help out. Proceeds from this
event will go towards VietHOPE, the collective philanthropy project for uNAVSA this
year as well as towards culture show in the
Spring. The event is scheduled for the weekend of November 13-15, to be announced…
so there’s plenty of time to practice! This
show is open to ANYTHING! This is YOUR
opportunity to express yourself and to share
your creativity!
With VSA Love,
John Viet
Culture Show Chair
Tracing a Legacy...
and absorbed as a rebellious southern province, Giao. The approximate 1,000 years of subjugation infused Vietnam with
elements of Confucianism, Buddhism and an extensive bureaucracy that would later become the foundation of Vietnamese society.
Finally, in 939 AD, a local military leader named Đinh
Bộ Lĩnh succeeded in defeating the Chinese, establishing the
very short-lived kingdom of Đại Cồ Việt – meaning “Great
Viet”, which quickly descended into a period of chaos dominated by warlords following
his death in 970.
30 years later, the first successful Vietnamese dynasty
was the Lý dynasty unified the
country from 1009 to 1225.
They engaged in infrastructure projects, building the infamous Temple of Literature
- Văn Miếu and were the first
to hold civil service examinations, forming a bureaucratic apparatus that would last until
the 1920s. However, the nascent country was unstable, and
Continue on page 6...
uNAVSA 5 Conference
Sharing Our Past,
Shaping Our Future
By Christy Ho
VSA Member
What can be more exciting than eating pho
on a cold day? Having a hotel full of Vietnamese
students from all over the nation coming together
to share their background, experiences, and unite
for a cause. Being my third time at the Union of
North Vietnamese Student Associations (uNAVSA)
Conference, I continue to learn more and more each
time I go. This year in particular makes me very
proud because UC Berkeley brought out 24 students,
being the second largest school in attendance at
uNAVSA in Portland, Oregon.
Portland became four days full of workshops,fish
bowls, culture show, gala, and of course tax-free
shopping. Before this I thought I knew a lot about
deportation, but I was proven wrong when I attended
Betty Duong’s (UC Berkeley Alumni) workshop on
Deportation. Now being more knowledgeable on the
issue I have come back hearing myself tell everyone
to encourage their family members who are not yet
U.S. citizens to become one soon. All the students
also came together and chose VietHope as the
Collective Philanthropy Project for the upcoming
year. This past year VSA’s from across the nation
came together to raise $51,500 for Vietnam Voice;
showing the power youths are capable of once
united.
Besides the learning there was also the fun that was
to be had. Sriracha put on a sizzling hot performance
for the culture show and Magnetic North (also
UC Berkeley Alumni) blew the crowd away their
performance at the Gala. This most definitely will
not be my last conference, and I hope that the next
one I go to I will see YOU there.
Check out (www.unavsa.org) for more information
Vietnam: A Hidden Charm
By Diep Tang
By Diep Tang
Hà Nội: "Hà" is "river", "Nội" is "within" so "Hà Nội" means "within the river." The city's name essentially explains
its location. Surround the city are thousands of natural and manmade lakes, but the most famous one would be Hồ
Hoàn Kiếm, "Lake of the returned Sword." Its beauty is breath taking. Nothing beats a leisure walk along the lake
while drinking sugar cane juice....Well, perhaps the beauty and sweet fragrance of hoa sữa (Milk Flowers/Pulai Tree)
in an autumn day, especially at night, or a sudden rain in a busy afternoon would do also.
Charming and elegant, Hà Nội has always been a favorite in Vietnamese Literature for its beauty. Not until I have
had experienced a Hà Nội rain that I truly understand and appreciate its beauty. Ignoring the heavy rain, ignoring the
hasty crowd, the city of Hà Nội stands still maintaining a traditional, peaceful and quiet life style. The water puppet
show is evidence for the wonderful dedication Hà Nội has to the Vietnamese root. Puppet shows are usually mimicked
after different folk tales with great and deep meanings. Hà Nội is also known for many pagodas and antique shops.
The one that catches my attention is Chùa Một Cột or One Pillar Pagoda. The unique architecture symbolizes a giant
lotus blossom which was dedicated to Phật Bà Quan Âm--Kwan Yin by King Lý Thái Tông.
Besides exquisite beauty and exceptionally rich culture, Hà Nội is also famous for the exotic, authentic, Eastern
meets Western cuisines. Whether it is a high class restaurant or a small mobile vendor on the street, one can still enjoy
the great taste that is unique in Hà Nội. I like eating at small stationeries on the street because I feel at home. The bustling atmosphere creates a homie feeling as the men and women at these stationeries treat their costumers like families
for they are also parts of these people's lives. I would definitely visit Hà Nội again someday.
Hidden Charm’s Next City
Want to know what city we’ll visit next on Vietnam: “The Hidden Charm” in the next issue, or to practicce Your
Vietnamese/English? Simply translate the English word/phrase into Vietnamese and fill in this crossword puzzle.
Visit our website www.calvsa.com for answer key.
Across:
1.Dialact of Cal VSA Culture
Show 2007 “Sài Gòn Trăng Mờ”
main character
4.Mussle rice, a regional dish
5. Central region
6.Museum of antiquities, formerly a tempel wherean emperor body was stored
8.Royal vessel mountain, location of forbidden city
9.Pickled shrimp, served with
almost every meal
Down:
1.Forbidden purple city
2.Perfume river where sands
are used to cement
3.heavenly lady pagoda,tallest pagoda in
Vietnam
7.Last dynasty of Vietnam
Tracing a Legacy...
Let Your Voice Be Heard!
(cont. from page 3)
constantly feared Chinese attack. In 1076, Lý Thường If you would like to share your thoughts, ideas,
Kiệt defeated the Chinese in a pre-emptive strike, an
art, poetry with others, contact Diep Tang or
accomplishment that enshrined the general in the panemail at [email protected] .
theon of Vietnamese military leaders.
Despite their civic building, the Lý were unable to
establish a rite of succession. In-fighting among heirs
Contributed Writers and Editors:
tore the dynasty apart, allowing the Trần to take over.
The Tran dynasty was characterized by both military
prowess and defeat. The Trần were successful in fending
Tony Vu, Christy Ho, John Viet, Ivy Ho, My Pham,
off Mongol attack a total of three times, the only country
Andre Nguyen, Khanh Le, Diep Tang,
to do so. From this period comes the story of the one of
Vietnam’s venerated heroines, Trần Huyền Trân. A prin"Sharing is caring," Thanks for sharing guys!
cess betrothed to a Cham king, she dutifully followed
her new husband to his home in the south. However,
when he died, Cham royal practices prescribed sati – the Finding Tết Trung Thu
cremation of the royal wife to accompany her husband
(cont. from pg 2)
into the afterlife. Horrified, the Trần kings sent a rescue
mission to save her from imminent death. This greatly
lion-dance team
increased the tension between the two countries, and
drumming and
the strength of the Trần dynasty was sorely tested by atdancing onto our
tacks from the Champa kingdom under the direction of
street could stop
their most powerful leader, Chế-Bồng-Nga in the 14th
us then, and only
century. Finally, the death knell to the dynasty came
for a split secin 1377, when the Tran king was actually captured and
ond before we
killed.
ran away again
The nation was at its weakest and most vulneratowards the lion dancble point since Han subjugation. What Vietnam needed, ers, squeezing through and soaking in the energy of the
more than ever, was a strong leader who could unite the crowd.
country and restore order and peace…
Tết Trung Thu was delicious-looking moon cakes of
Join us for the next installation as we chronicle the countless flavors and elaborate designs. Even until now,
legend of one of Vietnam’s greatest heroes, Lê Lợi!
six years and thousands of miles from Vietnam, my family buys a box of lotus-seed moon cakes every year, my
mother’s favorite. And each year, though utterly convinced that I dislike its taste, I unwrap a cake and cut out
a tiny corner for myself, savoring each bit and bite. It
is almost an addiction, a comforting tradition—the only
thing I have left of Tết Trung Thu now that I have outlived my childhood, my Vietnam.
Tết Trung Thu is no longer Tết Trung Thu. It is now
Be sure to join Cal VSA on the following dates
Moon Festival—arts-and-crafts festivals I volunteer with
for lots of excitment.
at the park, small parades in Chinese communities, entries on the Internet that tell of
09/10:Tet Trung Thu
celebrations and traditions on the other side of the world.
09/13:San Jose Tet Trung Thu Festivel
Whatever its present may be, however, it remains the fes09/18:bowling Night
tive, colorful, and giddy holiday
09/20:Alumni Events
I loved it for, bridging yesterday and tomorrow to ease (if
09/26:BBQ Bonfire
just a little) the confusions of today.
*Date are subject to change.
ImportantVSA Dates