Hi! It’s me again, Linh. If you haven’t read my previous blog, let me quickly reintroduce myself: I’m an international student from Vietnam, currently pursuing a Master’s in International Education at the University of Exeter. Honestly, I didn’t think I would write about today’s topic, about how I enjoy Lunar New Year, how I found community and my cultural identity in a country half a world away. But what happened at my University, especially on our charming St Luke’s Campus during Lunar New Year (which is called “Tet” in Vietnam, and I hope it’s okay if I use this term here and there in the blog), inspired me to write with all the emotion and heartfelt feelings I could muster.
From a warm and cosy Lunar New Year celebration at St Luke’s campus…
One winter day in February, my friends and I were waiting for the bus in the freezing cold, and it made us, especially me, feel homesick like never before. By this time, my family back home was already preparing to celebrate Tet. I wanted to catch a bit of that Vietnamese New Year spirit here, and my friends encouraged me to reach out to the reps in my department to propose organizing a Lunar New Year celebration. I did, and it turned out to be the boldest but smartest decision I made that month. And it seemed like the university was just waiting for us to do it. A Lunar New Year celebration was held at the Staff House for everyone, fully supported by the Students’ Guild and assisted by the department reps.
I felt like I was standing between my family in Vietnam and fully enjoying the true spirit of the Lunar New Year. Most of my friends were wearing traditional outfits. A lovely Colombian friend of mine even borrowed an áo dài from me, and I felt genuinely happy seeing her look so beautiful and radiant in the traditional Vietnamese dress.
Instead of using pre-made red envelopes, we were given materials to design our own. There was also a little games corner with traditional activities like chopstick picking and “loto” (a game quite similar to bingo). These are the games my family would always play together when Tet came around. Also, we shared stories about our cultures and what we usually do during the Lunar New Year. My friends were surprised to learn that in Vietnam, simple things like washing your hair, sweeping the floor, or doing laundry on the first day of the year are quietly avoided, as they are believed to wash away luck. We also avoid crying on that day, because we believe that if you cry on the first day, you may carry that sadness throughout the whole year. Do you have any similar beliefs in your culture?
But the highlight of the event was definitely the food. We were treated to special dishes from various Asian countries: Vietnamese fried spring rolls, Pad Thai, Chinese dim sum, and Korean spicy chicken. I hope you’re not getting hungry reading this like I am right now, and sorry, I’ll be including some photos below, haha.
We learned to say “Cheers” when clinking glasses in different languages, and I felt so honored to teach my international friends the Vietnamese phrase “1…2…3…vô,” and I even got to learn the Chinese word “kanbei” and the Korean word “geonbae”!!
The gathering was supposed to end there. But I also want to share that one of my friends even skipped class afterward because it was so much fun (I hope you won’t learn from him, haha), and we braved the cold winter weather and muddy grounds to take photos in our áo dài around campus. It was a double sense of pride: pride in wearing the áo dài and pride in being a student at the University of Exeter.
Do you notice how our áo dài also seems to be flowing in the wind? It’s the light fabric that makes the dress feel so soft and elegant. And I can’t forget to say thank you to the chilly winds that made the photo even more beautiful!
Of course, I couldn’t pass up the chance to take photos with the beautiful flower garden at St Luke’s
It was truly a wonderful experience. The delicious food, the cultural traditions, the playful games, and listening to springtime music all help ease my homesickness immensely. I could proudly tell my family that I, too, had celebrated Tet. And somewhere within that cosy, glowing atmosphere, I could feel my friends genuinely happy, the kind of happiness that comes with the arrival of spring.
To a spectacular fireworks festival at Streatham!
But that was just my departmental celebration. On Lunar New Year’s Day itself, February 17th, the homesick feeling lingered in my mind. I sat quietly for a while in the morning, then decided to go watch fireworks at the Streatham campus which were part of the Spring Festival/Lunar New Year celebrations.
There were so many students, and nearly all of my Vietnamese friends were there too. I had never seen the campus so alive at night before. We all looked up at the sky, awed by the beautiful fireworks and feeling emotional. For me personally, it made me feel that my culture mattered and that I was cared for. Honestly, it wasn’t the most spectacular fireworks I had ever seen, but it was the most meaningful to me during these days far from home. For seven minutes, I lived with my wishes and dreams for a happy new year, gazing at the bursts of colour across the sky and seeing the bright smiles of my friends around me.
And that’s how my new year, our new year, began. Even though it’s a different country and New Year celebrations are different, the University of Exeter truly made me feel I wasn’t alone here. It gave me the sense that our presence here matters to them, so much so that when I sent a fireworks clip to my family back home, they couldn’t believe the university actually set off fireworks for Tet, and they thought I had used AI or edited it somewhere, haha.
I had meant to take photos with the fireworks, but I was so lost in making wishes for the new year that by the time I remembered, they had already disappeared into the night sky…
And there are still so many ways to find your culture as a student at the University of Exeter
Besides celebrating such an important occasion with the university, we also organised our own small gatherings. There are still so many ways to find your community at this culturally diverse university; they may come from your home country, but they may also come from somewhere entirely different. I feel incredibly lucky to have made friends from many different countries, and they all share a love and curiosity for our culture, just as I have always been fascinated by theirs. We often choose one friend’s accommodation common room and cook together.
A big plus in Exeter is that you can easily find Asian stores like 168 Oriental or Yonk Asian… I even managed to buy pho noodles there. We’ve cooked pho, pan rice, and gathered to enjoy our meals together, chatting like a real family. And somehow, I found joy in cooking. My mom used to spend hours in the kitchen and said it made her happy. I never understood until I cooked for my friends. Seeing them enjoy dishes from my country gave me the same quiet happiness she once spoke of.
So that’s how my first Tet away from home began and ended fully and completely. I didn’t expect this to be a typical blog post; I put more emotion than usual because I truly feel grateful for everything I’ve received from the University, from my community here, and my beloved international friends, more than you might imagine. Thank you for reading this far, and if you’re still unsure about your choice of university, you were like me back then. But look at me now! I couldn’t be happier!!
Happy Lunar New Year, everyone! I hope that in this new year, you will always love yourself the same way that the Uni has always made me feel loved and supported. And always remember to be proud of your identity and who you are. Because no matter how far you travel, your identity and cultural roots are the anchor that helps you define yourself and find your place in the world. I’m sure once you have that, you are no longer afraid to step out of your comfort zone and venture into the wide, open sea. I once knew England only through the pages of textbooks back home, and now I am here at the University of Exeter, studying with pride as a citizen of a small but resilient country, rich in culture and values. I would like to end this blog by saying once again: I’m so proud to be Vietnamese and proud to be a student at the University of Exeter!