Hoa on her family:

I was fortunate to be born into a loving family. My mum is an incredibly beautiful and intelligent woman with a strong sense of self confidence – a sense of confidence that she later instilled in me as a young adult. My dad is a statistician who is best known for his commitment to his work and his family. Standing tall with flawless facial features, dad is also very good looking. Unfortunately, I didn’t inherit the height genes from him but I surely inherited his love for sports.

I was told that when I was born, my head was as long as a pencil. I still wonder how it would be possible to have a head as long as a pencil but that is how the story goes. Luckily, my head gradually grew proportionately to the body and I grew into a very cute child, well loved by most who come into contact with me. When I was 6 years old, my family had a new addition – my beautiful little sister Linh. As sisters, we do not look strikingly alike but as we are both older we seem to radiate a degree of similarity that is hard to go unnoticed.

My maternal grandfather was a high achieving scholar. He graduated from high school – Tú Tài degree – under the French educational system. He spoke fluent French and later went on to become the Deputy Head of the Bureau for Central Planning for Yen Bai Province. He would have excelled further in his career had it not been for my great-grand father, his father, who defected to Southern Vietnam during the Vietnam War. In his lifetime, my great grand father worked for the Indochina Court as an interpreter. He spent his spare time visiting a modified version of brothel where male customers were entertained by young girls singing a traditional form of Vietnamese folklore known as ‘hát cô đầu’. Despite this pastime, his pay was sufficiently generous to provide a comfortable lifestyle to his family consisting of 8 children. My grand father was the second oldest child. As my grand father would later tell us, his earliest memories of his father was those early mornings when he was woken up as his father got home and order them to eat the food that he brought home with him.

My maternal grandmother is an ordinary hard working housewife. I don’t know how grandma and grandpa met but they got married quickly and as clockworks the kids arrived precisely 2 years apart. I still do not know for sure the truth behind my great-grand father’s life. According to one version of the story, he was a railway station keeper. The other version had it that he was a prison official. But I can still recall the memories of my great grand mother who passed away when I was about 8 years old.

Less is known about my paternal side of the family except that they lived all their lives on the farm. My grandfather came from a family of three. His older sister was married off to a provincial official as a concubine at a very young age. Their parents died when they were very young and undoubtedly they underwent tremendous hardship in their childhood. My grandmother had only one younger brother as far as I know and they lost contact with one another until the last years of their lives. Although my grandmother lived a fairly ordinary life of a woman in imperial Vietnam, her life was worthy of celebration for her love for my grandfather. She married him when he was already married and for him she gave up Catholicism – probably the biggest sacrifice that anyone can ever make for another human being. She only reconnected to her original religion in the last few years of her life and she was blessed by a catholic funeral. I admire her for her courage and her strength – may her rest in peace.

Thang on Hoa's family:

I wasn't a bit surprised to see how Hoa got to be who she is today after I got to know about her family. That was more than 12 years ago. I was then a young men blindly in love, who undertook the challenge of meeting the future in-laws during my summer holiday in Hanoi. Of course I didn't know they would one day become my parents in law. And it didn't take long for me to realize they were wonderful people who were well presented, intellectual and full of tender loving care for their children. Linh was then a little schoolgirl who just sat in a corner watching me (oh boy I thought I must be handsome). She later confessed she thought I was a pilot because many young men were sent to study to become pilots in Australia during those days. That of course can't be farther from the truth and she was probably disappointed that her sister didn't choose a pilot instead. So much has changed and Linh has now grown into a lovely young lady full of confidence, energy and passions in life.

Hoa on Thang's family:

I get to know my husband’s side of the family 20 odd years after I knew mine! My mother in law is a wonderfully patient and devoted wife and mother. Plus she has the most beautiful smile that I am sure my father in law fell for when they first met. My father in law, on the other hand, is extremely intellectual and respectful of his wife. Despite being married for more than 30 years there is still a very strong romantic connection between them and I only wish that 30 years from now we could be half as happy as they are. Thang’s dad worked for the Ministry of Culture and Information and thanks to him we always have free tickets to the most celebrated entertainment events in Hanoi whenever we are in town. Thang’s mother worked full time before but her career was never her priority, I bet my last cent that her family is always at the forefront of her mind.

My husband is the second child to his parents. His older brother, The Anh, is a very cool tempered guy. He has a special ability to keep cool in the most upsetting situations. He has a very tall and good looking wife who could be a model should she wish to go down that path. I think he loves her to pieces although he wouldn’t admit it. They have a 4 year old son and are expecting the arrival of the second child soon.

Thang on his family:

Circumstances have seen me being away from my family for the most part of the past 13 years since I left home to pursue my education in Australia. It was a major step for a young boy and even a more significant step for my family, for my parents had always gone the extra miles to give me the best education and had lots of faith in me. I get where I am today all because of them.

My father is a man of high caliber who's very much respected by his colleagues as well as those in the family and our relatives. He grew up in poverty and without maternal love, for his mother died when he was only 2 years old. Nobody would've criticised him for not being successful in life, but he studied hard and later became a prominent figure in his field. He valued a good education and continuously encouraged me to strive harder academically. He gave me support without fail, and guided me though the important milestones in life.

My mother lives a simple life. She devotes her all to her family. She used to work as a bookkeeper, but her career was always secondary to raising a family. We grew up knowing that we were loved by her and we could get anything that she could possibly give us, but we weren't spoilt because she had disciplines too. She single-handedly upbrought us during the first 4 years of my life, when my father did his PhD in Sophia, Bungary. Looking back I am still amazed how she could get through that period. It's tough to raise one kid, let alone two, when you are alone. My mother also made great sacrifices when the whole country was going through a rough patch economically. My parents' salaries were never enough, and food was scarce, but it cost money to provide a good education for us. She would bring work home and stay up late to earn extra income for the family. She's always looking out for us, her children, and I know her eyes are on me every step of the way.

It was a chance encounter that my father met his future father in law during one of his visits to Hanoi National Library. He was a young scholar majoring in History then, and my grandfather was a gatekeeper at the library. They met and soon found out they were originally from the same village, and my grandfather was more than happy to introduce his daughter to my dad. One thing led to another and although there have been ups and downs I know for a fact they love each other dearly.

My early memory of my childhood is of my elder brother The Anh and myself sitting at the back of our mother's bicycle, facing each other and obviously conducting child-like conversations. He is 3 years older than me, but he is very young looking and lots of people have confusingly thought he's the young brother. Despite his young look, he is a very matured person who now has a great career, a lovely wife and an adorable kid. His first son, nicknamed Sa^u, is a bundle of joy for the whole family. He is utmostly charming (when he's not crying) and a really sweet kid, and his photogenic nature can make even the best of models green with envy. Their recent addition, nicknamed I?n, is just over a year old and he's just as cute as his brother. It will be fun to watch them grow over the coming years.