Vietnam Celebrates National Day

 Vietnam Celebrates National Day

September 2, 2014  Paris,  France

…  by Jane Rosenstein

Going to the Vietnamese Embassy for the celebration of National Day on September 2, 2014 was a special honor. The event commemorates the independence of Vietnam on September 2, 1945.

In the beginning of the celebration held for hundreds of special guests at the Embassy of Viet nam from 12:30 until  2:30 p.m., there was traditional music played on the “monochord” by a talented musician from the Vietnamese cultural center. Beautiful ladies in traditional dress from the Vietnamese Embassy made the guests feel welcome. It was interesting to interact with the Vietnamese businessmen who were born in Paris.

One of them told me that the Vietnamese flag has a special meaning; the red symbolizes blood which protects the country. Men have to give blood to defend Viet Nam. One star represents unity.

The ambassador gave a speech welcoming the guests and said that business is doing very well in Vietnam. He presented ambassadors from Italy, Spain and Nepal.

First I met Major John Fowler, Assistant Air Force Attaché from the US Embassy in Paris, and his wife.  Then I met Dmitry Novikov, first secretary of political affaires from the Embassy of the Federation of Russia in France. We discussed that there are some trade restrictions between Russia and Europe due to the fighting in Ukraine. He told me that wine is not on the list. Russia enjoys a good relationship with Vietnam.

After speaking with some guests from the Vietnamese community, I enjoyed the scrumptuous buffet of some Vietnam food: spring rolls, fried shrimp, shrimp with rice, noodles, fried fish and also salad and of course French fries. The wine was not good, and I switched to water. For dessert there was tropical fruit, mangos, oranges and grapes.

I continued meeting Vietnamese people from France and asked them how Vietnam progressed since the Americans left, particulary after April 30, 1975. They said that Viet Nam has progressed economically since the US left. Vietnam began to prosper in 1986,  called “Doi Moi” in Vietnamese which means revolutionary.  It took until 1986 for Vietnam to recover from the war.

They told me that there is another celebration on April 30 each year to celebrate the “freedom” and the union of North Vietnam and South Viet Nam into one nation. I hope that I will be invited by the Press agent PHAM Ngoc Thi who invited me to this celebration next independence celebration on April 30.

Now Vietnam has peace and American Veterans can feel proud to have contributed to that peace.

Jane Rosenstein

Jane Rosenstein is a U.S. citizen living in Paris, France. She is a professional translator/interpreter. She is the owner of The International Connection which does international marketing consultation including sales of wine, interpretation, and translation.

She enjoys the cultural life that living in Paris offers and has talents in organizing events. She speaks English, French, and Spanish. She has a B.S. degree in mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.B.A. degree from Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA.