The US consul in Ho Chi Minh City, Le Thanh An, is an ethnic Vietnamese who will celebrate his first Tet in his homeland for 45 years.

Welcoming reporters to his house, which is decorated in east Asian style, he said it would be very significant and interesting to celebrate the Lunar New Year while as the consul general in HCMC.

An was the seventh of the nine children in a family from Go Cong, now a part of the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang.

When he was 10, his relatives took him to the US where he lived with his aunt in Washington D.C.

When the war ended in April 1975, he was a third-year electronic engineering student at George Washington University.

He met Lam Chi Tam, the daughter of a former banking official in former South Vietnam, through their charity activities, and they fell in love and married in 1981.

“Our wedding ceremony was organized with traditional rites, with both of us bearing the ao dai (the Vietnamese tunic) and khan dong (circular headgear),” Tam recalled.

In 1986 An reunited with his mother who came to the US under the Orderly Departure Program. Many of his other relatives also left Vietnam for the US and France that year. His father had passed away three years earlier.

An spoke to us in English but he occasionally lapsed into Vietnamese which he spoke with an impeccable accent.

“I became a diplomat in 1991 after working for the Navy for 15 years,” he said.

The same year he took his family to Beijing where he was posted. Subsequently, he was transferred to Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Seoul, the French capital Paris, and Ho Chi Minh City in August 2010.

He lives with his wife and youngest daughter, Le Thi My Anh, 17. His two elder children, Le Thi My Lien, 26, and Le Thanh Nghiem, 25, are still in the US, working and doing their doctoral programs.

He and his wife usually talk to each other in Vietnamese and encourage their children to speak Vietnamese at home. The couple also ask their children to speak Vietnamese to their grandmothers.

“My Anh is now able to use Vietnamese to order cooking at restaurants. We use our mother tongue to remember we are Vietnamese and to keep us closer to our cultural roots.”

He likes Trinh Cong Son’s songs and cai luong (Vietnamese traditional theatre). “The melodious and smooth tunes of cai luong remind me of my childhood when my parents took me to theatre to enjoy plays.

Celebrate Tet in traditional rites

Tam told us about how her family used to celebrate Tet while living in foreign countries. “Like any other Vietnamese family, on the 23rd of the 12th lunar month, we prepare a tray of xôi (steamed glutinous rice), chè (a Vietnamese term that refers to any traditional sweet dessert) and fruits to see Ông Táo (the Kitchen God) off to heaven. We also offer incense to Ông Táo and pray for our family.”

An said the Vietnamese community in the US celebrates Tet in a joyous manner. “A few days before Tet, my wife and I would go shopping to buy new clothes for our family. We clean up and decorate our home with apricot, peach, orchid, and kumquat. We also place a tray with five fruits at the ancestral altar during Tet.”

Since his family is Buddhist, they usually go to a pagoda after the New Year Eve ceremony. On the morning of the Lunar New Year, everyone in the family offers incense to their ancestors at the altar. After they exchange New Year’s greetings, he gives tiền lì xì (lucky money put in red envelopes) to their children.

“Also that morning, we stay at home waiting for visitors with ‘lucky’ names like Tài (money), Thọ (longevity) and Lộc (godsend) to arrive as arranged.”

This year Tam plans to make some traditional Tet dishes like tôm kho Tàu (shrimps braised in Chinese style), pork braised with eggs, pickled mustard greens, and pickled bean sprouts.

“I will make bánh tét (cylindrical glutinous rice cake filled with green bean paste and pork fat) and cook a vegetarian meal for my family on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

“I will also make xôi vò (glutinous rice cooked with split peas) to serve with cÆ¡m rượu (glutinous rice cooked and mixed with yeast and rolled into small balls).”

An plans to wear a tunic and circular headgear in blue while his wife will wear a red tunic to the pagoda on Tet.

As usual, the US consulate will organize a year-end party during which he will give lucky money to the children of employees.

Boost educational cooperation, help the poor

An said he is impressed by the dramatic changes the city has undergone in the 45 years he was away.

“Life here is quite exciting and bustling. Modern buildings have mushroomed everywhere.

“It was a great honor for me when President Barack Obama appointed me as a representative of the US Government and for American values in the city, and as a bridge for the development of the relationship between the two countries.

“I am well aware that many Americans including Vietnamese-Americans have great expectations from me.”

He said one of his priorities during his three-year term is to boost cooperation in education between the two countries, creating opportunities for Vietnamese students to study in the US.

He also said his family would take part in social and charity activities to support children and the poor in Vietnam.

“I hope the world is always peaceful and that the relationship between the two countries will constantly develop.”

Source: Tuoi Tre/NLD