Sapa corner
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
How are you doing?
A few days ago, when I was in a supermarket near my house, I saw a baby boy. The baby caught my eye with his cute, round face. He had chubby cheeks, smiling eyes, and didn’t have any teeth yet. Continue reading A baby’s smile
Sapa corner
Good morning, Brothers and Sisters!
How are you doing?
Once, I woke up before sunrise. At that time, Sapa remained silent. Almost everyone was still sleeping. In that quietness, I could hear small clacks from a distant street. Continue reading The sounds of Sapa in the morning
Sapa corner
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Can you guess what flower does not fade in colour?
That was the question my cousin asked me when I was little. To look for the answer, I tried to think about all types of flowers that I had known, but I still had no clue.
Finally, my cousin showed me a bouquet of beautiful dried flowers. She said they were helichrysum flowers. The flowers didn’t lose their colours, despite their leaves and stems withering. This fact truly blew my mind. I couldn’t believe there was such a flower. Since then, the helichrysum has become one of my favorite flowers.
Chào anh chị em,
Hôm nay là ngày 7 tháng 2 năm 2025. Ngày ĐCN tròn 16 tuổi. Mình cảm thấy hạnh phúc khi thấy ĐCN mỗi ngày một lớn mạnh. Chúc mừng sinh nhật ĐCN thân yêu.
Sinh nhật thứ 16 của ĐCN làm mình nhớ khi 16 tuổi, mình có ghé vào ĐCN lần đầu tiên. Khi đó, mình còn học cấp 3 nên thời gian truy cập Internet không nhiều, mình chỉ đọc được một vài bài viết tích cực như “Nửa ly nước” hay “Cơ hội đến trong tiếng thì thầm”, và mình chỉ dừng lại ở đó thôi. Continue reading Đọt Chuối Non – Phép lạ kỳ diệu
Chào anh chị em,
Hôm nay là ngày mùng một Tết, ngày đầu quan trọng trong năm mới để các gia đình Việt hướng về cội nguồn, tổ tiên, ông bà và cha mẹ.
Đối với mình, mùng một Tết cũng là ngày để mình hướng về Cha trên trời. Người Cha luôn yêu thương mọi người vô điều kiện và là Người cho mình cảm giác bình an mỗi khi nghĩ về. Continue reading Mùng một Tết Cha
Sapa corner
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Have you ever heard about the Nêm drum?
The Nêm drum is a traditional musical instrument of the Red Dao people in Sapa.
Today, I would like to take you to visit a master artisan in Tả Phìn village. His name is Chảo Quẩy Vạng. He has been making Nêm drums for over 30 years. Continue reading The Nêm drum of the Red Dao people
Sapa corner
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Christmas is just around the corner. Perhaps many children in the world are waiting for Santa Claus to bring them a lot of gifts.
Like many kids, when I was six, I looked forward to Santa Claus. In my mind, this old man appeared as a kind and cheerful person. His beard was long, thick, and as white as snow. He was affable and looked quite plump in his red costume. Santa Claus especially loved all children and always had presents for them at Christmas. Continue reading My Santa Claus
Sapa corner
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Have you ever seen a heart in the sky?
A few weeks ago, though it was only around 4 pm, the sky in Sapa appeared darker than usual. Grey clouds covered the entire sky and hid the sun.
At that time, I supposed it was going to rain soon. The winds started blowing stronger and shaking the tops of trees. Birds called to one another, in a hurry to return home. It had been sunny and warm in the morning, but now it was getting colder.
Sapa corner
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
One summer morning, when I had just finished watering a rose plant on our balcony, I spotted a ladybug perching on a rose petal. The bug was as small as a pea. Its back was black with a few orange dots. It seemed this little one was sunbathing, so I just let it be.
Sapa corner
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Chestnuts are known as tasty and healthy nuts. Though I had eaten the nuts many times, I had always wished I could see chestnut trees with my own eyes. I didn’t think Sapa had this kind of tree until one day, I found a chestnut orchard by chance.
The chestnut orchard is on a hidden hill near the Traphaco Joint Stock Company in Sapa. It belongs to Ms. Dzung’s family. Continue reading Discovering a chestnut garden in Sapa
Sapa corner
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Do you know that autumn has arrived in Sapa?
The autumn here also marks the beginning of the persimmon season. From mid-August to late October is the time to harvest many varieties of persimmons. Among them, crunchy persimmons are always the earliest type to ripen.
During this time, I often visit Mrs. Vân’s orchard, where there are plenty of 20-year-old crunchy persimmon trees. Mrs. Vân, the garden owner, shared with me that her trees are native to Japan. They belong to the Fuyu persimmon species. An interesting thing is that the trees only grow their deep roots and thick trunks through time. Therefore, each tree is fruitful and just 1 or 2-meter high. This makes the harvesting work quite easy. Continue reading Picking up crunchy persimmons at Mrs. Vân’s orchard
Sapa corner
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
One day, while I was thinking about where I could buy fresh tea leaves in Sapa market, an old Black Hmong woman carrying on her back a rattan basket full of green tea leaves passed by my house.
From a distance, I called her. With a bamboo walking stick in her hand, she slowly came to me. This Hmong woman wore a traditional indigo costume. At an age of over 80, she was thin and had skin as brown as the colour of the soil in Sapa hills. The wrinkles on her forehead and around her eyes looked like the lines of rice terraces. Though her eyes were cloudy, she still could see everything around. Continue reading Buying fresh tea leaves from an old Black Hmong woman
Sapa corner
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
How are you doing?
Sapa is in the cool and rainy summer. This season is really a good chance for me to see different dragonflies in the sky. Each time I come across a dragonfly, this Vietnamese proverb often springs to mind: “If dragonflies fly low, it will be rainy. If they fly high, it will be sunny. And if they fly at a medium height, it will be shady.”
Basically, a dragonfly normally has two big, spherical eyes. The eyes are close together and cover almost all of the dragonfly’s head. It has a tiny mouth along with four clear and fragile wings. Its six legs are hairy and spiky. The dragonfly’s belly is long and slim. Every part of a dragonfly’s body combines perfectly to help it fly speedily, escape from danger, and hunt prey such as mosquitoes, flies, or bees easily.
Continue reading DragonfliesSapa corner
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
One morning in mid-April, while my parents and I were in our kitchen, we heard the chirping sound of a barn swallow couple.
As usual, we thought this couple just sang cheerful songs to start a new day and send love to their newborn babies. However, the sound of these birds got more urgent, louder, and longer. They even glided around their nest under the kitchen porch roof as if they wanted to alert something.
Sapa corner
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Have you ever picked up someone’s lost item?
A few days ago, a taxi driver gave a lost wallet to our family hotel. He said he had found the wallet in the back seat of his taxi after dropping off two foreign guests at the hotel in the middle of the night.
Inside the brown leather wallet contained more than 500.000 VND, along with a Vietnam SIM card, a credit card, and a driver’s licence of a British person named “Georges”. Continue reading Finding a dropped wallet
Đọt Chuối Non 