Unspoken promise

Russian friends traveled to Quang Nam with the author's relatives in Cu Lao Cham in June 2025.

Steps in Moscow

I remember the first day I arrived in Russia. As soon as I stepped off the plane at Domodedovo Airport, I had a memorable experience. That day, for some reason, the airport customs system failed and I was held at the airport for more than 3 hours before being allowed to enter the country.

I spent my first year studying at the Russian Federal State Agricultural University. Vietnamese students and postgraduates there came to the airport to pick me up and take me to the dormitory. This is a good tradition that has been maintained from generation to generation among Vietnamese students in Russia. Those who have gone before will help those who come after have stability so that they can study well.

I remember the first days when I was stuttering Russian words and letters. It is a difficult language with many extremely complex grammar rules, but the teachers were always dedicated and extremely patient so that we could understand and use them.

I remember the first time I arrived at the Moscow Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology on an early spring morning by metro. The line from Volgogradskiy Própekt metro station to Tekstilschiki has a section of track above ground. I will always remember the moment when the train was in the tunnel and the surroundings suddenly lit up, and on the slope of the railway, the bright yellow dandelions were blooming under the morning sun, so beautiful that it captivated people's hearts.

I miss the days of freedom to explore the world’s largest country. The days I experienced peace in Crimea, the days I wandered around the village of Teribeka on the shores of the Barents Sea in the Arctic, the days I was immersed in the beautiful scenery of the blue waters of Lake Baikal in the middle of the vast Siberian taiga forest in autumn.

I miss the days of hard work in the lab, the sleepless nights doing research. Then I realized that my love for science was growing day by day, nurtured by the encouragement of professors, teachers, friends and family.

Whenever I feel sad or stressed, stuck in my research, I often walk into the Kuzminki forest next to the Moscow Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology. Following a small path in the forest, I will come to a small wooden staircase by the river. That is where I can sit for hours in silence to contemplate. I often call it my own Bollingen Tower – like the Bollingen Tower that the great psychologist Carl Jung built on Lake Zurich, Switzerland.

Russian friends

When I returned to Vietnam, Russia became a corner in my heart. One time, the whole family was watching TV together, when I saw VTV reporter Nhat Linh standing on Red Square talking about news in Russia, I was moved to "see" familiar images, letters, and familiar places, it felt like a whole world of memories came flooding back.

Sometimes in my dreams I find myself back in Russia. I see myself walking along a birch-lined street. I see myself placing a bouquet of red carnations on the grave of a professor whom I greatly respect.

I found myself sitting on the wooden stairs by the river in the Kuzminki forest as before, and returning to my old dormitory room, opening the window wide to watch the sunrise.

I found myself looking at beautiful metro stations that looked like underground castles. And I reached out to touch the cool water of the Volga River. Sometimes, I dreamed that I was lying on the grass reading research papers. On a sunny early spring afternoon, sitting on a wooden bench in the park, I remember inhaling the sweet scent of siren - the flower that I loved so much.

I thought I had left Russia forever. But then I realized that Russia is still there in my soul. The years in Russia have contributed to making me who I am today. Russia has become a part of me, always there for me to return to in my memories.

And then on the day exactly 2 years after I left Russia, I welcomed Lisa - my close Russian friend and her family to Vietnam for a trip.

They wanted to visit the Quang Nam countryside that I had told them about in the past. Seeing Lisa and her family leisurely strolling around the ancient town of Hoi An, immersing themselves in the sunset by the lotus pond in a small corner of Tam Ky, going to Nui Thanh to walk through the sand dunes, immersing themselves in the bustle of the Tam Tien fish market in the early morning, going to Cu Lao Cham to watch the sunrise and then sitting and weaving a hammock made of parasol trees, I felt both happy and extremely moved. It was like I had met Russia again in my own homeland.

I am preparing for a new journey. On that road, Russia is both a memory and a part of my luggage.

I understand that this world is very big, so on the day of parting, I could not say the promise to return to Russia. But I also understand that no matter how big it is, the world is still round. Who knows, maybe one day, I will see Russia again, see again a whole sky of memories of the land of birch trees.

Because the earth is round, we will meet again...

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/loi-hen-chua-noi-3157842.html