Vietnam is known as an agricultural country with nearly 80% of population involving in agriculture and almost its farmers are facing difficulties. For many people, the current life is like a dream as compared to that of some years ago. The changes have been brought by an economic boom which is thought as one of the reasons for a wider gap between the rich and the poor.
Many citizens want to visit the countryside at the weekend or want to live there for the rest of life to enjoy quietness and clean climate, fresh and cheap food. They are bored with the crowd, pollution, smog, and noise. This becomes a trend in some big cities including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh. Contrary to such trend, more and more people from rural areas poor into cities in the hope that they will find a job to improve their lives. If visiting a village on a normal day, you may meet old people, women, children or pupils only, the youth are often absent from home, they either work or study at centers or in cities and come back home on special occasions or Tet’s holiday. The life in the countryside remains peaceful like it was before but there are more reasons to worry, more babies are born annually while land for agriculture is narrowed. Fortunately, local authorities have started making some measures to stimulate agriculture.
Living in the city for a long time, I came back to my village with mixed feelings, I wondered if it changed and how it was. I was eager to meet relatives, visit the places and people that were attached to my childhood. Those days were so hard but we had chances to experience traditionally unique games. Now, life is better, which entitles children to better care and education but they may never know about traditional games or real childhood. My long stay at the village helps me understand more about so-called modern difficulties. Inflation, high price, lower demands for agricultural products, school fees have challenged farmers. Almost personal expenses depend on money got from selling rice, agricultural products. A poor crop may become a catastrophe.
I am really happy to know that children often join an evening club, where they can share learning experiences, sing, dance or discuss how to help poor members. This is a helpful activity. After the club, they have a better view about life and surrounding people. The modernization may affect these villages but I believe that many people want to keep their tradition alive.
