B: VOV’s relayed broadcast from Moosbrunn, Woofferton, and Dhabayya to Europe at 18:00 UTC will be on 5955 khz. Our broadcast from Woofferton and Cypress Creek to Eastern America and the Caribbean at 01:00 UTC and 02:30 UTC will be on 6175 khz, and to Central America and the Caribbean at 03:30 UTC will be on 6175 kHz. If you haven’t jotted down the changes, please go to our website at www.vovworld.vn to read them again. We’ll also inform you individually by emails and post mails.

A: Here I have an email from Imtiaz Hossain of India who wrote: “About 17 years ago I was a regular listener of VOV. After 2002, due to my studies and part- time job, I was away from home and had no time to listen to the radio. Last year I took a job as a teacher in a public school. Now I listen to shortwave again with my new digital receiver.”

B: We’re glad to have you back, Imtiaz. Your reports and the audio files of our programs gave us an idea of how our program was received at your location, Jiaganj, West Bengal. The frequency of 9730 khz is frequently used in India. It has a good, stable signal with a SINPO rating of 55455.

A: This week we received an email from a new listener of Canada, Kanwar Sandhu. He tuned in to our program on October 13, 2014, on the frequency of 6175 khz, using a Tecsun PL-660 with an external antenna. Mr. Sandhu, 61, lives in Winnipeg, the capital city of Canada’s Manitoba province. His hobbies are music, sports, reading, and DX’ing.

B: Welcome, Kanwar Sandhu, to VOV’s listener community. We’ll send you, as a new VOV listener, some VOV souvenirs and a frequency list to make it more convenient for you to tune in to our channel. We appreciate for more feedback from you. From Algeria, Abdelilah Bounchir, asks us about marriage in Vietnam.

Marriage proposal offerings of the Kinh majority

A: Vietnam has 54 ethnic groups and each of them has its own marriage customs related to the group’s religion, beliefs, and family matriarchy or patriarchy. All consider marriage to be a central event in their lives. The Viet or Kinh majority consider marriage one of three major events in a man’s lifetime, along with buying a buffalo and building a house.

B: In the past a buffalo was an essential asset of the family because it provided the main power in farm work. A man needed to acquire a buffalo and develop his production before getting married. The centuries-old idea that a man should find suitable work, get married, and build a house still has currency today.

The groom and the bride worship at their ancestral altar. It's an important step in a wedding of the King majority (photo: internet)

A: For any ethnic group, it’s crucial to choose good days for the marriage steps including the marriage proposal, the betrothal ceremony, and the wedding. Good days depend on the group’s beliefs. Good days for one group may not be good for other groups.

B: We haven’t got enough time to go into detail. Please check our website at vovworld.vn for more information about the wedding ceremonies of the Kinh majority and Vietnam’s ethnic minorities - the Mong, Muong, Dao, Thai, and Cham.

A: I have an email from Walt Davison of the UK who listened with great pleasure to our program on Thursday, October 16. He wrote: “I continue to enjoy your programs and I find them very informative and topical. In this broadcast I was interested in the Current Affairs about Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung attending ASEM 10 in Italy. There has been coverage of this meeting on our local news broadcast in Europe. It was very interesting to hear in your program about the topics discussed including sustainable growth and economic and environmental issues affecting European and Asian countries. I also enjoyed the item about the Hanoi Opera House which gave an insight into Vietnamese culture.”

B: Thank you, Mr Davison, for sharing with us. VOV brings you detailed information about Vietnam’s participation at world events. We appreciate your technical comment that the frequency of 9625 khz broadcast via Moosbrunn, Austria, was very good in the UK. 17:00 UTC is a convenient time to listen.

A: Gerry Neumann in Hampshire, England, emailed us on October 17 writing “I enjoyed the mix of features, amongst them the news about Vietnam and Asia, which doesn’t get much mention in Britain’s media.” Thank you, Mr. Neumann. VOV maintains shortwave broadcasts to inform people around the world of Vietnam’s domestic and external affairs. I think it’s a primary reason that many people love DX’ing. They learn about the people, culture, and political and social developments in remote countries and get multiple views on the same events that are rarely mentioned in the local media.   

B: We’d like to spend the last few minutes of the Letter Box talking about the most popular noodles among Vietnamese people, a question from Mitul Kansal of India.

A: It’s definitely Pho. Pho has been recognized internationally as Vietnam’s national dish. This popular noodle soup is a complete meal in itself and can be served for breakfast, lunch, or supper. We have Pho with half-raw, well-done, or tender stewed beef or chicken. When a person is sick or has no appetite for rice, he will eat Pho. Its hot broth, made with bone marrow, beef chuck, and many herbs, will restore his gusto. Originating in Hanoi and nearby provinces, Pho is now available in many localities, with variations to match local tastes.

B: Vietnamese Pho is sold at many Vietnamese restaurants abroad and many of our listeners have told us they love Vietnamese Pho and the taste other Vietnamese dishes. That’s it for this week’s Letter Box. You’re invited to visit us online at www.vovworld.vn to listen again or read the articles. Thank you for listening. Good bye.