B: Vietnam has gone more than a month with no new COVID-19 infections. We are cautiously resuming our normal activities.

A: Siddhartha Bhattacharjee of India asked us about the opening of schools and universities and online classes in Vietnam, and whether cinemas and theaters in Vietnam had reopened yet?

B: Schools in Vietnam reopened in the middle of May to allow students to finish the previous academic year. University students returned to school in May to review lessons studying online at home during the epidemic closure. They completed their 2^nd semester and took their final examinations in July.

Teachers check temperature of pupils before class.

A: Some adjustments were made necessary by the pandemic. Grade 12 students had three weeks to review for the national high school graduation examination in August. The graduation exam was pushed back two months because of the school closure. This year’s national high school graduation exam was also the entrance exam for state universities.

B: A new academic year began on September 5^th for 23 million schoolchildren, from kindergarten through 12^th grade. The novel coronavirus has been contained in Vietnam but schools and other public places are still enforcing health safety measures like hand sanitizing and checking temperatures.

A: Many of our listeners have asked us about the Vietnam Travel Atlas and where they can buy it.

B: The bilingual Vietnamese-English Travel Atlas debuted in 2000 and since then has been a popular source of information about Vietnamese tourism. Its 10th edition, which appeared this year, includes updated information on tourist destinations across Vietnam together with essential information on hotels, restaurants, and places of entertainment.

A: The 112-page publication sells for 5 USD on the website titc.vn maintained by VNAT’s Tourism Information Center.

B: Listener Rahematun Nesan of India emailed us to say that she often listens to VOV’s program on our Android mobile app. She’d like to have a magazine of VOV radio programs so she can see the names of people and places. 

A: It’s a pity that VOV doesn’t have a magazine. But please visit our website at vovworld.vn, where we post many of our stories and news items. You can also listen to our audio programs here if you missed them on shortwave.

B: On our website we have stories that are aired only on our domestic channel, including Culture Rendezvous, Food Delight, and That’s Life.

A: “Culture Rendezvous” featuring foreign cultures has drawn a lot of viewers. Nathaniel Maghanoy read the story on our website about Bayanihan, the house-moving tradition of the Philippines. He said he can use the story and pictures in his lectures.

B: Nathaniel, please feel free to use our story to illustrate your lectures. Bayanihan is derived from the word Bayan, which means “town”, “community” or “country”. Bayanihan literally means “being in the community”. Bayanihan culture derives from that meaning: “being helpful in the community, being one of those people who are working together to achieve a certain goal.”

A: Samuel Ancheta Jr. told us that he lives in a Bayanihan House in San Francisco, CA. He read the story and thought of the history of Filipinos moving to America together. It is the reason the building was built. Samuel’s parents migrated from the Philippines and he was born in the US. The staff at Bayanihan House are Filipinos.

B: Thank you, Samuel, for sharing your story with us. We are pleased to know that you felt some connection with our stories.

A: Kathleen Poole read a story about the Kym Viet Company, a craft business for the disabled, and wanted to buy some of their little stuffed animals.

B: You can go to the company’s website kymviet.com.vn to see the products and place an order. Kym Viet is also on Facebook.

A: At the Kym Viet workshop no one hears the click of the scissors and needles, as all the employees are deaf. They make eye-catching and beautiful souvenirs bearing meaningful cultural messages, driven by a desire to contribute to society.

B: Kym Viet is a private company that sells handicraft products made by disabled artisans. 3 of the 5 founders of Kym Viet are disabled.

A: Kym Viet’s principal products are toys, decorations, and kitchenware, made mainly of 100% cotton fabric, burlap, and brocade fabric. Many of the products are decorated with distinctive Vietnamese patterns.

B: Their sand-filled animals are covered with a strong, dense fabric and scented with essential oils whose gentle scent lingers for months.

A: Kym Viet’s handmade products are beautiful, original, useful, safe and durable. By producing these high-quality products, Kym Viet’s workers proclaim that they might be disabled, but they are not useless to society. 

B: We received a message from Andrey Kuzmin of Russia saying that he likes Vietnamese songs and he’d like to have some CDs of Vietnamese music.

A: It’s not cheap to have CDs delivered from Vietnam. We recommend that you try some Vietnamese music websites, where you can listen to different genres of Vietnamese music with good sound quality. Some of the best online Vietnamese music websites are: Zingmp3.vn, Nhaccuatui.vn, chiasenhac.vn, nhac.vn, and nhacdj.vn.

B: We received a letter from Grant Skinner of England saying he tuned in to our program on August 22^nd on 7280khz. He rated SINPO at 35353 and noted a distorted voice at first then it resolved itself. Then there was a loud crackle which interfered with his listening. He could understand a few words but not whole sentences.

A: Thank you Grant Skinner for your feedback and regularly listening to VOV to keep up to date with news in Vietnam. We’ll forward your comment to the technicians to find the problems.

B: Thank you all for your feedback and reception reports. From now on we’ll only be sending e-cards to verify reception reports. It’s a pity, but listeners will still be receiving little gifts as token of appreciation from VOV.

A: We always welcome your feedback at: English Service, VOVworld, the Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.org.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs. Check out our VOV Media App, available on both the IOS and Android platform, to hear our live broadcasts. We look forward to your feedback on the mobile version of vovworld.vn. Once again, thank you all for listening. Goodbye until next time.