Four years after they first met, Le Minh Nhat, born in 1994 and now living in Ho Chi Minh City, still considers his relationship with Russian wife Kira Filiushina, born in 1997 in the city of Kazan, one of the most remarkable chapters of his life.

Nhat spent 18 years living in Ufa, Russia. Yet it was only after returning to Vietnam in late 2020 that he met Kira during her travels across the country. That unexpected encounter would later become one of the reasons the couple chose to build their life together in Vietnam.

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The couple felt a connection from their very first meeting.

“Among millions of people, a Vietnamese man who once lived in Russia met and fell in love with a Russian woman right here in Vietnam. To me, that feels like fate,” Nhat said.

At the time, Kira was on an extended trip through several Asian countries. When she arrived in Vietnam, she found herself stranded due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pair met at a gathering of Russian friends in Ho Chi Minh City. Although they were immediately attracted to one another, both kept their feelings to themselves.

“The first time I met Kira, I felt something special. We didn’t talk much, but we kept stealing glances at each other. Whenever our eyes met, we would just smile shyly,” Nhat recalled.

Impressed by her femininity and gentle personality, Nhat eventually tracked down her contact information and began messaging her.

With mutual feelings already developing, their relationship progressed quickly. After only a few months of getting to know one another, they officially became a couple.

Kira initially planned to stay in Vietnam only briefly. However, after meeting Nhat, she wanted to remain longer to explore Vietnamese culture more deeply.

For Nhat, his relationship with Kira also influenced his decision to stay in Vietnam permanently and pursue his career in his homeland.

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Minh Nhat and Kira have built a happy family together.

Experiencing Vietnam's culture shock

With the support of both families, the couple married in 2022.

After the birth of their first child, they spent a period living with Nhat's parents in Ho Chi Minh City. It was during this time that Kira experienced Vietnamese family life and culture at close range.

Nhat admitted he was initially nervous about living together with his parents.

“I worried that cultural differences would make it difficult for Kira to adapt, especially because being a daughter-in-law in Vietnam is very different from what she was used to. In Vietnam, daughters-in-law often have a close relationship with their husband's family, while in Russia married couples tend to live more independently. At first, Kira felt some pressure adjusting to life as a daughter-in-law, especially the close interactions and constant concern family members show for one another. But she adapted much faster than I ever imagined,” he said.

Rather than withdrawing, Kira made a determined effort to fit in.

She learned Vietnamese, tried local dishes, helped her in-laws prepare meals and paid attention to the family's daily habits.

At one point, she even learned the Vietnamese names of different vegetables so she could confidently accompany her mother-in-law to the market.

Occasionally she mispronounced words, prompting laughter from the entire family. Yet those moments only made her more endearing to everyone around her.

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Kira has grown to love the closeness of Vietnamese family life.

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Minh Nhat deeply appreciates his wife's efforts to adapt to Vietnamese culture.
Photos: nhatkira_family

Still, the adjustment process was not without surprises.

“The funniest memory was when Kira tasted pure fish sauce for the first time. She was shocked by the smell but still tried to say, ‘It’s delicious,’ just to make everyone happy. I couldn’t stop laughing, but I also felt sorry for her. Another time, my mother told Kira, ‘Leave it there, I’ll do it,’ simply as a way of helping her. Kira thought she had done something wrong and that my mother was unhappy with her. She felt upset for the entire day. Later, she realized that this is simply how Vietnamese parents express care and affection,” Nhat shared.

Perhaps Kira’s biggest culture shock was the closeness between family members and the strong sense of neighborhood community.

At first, she felt uncomfortable with everyone sharing dishes at the table, placing food on one another’s plates and talking extensively during meals.

Over time, however, she came to love the warmth and togetherness of Vietnamese family dinners.

She was also surprised by her mother-in-law’s constant attention.

Whenever she ate too little, stayed up late or dressed lightly on a cold day, her mother-in-law would ask concerned questions and check on her.

Initially, Kira assumed she was being criticized. Eventually she understood that such comments were expressions of affection and care.

Thanh Minh