VietNamNet Bridge – What do the farming-parents most like and what do they fear most when accompanying their children on the trips to Hanoi to attend the university entrance exams?

Lacking money – the biggest worry

There are many things for parents to worry about. Some of them fear their children may be late to the exams, while others are not sure if the food is safe enough for their children in the summer hot days. However, the parents all have a common worry – the lack of money.

Han Danh Phan, 53, from Tam Nong in Phu Tho province, said that his son has registered to attend the entrance exams to two universities; therefore, he had to bring 4 million dong with himself to Hanoi.

“I am not sure if 2 million dong for every school is enough. If we lack money, I would have to borrow from a relative in the city,” he said.

“In the countryside, we earn our living by growing rice and breeding pigs and fowl. The profits are modest, while we would incur heavy losses in animal epidemics,” he said.

“Therefore, in order to have the four million dong, we began breeding two herds of pigs several months ago. We sold the pigs and rice one week before we left for Hanoi,” he explained.

When asked what he fears most in Hanoi, he said that he is afraid of being overcharged or swindled.

“I dare not drink tea at pavement tea shops. I always keep vigilant over everybody, including the taxi motorbike drivers. I cannot sleep well for fear that someone would steal my money,” he said.

However, Phan said that he was lucky enough to meet good people – the students, who volunteer to help him and his son find a good accommodation at low fee of 40,000 dong a day.

Getting up early not to be late at the exams

Nguyen Thi Yen, a parent from Hoai Duc district in the suburbs of Hanoi said she is afraid of the terrible traffic, because of which her daughter may be late to the exams. She said she and other members of the family had to get up at 4 am and leave home soon to avoid the rush hours.

“We have to travel only 18 kilometers from my home to the Hanoi University of Technology. However, we still decided to leave soon at 5.20 am,” she said.

When asked why she did not leave the daughter at the relative’s home in the inner city of Hanoi, so as to shorten the time of traveling to the exam room, she said that her daughter would not sleep well in strange houses. “I want my daughter to feel most comfortable, so that she can pass the exams,” she said.

All the parents have been trying to prepare the best things for their children, who attend the most important exams in their lives. Son from Hai Duong province said that as he feared he may lose his way, he had to come to the dormitory very soon to book seats.

“It is very hot there, while the living conditions are not really good. I fear my daughter may fall sick. Therefore, I have all most popular kinds of medicine in my back packs, from the drug to treat to treat stomachache to the one to treat influenza.

A lot of joys expected in Hanoi

Phan said that he felt excited when taking bus to the destinations he wanted. “The buses were so convenient and the tickets were so cheap,” he said.

He also related that before leaving for Hanoi, his family members went to the Quoc Te Temple in Tam Nong district to pray for luck at the exams. When they arrived in Hanoi, they also visited Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam, which is considered the first university in Vietnam.

Source: VTC