I am a retired teacher. My encounter with Vietnam was lived under the flames of love. I was 15 years old, I knew nothing about it; we looked at each other, we didn't talk but we loved each other; he was born in Saigon in 1959 to a French father and a Vietnamese mother.
Life brought us together three years later for a beautiful little journey. He was my first love and he introduced me to his Vietnamese universe: his culture (music, mother-of-pearl paintings, language), culinary art (nems, spring rolls, Pho, delicious banh cam), the courage, tenacity, and modesty of the Vietnamese and the Ao dai. My love for Vietnam is also my love for my brother who in his youth was a disciple of Master PHAM XUAN TONG - a teacher of Viet vo dao.
When I wear an Ao dai, I feel elegant, feminine, and faithful to the memories of my first love and his roots. I believe that I feel a little Vietnamese and I love it. I have not yet had the happiness of visiting Vietnam but I know that I will make my last trip to beautiful Ao dai, it is one of my last wishes.
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