Technology Brings People Together

You don't need to know French to love Quynh Anh's"Bonjour Viet Nam". It's the way she sings...with so much emotion in her beautiful tone. I first caught of this song when my dad played it every night (and day too) after his best friend from Viet Nam sent it to him via email. He later told me to listen to it and asked me if I understand.
I of course had no idea what she was singing…until I asked my friend Thuy who took French for three years in High School.
With her help, I managed to understand why so many people love this song.
This is one of the "pros" technology has brought us. We can all complain about sexual predators targeting our children through the internet and about credit card frauds, but we all have to agree that technology has make the world a smaller place that connect people together.
It was a little more than a decade ago that the only way for my parents to contact their family in Viet Nam was to make an expensive phone call once every few month or maybe write a letter once in awhile…And often friendship lost its spark and connection because of lack of contact. But now, the internet had managed to make keeping contact easier.
Every Viet knows that Vietnamese citizens were force to scatter around the world since 1975. From what I know, there are Vietnamese in America to Russia…and the only place I know for sure that doesn’t have Vietnamese is Antarctica! (I checked the names of scientists who stay there…and none of them had a Vietnamese name at all.)
This “Bonjour Viet Nam” song with the help of the internet had managed to remind Vietnamese citizen abroad why they love their little war-torn country so much.





Here are the lyrisfor the song "Bonjor Viet Nam". On the right is the translated version. Listen and read and understand why Vietnamese love this song so much!

Racontes moi ce nom étrange et difficile à prononcer Que je porte depuis que je suis née. Racontes moi le vieil empire et le trait de mes yeux bridées, Qui disent mieux que moi ce que tu n'oses dire. Je ne sais de toi que des images de la guerre, Un film de Coppola, [et] des hélicoptères en colère ... Un jour, j'irai la bas, un jour dire bonjour à ton âme. Un jour , j'irai la bas [pour] te dire bonjour, Vietnam. Racontes moi ma couleur, mes cheveux et mes petits pieds, Qui me portent depuis que je suis née. Racontes moi ta maison, ta rue, racontes moi cet inconnu, Les marche's flottants et les sampans de bois. Je ne connais de mon pays que des photos de la guerre, Un film de Coppola, [et] des hélicopt ères en colère ... Un jour, j'irai la bas, un jour dire bonjour à mon âme. Un jour , j'irai la bas [pour] te dire bonjour, Vietnam. Et tant que les Boudhas de pierre pour mes pères, Les femmes courbées dans les rizie`res pour mes mères, Dans la pri ère, dans la lumière , revoir mes frères, Toucher mon âme, mes racines, ma terre ... Un jour, j'irai la bas, un jour dire bonjour à ton âme. Un jour , j'irai la bas [pour] Te dire bonjour, Vietnam (2 fois).

Tell me this name, strange and difficult to pronounce That I have carried since my birth Tell me the old empire and the feature of my slanted eyes Describing me better than what you dare not say I only know you from the war images A Coppola movie, (and) the angry helicopters Someday, I will go there, someday to say hello to your soul Someday, I will go there, to say hello to you, Vietnam Tell me my color, my hair and my small feet That I have carried since my birth Tell me your house, your street, tell me this unknown entity The floating markets and the wooden sampans I could only recognize my country from the war photos A Coppola movie, (and) the helicopters in anger Someday, I will go there, someday to say hello to your soul Someday, I will go there, to say hello to you, Vietnam The temples and the stone-carved Buddha statues for my fathers The stooping women in the rice fields for my mothers Praying in the light to see my brothers again To touch my soul, my roots, my land. Someday, I will go there, someday to say hello to your soul Someday, I will go there, to say hello to you, Vietnam (twice)