Kokusai Hiroba Café -Around the World- Vol.72『Vietnam and Guinea』

◇Contents

Opening（Introducing Hiroba Café）

Lecturers introduce Vietnam and Guinea

Question Time and Closing

（Opening）

The host opened the event and explained the purpose of the Hiroba Café. He then introduced Ms. Bui Sang Thi Thu from Vietnam, and Ms. Rumiko Fujii, who has experience in visiting Guinea.

（Introducing each country）

 Vietnam：

Lecturer Sang Thi Thu wore traditional Vietnamese garb (ao dai) as she presented. First, she greeted the audience in Vietnamese. After teaching the audience the pronunciation, they tried joining in, saying the greetings along with her.

The key points of the presentation introduced Vietnam’s geography, currency, and food. Whilst explaining, Lecturer Sang Thi Thu showed photos, and explained in a way that was clear and easy for the audience to understand.

For instance, she introduced the diverse society of Vietnam, with 54 different ethnic groups, each with their own culture; clothing, language, music, and more. An interesting point she added is that when people think about ‘Vietnam’s traditional clothing’, they typically think of the ao dai, which is in fact the traditional clothing of the Kinh ethnic group. The ao dai is also used as Vietnam’s school uniform for girls.

Lecturer Sang Thi Thu also showed photos of Vietnam’s events and festivals. Following this, she demonstrated a traditional Vietnamese song and dance for everyone. Vietnamese people love singing and dancing, she explained, and they often do so on special occasions. Seeing and understanding the rich and spiritual Vietnamese culture, the viewers came away with a keen desire to keep learning more about Vietnam. Lecturer Sang Thi Thu’s passionate presentation and graceful dancing will certainly be remembered.

 Guinea：

Lecturer Fujii gave her presentation whilst wearing traditional Guinean clothing.

She first introduced the continent of Africa, before moving onto her main topic, Guinea, which is a country in West Africa.

She introduced the languages, ethnic groups, and produce of Guinea, and explained that one of Guinea’s main exports is percussion instruments made from goatskin, showing various examples. A particularly interesting instrument had multiple gourds to attached to it, to cause a resonation of sounds when played!

Lecturer Fujii also showed pictures of the currency, the Guinean franc. In real life, she said, the paper money you get hold of is often so discolored that it’s difficult to see the value written on the paper! Nonetheless, on one of the bills that she showed on the screen, a picture of a drum could be seen, further illustrating the importance of music in Guinean culture.

In terms of food, Lecturer Fujii explained that long-grain rice is a staple in Guinea, and showed photos of rice-based meals.

The villagers that she lived alongside in Guinea were poor, but were like one big family. They would cook a meal together as a village every day, almost like a barbeque. Because of that, the women’s’ day would begin with them starting a fire for cooking on. As there was no electricity and no fridges in the village, they would cook using a large washbasin, and use up whatever ingredients they were able to get hold of on that day, as they couldn’t store the food for long. The village children also had a role in the cooking, such as helping with the seasoning.

Moving on, Lecturer Fujii explained that something else interesting about the culture in African countries is that large objects (buckets, baskets, etc) are often carried upon one’s head. Also, the women have a keen sense of beauty and fashion, and sometimes friends or family will wear matching outfits together to celebrate one of their birthdays. There are also various hairstyle trends, as well as wig shops for the women who desire straight hair.

During events, streets will often be closed and people will walk the streets while playing percussion instruments, celebrating through the day and night with drums and dance. There is a real feeling of community spirit. According to what Lecturer Fujii heard from the locals, they believe that their culture of song and dance grants them an emotional outlet, and keeps them from going astray. Even when the people don’t know where their next meal is coming from, song and dance gives them a reason to keep going.

For the final performance, Lecturer Fujii played the drums and Lecturer Sang Thi Thu danced alongside. Even the host joined in the fun, and everyone enjoyed Guinea’s culture of song and dance together, for a one-of-a-kind experience!