Humans of Hua Tat
SUA
I am Sua, the wife of A Chu, a homestay owner in Hua Tat. I lead a busy life running the homestay as I take on many roles, including the chief chef, bartender, and receptionist. Although running the homestay can be tiring at times, I'm always happy to see tourists experiencing the authentic Hmong culture here in Hua Tat.
In addition, A Chu and I help the homeless and the poor especially those whose parents and relatives are prisoners, who have left for Laos or those whose relatives have passed.
During my free time, I try my best to make my workers feel at home. I guide the local staff here to the highlands, the forest, and Moc Châu to engage in various activities to get closer to them. Sometimes, we would gather around the table to watch videos or embroider together. I treat them as my family and hope that they feel the same too.
In the future, A Chu and I hope to open 2-3 more homestays and continue helping the less fortunate.
Ever wondered what is it like to run a homestay?
Click on SUA to find out more about her story!
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A CUA
Growing up, my fondest memory of Hua Tat village is the crazy buffalo my family used to have. The crazy buffalo used to roam around the empty plains, which has now become a pine forest. During those days, I led a simple and carefree life - my only goal was to be a good person and to have a family.
Now that I'm older, I have greater things in mind. I wish to carry on my family's tradition of paper-making, and share them with my fellow villagers and tourists. After taking over my family paper-making business, I continued selling my homemade paper at the market as decorations and incense paper, and started conducting paper-making workshops for tourists.
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When I have free time, I like to travel to other communities, which allows me to learn more about tourism . These trips provide me with knowledge to improve my paper-making workshops, so that they are more appealing to tourists.
Want to learn more about paper-making from Hua Tat's own expert?
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Click on A CUA to find out more about his story!
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A NHA
I used to dream of being a policeman, but I couldn’t pass the police academy test. Therefore, I decided to go to Hanoi to study tourism. It was the best decision of my life because I met my beautiful wife there. We started building our homestay after seeing the potential in tourism through the success of A Chu.
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Building and running a homestay is tough work with lots of physical activity. However, it is also very fulfilling as the many interactions I have with my guests never fail to brighten up my day.
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In the future, I wish to build a playground and open a restaurant to enhance the homestay experience for my guests. I also want my homestay business to be successful enough so that my family can lead a comfortable life.
A NHA
Want to learn more about the life of a budding homestay owner?
Click on A NHA to find out more about his story!
SONG THI Y A
When I was a child, my family was very poor. I had to work since I was 8 years old to contribute to my family's income. I rarely played with the other children because I was farming or gardening most of the time. I was also unable to go to school even though my childhood dream was to be a researcher or a professor.
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I fell in love with my husband, A Long, and got married to him at the age of 15. Together, we have three beautiful children. A Long and I farm, but have also set up our own homestay 3 years ago. When there are no guests staying at our homestay, I enjoy cooking, tending to my garden, and spending time with my children. These activities are very therapeutic for me.
My aspiration for my children is for them to be well educated and fulfil my childhood dream of being a researcher, instead of working at the farm like I am doing now.
What are the hopes of a mother for her children?
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Click on SONG THI Y A to find out more about her story!
TONG
I am a 17 year old high school student. I am originally from Hua Tat Village, but I moved to Moc Chau Town to study when I was 10. I return to Hua Tat village on the weekends and over the school holidays to visit my parents.
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I have many passions, such as fishing and playing football, but my greatest passion is learning English. I started learning English when I was 10, because I thought that it is important for my future career. I learn English from an online teacher named Robert Thành. Robert is a very inspirational teacher, as his infectious energy always made me excited to learn more. I am so grateful to him that I have decided to call myself Robert as well.
It has been 7 years since I started learning English, but I still have much to improve on, especially my vocabulary. I will continue to work hard! I promise that in another 7 years, I will become as fluent as a native speaker.
What do the youth of Hua Tat dream of?
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Click on TONG to find out more about his story!
DUNG
Hello, I am Dung. I am 10 years old. A Nha, a homestay owner in Hua Tat, is my cousin.
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Whenever A Nha is busy with his homestay, I help him to take care of his baby. When I have free time, I usually stay at home and embroider. I can embroider a full set of Hmong clothing, but I am slow. My mother is much faster than me. I take 6 months to embroider a shirt, and 9 months to embroider a skirt. I hope I can get better with more practice.
I also help my parents at our farm sometimes. We grow corn, rice, passion fruit and strawberry. I started learning how to grow rice when I was 7, and am waiting to learn how to grow corn and strawberries.
I study at Van Ho Primary School in Hua Tat. I wish to become a teacher or doctor in the future. I also want to go to the zoo, the park and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi.
Curious about the world of Hua Tat through the eyes of a child?
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Click on DUNG to find more about her story!
SEO LINH
Hello everybody! My name is Seo Linh. I am 10 years old and I am from Vietnam. I live with my father, mother, and two younger sisters in Hua Tat Village. I study in Van Ho Primary School.
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During the school term, my teacher will make us clean up the communal house and pick up the trash before lesson. Then, I go for class together with my cousin Binh. Although Binh is one year older than me, we are in the same class because he doesn’t like to study alone. After school, it’s time for me to play with my friends!
During the holidays, my father will ask me to do things for him, such as bringing tourists around the village and washing the family motorcycle. I don’t really like doing these chores, but I do it anyway because my father is scary when he is angry. When I’m done with these chores, I can finally play football with my friends.
I don’t really know what to do in the future. Anything goes, I think (just no chores please).