Out there, the city is buzzing with the countdown to New Year's Eve. Fireworks are about to light up the sky, and the last trains and buses are hurrying away from the stations, taking people home. Yet, in a quiet corner of a café, a restaurant, or a supermarket, there are students silently counting down their work shifts instead of the seconds to the new year.
Images of HUIT students participating in the "HUIT Students Enjoy Tet Far from Home" program in 2026.
For many, Tet means family reunion. But for some students, Tet is also a chance to work part-time, overtime, and hours spent on their feet from morning until late at night to earn extra income. It’s not that they don’t miss home, but because they miss it so much that they want to strive even harder.
"Others wait for lucky money, I wait for tips." It sounds both sad and funny. But behind that saying lies a whole choice: choosing to stay in the city, choosing to endure a bit more hardship so that parents can have a bit less.
Tet has always been the "golden season" for service jobs. Overtime pay is higher, and there are more customers. Some days you’re utterly exhausted from standing through long shifts, your back aches, and your eyes sting from lack of sleep. But there are also heartwarming moments: a generous tip from a customer, or an older person asking kindly, “Why aren’t you going home for Tet, dear?” You can only smile. It’s not that you don’t want to go home. It’s that there’s so much to take care of.
The Tet salary is mentally allocated: part for tuition, part for books and supplies, part to send back home for parents to fix the roof or buy some extra snacks and treats. Thinking about that, suddenly the tiredness feels meaningful.
Back home, the scent of incense must still linger on the afternoon of the 29th, the last day of the year. The sound of a broom sweeping the yard would still be there, swish-swish. The pot of "banh tet" would still be bubbling away all night. On the morning of the first day, wearing new clothes, the air crisp, the heart would be full of excitement, as if everything were starting anew.
Here in the city, New Year's Eve might be the loud music in a restaurant, the bright white lights instead of the warm yellow glow of home. Amidst that noise, there is a unique quiet moment – the quiet moment when thinking about parents.
Some years ago, I was just a kid eagerly awaiting lucky money. Now, I’m the one sending money home. In that moment, you truly understand what it means to grow up.
Is it sad? Yes, it is. Tet is meant for reunion. Not being able to go home leaves a piece missing in your heart. But there is another kind of joy too – the joy of independence. Happiness in knowing you can support yourself, that you can share the burden with your family.
For many students staying in the city during Tet for the first time, it truly sinks in what those past springs were like for their parents, silently managing everything. They understand why their dad used to say, “As long as you kids have everything you need, that's enough.” Perhaps during those years, their parents also felt a lump in their throats but tried their best to hide it.
Tet is not just about fireworks, not just about the family reunion meal. For young people, Tet is also about responsibility. It’s the sweat behind a smile. It’s silent tears amidst a bustling crowd.
By staying behind to work through Tet, these students aren’t just earning money. They are laying the bricks for their own future, one by one. Each shift worked, each coin saved, is a step closer to their dreams – graduating on time, having a stable job, and easing their family's hardships.
There will come a certain Tet when you no longer have to work shifts, no longer have to count tips. You’ll be able to go home early, sit with your parents, and tell them about those Tet holidays you spent staying in the city. When that time comes, today’s exhausting days will turn into memories – memories of a youthful time when you dared to take responsibility.
Being away from home for Tet is not easy. But it is precisely during those spring days that many students truly grow up. They grow up through sweat, through longing, and through the love they have for their families.
Tet is not just about going home. Tet is also a journey of growth for young people learning to stand on their own two feet in life.
HUIT Website Editorial BoardAdmissions & Communications Center