(VOVworld) – Ly Son islanders are no longer surprised to see Edyta Roszko riding her bicycle around the island, talking to anyone she meets about anything on earth in Vietnamese. Edyta Roszko, who comes from Poland, shares with VOV her predestined love with Ly Son island.

The story went back to 2002 when Edyta Roszko asked the Polish Ministry of Education for permission to do a research in China. One of her professors advised her to come to Vietnam instead. In order to be able to read necessary materials for her research in the local language, Edyta decided to study Vietnamese: "I first came to Vietnam in 2003 and had to communicate with the local people in Russian. I was then taught to speak Vietnamese by two Vietnamese teachers. I’ve met a lot of Vietnamese people to practice my Vietnamese."

After completing her research in Vietnam in 2005, Edyta returned to Poland to work but somehow could not forget Vietnam. She then decided to do her doctoral thesis on Quang Ngai province in central Vietnam. Edyta said: "Because I wanted to change my job so I have to further study about central Vietnam to do a research on this region. I contacted the French School of the Far East (EFEO) and learned that they were having a research on Quang Ngai at that time and asked me to join. My project was about the folklore religion so I decided to do research on the Sa Huynh culture and spent 1 year in Ly Son island."

Edyta Roszko

Edyta was very impressed with the folklore culture system in Quang Ngai, especially that of Ly Son, a small island of only 10 square kilometers, whose rich relics have been well prepared by the local residents. Edyta continued to work in Poland after defending her doctoral thesis there but kept missing Ly Son and Vietnam. She spent a lot of time reading documents about Vietnam and Ly Son. In 2013, Edyta’s proposal of a cultural research on Vietnam’s marine culture for the EU’s approval. Returning to Ly Son after 7 years, Edyta was very surprised to see so many changes on this island: "Back to Ly Son after 7 years, I’ve noticed so many changes here. In the past, women were not allowed to enter restricted ritual zones but now they can. Tourists are allowed to visit these areas, too. The local culture has become more wide open and I’m doing a research on those changes."

Life has changed in Ly Son but the locals’ sincerity remains the same. This makes Edyta loves this island more: "My people live close to each other. They help each other and stay united as a family. They care a lot about me, too."

Vo Van Ut, a local resident, often helps Edyta explore the island’s culture: "At first I thought she could not speak Vietnamese well. But I was surprised when she told me that she wanted to research the folklore culture of Vietnam, especially Ly Son’s traditional festivals and traditions. I’m happy to know a foreigner who wants to learn more about Vietnam so I’ve done my best to create all the best possible conditions for her research."


Edyta Roszko and Vo Van Ut

Edyta’s husband, a Dutch ethnology researcher, has also spent more than 20 years exploring the ethnic minorities in Vietnam’s Central Highlands as well as the cultural heritages in Vietnam. Edyta said that her husband and she have found many common things originated from their interest and love for Vietnam: "We met at a seminar and talked to each other in Vietnamese and we just could not stop talking. We now mainly live in Denmark but I do my teaching in the UK. We mainly communicate in English but when we want to talk privately, we use Vietnamese. We both love Vietnam and consider it our second homeland."
Edyta decided not to have children yet in preparation for her current working visit in Ly Son. But she hopes that she would take her children to Ly Son on her next visit to the island in the future when she could introduce them about the local landscape and culture that she loves so much.