Com (boiled rice)

In Vietnam, com is eaten at the main meals of the day (lunch and dinner). Rice is eaten together with a
variety of different dishes and is made from different kinds of rice. Typically fragrant rice is used, such as
Tam Thom and Nang Huong. An ordinary meal may consist of boiled rice and the following:
Mon an kho (meal without soup) consists of dishes of pork, fish, shrimp, and vegetable cooked in oil, as
well as vegetables, pickles, etc.
Mon canh (meal with soup) consists of a soup made with pork or spare-ribs, crab meat, and fish.
In the past several years, people in urban centers have begun to go out for lunch at the food stalls on the
street. Consequently, there has been a proliferation of temporary food stalls along many sidewalks and
public spaces in the cities. Some stalls are open until early in the morning to cater to regular customers.
Around noon, owners can be seen arranging tables and benches along the pavement to form makeshift
shop floors. After two or three hours, when there are no more customers, they begin to remove all of their
wooden furniture, so that the place resumes its former appearance. A well served
lunch for one is very inexpensive.

Hu Tieu (My Tho Noodle Soup)

My Tho seafood noodle soup is different from Chinese noodle soup, nam vang soup,
and Hue beef noodle soup, because it contains soy bean, lemon, chili, and soy sauce instead of herbs
and lettuce.
Back in the 1960s, a shop in My Tho, 70 km from Ho Chi Minh City, started serving this dish using a
secret recipe for the rice noodles. Ever since then, its reputation has grown to become a very well known
meal in Vietnam.
It is said that the most delicious noodle soup is made with Co Cat rice, from the most famous rice growing
area of My Phong village, a suburb of My Tho.
The sweet aroma of the broth comes from the meat, dried squid, and special
condiments.
My Tho noodle soup is a traditional dish specific to the south.

Canh Chua (Fish Sour Soup)

Canh chua originated from the Mekong Region, more specifically from Dong Thap Muoi. Canh chua is a
fish sour soup made with fish from the Mekong River and so dua flower. This dish is mostly served when
the so dua flower first blossoms at the end of the rainy season. A feast is organized and the fish sour soup
is among the delicious meals prepared for this event. Fish sour soup must be eaten very hot. It must also
be eaten all at one time since the taste is altered when the soup is reheated.

Pho - Noodles
Pho is the most popular food among the Vietnamese population. Pho is commonly eaten for breakfast,
although many people will have it for their lunch or dinner. Anyone feeling hungry in the small hours of the
morning can also enjoy a bowl of hot and spicy pho to fill their empty stomachs.
Like hot green tea which has its particular fragrance, pho also has its special taste and smell.
Preparations may vary, but when the dish is served, its smell and taste is indispensable. The grated rice
noodle is made of the best variety of fragrant rice called Gao Te. The broth for Pho Bo (Pho with beef) is
made by stewing the bones of cows and pigs in a large pot for a long time. Pieces of fillet mignon together
with several slices of ginger are reserved for Pho Bo Tai (rare fillet). Slices of well done meat are offered

to those less keen on eating rare fillets.

The soup for Pho Ga (pho with chicken meat) is made by stewing chicken and pig bones together. The
white chicken meat that is usually served with Pho Ga is boneless and cut into thin slices. You could
consider Pho Bo and Pho Ga Vietnam's special soups. Pho also has the added
advantage of being convenient to prepare and healthy to eat.

Vietnam Lunar New Year Festival

Lunar New Year Festival often occurs between late January and early February; it is
among the most important holidays in Vietnam. Officially, the festival includes the 1st,
2nd and 3rd day in Lunar Calendar; however, Vietnamese people often spend about
nearly a month to celebrate this special event.
Traditionally, the purpose of Tet holiday is that Vietnamese would like to thank Gods for
the arrival of spring with a variety of blooming trees and flowers after a cold and harsh
winter. Also, this is the privileged occasion for familys members to reunite, celebrating
a new year which has come together, and saying farewell to the previous one. All the
best things are prepared and consumed during this holiday as people want to ensure
that they will have a new year full of prosperity.
Tet Holiday gets its beginning marked with the first day in the Lunar Year; however, its
preparation starts long before that. One week before the holiday, in the 23 rd day of the
last Lunar month, is East Daya ritual worshiping Kitchen Gods (Tao Cong). It is
believed that each year on this day, these Gods (two males, one female) go to heaven
to tell Jade Emperor (Ngoc Hoang) about all activities of households on earth. On the
New Years Eve, they return to earth to continue their duties as taking care of families.
Within the absence of all of the gods, household members start cleaning their houses
and decorating them beautifully with a plenty of accessoriesa process that must be
done before the New Years Day as the appearance of cleaning equipment after that
equals sweeping all the good lucks away. In addition, people buy and/or prepare items
exclusive in Tet Holiday (for example: Chung cake, Day cake, pork bologna, pickled
onion, candied fruits and seeds)mainly foods that can be stored for a long time as all
services are closed in the event, for about two weeks. Also, they buy new clothes, and
give gift to their homies, relatives as well as friends.
On the New Years Eve (Giao Thua), Vietnamese people have a spectacular celebration
which involves the whole nationsome may gather around TV and watch the Tao Quan
show, some may go out for fireworks observation. When the bell of the twelfth hour
rings, everybody gathers, at exciting parties or at the comfort of their homes, saying
Happy New Year to one another in warm hugs, forgetting all problems as well as hoping
for a better start.
On the New Years Day, the first ones who come to visit householdscalled first-foot
are very important and hence need to be well chosen, as they are believed to hold in

their hands the entire luck of the family in New Year (Tan Nien). After that, till the third
day or even the fourth day of Tet, individuals meet relatives, friends and colleagues,
wishing them all kinds of good things like happiness, health and success. They give
children lucky money covered in pretty little red envelopes also because of that reason,
as red represents good lucks. Also, they visit pagodas to pray for a good start in the
coming year.
There is a saying in Vietnam, Fathers Tet is on the First Day of New Year, Mothers Tet is
on the Second, and Teachers is on the Third. The best illustration of the quotation is
that, on the first day, Vietnamese visit their parents on the husbands side on; on the
second day, they turn to parents on the wifes side; and lastly, they spend their third
day of Tet visiting their teachers. All in all, Tet is all about back to origins, wishing for the
best, and joining in colorful parties.

Why do people have pets? There are many reasons for it. Firstly, when some people are by
themselves, they feel lonely. Therefore people may use pets to take their mind off being alone. Who has
pets? For example, people who live alone often have pets. These people include retired couples whose
children have moved away, and unmarried people. By coming into contact with pets such as cats or dogs,
persons mental state may improve. People who are depressed, for instance, might get better if they are
around pets. Secondly, because people like animals, they want pets. People may care for just one animal
or many such as cats, dogs, fishes or birds. I do not have a pet because my mansion can not have pets.
And I have never had a pet. However, because an animal is loved, I would like to think that glue is good,
whenever it sees the pet which people have, and the animal which is present in a pet shop, and to have. It
is a good thing for humans to like animals. It can come into contact with an animal simultaneously with it,
and it is pleasant and is cured. Animals are creatures that are similar to human beings. Through pets,
adults can teach children many important things. Children tend to not see the importance of animals
because they think they are insignificant. However, a familys pet can become a family member. Therefore
humans should realize the comfort animals can bring.

My Lazy Neighbor
My neighbor is very lazy. She doesnt like to do the dishes. For example, her
sink is always full of dirty dishes. In fact, she prefers going to bed without eating to
washing the dishes she needs to serve dinner. She also hates doing the laundry. For
instance, she can (will) wear a white shirt till it turns brown. She even neglects her
baby. One day, he was sick; and once they got him to the hospital, the physicians
discovered that he had an infected wound. However, the worst thing is that she might
end up dying from her laziness. She is overweight; and when doctors warned her to
start exercising if she wants to have a chance to live longer, she said that she would
prefer dying to exercising. Therefore, I think my neighbor is the laziest woman I have
ever seen (known).

A Stingy Person I Know

I met many stingy people during my life when I was in my country, and I have met
many stingy people here, too. For example, when I was in my country, I lived in a
neighborhood where there was a wife and a husband who did not have any kids. The
lady was good person, but her husband was a stingy guy. The man came from a rich
family, and he had a lot of money and he had a good job, but he always mind ? his
wife and he pretended he had no money. For example, he never spent money to buy
new clothes. When I saw him on the street, he was a dirty man with old clothes. All
the neighbors avoided him because he was an unusual person. For instance, when he
got sick, he never went to a doctor, and he never spent money on himself, and then I
do not know what happened to his family because my family moved to another place
to live.

A frightening
experience
I am not the one who is frightened easily,but I must admit
that one night I saw a figure that struck terror intomy heart.
It was a moon-lit night.I was returning home on foot from
the house of my friend a few miles away.That was the first
night in my life that I was out alone.The road along which I
was walking was not used much at night.Even during the
day,it was used only by those who worked banana
plantations along the road.

As I was walking, I could hear the noises made by squirrels,

insects, owls. Creatures that love night world such as bats
were very active,and there were hundreds of shadows.
However,all these did not frighten me. I held a stick in my
hand and moved rapidly towards home. Then, suddenly, I
caught sign of an old lady, a short distance away. Her head
was covered with a white cloth, and she was waving to me.
Curious to know why she was there at that time of the night,
I stopped for a while. As I stood there, however, vague
memories of stories about ghosts began to come back to my
mind. I was soon gripped with fear and took to my heels. I
ran as fast as I could, and when I reached home, I could
hardly speak.
However, on the next day, I visited that place again to make
sure that the woman was indeed a real person and not a
ghost. But I could find no foot-prints there. Only a banana
plants stood there with its leaves moving in the breeze. I
realised then that it was the banana plant with its leaves
moving in the breeze that looked like a woman waving her
hand.
I had indeed made a fool of myself, but after the previous
nights experience, the discovery was small relief to me.
Besides, I will never walk on the road at night.

The Humans Greatest Invention !

Man has made several inventions. Computer is one of them. The computer has begun
to control so many critical functions that today man is excessively proud about his
invention.
Today, the computer plays an important role in our lives and we are completely
dependent on him.
It has been commonly said that the computer can never replace the human brain, as it
is created by humans, but we cant ignore the fact that computer is much more capable
than human brain. There are many ways in which the computer has an edge over man.
The computer has the capability to evaluate problems that man can hardly imagine.
Even if a man can calculate the same problems as a computer, the computer can do it
faster with 100% accuracy. The computer is clearly superior in many other aspects. In
absolute speed of computation and retrieval of data, the computer is obviously by far
the stronger.
It has the capacity to handle things on a far bigger scale than the human brain could
ever do. Measurements, results, applications can all be done to the smallest details, far
beyond the human brains capabilities.
Calculations can be done with accuracy nearly impossible. The human brain is easily
stressed out by events and loses effectiveness when tired but computer cant.
On the other hand, though the human brain has a lot of flaws, yet it also has an edge
over the computer. It has the capacity to create, unlike the computer and it can work
without full input, making logical assumptions about problems.
A person can work with a wide variety of methods, seeing new, more efficient ways of
handling problems. It can come up with infinite ways of getting around problems
encountered in day to day life, while a computer has a limited memory of new tricks it
can come up with, limited by its programming.

It is the human brain that figures out the programming that will allow any improvements
for the computer. The human brain can learn to understand anything. It can grasp the
central concept of anything.
Also, emotions are not capable in a computer. Emotions and feeling allow the human
brain to evolve beyond a problem- solving machine. They open the mind to an endless
realm of possibilities. The reason why computers cannot create is because of the lack of
emotions.
In conclusion, computers have become the necessity of modern life, yet they are far
from perfection. They have only a limited capacity for learning. The computer lacks the
common sense of the human brain. On the human brain has many flaws, just as it has
advantages. The human brain can never perform tasks as efficiently or as tirelessly as
the computer.
Emotions make the mind dangerously unstable; A mans performance is subject to
moods and emotional disruption. The computer suffers no such problems.
Emotions blur the human brains capacity to make clear, logical decisions. We can say
that the computer is the best invention of man, but only when it is operated with human
brain.

Disadvantages genetically modified

food.
The idea of producing food with desirable qualities paved the way for the development of genetically
modified food worldwide. Scientists were able to isolate genes with favourable traits and insert them
in crops to produce food that can resist drought, insects, pesticides and even is more nutritious. It
started by developing a tomato with a longer shelf life in 1994 called Flavr Savr. But then, it was
found that consumption of this engineered tomato caused stomach lesions in rats, thus, raising
issues about the safety of genetically modified food in general. Since then, the debate raise on the
disadvantages of consumption of genetically modified food. Below are just some examples of the
long list of disadvantages of such practice;

1. The safety of such products is not verified yet, in fact, we are the lab rats to test the safety of such
technology.
This is sad but true. In fact, genetically engineered food is being consumed daily with no thorough
research of its potential threats on human health.
2. Genetically modified ingredients can cause cancer.
A consultant histopathologest at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Dr Stanley Ewen, raised the concern that
food and water contaminated with genetically engineered material could increase the growth of
malignant tumours upon contact with humans. Later, other studies suggested a link between
engineered food and cancer.
3. It could raise new allergy outbreaks in humans.
It was found that a genetically engineered soya bean containing Brazilian nut protein was allergenic
to humans and was withdrawn from production.
4. Under-Developed countries becoming more dependent on other communities.
This was raised when developing the golden rice, a genetically modified rice that contains larger
amounts of vitamin A, which can be beneficial to poor people in developing countries. However, it is
usually the large companies of the developed world that can produce such crop engineering which
will increase the dependency of poor counties on the Wild, Wild West!
5. You are not what you eat any more!
Genetic engineering allows introducing animal products in plants which could raise issues for those
with dietary restrictions, like vegetarian or vegans.
6. It is un-natural way of producing food.
There will always be unknown long term effects to the ecosystem and biodiversity when inducing
unnatural ways to change the natural traits of crops.
7. Adverse effects on the immune system.
A study in 2008 showed that feeding mice engineered food for 30 days caused an immune reaction
and altered the number of cells that regulated the immune functions in the body.
8. Pesticide resistant food can create super-creatures!
Its not a joke, modified genes in engineered crops that resist pesticides can transfer to insects and
pests; making them pesticide resistant. These super-organisms cannot be controlled easily which
will create problems in managing their numbers and to crop production in future.
9. Genetically modified products cannot be recalled.

Altered genes in engineered food will multiply through generations, passing with it any unknown
damaging trait to the future population. It will be one product of a kind that cant be recalled when a
malfunction is discovered.
10. The effects of genetic food engineering could be irreversible.
All the disadvantages mentioned above are probably irreversible, especially the harmful effects on
the environment and human health which is an inevitable outcome to the fast pace development of
biotechnology and genetic engineering.Consuming the highest quality of nutrients is the best option
for a healthy lifestyle that can even reverse the adverse effects already implemented by GM food.
This may come from organic food as well as supreme supplements that provide quality nutrients and
antioxidents in a convenient way for us to grab. One supplement formula that stands out and is
backed with solid scientific data about its effect is Lifelixer formulation; this supplement is the result
of over a decade of research and development and it is patented in over 40 countries and provide
premium blend of vitamin E, B complex, Zinc and silica. In addition it has the macronutrients your
body strive for to build a competent immune system.

British Wedding Customs and Superstitions: Past and Present

The decision to get married is one of the most important decisions in life.
Therefore, it is no wonder that there are so many customs and superstitions
associated with weddings. A lot of wedding traditions go back to folklore and
pre-Christian times and used to protect marrying couples against bad luck
and evil spirits.
In the past young people could not just fall in love and decide to get
married. First, they needed to obtain their parents' consent. In fact, quite
often it was the parents who decided who their children should marry and
not the children themselves. When the prospective groom had obtained his
father's consent to marry, a formal marriage proposal had to be made. The
prospective groom did not propose in person but sent his friends or
members of his family to represent his interest to the prospective bride and
her family. If they saw a blind man, a monk or a pregnant woman during
their journey, it was believed that the proposal would not be accepted as
these signs were thought to bring bad luck. If, however, they saw wolves,
this was a good omen which would bring good fortune to the marriage. I just
wonder what the hungry wolves thought about it!
Now things are not nearly as complicated. However, it is still considered
romantic and proper to ask your beloved if he or she would like to marry you

and exchange engagement rings. The purpose of getting engaged is to show

each other and others that you are no longer free and plan to get married,
say, in two year's time. One British couple has been engaged for over 35
years and are still not married!
Choosing the right day for the wedding is the next thing to be considered.
Now the most popular day is a Saturday as most people work during the
week. As there are only four Saturdays in any month, summer weddings
need to be booked a year in advance!
In the past, choosing when to marry was a serious affair. Saturdays were
considered unlucky, and so were Fridays, especially Friday the 13th. This
famous old rhyme advises a wedding to happen in the first half of the week:
Monday for wealth
Tuesday for health
Wednesday the best day of all
Thursday for losses
Friday for crosses (= funerals)
Saturday for no luck at all

However, this is just the beginning of the serious business of wedding

planning. Weddings are not cheap, so a careful budget needs to be set. An
average wedding in Britain costs ?10-12,000. To a large extent, the cost
depends on how many guests are invited, which is normally around 150.
Traditionally, the bride's family would pay most expenses, except for the
alcohol and the honeymoon which would be at the bridegroom's family's
expense. Nowadays, things are more flexible and expenses are split
according to the two families' incomes.
Buying a suitable outfit for the groom is not difficult - he just needs a black
suit and a flower buttonhole. However, dressing the bride is an altogether
different matter. The answer is in this old rhyme, which is as relevant today
as it was more than a hundred years ago:
Something old, something new
Something borrowed, something blue
And a silver sixpence in your shoe

"Something old" is normally an old garter given to the bride by a happily

married woman in the hope that her happy marriage will be passed on to the

new bride. "Something new" symbolises the newlyweds' happy and

prosperous future. "Something borrowed" is often a valuable item lent by
the bride's family which needs to be returned to ensure good luck.
"Something blue" is normally a blue ribbon in the bride's hair to symbolise
fidelity. The placing of a silver sixpence (an old English coin) or a penny in
the bride's shoe is to ensure future wealth.
As it is important for the bride and groom to look and feel great on the most
important day of their life, they require some help. The bride chooses her
sister or a close friend to be her chief bridesmaid. Originally, bridesmaids
were young women dressed the same way as the bride in a disguise to
confuse evil spirits and protect the bride. The chief bridesmaid, or the
Bridesmaid of Honour, helps the bride to choose her dress, get dressed on
the day and assists with the actual wedding ceremony. If it is a church
wedding, she follows the bride and her father up the aisle and holds the
bride's bouquet during the ceremony. The groom also has a helper. The Best
Man, who is normally the groom's "best man" friend, plays a major part in
any wedding. He helps the groom to get dressed, organises the stag party
and generally coordinates the whole event.
The last part of the wedding is the reception. Traditionally, guests are offered
a wedding cake. Originally, cakes were flat and round and contained fruit
and nuts that symbolised fertility. Now wedding cakes have three tiers. The
new shape is believed to have been inspired by the unusual spire of Saint
Bride's Church in the City of London. The couple make the first cut together
to symbolise their shared future. It is said that if unmarried guests place a
piece of wedding cake under their pillow before sleeping, it will increase their
chances of finding a partner.