Dear [Friend's Name],

I hope you're doing well! I wanted to share a little about my hometown, Hanoi, Vietnam. This bustling city effortlessly combines a rich history with a vibrant present. The Old Quarter, with its narrow streets and ancient architecture, is a charming maze where you can feel the heartbeat of Hanoi's past. Hoan Kiem Lake, nestled in the city center, is a serene escape, especially during early mornings or late evenings.

Hanoi's cuisine is a culinary adventure. From the savory pho to mouthwatering banh mi sandwiches, the city is a haven for food lovers. The street food scene is lively, offering a taste of authentic Vietnamese flavors.

The city's architecture is a fascinating blend of French colonial influences and traditional Vietnamese design. Landmarks like the Hanoi Opera House and the Presidential Palace showcase this unique fusion.

Hanoi's atmosphere is lively, with markets, art galleries, and cultural events enriching daily life. The people here are friendly, and the city exudes an elegant charm.

I hope this gives you a glimpse of Hanoi's beauty. I'd love to hear about your hometown and hope you can visit Hanoi someday.

Take care and talk soon!

Warm regards,

Your Name

It is a very good place for relaxation indeed. In my village, people live very close to each another. The people are very simple in thought and behavior. Therefore they are friendly and helpful . So, the crimes of the city are almost unknown in my village. The people work together and live in peace. I love them. My village is surrounded by paddy-fields and a river. All these add great beauty and variety to my village scene. Although I do not like growing rice, but I really like the fields. It makes me have a good mood, a peace mood and a relaxed mood. Now I am living in Hanoi capital. I want to come back my hometown very much. Living among such friendly and simple people, in such a quiet village, is indeed a real pleasure.

Handmade custard is a very popular and tasty food item in my hometown. In fact, the custard of my hometown is popular that, people of all over the country knows the famous custard produced in our area. Specially made custard in my hometown is a popular food item in all over the country and this food item is exported even in some foreign countries as well. The custard of my hometown is very tasty and delicious. It is sweet and is a perfect dessert for dinner.

Milk is the main ingredient to prepare the custard. The fine quality milk is collected and preserved for preparing this food item. The milk is mixed with a tiny amount of special seeds and kept in a large pot in a special temperature. Other sweetener items and ingredients are added 3-4 days later and after a week the custard is prepared.

In our country, people have a long tradition of preparing special food items and different food items of different cities are country famous. Because of the availability of quality cow milk and for the inherited tradition and skill, best quality custards are prepared in our city and this is better than the custards made in other parts of the country. Over time, this food item got famous in the whole country and many outlets have been opened for selling this item in the capital of our country. The people of our town adopted the transportation facilities and have started selling it in different parts of the country. Because of the great and incomparable taste, and superiority in quality, this food item of our hometown got renowned all over the country.

Tet is a traditional holiday of our country Vietnam.
The season of Tet occurs around the biginning of February and end of Janaurỵ The meaning of Tet is ending old year and welcome a new year. Tet holiday is very special for Vietnamese families to reunite. At that time, all family members try to come back their homes and get together to prepare for Tet. Moreover they will buy new clothes and clean their house. A branch of Mai flower or a Kumquat tree can't be absent from every home. They bring a fresh atmosphere to the house. We decorate ancestral altar with a tray full of fruits and flowers.
Some typical Tet's food such as sweets, coconut jam, candied fruits, lemon seeds, rice cake , "thit kho"( stew pork with eggs). A special food can not absent is sticky rice cake.. It is our country's traditional food on Tet holiday. Tet meal is more dilicious than our every day.
On Tet holiday, people have many typical activities. Young persons takes part in the traditional games such as: tug; cooking rice, cock fighting, watching lion dance. Many people visit relatives to wish a happy new year. A dults will give lucky money for children. Woman like going to pagoda to wish good things will come to their familỵ
In my oppinion, i like cozy and fresh Tets atmosphere. All member of family talk together about a happy new year. I can hang out with my friend and don't worry about any thịng
" Tet" holiday is always in Vietnamese's heart.

Tet Holiday is the biggest annual celebration of Vietnam in the first days of lunar New Year. During these days, people welcome a new coming year with good health, lucks and success. Tet holiday is very special for Vietnamese families to reunite and celebrate together.

The preparation for Tet holiday is taken place very soon because it requires many steps. All members of families clean and redecorate their houses together. Then, they buy food, drink such as cookies, sweets, candied fruit, melon seeds...to offer their guests and to store because in this occasion, many shops are closed. A branch of peach flower or a kumquat tree cannot be absent from every home during these special days. Children are the most eager, as their parents will buy them new clothes. In addition to buying things, many Vietnamese families make Chung cake, pickled onion, frozen meat, which are our country's traditional food on Tet holiday. We decorate ancestral altars with a five-fruit tray, vegetables, sweets, and flowers.

In the last day of the previous year, people become more excited as they feel that the New Year is very near to them. Everybody all waits for the sacred moment when the clock points 0 am and fireworks light up everywhere to wish for health, lucks and happiness in the next year. Streets are extremely crowded. On contrary, in the first morning of the year, everything seems peaceful and quiet as people want to sleep longer to enjoy the moment with their cozy family. However, there are some families getting up early to come back to their hometown to visit their ancestors' graves and relatives. From noon on, everybody go to their neighbors' houses to wish them a happy new year. Children in new clothes are very excited, as they will get lucky money from adults.

There are many activities to welcome new coming spring in this occasion. Children usually take up pens to write their first essay, hoping for good results in school. In spring festivals, everyone especially the young takes part in the traditional games such as rollercoaster, tug of war, cooking rice, cock fighting etc. to express their happiness while farmers wish for bumper crops. Women often go to pagodas to show Buddha their hearts and wish their families good things and power to avoid bad lucks. During the first days of New Year, Vietnamese people do things that are supposed to be good for themselves and their loved ones such as wearing red clothes, buying salt, taking chance or praying... and avoid saying taboos(related to death, breaking...). Each region in Vietnam has it own customs to celebrate Tet, which are very special and unique.

"Tet" is the word that is very familiar to Vietnamese people whenever we think about our country. This is the time for family reunion, for festivals, and for people to give love to their loved one. As for me, I enjoy the warm and cozy Tet's atmosphere when all members of my family stay and talk together.

Tet is one of the most important traditional holidays of Vietnamese people. It often occurs around the end of January or the middle of February. Even nowaday, it still carries many old customs. They often say: “Tet is coming, children are all glad while adults start to worry”. Every Vietnamese children love Tet because they can be out of school, go out for a vacation or visit their grandparents who usually live far away. They also receive new clothes and lucky money – it’s given in a red envelope and hoped to bring luck and happiness – from adults. Actually, lucky money is more expected by “big children” like teenagers and young adults than pupils. It’s considered an extra of their allowance. Unlike children, adults have to prepare so many things for Tet. First of all, sticky – rice cake – a kind of Vietnamese cake made by rice, bean and pork – is a must. Some family will make it while others decide to buy from supermarket. Those cakes are often put on the ancestor altar and afterward eaten during Tet. People also give the cake to each other as gift. Because Tet is the beginning of a year, people clean their house, decorate it with an apricot blossom tree or a cherry blossom tree to make it beautiful. And not just the house, they want to keep their body clean. That’s why they will have a bath the night before new year. People use Tet holiday as an occasion to visit others, too. That makes Tet the gathering time. Family stay together, friends meet each other. But they often try not to come to others’ house on the first day of a new year, it means trying not to become the first visitor of a year. Because they believe if their Chinese zodiac does not match the house owner’s, it will bring bad luck for the whole year. People also invite an acquaintance who has suitable zodiac to come over their place. On the second and third day, people feel free to visit everyone, wish them luck and health, bring some gifts decorated with red and yellow and give children – if there is some – lucky money. Tet is a good holiday. No one can escape from it. It drags people out of their routine life, brings those who is far away back home.

I was born in a quiet village where the influence of the city is not much. It is a small village with a population of about two thousand people. It is a very good place for relaxation indeed.

In my village, people live very close to each another. The people are very simple in thought and behavior. Therefore they are friendly and helpful . So, the crimes of the city are almost unknown in my village. The people work together and live in peace. I love them.
My village is surrounded by paddy-fields and a river. All these add great beauty and variety to my village scene. Although I do not like growing rice, but I really like the fields. It makes me have a good mood, a peace mood and a relaxed mood. Now I am living in Hanoi capital. I want to come back my hometown very much. Living among such friendly and simple people, in such a quiet village, is indeed a real pleasure.

1.Describe a place of interest in your hometown

=> I live in New York with my parents. There are a good number of interesting places to see and visit here. But the New York Public Library is more interesting to me than any other places.

I am a citizen of the USA by birth but my parents are not. They came here in search of living from Larissa in Greece during the 1980s. They have been living for around 36 years in this city. After my birth and I got matured enough, they took me to different interesting places to visit in the New York City, and these places are really interesting. But being an introvert, I disliked the crowds and the public library appeared to be more interesting to me than other places. The place is filled with books on numerous issues, magazines, documents and many other things. The classics available in the library were my favourite.

Going to the library is easier for me. In fact, this is not far away from my residence. The New York Public Library is only a 10-minute walk from my home. It remains open from 10 am to 8 pm, except the weekends. Usually, I go there in the evening and read books or novels until the library is closed. Besides, the library is accessible from the other parts of the city. The people who want to visit the library can reach here using several transportation modes. They can reach the library by taxi, metro or by their private cars. But the people who live nearby, like me, come here mostly on foot.

The New York Public Library is a great place to read. But the people who come here are not readers always. Some of them are researchers, while some others may be historians or musicians. Actually, the library is visited by a wide range of people. Basically, the library comes with the reading facilities. But there is also the scope to check the reference books, peep on the music directory or crosscheck any history. Besides, the reading rooms are well expanded and the readers have ample opportunities to use the books and references after their needs. But they have to be careful with the books. Silence among the readers while reading books is expected there.

Reading books may appear boring to many but it is very interesting to me. I love reading books. The books help us to know the unknown and unseen. The experiences of past thousand years have been preserved in books in words. So, when I read them, it appears that I am travelling through time! But every place is not suitable for reading and it requires a very special environment. Hence, I think a library is a nice place to read. At the same time, it is an interesting place as an enriched collection of books are available together. In fact, it is impossible for an individual to collect a part of the books of this library in his entire life. So, I find more interest in reading books in a calm place and the New York Public Library is a place I would recommend to a tourist.

Tham khảo:

My parents’ hometown is Long An, but I was born and raised up in Ho Chi Minh City. People usually call it Saigon, and it is the biggest city of Vietnam. It has a lot of fascinating buildings and constructions since it is a modern and developing city. What I love about Saigon is that all the new and old things are perfectly harmonized. Behind the skyscrapers are the small alleys which contain a slower lifestyle and traditional values. My friends and I have a lot of places to go in our free time such as Nguyen Hue walking street, Tao Dan Park, Dam Sen Water Park, Suoi Tien theme park, and many other places which tourists usually visit. Besides the view, it can be said that Saigon is one of the food heaven that people should not miss when they come to Vietnam. We can find almost all kind of Vietnamese cuisine here, and we can enjoy featuring foods on floating restaurants on Saigon River. I love Saigon a lot, because both the people and the city itself are nice to me and whoever wants to visit it.

Dịch:
Quê hương của bố mẹ tôi là ở Long An, nhưng tôi được sinh ra và lớn lên ở thành phố Hồ Chí Minh. Mọi người thường gọi nơi đây là Sài Gòn, và nó là thành phố lớn nhất của Việt Nam. Vì Sài Gòn là thành phố hiện đại và phát triển, nó có rất nhiều tòa nhà và công trình thu hút. Điều tôi yêu ở thành phố này là tất cả những thứ mới mẻ và cổ xưa hòa quyện với nhau một cách hoàn hảo. Phía sau những tòa nhà cao tầng là những con hẻm nhỏ với các giá trị truyền thống và lối sống chậm rãi hơn. Tôi và các bạn có rất nhiều nơi để đi trong thời gian rảnh như phố đi bộ Nguyễn Huệ, công viên Tao Đàn, công viên nước Đầm Sen, khu giải trí Suối Tiên, và nhiều nơi khách mà khách du lịch thường ghé tham quan. Bên cạnh phong cảnh, có thể nói Sài Gòn là một trong những thiên đường ăn uống mà mọi người không nên bỏ lỡ khi đến Việt Nam. Ở đây chúng ta có thể tìm thấy hầu hết mọi loại ẩm thực Việt Nam, và chúng ta có thể thưởng thức những món ăn đặc trưng trên các nhà hàng nổi trên sông Sài Gòn. Tôi yêu nơi này rất nhiều, bởi vì cả con người và thành phố rất tốt với tôi và những người muốn đến đây.

Chúc bạn học tốt!

Life in the city is full of activity. Early in the morning hundreds of people rush out of their homes in the manner ants do when their nest is broken. Soon the streets are full of traffic. Shops and offices open, students flock to their schools and the day's work begins. The city now throb with activity, and it is full of noise. Hundreds of sight-seers, tourists and others visit many places of interest in the city while businessmen from various parts of the world arrive to transact business. Then towards evening, the offices and day schools begin to close. Many of the shops too close. There is now a rush for buses and other means of transport. Everyone seems to be in a hurry to reach home. As a result of this rush, many accidents occur. The city could, therefore, be described as a place of ceaseless activity. Here, the drama of life is enacted every day.