Age 19 After Final Year School Exam (*)
After completing the Baccalaureate 2 certificate, I had to "deal" with new problems. Either enter university or enter the army. Every year, my school had a free 12th grade review class. I signed up for this class to supplement my studies in addition to the 12th grade curriculum for the Phu Tho Technical College entrance exam. The first few days of the program were horrendously crowded. The number of new students in this class was too large for the school library used as a classroom.
On this occasion, friends met and shook hands. Smiling, I saw Vinh, a friend nicknamed Vinh Black:
- Hey, Vinh, which year were you born?
- 53.
- What do you think?
- Go to army.
He smiled, his mouth twisted, and continued:
- I plan to go to the 29th Class of officers for the Da Lat Military Academy.
- Why don't you go to Thu Duc?
- I think going to Da Lat has a brighter future. This career might help my younger brothers. Besides, studying in Da Lat for 4 years, I would probably enjoy the poetic scenery there.
- Then what the hell are you doing in this class?
- A chance to meet friends for fun.
A falling yellow leaf fluttering in front of me, making me fluttered. Will you be like this leaf? May your dream come true.
Went on a follow-up interview, I asked Minh, my friend standing nearby:
- And what sort of soldier would you go to?
- Hey, I'm only 18 years old, what's the point of being a soldier?
After saying that, he grinned:
- Do you think everyone is 19 old like you?
Digging myself in a big hole, I salvaged:
- Did you register for SPCN?
- Yeah!
At that moment, he asked me to accompany him going to the Bureau of Study Abroad. I agreed. The scene of this year at the Office looked different from the year before. It seemed cold with no news about self-study abroad. There were only a few scholarships for 18-year-olds, orphans or dead soldiers' children. Feeling down, I went around looking at small signs placed on the window frames. This place accepted applications years ago for a 1/4 scholarship for the children of soldiers or civil servants who would go to study abroad as fee paying students, in France, Italy, and Germany. The others were for Japan, and so on. So were for Morocco, Tunisie, Indonesia.
At that time, Minh patted me on the shoulder:
- What major do students going to Morocco study?
I thought it would be easy to answer had he asked me about studying in countries in Europe or America. I casually replied:
- They learned how to make a can. Such as canned meat, canned fish.
After answering, I felt I had a point. "Isn't it Morocco's Sumaco canned fish the best in the world?"
Occasionally, people on motorbikes came in looking at those yellow pieces of paper attached to the mesh door frame, then left. Nothing quite interesting here, so I called Minh to leave.
After attending this supplement class for a few weeks, I learned many new lessons and many strange things. We were taught Mathematics for the entrance exam to Phu Tho's civil and electrical engineering faculty. There were sections such as division of remainders, calculation of VSCLN, BSCBN. The Electrical section had Kirchhoff's law which was used to solve the problem of Electricity very quickly according to the professor. But I was not used to it. I felt the old-fashioned problem solving safer. Later, I found out what the teacher had said right.
In this class, I knew two students who had just passed the final school exam, applied for a scholarship to study abroad. While waiting for the result, they wrote many petition letters to the newspapers reasoning that "the age of 18 is excellent, the war is dying out, the post-war economy needs technical experts, etc.". You two seemed in too much of a hurry. When applications for studying abroad considered, you two would be in top priority.
I also passed well, but I'm 19 years old. Come on guys, we'll stay at home to serve you.
By the 3rd week, the class began much less crowded. The rustling ceiling fan blades gave us a cool breeze. I feel comfortable.
oOo
Dong Tien School was so busy today. Sober old faces were waiting at the school's door. Each person passed through a small door on the side and entered the schoolyard after showing the papers to the Military Police. I came to sit for the entrance exam to the Politics and War Studies University (Đại Học Chiến Tranh Chính Trị (CTCT)).
Dong Tien School occupied a fairly large block of land. From the top floor, looking down at the green grass it was so pleasant to your eyes. Two rows of young trees brought shade from the school gate to the classroom. I felt so calm. Recalling the day of last year's school final exam, I was a little emotional then. At that time, I was both anxious and excited.
The bell rang, I received the exam paper. This morning was a 3 hour test coefficient-4 essay. The topic was as follows: "Every war of aggression is cruel, illogical and carries a beautiful guise. Please state the consequences for the aggressor and the invaded on the national and international scale".
I smiled. Such a trendy topic. Thanks to closely following the news about war and especially reading carefully daily the opinion section in the Chinh Luan newspaper, my essay was very smooth. Good or not, I didn't know. But putting down the Communist as evidence was surely making a good point.
Damn to the Communist, my future is uncertain because of you!
Around me, except for a few civilians, the rest were army officers from Thu Duc military school centre.
Next to me, a clean feel guy with short thick hair, tan, and a few tiny scars on his head, I murmured:
- Are you in Thu Duc?
- Yes.
- When?
- Just this morning, come here and take the exam right away.
- Which Class are you in?
- Class 5, have only been in for a few days.
Through a few trifles, I knew that he was a 2nd year student Van Hanh. For his own reasons, he was very eager to go to CTCT. Perhaps he wanted to show off his eloquence. Wish him success.
In the afternoon, there was a translation test from Vietnamese to English or French depending on the candidate's choice. Topic "My Homeland". The essay looked steamy with sentences like: "My homeland is a small country lying humbly under the dreamy sky of Southeast Asia on the Pacific coast... I love my country with a vast and passionate love..."
On this occasion, cheating throve. Small pocket-sized dictionary was handy. A guy with a gentle face, looking into the distance as if he wanted to recall his vocabulary. Occasionally he glanced at the supervising officers and stroked a few mustaches. The dictionary was opened and then left undisturbed under the conical hat placed on the table. Time was up, the exam paper was full of words.
It was known that the CTCT university's profile had been growing steadily since 1968. Every year, an entrance exam was held to admit CTCT officers. Up to now, there had been 4 exams. The number of candidates this year was 4000 jostling for 200 places. It seemed the larger the number of candidates, the more prestigious and effective this faculty was.
The date for the College entrance exam drew near. All of my friends had been studying religiously. A friend of mine, had just completed the exam (Baccalaureate 2), started to learn by heart a thick book about Science and Technology. He said: "Even though majoring in mathematics, I had to study everything in order to take many entrance exams". I cursed him:
- Do you really want to take all the places without leaving me a single one.
He just laughed.
Some of my friends even went south to Can Tho province to sit for the entrance exam of the Faculty of Education, Can Tho University. He must have thought it would be easier to pass in there.
Generally, those in the 19-year-old group were determined to pass the entrance exam in order to continue studying. Learning by itself was hard enough but being able to get admission to a university was even harder. Many were afraid of failing, so they chose a career in the army. Some chose Da Lat military academy, some CTCT, some went to the Police, some "like" becoming a Pilot. As for me, if I did not win a place at university, I'd rather go to Thu Duc military school so that I'd be back to studying once demobilised from the army.
The afternoon sun glimmered. Loud traffic noise. I jumped upstairs. At that time, my friends came to invite me out for a drink. "Drink to gain strength", they said. I put my books aside and quickly put on my shirt.
I jumped on the PC and revved up, muttering:
- Don't think I'll need to think for a second. For a drink, I'll have to go now otherwise I'll lose my share.
HAI GAY (P.K)
(*) This article was published in the Reportage section of Chinh Luan newspaper - Tuesday, September 5, 1972
Thanks to Mr. Vo Phi Hung - a former student of Petrus Ky (67-74) for taking a photo of this article from microfilm of Cornell University Library, New York.
