Hanoi

In kilometers, the distance between Dortmund in Germany and Hanoi in Vietnam is quite long. But during this month, the two cities are connected: The close-up project of Goethe institute has organized an exchange of editorial journalists. Nadine Albach, normally working for the newspaper “Westfaelische Rundschau” in Germany, is now writing about her impressions concerning Vietnam at "Tienphong daily". A short interview.

Could you tell us about your biography as a journalist?

Since I was a child, I always loved writing – and when I grew a bit older, I always wanted to work as a journalist. I studied media and political sciences at university. During this time, I worked for radio and tv stations for short periods. After I graduated, I started writing for the Westfälische Rundschau Dortmund, a big regionally concentrated newspaper – and since five years, culture is my main topic. I love working as a journalist because every day is different: I meet a lot of very interesting people, get background insights and information and have the opportunity to pass them on to my readers. I love the creativity of the job and think that media plays an important role in our democracy.

Why did you participate in the Close-Up programme?

I have never been to southeast asia before and was very curious to see Vietnam and its people. As I read before, it is such a wonderful, culturally rich country with a lot of vibrant energy, creativity and proud in a positive meaning. For me it is very interesting to visit a country with such massive changes and fast growing economy. It is a rare opportunity to get to know a country not so much as a tourist but as someone who can speak to insiders and journalists – so that I hopefully achieve a well balanced picture about how peoples lifes work here. And I am also very interested in about how media are organized here, what people like to read about and how my colleagues work.

And what about your first impressions?

It is overwhelming. I cannot compare Hanoi to anything I have ever seen. The city seems so fast and crowded, people live their lifes directly on the streets. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. The architecture is wonderful and reminds me of Paris – a city I love very much.