Daria Mishukova (Photo: Courtesy of Daria Mishukova)

Besides academic study, Daria has traveled from the north to the south--andeven to remote mountainous areas--meeting local people and learning about theirculture.

Over two decades into her love affair with this foreign land, Mishukova hasgone from visitor to expert, having authored Vietnam – The Land of Dragonsand Fairies, considered one of the top foreign works on the country in print.

“The more exchange and interchange we have with new environments--the more wecan select the best from this unique cultural experience--the more enjoyablethese months or years will be,” said Daria Mishukova, the 39-year-old Russianwho has 22 year experience in Vietnamese studies.

Knowing the language and culture can enrich immensely the experience of livingabroad, Daria said.

“Speaking the local language makes the world around brighter, sharper. It islike the focus and other filters in photography. If your approach and attitudeis positive, it will bring more light into the picture, and finally you got aperfect image of a contemporary cultural context,” she said.

“Cultural backgrounds form typical patterns of thinking and interpreting theworld around us. When we live in a different cultural environment, practisedconsciousness of different ways of living can bring us huge benefits,” shesaid.

“When living abroad, it is important to create a balance between being opensocially and keeping your own values personally. When swimming in the sea of adifferent culture, knowing language and customs will help you polish this skillto perfection,” Daria added.

After graduating from Far Eastern University in 1998, Daria Mishukova worked inthe university’s Southeast Asia Studies Faculty and later became Deputy Dean ofthe Faculty.

By March 2007, with her 11-year experience in Vietnamese studies and travelthroughout the country, Daria Mishukova released her first book about Vietnam named Vietnam– The Land of Dragons and Fairies, which was translated into Vietnamese by theauthor herself in 2013.

The book covers almost every aspect of Vietnam – its geographic and climateconditions to traditional customs and historical relic sites, and it isconsidered to be one of the most interesting books in Russian about Vietnam inrecent years.

“The book is neither a guide book nor a research issue by nature. If a readeris curious about what is ‘Vietnam,’ the book gives an understanding of primaryvalues of Vietnamese culture,” said Daria.

The book has been very popular both among professionals in tourism business andtravelers.

💟 “This book, written in a nice and exciting style, presents to its readers abetter understanding of Vietnam and inspires them to learn more about thediversity of the world cultures,” Dr Ngo Nhu Binh, Director of VietnameseLanguage Programme at Harvard University’s Department of East Asian Languagesand Civilisations, wrote.

In a commenton her book, Professor Ha Minh Duc, one of the leading literary critics in Vietnam,said that the book is not only informative, it is also a beautifully-writtenwork of literature.

🍎 An online version of in-flight magazines with Daria’s articles and selectedtexts of Vietnam – The Land of Dragons and Fairies, is now availableat www.business-leisure.ru.

Expats and businesscan also access to interesting cultural content about Vietnam in Russian postedhere in the chapter “Interesting”.

ꦆ Daria Mishukova is currently doing professional consulting on branding andmarketing for Vietnamese authorities and businesses. She also has a goodbusiness with consulting services of her own. For the last seven years, Dariahas been a regular resident of Vietnam, staying here even longer than her homecountry, Russia.

Besides Vietnam– The Land of Dragons and Fairies, Daria also published many research papers onlinguistics and Vietnamese cultures in Vietnamese, Russian and English. Thenumber of copies of her articles published in the above magazines reached morethan a million.

🐲 For her great contributions to popularising and promoting Vietnam as anattractive destination, Daria has received many awards by organisations in Vietnamand Russia, including the Honorary Medal by Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture,Sports and Tourism, six certificates of merit by the Department of Culture,Sports and Tourism in Binh Thuan province, tourism agencies in Vietnam and acongratulatory letter from the Consul General of Vietnam in Russia. — VNA