Speaking
Practice

An occasion when something made a lot of noise happened a few months ago, when the apartment next to mine was being renovated.

The workers were replacing tiles and changing part of the kitchen, so there was drilling, hammering and furniture being moved. The worst part was that the construction noise often started early in the morning. Some days, it sounded as if they were making a racket directly behind my wall.

One morning, I had an online class and needed to give a short presentation. Just before my turn, the drilling became extremely loud and I started to lose concentration. I closed the windows, moved to the room farthest from the noise and used headphones to block it out as much as possible. I also sent my teacher a quick message explaining the situation. Fortunately, the drilling stopped for about ten minutes, so I completed the presentation without a serious problem.

I felt annoyed because I had no control over the timing, although I understood that renovation work sometimes has to be noisy. What bothered me most was the early start. The experience made me appreciate how important a quiet environment is when studying or working from home.

A situation when I helped someone happened near my apartment one evening. An elderly woman was standing beside the road with several heavy shopping bags and looked confused.

I was walking home from a convenience store when I noticed her struggling to read an address on her phone. She was trying to visit a relative in a nearby building but had entered the wrong street. Because the area has several blocks with similar names, it was easy to get confused.

I stopped and offered a hand. First, I checked the address and realised the correct building was about five minutes away. Since her bags were quite heavy, I carried two of them and walked her over to the right entrance. On the way, she told me she did not visit the area often and had already been walking around for nearly twenty minutes. When we reached the building, her relative came downstairs to meet her and thanked me as well.

I felt good after helping because it was a small act of kindness that required very little effort from me. The woman seemed genuinely grateful, and the situation reminded me that simple help can make a big difference when someone is tired or unfamiliar with a place.

An interesting conversation I had with a very old person was with an elderly neighbour who is in his eighties. It happened one afternoon when I visited him with my father.

He has lived in the same neighbourhood for more than fifty years, so he has seen the area change completely. We were drinking tea when he started talking about what the streets were like when he was young.

He reminisced about a time when there were fewer buildings, much less traffic and more open land nearby. He said people used to know almost every family on the street and children often played outside until dinner. He also gave a first-hand account of travelling to work by bicycle because public transport was limited. What interested me most was that he did not say everything was better in the past. He appreciated modern healthcare and convenience, but he missed the stronger sense of community.

I found the conversation valuable because it helped put things into perspective. I often think of changes only from my own generation's point of view, but his memories showed me how much daily life can change within one person's lifetime.

An interesting place I visited with a friend was a small art space in Ho Chi Minh City. We went there last year after my friend saw a local exhibition advertised online.

Neither of us knew much about the place beforehand. It was inside an old building on a quiet street, so from outside it did not look special at all. My friend described it as a hidden gem and suggested we spend an afternoon there.

When we arrived, we first wandered around a photography exhibition about everyday city life. Some pictures showed markets, old apartments and people working late at night. Upstairs, there was an interactive display where visitors could leave short written memories about their neighbourhoods. My friend and I spent quite a while reading them and discussing which ones felt familiar. We also talked briefly with a young artist who explained how one of the projects had been created. Before leaving, we sat in the small café downstairs and compared our favourite pieces.

I think the place is interesting because it feels personal rather than commercial. The creative atmosphere encourages visitors to slow down and notice ordinary parts of city life. It is small, but definitely worth visiting.

The person I spend the most time with is my roommate, Duc. We have shared an apartment for almost two years, so we naturally see each other more often than most of my friends.

Duc is easy-going, tidy and generally easy to live with. We have different personalities, but that actually works quite well. He is more sociable, while I usually need more quiet time. Because we respect those differences, we get along well.

We share a simple daily routine. In the morning, we often leave at similar times, and in the evening we sometimes cook dinner together. We split household chores, buy basic groceries and occasionally watch a film after work or study. At the same time, we give each other space when one person is tired or busy. Last month, I had several late deadlines, and Duc quietly handled more of the cleaning without making it an issue.

I spend the most time with him because we live together, but I also enjoy the arrangement. He is dependable without being controlling, and we can talk easily while still respecting privacy. That balance makes everyday life comfortable.