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Hi there! Yeah I am super happy you are interested in both TK and Hán-Nôm studies.

Re: The use in the context of military strategies. I am not sure if there is specific academic research on that. So little information survives. It is was for sure the written language of governing structures so its extension to military seems reasonable. I have heard it discussed a number of times.

Here is one of the best resources for academic stuff. John Phan is just about the only young professor in the world who is a Nôm expert. https://columbia.academia.edu/JohnPhan

Also, http://www.nomfoundation.org/ is a great resource.

What you wrote in this part "In regards to Truyện Kiều, ..." is, I believe, very accurate. Nguyễn Du also wrote poetry under the pseudonym Tố Như. There you really get a sense of the anguish in his life - but also his resolution to accept and move on. His poems are spectacular. Here is a huge resource https://www.thivien.net/Nguy%E1%BB%85n-Du/author-ZRyB2U-4oqfhcjZ7xrf1_A

As far as English goes, make sure you read this one. https://www.amazon.com/Tale-Ki%C3%AAu-bilingual-Nguyen-Truy%C3%AAn/dp/0300040512/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2TUG02AULY27S&keywords=truyen+kieu&qid=1571648091&sprefix=truyen+%2Caps%2C354&sr=8-2

Huỳnh Sanh Thông was a master. Had I made a couple different academic choices I could have studied with him at Yale. But then my life would have unfolded totally differently and I probable been stuck being a professor which is what I was so anxious to escape in the first place.

Anyway best of luck with stuff !!! I am so happy for you.

-ARR

I use Duolingo. It's the only app that I've found really useful. Clozemaster has Vietnamese, but it's... pretty worthless. Memrise is nice, but only for memorizing vocabulary. Really, I've found practice with native speakers is an absolute necessity, because it's impossible to pronounce things correctly without it. Even with a significantly better vocabulary than when I started, it frequently takes a couple of restatements of what I'm trying to say before my meaning is clear.

For understanding more about the language, I recommend the book A Vietnamese Reference Grammar. The "scriptorium method" is also quite good, combined with the inexpensive Tiếng Việt study books intended for Vietnamese schoolchildren that you can find in any Saigon bookstore.

As someone who loves to read books, I’ll say, there’s actually PLENTY of books written about today’s Vietnam. Most of them are travel books. Most of them mentions about Vietnam’s thriving economy today

Check out Insight Guides, Lonely Planet Discover Vietnam, and National Geographic Traveler

These are fantastic books that has lots of beautiful pictures and lots of great explanations about Vietnamese society, cuisine, history, and more

http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Picture-Dictionary-English-Vietnamese-Vietnamese/dp/0194740196

Get a copy of this. Not to study, but just to have in the classroom. If she's playing or whatever and wants to know what a word is, she can just go pick up the book, find the picture, and then show you the word and you can tell her how to say it. If she can read Vietnamese, it will be a massive help. But even if not, the pictures alone are enough that you should be able to communicate with her and teach her phrases and words. She'll learn lots of play words and stuff from her classmates. The book is useful for lots of other stuff though, or just for having around as a reference for her to look at when she needs something on the spot.

Your story reminded me of the book: Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam

http://www.amazon.com/Catfish-Mandala-Two-Wheeled-Through-Landscape/dp/0312267177

If you don't know this book already, read it! It's really awesome. It's a free ticket to Vietnam until you get to go back :)

These two are quite interesting:

https://www.amazon.com/Its-Living-Work-Vietnam-Today/dp/9971696983

https://www.amazon.com/Vietnam-Rising-Dragon-Bill-Hayton/dp/030017814X

Working life/attitudes and economic growth actually tell you a lot about a country.

Also here's a long list of recommended books. Quite a few of them aren't war books.

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8440.Best_Books_on_Vietnam

The best modern history book:

Christopher Goscha, Vietnam: A New History (Penguin, 2016).

and...

If you'd like to take a deep dive, starting from 1,000 years ago:

Keith Taylor, A History of the Vietnamese, (Cambridge, 2013).

Vietnam Today: A Guide to a Nation at a Crossroads

Mark A. Ashwill

http://www.amazon.com/Vietnam-Today-Guide-Nation-Crossroads/dp/1931930090


Shadows and Wind: A View of Modern Vietnam

Robert Templer

http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Wind-View-Modern-Vietnam/dp/0140285970


Understanding Vietnam

Neil L. Jamieson

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Vietnam-Philip-Lilienthal-Book/dp/0520201574

There was a fairly recent attempt by opposition groups in the south to get elected but I don't think it worked. Generally people see the Politburo as the key decider of political decision with the national parliament serving largely as a rubber stamp though it has more power then in the past. Saying that there is a wide degree of cynicism surrounding the voting system with the party choosing the candidates and voters going through the motions of voting.

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There been a limited attempt to develop a degree of grassroot democracy as a response to the peasant rebellion of the 90s. Through I don't know a great deal about it and at least in some of the groups it has been outright fraudulent.

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https://www.amazon.com/Political-Dynamics-Grassroots-Democracy-Vietnam/dp/1349954284

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http://sdonline.org/58/grassroots-democracy-in-rural-viet-nam-a-gramscian-analysis/

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Maybe skip to the section called

Relevant ideological, institutional and policy frameworks on grassroots democracy

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to get a relevant overview.

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I have no real good suggestion for where you should start with a discussion of Vietnamese politics but maybe try the first chapter of Politics in Vietnam which is available on libgen but it is perhaps overly academic. Vietnamese politics is famously opaque, fictionalised and corrupt but if you want to discuss recent controversies maybe look at the recent internet bill and the recent crackdown on dissidents.

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https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/01/01/19/vietnams-draconian-cybersecurity-bill-comes-into-effect

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Probably the best book look introduction to Vietnam is Vietnam: A Rising Dragon by Bill Hayton. The only book that can challenge is the dated Robert Templer’s Shadows and Wind: A View of Modern Vietnam.

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Sorry that I couldn't be of more help.

Honestly the only recognized source I know is Duolingo. There are also some textbooks and websites that provide online courses.

Both of those questions are pretty complicated to answer, in short, the party/government structure of Vietnam is still Marxist-Leninist, but when it comes to the economy it becomes much more complicated. Officially the economy is called a "socialist-oriented market economy".

Some further reading on the topic:

https://medium.com/@otelocarvalho/socialism-today-in-vietnam-ac22ce2edf47

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00472336.2013.822988

https://www.amazon.com/Changing-Worlds-Vietnams-Transition-Globalization/dp/0199377588

https://return2source.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/actually-existing-socialism-in-vietnam/

https://son-vnprodukty.cz/vn/ch%E1%BA%A5m-sushi/217-m%C3%B9-t%E1%BA%A1c-wasabi-kingzest-43-g-6921929402420.html

Wasabi like the one above may be found in most supermarkets, you could also try asking your street store. Many Vietnamese do like eating seafood with that. The yellow ones similar to Dijon mustard are rarer. Some store specialized in imported goods may have them but I'm not sure.

You may try some vietnamese spicy sauce such as this one https://www.amazon.com/Cholimex-Tuong-Vietnamese-Squeeze-Bottle/dp/B0108MINLC

Wall sockets in Vietnam are EU type with 2 round prongs, although most wall sockets are universal that accept any plug.

Just to be safe, pick up one universal adapter like this

https://www.amazon.com/Insten-Universal-Travel-Charger-Adapter/dp/B000YN01X4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1519331301&sr=8-5&keywords=universal+plug+adapter

, you can buy more in VN at lower price as needed. Also note that electrical power in Vietnam is 220V/50Hz. All laptops/phones/cameras accept varying voltage, but double check it again so that you do not make any foolish and costly mistake.

I had to read this for a university anthropology class. It's probably a bit dated now:

https://www.amazon.com/Fragments-Present-Searching-Modernity-Publications/dp/0824824172

buy one of these
https://www.amazon.com/Insten-Universal-Travel-Charger-Adapter/dp/B000YN01X4/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1512006336&sr=8-8&keywords=travel+adapter
It has surge protector built-in.

Is it one of these? [Cholimex] (https://www.amazon.com/Cholimex-Tuong-Vietnamese-Squeeze-Bottle/dp/B0108MINLC) Chinsu.

Here is the mobile version of your link

Had the same problem as you. Just got this on audiobook, but haven't listened to it yet. https://www.amazon.com/Vietnam-New-History-Christopher-Goscha/dp/0465094368/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1524615036&sr=1-1

Interesting insights into the literature, politics and culture in Vietnam after the war, and up to the recent developments. http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Wind-View-Modern-Vietnam/dp/0140285970