The End

Sorry I’ve been out of touch. The mission trip just ended, and I was trying to enjoy every second I had left. There is no internet where I am currently at so I am typing this in Word and will post it as soon as I can. As some of you know, although the actual mission trip is finished, I am staying in Vietnam for another week to do some more service and to visit family. Internet will not always be there, but I will still try to update the blog as much as possible. Today, I flew to Hue and had an eventful day, but that will be covered in the next post. For now, let’s pick up where I last left off.
We woke up early on the 28th and left the beautiful Hoi An to hop on a plane to Saigon. As usual, I slept for the whole flight. When we arrived and I got off the plane, something took me by surprise: the smell! It was an unpleasant mix of pollution, gas, and food. In addition, this city felt the hottest and most humid yet. We hopped on a bus and drove towards the Rex, an older but nice hotel where we would be staying. Upon arriving, most of the Vietnamese team members went off to their own homes for the day (most of them live in the area and they wanted to sleep in their own beds). Seeing most of my Vietnamese friends leave evoked a heavy sadness within me; even though I would see them the next day, their leaving reminded me of the inevitable goodbye that was too close. In hopes of getting my mind off of my troubles, I took advantage of my free time to go work out in the hotel gym with my uncle. It was well equipped (though it had nothing on the Strake weightroom) and I enjoyed the distraction. At six, several of the team and I left the hotel to go out into Saigon and shop at the Chinese market. I had not eaten since breakfast, so the first thing I did at the market was grab some food. The restaurant I chose was overpriced and not very good, but I was happy to have something to stop my roaring stomach. Most of the stores had closed for the evening by the time I had finished eating, but I spied a watch and sunglass stand that remained open. Walking over, I saw a wide variety of Rolexes and Ray Ban sunglasses for sale. The owner was uninterested with her surroundings; she sat reading a magazine while she waited for someone to stop by the stand, and when someone did, she would not look up for more than a couple seconds. She acted no differently when I walked up, looking up briefly to ask if I needed help finding anything. For a shop owner, this woman was fairly young and, in my opinion, very pretty. I began asking her which watches looked nice on me, and although at first she showed no interest in helping me, my intoxicating smile and charm made her giggle and laugh. Soon, we weren’t even talking about watches anymore; she had me guess her age and I asked her what she did for fun outside of the store. When the topic of watches came back up, she gave me a ridiculously low price: over 80 percent off what she had asked for first. I politely said no thank you; I didn’t really need a watch. However, one of my American team members wanted some sunglasses, so I convinced my new friend to sell her a pair of Ray Bans for $5.00, ten dollars less than the original price. The owner, who turned out to be 24, did so only after I promised to visit her the following day. While I didn’t actually go back, it felt good knowing that my social skills and Vietnamese were good enough to make a new friend, even in the situation I was in. All that bargaining made me hungry, and so I joined the team at a Thai restaurant (yes, Thai food in Vietnam). The Pad Thai I had was THE best I have ever had. Full and pleasantly surprised, I went back to the hotel to get a good night’s rest for the final clinic.
Our last work day took place in a local orphanage that helped both orphans and disabled children. Because most of the patients were physically disabled in some way and unable to sit still for long periods of time, the dental team did not receive much work; even in my sterilization station I had a lot more free time than usual. Knowing that the trip was nearing its end, I took advantage of my free time by talking to my team members, sharing laughs, and making memories. When the clinic closed, all stations cleaned out their bins and took inventory of all the supplies. It was almost poetic; on our second to last day, we were opening all the bins and counting how much of each thing was present, just like we had done on the second day. I felt a small rush of sadness when I finished my bin; I had sterilized my last instrument and put it away, signaling the end of my term in the station. The whole inventory process took about 4 hours, and upon finishing, our exhausted team drove back to the hotel. After my shower, I went out to eat with my uncle and several friends in a market. We chose a market different from the night before, and thankfully the food was much better. My uncle bargained ferociously for a Puma shirt for me, but only sizes in stock were too big. I did manage to buy a fairly nice polo for three dollars (brought down from the listed ten). Satisfied, we began to walk home. We took the long way, and on the road there were many beggars asking for money; what stuck out in my mind the most was a young girl, no more than 4 years old, approaching me and telling me she was hungry. Heeding the warning of my parents, I did not give any money to the beggars, but it still struck a chord to see just how many poor lived in the city. Despite all the hard work every person on my team put in over the past 2 weeks, the problem of poverty still existed prominently and showed no signs of letting up. Although I had not expected to solve Vietnam’s poor problem, I was a bit discouraged to realize there were many who needed help, and because the clinics were over, I would not be able to help them. I had helped so many people with my smile, but it didn’t even look like I had helped at all. Sighing heavily, I tried to enjoy the remaining hours of my penultimate day with my friends, and at midnight, I returned to my room and slept.
The whole team approached the final day with an air of apprehension. I woke up early to work out and went to breakfast after, yet all my actions felt mechanical; my mind was elsewhere. Could it really be possible that it had been two and a half weeks already? Everyone behaved with a similar disbelief; it just did not feel like it was over yet. My roommate An and my friend Van went with me to walk around and look for gifts for those back home after breakfast. I bargained well and got great deals, but nothing really seemed worth buying. An and I then went out to a late lunch. However, we had no idea what or where we wanted to eat; despite this, we both decided to just walk around and find a restaurant to eat at. Bad mistake. Distracted by the sadness that overshadowed the day, I just walked and walked without really looking where I was walking. When I decided to look up, An and I were horribly lost. Luckily, An was good with directions and maneuvered us back to the hotel; we had walked about a mile off course! We settled in at a fast food restaurant and ate there.
When we returned, I went and got ready for the final dinner. The event called for fancy clothes, so I put on my favorite black button down and walked downstairs. Everyone in the team slowly made their way down as well, all radiating an overwhelming sadness, yet glowing beautifully. My young friend Tu arrived from his Saigon home by taxi and ran up to me beaming. He presented me with a bag filled with soccer jerseys he had bought for me as a goodbye present. In addition, he had seen my dress shirt beforehand and, out of a desire to match with me, wore a shirt similar to mine. I was amazed and touched by both gestures of admiration, and my sadness threatened to overtake me. I fought it back, thanked Tu with a hug, and the two of us happily joked around with everyone we saw in an attempt to lighten the mood. My other young friend, Hanh, came downstairs wearing a beautiful custom made dress and small heels. Unused to such lavish clothing, Hanh stumbled and scowled with every step, embarrassed that she had to wear what she thought was a silly dress. I laughed with her, proud that she had decided to dress up for the occasion and tussled her hair as I did every day. All my other friends looked amazing as well, and as a team, we made our way to the restaurant. The time prior to dinner was filled by hugs and lots of pictures; my camera alone took over 100 photos. Dinner was then served family wedding style, seven different dishes to be split among the table. After dinner, the team leader distributed the team awards. The day before, we had voted for who we thought best fit certain “awards”, such as “best dressed” or “best laugh”. Surprisingly, I received two awards, the most anyone had received, one for most improved Vietnamese and another for being the team comedian; apparently, everyone had taken note of my playful demeanor and voted for me. I was touched, and again, I was barely able to fight my emotions back. After several speeches, the time came for goodbyes. The final minutes were all filled with long embraces and sobs; no one wanted to leave the friends we had made on the trip. Tears filled my eyes as I shared one last joke with Co Cuc, the pharmacist who took to me, always laughing at my jokes and feeding me extra food to ensure I did not go hungry. I took time to say goodbye to each of my American team members, especially my New Orleans friend Chi Lan, who had adopted me as her little brother for the trip and gave me my trip nickname; because my name is Christopher, she called me “To Pho”. She jokingly told me I smelled and hugged me, thanking me for a great time. As I said goodbye to Giang and Hoa, the two Vietnamese dentists who befriended me, who had helped me with my Vietnamese so much, and who I had grown close to, I began to break down inside. I tried my best to maintain my outer composure, but it soon became apparent that it would not be long before I would give in. I embraced each of the three Hanoi girls, Van, Trang, and Kieu An, for what felt like hours; they were amazing friends and made the trip for me with their smiles and laughs. I comforted Hanh as she cried, jokingly messing up her hair one last time and complimenting her dress. The rest of the Vietnamese team came up and tearfully wished me the best. Just when it seemed as if I would be able to keep it together, I was taken by surprise by something I did not expect to see: I looked over to see Tu crying. Tu had been like me on the trip, joking around with anyone and not letting anything or anyone get him down. He stood there trying, like me, to fight tears back. I walked over to him and knelt down to his level. He had given me so much on the trip; he was the little brother I missed, the friend I joked around with, and he made every day brighter for me. Because of this, I decided right then to thank him in a special way: I took off my wristband and gave it to him. I had received it at my Confirmation and had worn it every day since, but I decided then that it was the perfect thing for Tu to remember me by. It fit loosely around his wrist, but I told him to be like me and wear it always. Through his tears he nodded his head and shook my hand. That did it for me; Tu and I cried together. My emotions and thoughts swirled together and poured out of me as tears and sobs as it all got to me; I realized that the two and a half weeks had zoomed by and no matter what I wanted, there was no way for me to turn back time. All the memories I had made flashed through my mind as I stumbled out of the restaurant. As a group, we slowly made our way to the hotel, and when I got into bed, although I still wiped the tears from my eyes, I was happy through my sadness; the trip had been immensely successful. My final goal, the one I was most apprehensive about, had been achieved: I had made friends, friends who would miss me as much as I would miss them. All the people were beautiful, loving people, friendly to a fault and more than happy to help their people. I hope to strive for a similar lifestyle, and will do so by ensuring that my culture, which I had unfortunately lost for a short period of time, remains a definitive part of me. The trip instilled within me a profound appreciation for Vietnam, one that I did not have before the trip, but one that I will never let die. I know I’ll be back because there are still those who need help, and I can only hope the friends I make when I return are as great as the ones I made this time. I’m still sad, but I look to the future and know that these bonds won't friendship die easily, and much like you all were with me in Vietnam, my new friends will be in my heart wherever I go.

Giving Vietnam my love was one of the best decisions of my life, because now, Vietnam has my heart.

Rain and Revelations

So I broke my pinky swear; I forgot to write the blog last night. Please find it within your heart to forgive me! I promise this one will make up for it =]

Yesterday I woke up at 5:45AM and dragged myself out of bed. I've been having a little trouble remembering the small things; I think the clinics are burning me out a bit. For example, in the hotel shower, I forgot the curtain goes INSIDE the shower. Then, I grabbed one towel and all the others dropped to the floor. Needless to say, my roommates weren't too pleased with me; I just laughed and ran away. We went to breakfast (which was delicious) and quickly went to the bus. When we arrived at the clinic an hour later, it was pouring down rain. It flooded the walkway to the clinic, making it difficult to get inside. We ended up having to trek through the mud and water just to get to our work areas. I was back at my sanitation station, but instead of being cramped in a little corner as I had been in the past, I was fortunate enough to be put outside. The air was cool and I was nice and dry underneath the roof. I barely sweat! (Which, for those of you who have seen my pictures, is a first.) The work was hard, but I enjoyed my station set up tremendously. I could look down and see all the people waiting. I got to thinking about the trip and how it had been progressing so far. I am satisfied beyond words with how my Vietnamese has improved. I can now communicate fluently in the language my parents spoke growing up without the stuttering I ran into in the past. In addition, I have made many friends, all of whom are too kind and immensely generous and fun. But most importantly, I feel that I have helped those less fortunate than me. Even in sanitation, I take time to walk around and make those around me laugh and have a good time, especially the kids who are scared to go into dental. After a while, because the work is so hard, I can see how it's easy to forget where we are; I have seen some of the American team members become a bit discouraged or frustrated with their patients, mostly because they themselves are so exhausted. In my station, while I work very hard, I have a lot of time to think, which I do not take for granted. I can look at the people we serve, I mean really LOOK at them, before anyone else really does. I hear the conversations they have, where they were before, where they are going afterwords. They talk about little things, but those little things just remind me that I am physically and emotionally helping PEOPLE. Other human beings are directly benefiting from my actions, my smile and laugh, and the compassion I deliver. I realized yesterday that most of the people I help will most likely not remember me; I will fade from their memory within days of the clinic. However, the love I have given them, all that I have done to help them, the smile I gave that made them chuckle inside, that will stay with them forever, whether they remember me directly or not. Those working in the dental room don't have time to think about the things that I do, and because of this, I am grateful that I was put in charge of cleaning. Smiling at what I had just realized, I went through the day with a happy face.

We finished late again, arriving home at 8:15PM. After packing and showering, my uncle, my roommate An, and I went out to dinner again. An was exhausted from a long day, but I made him smile with my jokes and childish antics. We were running around at night in the streets just screaming and yelling, "shooting" at each other with umbrellas and just acting like 5 year olds. It was nice to relax after a long day, and we went home and slept.

It's 11:00AM over here now and my day off. I plan to lounge around and not do much of anything today. We have one more clinic left. It's hard to believe that the trip is almost done, but because I have grown so much and helped so many people, I can go home knowing that this trip has been worth my time.

See you guys tomorrow!

Khang

Where's the Cao Lau?

I was really sad to leave Ha Long Bay. It had a certain relaxing aspect and I didn't think any other place could match it. We woke up at six to hop on the bus and ride to Hanoi to catch a plane to Hoi An, our next destination. When we arrived, the weather was significantly warmer than in Ha Long Bay. Our resort lobby was all windows and doors, welcoming in the sunlight and warm breeze. Our room was large with three beds to fit me and my roommates. We did laundry and drove out to the beach for the evening to enjoy the breeze and eat some snacks. We returned home and went to bed.

Today, we woke up at 6:30 and ate breakfast quickly. Then, the bus arrived and we jumped aboard to our next clinic. The crowd was huge, big enough for me to be grateful that I was back in my sanitation station instead of on the front lines. However, I had a but of a problem: I had grabbed a dirty shirt in our haste to leave on time. All throughout the day, I smelt awful. Luckily, my Vietnamese team members found me hilarious and just teased me a little, making the clinic go by faster than usual. Dentistry finished at a respectable 5:00PM, but medical was swarmed more than usual and was kept until 6:30PM. We didn't make it home until 8:00PM! Eager for some of the city, my uncle, my roommate An, and a friend Doug went out for dinner. We ate Cao Lau, a dish famous in Hoi An. It was great, and we enjoyed our meal. Despite getting a bit lost on the way home, we had a good evening. This brings us to now, as I sit and type my blog.

It's midnight over here and we have a clinic tomorrow, so I'll leave it at that. Brief and not too substantial, I know. I'll put more time into tomorrow's. Pinky swear!

Narcolepsy?

I really wish I could upload pictures. The bay is breathtakingly beautiful, and I have a view of it outside of my room. It's reminiscent of my Hawaii vacation, except with dirtier water and construction noises in the background. Nevertheless, it was quite a sight to wake up to. Today was a free day, so we just took our time in the morning and made our way down to the breakfast buffet whenever we wanted. There had been murmurs of a hurricane (or typhoon i suppose it's called here), but in the morning the skies were just overcast. Therefore, we were able to go on a boat to explore the bay. The boat was one of millions just like it, but it was comfortable and fairly large. We first journeyed to the natural Ha Long Caverns where we saw beautiful walls of rock that had been carved in by water erosion. Afterwords, we went on the boat again and headed to the beach. I didn't swim; a combination of the dirty water, rental bathing suits, and naked swimmers was a bit off-putting. Thankfully, there was another attraction at the beach: climbing the giant island-rock-thing. I trekked up the stairs of the rock and got to the top sweaty and out of breath. It was well worth it. I had a panoramic view of the bay and all the ship's activities. It was beautiful, and I only wish the sun had come out to make the pictures perfect. We then had dinner on the boat and headed home. During dinner, apparently after my first bowl of rice, I fell asleep. I was completely unaware of it and woke up after 10 minutes, but I had no idea I had fallen asleep. Maybe I have narcolepsy and fall asleep at random times? Hard to tell. We departed the boat and headed back to the hotel where we swam and just had a good time. In the evening, it began to pour down rain. I was actually a bit scared; the lightning was louder and brighter than it was in America. This did not discourage me from getting a late night bowl of Pho, however. After eating, I came home and prepped for bed.

Tomorrow is a travel day where we drive back to Hanoi and fly to Da Nang with our final destination being Ho An. See you all tomorrow!

Khang

PS: Toan, kids here cannot afford much, so they only play sports that are cheap to play like soccer.

The Good Life

When I arrived in Ha Long Bay, I did not bother to look outside much; it was too dark to see anything. I was more transfixed on the glorious hotel that I would be staying in. Amazing. Just from the lobby I could tell that the place definitely earned its five stars. Wide open and full of windows, the lobby invited the moonlight into the room. A young waitress quickly greeted us with fresh fruit drinks, which were fresh and surprisingly delicious. After getting the luggage, I ran to my room and opened the door. It was huge. It was well cleaned with three beds for me, my uncle, and An, our third roommate and my uncle's nephew. After pausing for a couple seconds to take it all in, my uncle and I quickly ran to lift weights in the weight room. When finished, we went to bed to get ready for work the next day.

The next day we woke up early and ate in the hotel restaurant. They organized their food in my favorite way: buffet. So many different varieties of food, only thirty minutes to enjoy. Ah well. My favorite part was the assortment of fresh juices: about 12 fresh squeezed variations in total including guava and mango! When I finished engorging myself unnecessarily, I went outside to one of the best surprises of the trip: there is an actual BAY in Ha Long Bay! The beautiful water shines complacently, reflecting the gorgeous outlines of the not-so-far mountaintops in the water. I had ran into the hotel without realizing all this was right across the street from us! What a pleasant surprise. The clinic was set up in a local village, but unfortunately I was unable to take pictures by the request of our team leader. I walked through the village observing the small community feel and the manner in which the houses were arranged; it was hard to tell where one house began and where the other ended. This struck me in a strange way; the village did not have much, but they were united with each other. I used this as my drive to work. Luckily, I was assigned as the dental assistant for Chi Ngoc, a Vietnamese dentist specializing in extractions. Like the hotel earned her stars, this woman most definitely earned her specialty. She possesses the ability to calm patients, young or old, of their anxieties, while still managing to remove the correct teeth quickly and skillfully. Awed, I watched her tear through all the bad teeth of the community all day. I was there mainly to get instruments and hold patients hands. In general, the patients today were all older. The older women were strangely happy to have me hold their hands! I was a calming agent they used if they felt agitated or uncomfortable. In addition, Chi Ngoc let me pull a tooth! She held the pliers and my hands and helped me yank a rotten tooth out of an elderly woman's mouth! I felt so proud of myself! Also, I changed gauze for several patients as well! Today was very productive and quite fun! (Although I cut myself on a pate can for the second time. Come to think of it, I've tripped so many times this trip. So clumsy.) When we arrived home, several of the kids ran out to the pool to swim. Despite my 5 month swimming hiatus, I still managed to swim faster than all the other kids my age, impressing my uncle and all the spectators in the process. Unfortunately, like any good trick, the people wanted me to swim again and again. I was pretty tired at the end of it all. Luckily, for dinner, I had a pleasant repeat of breakfast: another buffet! It was reminiscent of Vegas buffets and succeeded in filling me up. Afterwords, all the Vietnamese team members went to a room and simply joked around with each other, playing cards and taking pictures. I felt like I was spending a holiday with my family. It was a good feeling, seeing as I'm starting to miss my own family back home a little. Rest assured, I am well taken care of.

Tomorrow is a free day, so I will have the morning to sleep in. Hope your summer is going as well as mine!

Khang

PS: Bac 5 has head troubles. He swears he's sick, but I have other speculations. Too much beer maybe?

Drill Bits and Screaming Kids

Whew. I need to start going to bed earlier. First, a big thank you to Gabe who makes sure I am up to date on all of the NBA news. Appreciate it! Here's a recap of the past two days.

Yesterday was yet another work day, our third in a row! I was exhausted, and the autoclave machine I was in charge of had drained out my energy. Fortunately, Doug, a kind team member, offered to switch with me for the day. I would be assisting the three Vietnamese dentists as they did their work for the day. I was mixing amalgam, getting instruments and drill bits, comforting kids, and just talking to the dentists during their free time. It was much more interesting than just sitting at the machine waiting for the finish timer to ding. I met several cute kids, but one little girl was my favorite. She skipped to her dental chair and was smiling the whole time, even during her fillings. I gave her a toy and she would rub it into my face to make me laugh as she sat in the chair. So adorable! On another note, there were plenty of other kids I met who were not as well behaved. Thirteen year old boys were scared to death of a little needle and a three second extraction. One patient, a little girl, screamed for 20 minutes before her mom ran in and forced her child down into the chair. At the end of the day, my back hurt, but I was very happy with the way my day had gone. We had served 204 total children dental cases, and I had helped with most, if not all, of those. That's a good feeling. Later that night, we ate at the famous La Vong seafood restaurant in Hanoi. For ten dollars, we had a decent sized meal. Afterwords, I went back to my room and slept.

The next morning, my uncle and I ran 3 miles in the morning around the lake outside our hotel. After, I went up and slept until it was time to go enjoy Hanoi. We shopped and had fun crossing the streets (which is terrifying by the way). We had refreshments on top of a hidden cafe with an amazing view of the city. Although I did not buy anything, we went window shopping and bargained with the owners to see how low the prices would go. We returned to the hotel and got on a bus to go to Ha Long Bay, a three hour drive from Hanoi. Our hotel here is a five star complete with a pool and weight room. I feel bad for my friends on other mission trips who have to stay in hostels! I hear the bay us beautiful so it should be fun!

Tomorrow is another clinic day and I am wiped out. Still having an awesome time! Happy summer!

I am craving a chik-fil-a spicy chicken sandwich. And popcorn.

Long Day's Work

This post will be brief; I have to wake up at 5:30AM tomorrow for another clinic, so forgive its length.

Today was another clinic day, our second in a row. Today we went to a school about an hour out from Hanoi. On the bus ride there, the scenery outside was quite a sight to behold: an amalgam of country living and city life. On one side, you could see a farm with crops, tractors, and even cows, and on the other you would see modern buildings and many, many mopeds. It was an interesting parallel, on the left the country and the right the city, and seeing this helped me to realize that the Vietnam I had been experiencing for the past couple days was not the whole story. I napped on the way there and awoke when we arrived at the school we would use as our clinic. The rooms were more rundown and smaller than the ones yesterday, so the work was much more cramped and, despite the cool weather, hot hot hot. The sanitation machine I am in charge of, the autoclave, uses water to heat instruments to make them safe for patient use. Therefore, my station is overwhelmingly hot and almost unbearable at times. But seeing the patients reminds me what I am doing. Today, all our patients were children. At the beginning of the day, the rundown room seemed to be holding up well, but after lunch, it became apparent its size would soon present a problem. The power surged, and apparently all the surrounding area lost power. Luckily, the power returned within 45 minutes, allowing us to return to work. However, the break in work had allowed patients to stack up, and we quickly fell behind. The power surged again, this time causing a small fire in the outlet near my station. Dazed, hot, and exhausted, I had no clue there was an actual fire within 10 feet of me. It was taken care of quickly and we returned to work. The schedule said we would be done with the clinic at 3:00PM. We finished all our patients at around 6:30PM. Exhausted, we returned home.

The older Vietnamese team members have all taken to me because of my good work ethic and kind and friendly personality. They strike up conversations with me and help me practice my Vietnamese which is getting better everyday!

Going to bed. More insightful posts to come when I have more energy. Having the time of my life!