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.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
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
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
Sunday, July 25, 2010
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!
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!
Friday, July 23, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
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?
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?
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, July 19, 2010
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!
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!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Welcome To Vietnam
Splotchy splotchy. No need to worry; I arrived safe and sound. I have been out of touch because of the less-than-reliable internet service found in Vietnam. I am typing this on a bus to Hanoi, and I am told the hotel I am going to be staying at has wireless internet! For now, let’s recap from my last entry.
When I wrote my last blog post, I was in the Taipei International airport on a public computer. From there, I hopped aboard a short, two hour flight to Hanoi. Upon arriving, I felt a familiar humidity force itself upon me; the weather here feels just like the overbearing heat I have grown to survive in back home. I walked into customs to be greeted by grim looking officers, but luckily passed through with no significant troubles. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for our team bins. The bins, which contained all the equipment and supplies needed for our trip, were confiscated and searched just as we were about to leave the airport. The entire process took about 3 and a half extra hours, which I filled trying to guess what day it currently was. We were greeted in the airport by our Vietnamese teammates, natives who agreed to come with the team and help us help the people of Vietnam. Initially, the air was awkward, especially for the younger generation of volunteers. After several hours, however, I began to make an awkward attempt at communication. This is probably a good time to mention that the average height of a full-grown Vietnamese man is about 5’6’’. Being both Vietnamese and a staggering 5’10’’, in addition to being (forgive my lack of modesty) completely and utterly buff, I draw quite a bit of attention. I receive stares and points of amazement everywhere I go. For the three Vietnamese girls who I approached, to see this giant inconsistency walk towards them and try to start a conversation was too much for them to handle; they collapsed into fits of giggles every couple seconds. After they got it out of their system, however, they were more than happy to strike up conversations. At the completion of our luggage check, the 25 person joint-nation team walked out together and hopped on a bus to Viet Tri, the location of our first stay. Upon our arrival, a slew of Vietnamese hotel workers ran out to greet us and take our luggage up as many as four stories to our rooms. Every time I walked past the workers, they teased me by squeezing my arm and asking me to flex, calling me “giant”. Prior to going up to the rooms, I went out to get a haircut. The barber was extremely skilled and quick with his razor, trimming my long carpet head in a record 6 minutes. The price: $1.50 American dollars! Satisfied, I walked back to my room. The room reminded me of hostels I had stayed at in Italy. To put it kindly: they took the quantity of rooms in their hotel over the quantity. However, the hotel made up what they lacked in comfort with incredibly friendly service. In addition, the hotel provided all the meals for us, and although not incredible, they were quite good considering the size of the group. Tired from my travels (though not jetlagged!), I ran upstairs to sleep soon after dinner was finished. Another note: one of my goals was to improve my Vietnamese and to make friends with some of the natives. I am happy to say that both these goals are well within my reach. The Vietnamese team is friendly and approachable and are more than happy to correct my broken Vietnamese in exchange for a couple of English phrases. For example, I became acquainted with a young man named Hoa and a young woman named Giang during the first dinner. The two had just finished dental school and jumped into the mission trip to lend a hand. At dinner, the limits of my Vietnamese were realized. I used the pronoun “con” to refer to myself while speaking to my new friends, which, as I now know, is incorrect; “con” is used primary for speaking to older people. I had been so used to only talking to older people in Vietnamese that the word “con” had become a habit and it was very difficult to stop using it. Thankfully, my two friends were more than happy to admonish me lightly however often I made the mistake. With lessons under my belt, I went to bed.
I woke up the next day and went running around the town with my uncle. The humidity hit hard even at 6:00AM, limiting us to only three miles. Later, we sorted the bins out into their respective categories (I.E. Dental (my station) , Medical, Pharmaceutical, ect.) The process was chaotic, but I made several more friends through my work. Two young children, a boy named Tu and a girl named Hanh, grew to love my easygoing and funloving personality. They tease me about the size of my arms and my accent, but remind me of some of the younger kids back home. After the sorting, we went to Hung temple, a burial site for several of Vietnam’s first kings. There were lots of stairs, enough to make me regret my three mile expedition earlier that morning. After that, we went to visit a small orphanage where I spent my time playing with several young Vietnamese babies. I was sad to leave when I did! Finally, we closed out our day with a lovely family style dinner. Exhausted, I went back to my room and slept.
The next morning was our first clinic day. Waking up at 6:30, I groggily climbed on the bus and slept until our arrival at the school we would use as our impromptu clinic area. I quickly set up my station and braced myself for the flood of people who were on their way. Surprisingly, the medical team received little patients compared to the overwhelming and endless flow of the dental team. I was put in charge of the sanitation, and was almost overrun by the dentists’ demands for clean instruments. I have mastered the use of the autoclave, despite a couple failed first attempts. =]
My work at the sanitation area left me lots of free time to walk around and explore. Eyes followed me everywhere I went, but I have become used to this. The sheer number of those in need left me dazed; we needed to stay several hours extra to finish all of the patients. The dentists’ all worked hard, pulling what looked like a hundred teeth and filling even more. The hot room and poor electrical setup combined to form a sauna-like environment, agitating the patients. Luckily, Vietnam is currently in the middle of a typhoon (=o) which keeps the weather cooler than normal. Nevertheless, it is still plenty hot. After the clinic, we returned to the hotel for dinner and hopped on the bus to Hanoi.
Which takes us back to the present. I finish writing this blog as my battery dwindles down, so please forgive its rushed feel. Hopefully my next entry will have even more events to write about! Happy summer and happy reading!
It's not letting me upload pictures. Grr.
When I wrote my last blog post, I was in the Taipei International airport on a public computer. From there, I hopped aboard a short, two hour flight to Hanoi. Upon arriving, I felt a familiar humidity force itself upon me; the weather here feels just like the overbearing heat I have grown to survive in back home. I walked into customs to be greeted by grim looking officers, but luckily passed through with no significant troubles. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for our team bins. The bins, which contained all the equipment and supplies needed for our trip, were confiscated and searched just as we were about to leave the airport. The entire process took about 3 and a half extra hours, which I filled trying to guess what day it currently was. We were greeted in the airport by our Vietnamese teammates, natives who agreed to come with the team and help us help the people of Vietnam. Initially, the air was awkward, especially for the younger generation of volunteers. After several hours, however, I began to make an awkward attempt at communication. This is probably a good time to mention that the average height of a full-grown Vietnamese man is about 5’6’’. Being both Vietnamese and a staggering 5’10’’, in addition to being (forgive my lack of modesty) completely and utterly buff, I draw quite a bit of attention. I receive stares and points of amazement everywhere I go. For the three Vietnamese girls who I approached, to see this giant inconsistency walk towards them and try to start a conversation was too much for them to handle; they collapsed into fits of giggles every couple seconds. After they got it out of their system, however, they were more than happy to strike up conversations. At the completion of our luggage check, the 25 person joint-nation team walked out together and hopped on a bus to Viet Tri, the location of our first stay. Upon our arrival, a slew of Vietnamese hotel workers ran out to greet us and take our luggage up as many as four stories to our rooms. Every time I walked past the workers, they teased me by squeezing my arm and asking me to flex, calling me “giant”. Prior to going up to the rooms, I went out to get a haircut. The barber was extremely skilled and quick with his razor, trimming my long carpet head in a record 6 minutes. The price: $1.50 American dollars! Satisfied, I walked back to my room. The room reminded me of hostels I had stayed at in Italy. To put it kindly: they took the quantity of rooms in their hotel over the quantity. However, the hotel made up what they lacked in comfort with incredibly friendly service. In addition, the hotel provided all the meals for us, and although not incredible, they were quite good considering the size of the group. Tired from my travels (though not jetlagged!), I ran upstairs to sleep soon after dinner was finished. Another note: one of my goals was to improve my Vietnamese and to make friends with some of the natives. I am happy to say that both these goals are well within my reach. The Vietnamese team is friendly and approachable and are more than happy to correct my broken Vietnamese in exchange for a couple of English phrases. For example, I became acquainted with a young man named Hoa and a young woman named Giang during the first dinner. The two had just finished dental school and jumped into the mission trip to lend a hand. At dinner, the limits of my Vietnamese were realized. I used the pronoun “con” to refer to myself while speaking to my new friends, which, as I now know, is incorrect; “con” is used primary for speaking to older people. I had been so used to only talking to older people in Vietnamese that the word “con” had become a habit and it was very difficult to stop using it. Thankfully, my two friends were more than happy to admonish me lightly however often I made the mistake. With lessons under my belt, I went to bed.
I woke up the next day and went running around the town with my uncle. The humidity hit hard even at 6:00AM, limiting us to only three miles. Later, we sorted the bins out into their respective categories (I.E. Dental (my station) , Medical, Pharmaceutical, ect.) The process was chaotic, but I made several more friends through my work. Two young children, a boy named Tu and a girl named Hanh, grew to love my easygoing and funloving personality. They tease me about the size of my arms and my accent, but remind me of some of the younger kids back home. After the sorting, we went to Hung temple, a burial site for several of Vietnam’s first kings. There were lots of stairs, enough to make me regret my three mile expedition earlier that morning. After that, we went to visit a small orphanage where I spent my time playing with several young Vietnamese babies. I was sad to leave when I did! Finally, we closed out our day with a lovely family style dinner. Exhausted, I went back to my room and slept.
The next morning was our first clinic day. Waking up at 6:30, I groggily climbed on the bus and slept until our arrival at the school we would use as our impromptu clinic area. I quickly set up my station and braced myself for the flood of people who were on their way. Surprisingly, the medical team received little patients compared to the overwhelming and endless flow of the dental team. I was put in charge of the sanitation, and was almost overrun by the dentists’ demands for clean instruments. I have mastered the use of the autoclave, despite a couple failed first attempts. =]
My work at the sanitation area left me lots of free time to walk around and explore. Eyes followed me everywhere I went, but I have become used to this. The sheer number of those in need left me dazed; we needed to stay several hours extra to finish all of the patients. The dentists’ all worked hard, pulling what looked like a hundred teeth and filling even more. The hot room and poor electrical setup combined to form a sauna-like environment, agitating the patients. Luckily, Vietnam is currently in the middle of a typhoon (=o) which keeps the weather cooler than normal. Nevertheless, it is still plenty hot. After the clinic, we returned to the hotel for dinner and hopped on the bus to Hanoi.
Which takes us back to the present. I finish writing this blog as my battery dwindles down, so please forgive its rushed feel. Hopefully my next entry will have even more events to write about! Happy summer and happy reading!
It's not letting me upload pictures. Grr.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
In Transition
I can honestly say that I have no idea what day it is, what time it is, or even where I am on a map. I saw water outside my window on the plane, so I assume that I am somewhere on the Asian continent. My uncle tells me it's Taipei, which, considering my current confused state, means next to nothing to me; I really can't register or comprehend what most people are saying to me at this point. And yet, I feel strangely at peace. The plane ride was, while not the most comfortable experience, much less demanding than I expected. I feel no jetlag (yet) and, albeit a bit confused, I am perfectly fine. The lovely stewardesses were kind and hospitable, offering non-stop meals to distract the passengers from the monstrous twelve hour ride they were on. The TVs were equipped with recent music and movies which kept me entertained the whole way. And of course there was sleep. I hibernated for almost half of the ride, being careful only to sleep according to Vietnam time; I stayed awake until it was 8:00PM at the time of my destination and crashed shortly thereafter. I found the plane to be strangely peaceful when I was awake, most passengers snoozing softly with the exception of my uncle, who took it upon himself to entertain those left awake with a musical chorus of his snores and grunts. The conditions were perfect for one of my favorite pasttimes: people watching. I quietly observed the Chinese gentleman across from me struggle with his remote, chuckling to myself as he proceeded to remotely turn the lights above him on and off a ridiculous amount of times before realizing that doing so did not change the channel on his television. His technological troubles reminded me of my grandpa's own disparity with his television. I saw a group of three siblings sleeping together, reminding me of my two brothers left at home who are obviously devastated by the absence of their glorious eldest brother. I listened to an intereseting altercation occurring behind me between a man and woman concerning the nature of the man's shirt; she found it to be ragged and worn, asking him to change before she ripped it off for him. It took all I had to keep myself from bursting out laughing; this very fight occurrs between my parents almost weekly at my house. After I was finished looking at all the interesting individuals around me, I began thinking about what I had observed. While I watched the actions of these strangers, I was comparing them to my family, people in my life who behave similarly. I realized then that I miss them already. While I do not feel particularly sad, as shown above, I am obviously very much aware of their absnece subconsciously and compensate this by seeing them and their idiosyncrasies in other people. These thoughts are troubling to me; I don't want to say that I miss my family already! It's only been two days! Trying to escape these thoughts, I turned on the television set in front of me and began to watch some movies. The first movie I chose to watch was "She's Out Of My League", a comedy I had seen back home with my friends. I laughed at every goofy line, and found myself reaching into my pocket for my phone, as if I could send my friends a text telling them I was watching that ridiculous movie again. But I couldn't. Hmm. I then watched Chicago, a movie I had seen after prom at a friend's house. The insanely inappropriate dance numbers had me giggling, and again I reached for my phone, trying to let my friends know what I was doing. But I couldn't. I realized then that I subconsciously miss my friends as well. My inside jokes carried no weight with my uncle, whose face remained emotionless as I spewed out countless one-liners my friends would have died laughing at. For a moment, I was almost overwhelmed; I had realized for the first time that I was almost completely alone. Rather then let these revelations weigh me down, however, I use these feelings as evidence. If I missed my friends and family so much that even I was not consciously aware of it, they must be pretty darn great. I will use this as inspiration on my mission trip, as I spread the love within my heart to others who need it. I will share my jokes with them, tell them about my life back home, and help them to understand what love from a stranger feels like. Hopefully I will be successful, and when I am finished, hopefully I will have a friend in Vietnam who will miss me as much as I miss those back at home.
Internet is splotchy, but I will try my best to post daily updates. Love you all!
Also, my uncle Bac Nam would like to add that he is the coolest guy west of the Mississippi. Go figure.
Khang
Internet is splotchy, but I will try my best to post daily updates. Love you all!
Also, my uncle Bac Nam would like to add that he is the coolest guy west of the Mississippi. Go figure.
Khang
Monday, July 12, 2010
Word of Introduction
"Khang oi, keep a blog so that the folks at home can see what how your trip is going!" A simple enough request: take the time every night to write about your day so that others can see how your trip is progressing. I have always found any form of personal reflection to be strangely appeasing, as if writing down my problems made them real, made them solvable. However, I have also always found that any form of personal reflection is tedious, demanding hours of my time and immeasurable amounts of my energy. In the end, I simply decided that reflection is best done in the mind. However, I suppose that had I the time, I would not object too heavily to keeping a journal. Doing so would allow me to look back on my thoughts in the future and provide some interesting insight into my young adult life. In contrast, blogging has always been a frightening concept and has never appealed to me. The two forms of reflection, one being written in ink and the other composed of bits and bytes, are not that different. However, blogging has been significantly more troublesome for me to accept; after all, if my personal thoughts are just that, then to have them put up on the Internet for all to see defeats their entire purpose. If everyone is able to read my personal thoughts, they are no longer personal. Countless strangers would have access to my innermost feelings and my personal thoughts. My mind would become an attraction for all to see, and admission would be absolutely free. Refusing to be subject to that kind of objectification, I rejected blogging from my life once and for all.
Or so I had thought. My mother changed my perspective of blogs, and she had done it through a simple request. "Khang oi, write a blog so that the folks at home can see what how your trip is going!" To the untrained eye, there is nothing significantly special about this request. However, to one who has experienced the love of a family firsthand, this sentence oozes meaning out of every spoken syllable. The part of the sentence that drew my attention the most was second word: oi. In Vietnamese, "oi" is a term of endearment, of love. She had not said the word with any particular emphasis. It just hit me at the right place and the right time. Her "oi" reminded me what I was doing, where I was going. Her "oi" reflected her own personal sadness at my departure, as well as her hope that I would return wiser and stronger than when I had left. The sheer power of the word seeped into my being, and when she had finished her request, I agreed to do it.
To you readers, it might seem like there are gaps in my logic. Why on earth would I agree to spill my thoughts onto the Internet? After all, I spent so long detesting the very idea of blogs and all that they stood for. What happened is actually very simple: my fear, my insecurities, and my doubts were all eliminated by love. In actuality, my fear of blogging could have been reflective of my fear of the trip itself. I am a Vietnamese-American returning home to the country of my parents. Like blogging, my personal insecurities regarding my trip were all centered around a fear of judgment, of rejection. I now realize, however, that these fears are trivial and unrealistic. My mother reminded me of the one thing that could pull me through no matter how difficult the situation: love. I take the love of my friends and family back home with me to Vietnam. On my trip, it is my duty to pass that love onto those who need it most. Of course, it will be rejected by some, but so long as one person I help can experience a fraction of the love I receive everyday, it will be worth it. Any adversity I face will undeniably be destroyed by the love that I carry within me. I am not afraid now, because in a sense, all those reading my blog journey to Vietnam with me. You all are present in the orphanages I am at, the streets I walk, the restaurants I eat in, and the homes I enter. You all will give me the strength I need, the love I need to make my trip worthwhile. It is only fair then that I write about my day so that everyone can see how your love has affected the world. When cast in this light, I can happily accept the task of blogging; it is a small price to pay for all that those who will read it have done for me. Of course, I am still apprehensive of both my trip and my blog, but that fear disappears when I remember the love that I have with me wherever I go. And so, with my daily revelations complete, I look forward both to spreading the love of my friends and family to those in Vietnam as well as taking the time to tell you all about it.
I hope you enjoy reading my blog and charting my journey, and look forward to reading your comments. As shown above, the power of even a simple word is immeasurable. Send me some love!
Khang
Or so I had thought. My mother changed my perspective of blogs, and she had done it through a simple request. "Khang oi, write a blog so that the folks at home can see what how your trip is going!" To the untrained eye, there is nothing significantly special about this request. However, to one who has experienced the love of a family firsthand, this sentence oozes meaning out of every spoken syllable. The part of the sentence that drew my attention the most was second word: oi. In Vietnamese, "oi" is a term of endearment, of love. She had not said the word with any particular emphasis. It just hit me at the right place and the right time. Her "oi" reminded me what I was doing, where I was going. Her "oi" reflected her own personal sadness at my departure, as well as her hope that I would return wiser and stronger than when I had left. The sheer power of the word seeped into my being, and when she had finished her request, I agreed to do it.
To you readers, it might seem like there are gaps in my logic. Why on earth would I agree to spill my thoughts onto the Internet? After all, I spent so long detesting the very idea of blogs and all that they stood for. What happened is actually very simple: my fear, my insecurities, and my doubts were all eliminated by love. In actuality, my fear of blogging could have been reflective of my fear of the trip itself. I am a Vietnamese-American returning home to the country of my parents. Like blogging, my personal insecurities regarding my trip were all centered around a fear of judgment, of rejection. I now realize, however, that these fears are trivial and unrealistic. My mother reminded me of the one thing that could pull me through no matter how difficult the situation: love. I take the love of my friends and family back home with me to Vietnam. On my trip, it is my duty to pass that love onto those who need it most. Of course, it will be rejected by some, but so long as one person I help can experience a fraction of the love I receive everyday, it will be worth it. Any adversity I face will undeniably be destroyed by the love that I carry within me. I am not afraid now, because in a sense, all those reading my blog journey to Vietnam with me. You all are present in the orphanages I am at, the streets I walk, the restaurants I eat in, and the homes I enter. You all will give me the strength I need, the love I need to make my trip worthwhile. It is only fair then that I write about my day so that everyone can see how your love has affected the world. When cast in this light, I can happily accept the task of blogging; it is a small price to pay for all that those who will read it have done for me. Of course, I am still apprehensive of both my trip and my blog, but that fear disappears when I remember the love that I have with me wherever I go. And so, with my daily revelations complete, I look forward both to spreading the love of my friends and family to those in Vietnam as well as taking the time to tell you all about it.
I hope you enjoy reading my blog and charting my journey, and look forward to reading your comments. As shown above, the power of even a simple word is immeasurable. Send me some love!
Khang
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