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?