Hàng Ngày

Finally, a blog post!! I have embarked upon my journey across the entirety of Vietnam, and am currently in Gia Lai province, in the central highlands. My journey began exactly two weeks ago today, when I set off from Long Xuyen to Tra Vinh province, where one of my IFP fellowship students lives. I had made a pact with them, and with myself, to try to visit all of them after I finished my contract with AGU and before I went back to the US. At first it was only a dream, but starting on the 4th of February, (the 28th of lunar December), I was on the road. (I could probably write a book about this trip. Maybe I will. For now, here is the abbreviated version, in bite-sized chunks.)

My first destination was Tra Vinh province, about four hours northeast of Long Xuyen. My student, Kim Long, works in the aquaculture department of the university there, and his family raises fish and sells fish food and medicine to other farmers in the area.

The bus ride was the beginning of the adventure. I went with Minh, a fellow teacher from AGU, which was a blessing, because it would have been miserable alone. Minh and I both started out the morning not feeling well, but decided to go anyway. First we took a bus to Can Tho, about 1.5 hours away, and a fairly typical ride. When we got to Can Tho, we asked for a bus to Tra Vinh, and once we got on spent over an hour waiting in line for the Can Tho ferry, listening to cheesy Vietnamese radio music the whole time. When we got to Vinh Long, at the crossroads of HCMC and Tra Vinh, we stopped and were essentially thrown off of the bus and pushed onto another, much more crowded bus for the next leg of our journey.

The countryside in Tra Vinh is a lot less populated than An Giang, full of green rice fields, and the occasional stilted house above the flood waters. Long’s house is outside of Tra Vinh city about 17 km. I spent five days with his parents, his older sister, his fiance, and his younger brother. We caught fish in the pond outside his house to cook for dinner. We went into town to see the fireworks for new year’s eve. I went with Long and his brother and father to “thuoc ca,” use chemicals to kill the fish in the fields so that they can raise shrimp in the same water. We met just about every relative Long has, on both sides of his family, I couldn’t even keep track of which aunt, uncle, or cousin was which.

One of the specialties of Long’s house was one of the at-home karaoke systems that are so popular here. Karaoke was a daily afternoon activity. After lunch, we all piled into the living room and “bet” on the best singer (put in 2,000 VND ante, and whoever gets the highest score from the karaoke machine gets the pot). In general it was loud, off-key, and totally vui.

On the first day of Tet we went to a pagoda where Long’s mom wrote the names of all the family members and their birthdates on a piece of paper for one of the monks to look at and tell the fortunes for the coming year. Mine was not good. Apparently I am going to lose a lot of money this year, so I have to watch my pockets

On the second day, there was a death anniversary for Long’s paternal grandmother at his home, and all of the afformentioned family members piled into Long’s kitchen and side lot to clean vegetables, cook, chat, and in general hang out. It reminded me so much of the gatherings with both sides of my family: a lot of catching up and noise and laughter. It felt great to share this experience of being in a real family for Tet holiday.

On the third day of Tet, I said goodbye to Long’s family early in the morning and departed for Long Xuyen again, where I had about 24 hours to pack my things and prepare to leave for good. Saying goodbye to Long’s family was hard: they became like my family over those five days, the children like my siblings or cousins, and his mother like a mother to me. I felt totally at home in their home, and hope that someday I will be able to come back to visit.

But the next leg of my journey was beckoning, and I had to heed its call…

Today I said goodbye to some of the most important people in my life here in Long Xuyen. It wasn’t as sad as I thought it might be. I guess after that initial goodbye with the fellows last week, when I shed my fair share of parting tears after seeing them cry, perhaps the other goodbyes seem more like “see you again.” I keep telling people that I will come back here, and I think I will. I know I will.

Today I had three students come over to say goodbye to me and give me a small notebook that they compiled with little pictures of all of them, and notes from each one. 6D2, my “be bong” (pet) class, my first class, they are so lovely, as the Vietnamese would say. (My language is going to be a little strange for a while upon my initial return to the US) One of them stayed longer than the others to talk for a while. He has applied for a scholarship to study in the US for a semester, and wanted to tell me about the interview he had last week. He also had a few other things to tell me which moved me almost to tears, and which I will remember always. He said that during his first two years of school, he only thought about studying hard, being the best student, and achievement. But now, something in his mind has changed, and he has realized that he wants to widen his horizons more. He has gotten more involved in activities outside of class, he has deepened his relationships, and he has come up with a “secret” plan which he revealed to me about teaching in the evenings as a volunteer after he graduates. He said that he has realized that he has a duty to not only help himself and his family, but also to help those who are less fortunate than him. Hearing this, I am reminded of what Mr. Hinshaw said to me during my senior year in high school: the number of students who you feel really get it, who really understand what you’re trying to teach them, you will be able to count on one hand. But they make it worth it. I realize now how true that statement was. The past two years have been worth a handful of students coming to say goodbye to me this morning, and telling me that their outlook on the world has widened.

It makes me wonder more about what I will do when I return to the US. I want to do more direct work in the community, but I also want to continue teaching and encouraging other young people to dedicate their lives to their communities. I also want to keep writing about everything that I learn, and sharing it with my friends, family, and others. Someone help me find an appropriate job and career path to match these interests!! A way to continue practicing my Vietnamese would also be nice…

In the meantime, I’m almost finished with my mountain of editing work, at which point I will really get to enjoy some time off traveling and thinking and processing before I start my course in Thailand.