I haven't posted in a long, long time. Travels for work have taken me across the globe and back to my third 'home' Viet Nam. As I sit here in a cafe in Hoi An, an ancient city outside of Da Nang in the middle of Viet Nam, I'm reflecting on what brought me here in the first place 9 years ago. Was it the food? The people? The culture? As people ask me, I cannot remember anymore the moment I fell in love with this country. There was a time my Dad visited and brought back tales of this country and beautiful hand crafted goods, but I think that only sparked my interest even more. It could have been my love for all things Asia, the mindful and spiritual was of a country that has been through so much.
Making my normal rounds with my group, here on this 5th trip I'm getting to see it for the first time through eyes of young adults, older adults, those who left the night before Saigon fell as children, and those who have been here more times than I. So many perspectives, none like my own. As we have passed through southern Viet Nam, once rife with famine, war, and too many atrocities to name, I'm reminded each day of the hardworking nature and beauty of not only the landscape but the people. Life isn't easy here; one of my group mentioned how it's not just the people that life is hard on here- it's hard on buildings, infrastructure, health, and as we have noticed, electronics.
But the people push on, the children push on, and we, as a group of 42, push on. The service learning trip is half over, and these young adults are already changed for good. I hope that they take away a love for this country and it's people just as I did on my first journey here.
Making my normal rounds with my group, here on this 5th trip I'm getting to see it for the first time through eyes of young adults, older adults, those who left the night before Saigon fell as children, and those who have been here more times than I. So many perspectives, none like my own. As we have passed through southern Viet Nam, once rife with famine, war, and too many atrocities to name, I'm reminded each day of the hardworking nature and beauty of not only the landscape but the people. Life isn't easy here; one of my group mentioned how it's not just the people that life is hard on here- it's hard on buildings, infrastructure, health, and as we have noticed, electronics.
But the people push on, the children push on, and we, as a group of 42, push on. The service learning trip is half over, and these young adults are already changed for good. I hope that they take away a love for this country and it's people just as I did on my first journey here.
