I just got back from a weekend in Hue and Danang, two beautiful coastal cities in central Vietnam. A couple Duke students, our supervisor and hero Vu, and his three awesome, inspirational friends were spending a day “conquering the Hai Van Pass” to raise money for one of the coolest organizations I’ve ever heard of: Tinh Truc Gia, a place for disabled youth to live, work, create art, and learn together without stigma. Essentially, they biked 2-6 grueling laps up and down a giant mountain and raised around $2,000, and I tagged along to support them (and you know, go to the beach and visit cool resorts and stuff).
I’ve been there before, but the second time around, I was able to interact with the local people more, and I was really grateful for that. There was a wedding at the hotel we were staying at, and we asked the family if we could sit down for some free food and beer, and they let us. Their astounding hospitality as well as the open, interesting, hilarious conversations I had with random wedding guests made me concretely realize something about the Vietnamese people that I had been subconsciously noticing for a while: they care for others so much.
It seems small, but that caring pervades every part of their lives. A week ago, we asked our cook Co Tuan directions to a pizza place, and she insisted on walking us there and investigating it herself because she was skeptical about its legitimacy. I fell off my bike while going to lunch with some students last Saturday, and one student cried because she was so worried about me. I wore Band-Aids to class because I scraped my finger, and around 10 students individually asked me if I was ok. When I came back from the weekend trip in Hue, I got huge hugs from almost all of the Vietnamese roommates even though I had only been gone for one night. After class, Trinh often goes to the market and buys fruit that she knows I like (watermelon, lychee, jackfruit) so we can eat it back in our room.
It’s not the same kindness and politeness that you might find in America, but it’s deeper, more genuine. With only one week left here, it’s hard to pick what I will miss most about Vietnam, but this compassion for others may be the top of my list. I’m a little bit jealous of the Vietnamese roommates—after this program, I get pizza and AC everywhere and soft mattresses, but they get this insanely trustworthy, widespread support system. Americans could definitely take notes.
I’ve been there before, but the second time around, I was able to interact with the local people more, and I was really grateful for that. There was a wedding at the hotel we were staying at, and we asked the family if we could sit down for some free food and beer, and they let us. Their astounding hospitality as well as the open, interesting, hilarious conversations I had with random wedding guests made me concretely realize something about the Vietnamese people that I had been subconsciously noticing for a while: they care for others so much.
It seems small, but that caring pervades every part of their lives. A week ago, we asked our cook Co Tuan directions to a pizza place, and she insisted on walking us there and investigating it herself because she was skeptical about its legitimacy. I fell off my bike while going to lunch with some students last Saturday, and one student cried because she was so worried about me. I wore Band-Aids to class because I scraped my finger, and around 10 students individually asked me if I was ok. When I came back from the weekend trip in Hue, I got huge hugs from almost all of the Vietnamese roommates even though I had only been gone for one night. After class, Trinh often goes to the market and buys fruit that she knows I like (watermelon, lychee, jackfruit) so we can eat it back in our room.
It’s not the same kindness and politeness that you might find in America, but it’s deeper, more genuine. With only one week left here, it’s hard to pick what I will miss most about Vietnam, but this compassion for others may be the top of my list. I’m a little bit jealous of the Vietnamese roommates—after this program, I get pizza and AC everywhere and soft mattresses, but they get this insanely trustworthy, widespread support system. Americans could definitely take notes.