Grace Yi

These are a few words that came to mind as I set foot outside the airport in Vietnam: hot, humid, sweaty and stinky.

Steaming heat and muggy humidity wrapped around every inch of my body, as it cried out in perspiration. Never had I before noticed nor appreciated the cool, clean breezes of Hawaii.

Everyday, my roommates and I try to save every possible drop of precious bottled water as we brush our teeth, and try to breathe as we keep our mouths shut tight while we take a shower (apparently if we get any tap water into our mouth, we’ll suffer from diarrhea). From that very first night, I realized how fortunate I was to have clean water back home.

Smiles spread among the orphaned girls as they received our old, hand-me-down dolls and clothes. Some things that have been sitting in the bottom of my dresser because ‘I don’t look too good in it’ or ‘it’s old’ are dear gifts to these orphans. I’ve always complained of not having enough clothes and other (I now realize) unnecessary things. These girls help me to realize that I have more than enough. These kids at the Mai Lien Catholic Girls Orphanage concentrated hard as I lamely tried to teach them how to make leis, and once again, they don’t forget to put smiles on their faces. I was grateful that they were so open to me and demonstrated such appreciation.

On the second day of the trip, we went to the actual battleground where the Vietnam War took place. The sound of gunshots rang throughout the woods every minute or so, as tourists paid to shoot real weapons from that time. We watched a worker demonstrate how Vietnamese soldiers went underneath mere shoe-box-sized holes and hid under the secret tunnels called Cu Chi tunnels. My friends and I actually went through the tunnels, and crawled for about 100 dark, sweaty and painful yards. As I was barely moving several inches with each crawl, I was wondering how the soldiers would have felt as they heard shootings and bombs going off every few seconds, while quickly crawling through the dark tunnels without light, terrorized with the thought of the American soldiers finding the secret Passageways. Afterwards, I got a chance to shoot with the actual gun (AK47). When we got close to the shooting range, I got frightened of the loud shooting sound and my body jerked backwards at each shooting sound. This time I thought about my foster dad, who fought in the Vietnam War when he was only four or five years older than I am right now, and got shot. My heart ached because I was able to feel his fear, as he heard the guerilla guns shooting everywhere around him but couldn’t spot from where these death invitations were flying. This is not just something that happened years ago, there are guns shootings and bombs exploding in Iraq today. Is there any other way of negotiating our differences than pointing guns at each other?

It is truly one of the most amazing sights to watch hundreds of mopeds racing down the roads, inches away from each other, squirming between and away. There is no such thing as traffic lights or laws and somehow these people manage to get to their destination safely. Maybe this shows their way of living: they can smile and wave in the middle of all their troubles.

It has only been three days since I arrived in Vietnam, and I’ve already seen and learned much. I can now see how lucky I am. What I thought to be problems were just mere childish whinings, and I have been taking everything for granted. Now I’m ready to embrace and accept what I don’t have, and be thankful for what I do have.



Jen Kato

So far during this Vietnam trip, I have had many great experiences. Today, we visited an island called Unicorn Island. It is a small island located in the middle of a river. When we arrived on the island, we rode on a small boat and went through a small river, which ran through the island. Though it was hot, the shadow of the coconut trees and the sound of the river made it very relaxing. The people of the island also treated us to fresh picked fruits such as papayas, bananas, and grapefruit. They were sweet and delicious. Near the end of the tour of the island, everyone had a chance to hold a snake and take a picture. Though some of us were scared at first, everyone had a great time.

One thing I like most about Vietnam is that the food is very cheap and tasty. During the trip, I have tried the coconut milk Mr. Dang has been telling us about. It was very good. It tasted very different from what I thought it would taste like. It was very sweet and watery. The meat of the coconut is also very delicious.

I am very glad that I am able to go on this trip. I have made awesome new friends, and learned a lot about the lifestyle in Vietnam.