Impressions of Vietnam

The landscape is beautiful. Mountains are everywhere. They seem to spring out of nowhere, cut into the horizon like they’re not quite finished and yet they’re full of splendor. There are quite a few rice paddies in which women work, benched over, planting seed after seed. I imagine that during harvest season all you can see is a sea of straw hats. There are other postcard images: women on bicycles, men and women on motorbikes with babies in front or in the back. Students riding their bicycles to school in packs. And smiles. So many beautiful smiles!

Vietnamese children are strikingly handsome. And quite calm. Vietnamese students are shy yet keep on shouting “Hello. How are you?” with huge grins they hide behind their hands. I love being around them. It was such a treat listening to them talk about their lives, dreams, and hobbies. Most want to be doctors, policemen, or teachers. Most care for their neighbors, hold hands, and are loved by their parents. This is something that always warms my heart –even more so now that Leo is in my life-, seeing parents interact lovingly with their children. In Vietnam, like in so many cultures, mothers are responsible for their children’s well-being, including health and education. Yet when we talked to parents of disabled children, 3 fathers were present and when their little boys came to them, their smile and the way they carried their children was so heartwarming –and so heart wrenching, considering the poor condition in which these children have to grow. I saw many dads holding their babies. And I saw many moms caring for, feeding, running after, smiling at, and playing with their children. I must have appeared like a creepy freak, staring at them with a big smile on my face!

The stories we heard were stories of hope. Life is difficult for sure. Many people are poor –farmers who can barely subsist on what crops they grow, mothers who have to work day and night to make a living- but love is evident and children have big dreams. And they want to give back. They want to be policemen to protect their communities (oh and because police school is free and you have a guaranteed job when you’re done), doctors to find cures for diseases, and teachers to give knowledge to younger generations. I’m sure they’re like kids all over the world and have flaws (one of the big issues here is actually online gaming!) but I left them feeling uplifted. Sad, but uplifted.

And through it all I missed my little boy. My sick little boy –who by now is feeling better, as is his dad. My little boy who, God willing, will never know what these children know and go through on a daily basis (how terribly sad is it that these children have repeated warnings and training about child trafficking?). He will never be bare feet when it’s cold and rainy. He will never wonder whether he is going to have food to eat. He will hopefully never see his mom cry because she doesn’t know how she’s going to make ends meet. He will never see us have to wonder whether we’re going to send him to school or send him to the doctor’s office. He will never be beaten. But like these children I hope he will care for others, love others, feel valuable, and have big dreams for himself that will allow him to give back, to thank God for his good fortune, to repay the universe for being born in the US instead of a little village in the Vietnamese mountains.

These lessons are also valid for me. I work for a NGO but tend to go through life without wondering too much whether it’s ok to spend money on Starbucks or on Itunes. Hopefully I won’t come home and get buried into my super busy routine. Hopefully I will still take time to pray and think of those kids who made me smile and made my heart burst. If not, please do call me out on it!