As I read through my travel journals and reflect upon that time, I realize that this trip humbled me to the core; it’s the famous saying “the more I see the less I know”.
The biggest lesson I’m learning in Vietnam was how to live communally. I am a volunteer teacher for Homestay Vietnam, a program where the students and teacher live and work in the same multilevel house.
Imagine 35 young, eager Vietnam students and 10 foreign English teachers living in bunk bed rooms spread throughout 5 floors of a house. Things definitely are loud and a little crazy yet it is a lot of fun.
I am able to cultivate a communication style that allows me to connect with and befriend people across gender, culture, language, and age differences.
In the homestay rigidity and strictness has no place here. We work with schedules yet with so many moving parts of the machine, there has to be room for flexibility. Sometimes classrooms are double booked for two lessons or students invited 3 friends to one-on-one sessions.
Things did not go as expected and that’s okay <3 We live, laugh, learn, and love as a community.
I’m naturally a solitary human who has no problem doing things alone. That is not really possible at the homestay as someone is always looking to practice their English outside of class. Rather than feeling exhausted from socializing (introvert problem lol), this is what I really loved.
Perhaps some of the biggest lessons I am learning about community is happening outside of the classroom.
We went camping and hiking in Ba Vi National Park. On that trip we pitched our tents, built fires, cooked food for 40 + people, and just chilled.
Something the students love is going out for bias (beers) after dinner and night classes. We order pitchers of Bia Hanoi, bowls of peanuts, and bonded over jokes.
Eating and cooking together is a common group activity.
One of my friends/students Đỗ Hồng Sơn took the day off from class with me to give a private tour of his hometown, HaLong Bay. I was invited to stay with his family and they took the best care of me.
They even caught fresh fish and seafood in my honor so I *gasp* ate a bit, detracting from my vegan lifestyle.
A few of us in the homestay went to the gym together daily, working on our muscles. Things sometimes got competitive and super silly.
One weekend, one of my students Thinh, another teacher Zach and I made an impromptu motorbike trip to the Huong Pagoda to hike and learn about Vietnamese Buddhist culture. It was so beautiful to learn about how Thinh incorporated Buddhist traditions such as meditation into her life as a career-oriented, modern Vietnamese woman.
Of course I had to visit the Vietnamese Women’s Museum to educate myself on the country’s history of female empowerment.
I am leaving Vietnam feeling immediate nostalgia. I know that I’m destined to return and explore more of the country.
Sending hugs to my family in Hanoi.
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