the end to another beginning.

As the end of the semester approaching, it still haven't hit me yet that everything will change and I might have to adapt to the lifestyle back in the states. Now, only a week left, it is becoming harder to let go of hanoi knowing I wont be able to relive this experience ever again, or the same way. Taking this experience and UCHANU to the states is harder said than done. Keeping in touch with someone is my biggest weakness, more so when they are so far away. However, all the memories and the people I met in Vietnam, I can never forget. They have become a part of my learning experience and it is something that I will be able to take with me for the rest of my life. There will be friendship that will last and there will be some that wont. Another thing I will be able to take with me is the experience I had working on Nghe An's project. It gives me whole different perspective about doing this type of charity work and how meaningful it can be. To be able to personally visits the place and see everything for myself, it gives me another purpose for helping people. Not simple just donating money, I was able to understand the difficulty, the life, and the joy of these people. I can actually connects with them heart to heart over short simple conversation. The ways people treat me in Vietnam is something I want to do the same in the states.It is so easy to get to know a stranger on the street in Vietnam and they can easily become some really good friend down the road, because they treat you with their heart. That is something I appreciate about Vietnam culture and it is something I wan to do with the people I meet down the road.

being exposed to many different type of experiences here in Vietnam, I am able to find a purpose for myself in the work I want to do in the future. Coming back and living in Vietnam is something I never though about before. But after this trip, I'm seriously considering of coming back here to work after I'm done with school. I learn that there are so much I can be doing in vietnam. I am very privilege to have a lot of things that others don't, and Vietnam provides me those opportunity to give back to those that are less unfortunate. Definitely, after this trip, charity/ volunteering work is something I want to continue doing for the rest of my life. working at hoa binh thanh xuan and fundraising for Nghe An make me realized how meaning work like this can be. the smile and the joy i see in each individual just make the work all worthwhile. I cant put into words how much this trip have changed me and I wont be able to let go any of this experience. I now have a better understanding of my culture, heritage, and identity. And that is the knowledge that I will always take with me wherever I go and will guide me to do more things that I haven't done before.