the night before

Seeing as how everybody is blogging about their exciting travels for the summer, I shall jump on the bandwagon and make a blog, too. I actually don't know how often I'll be able to update this. I'll make an effort to blog at least twice before I return to the states (August 3, people, mark this date).

So what did I do the night before my 1:40AM flight instead of packing? I spent 20 minutes deciding what my blog name should be (shout out to SASC anthology haha).

With so many events that has happened recently, my brain is exhausted from so much worrying, thinking, planning, etc. As for now, I am scared out of my mind. I usually try not to have expectations and just take everything in as they come. But I am expecting to come back super duper dark, skin scarred and toughened by mosquitos, and with a better understanding about my culture.

I am going back to the place that my family had left behind. The only thing I would hear about Vietnam while sulking and pushing my rice around were about the starving children that had nothing to eat. My mom never liked to talk about her past, but she'd insert some stories here and there about her education. It wasn't until I decided that I wanted to go on this Volunteers for Medical Outreach trip that my family decided to open up and tell me stories about Vietnam. Mostly they were stories about how I should be careful, keep my money and papers in my underwear, and never go anywhere by myself. My mom and dad focused on horror stories about people getting kidnapped and sold to slavery. My grandma liked to talk about the different fruits I should eat. She gave me very specific yet vague directions (if you want to eat at the best orchard, you'll have to go to the little stand on the side of the street then make a right onto a path and go all the way to the end of the road. then you'll meet this nice little girl who will show you how to get to the orchard. but don't go towards the red gate with the sugarcanes). My aunt told me stories from her childhood, but the village where my mom grew up was destroyed. It's interesting what I can learn about my history...and I only had to ask. I don't understand why I was so afraid of knowing before. I wish I had a family member come with me to explain everything.

Vina, a family/childhood/Berkeley friend of mine, is spending her summer in Vietnam as well. I've been reading her blog http://wanderlusting-vi.blogspot.com . You should follow it, too :] It's very entertaining.

Oh, don't text or call my phone unless you want to talk to my mom :]