What was this feeling? My arms and legs felt like bricks, as I tossed and turned in bed, hardly able to pull myself up. It was about six or so in the morning. My uncle, Xuyen (probably spelled differently), came over to ask me to come have breakfast and coffee with him. Despite my soreness, I got up, brushed my teeth, and walked over to the same little restaurant that me and my uncle ate at the last week. Again, it was another bowl of noodle soup, a little spicy and tangy, filling me up for the morning. We were joined by some of the villagers, who asked about who I was, and when I responded that I was the older son of my parents (known together as Bien-Ve or by their Vietnamese first names), they instantly knew who I was. They asked me about my travels so far and how my parents were doing over in the states. Waving them off, I went over to have some coffee at the cafe of one of uncle Xuyen's sons. Ahhh... Another fine cup of ice cold Vietnamese coffee amongst the company of my family members. The men this morning were taking a break and hanging around, chatting.
Seeing uncle Xuyen's daughter walk back from the direction of my grandfather's house, I knew I had missed something. She had a notebook in her hand. Oh... Right! I was supposed to teach some children this morning. I quickly ran over to my uncle's house to invite his children over for some lessons and also for them to invite some other children who might want to come. We all finally gathered up in a little room in my grandfather's house and went over basic English lessons, such as the alphabet and numbers. I spent an extra long amount of time covering pronunciation, knowing that many Vietnamese suffer from the lack of proper training in pronunciation of certain sounds in English such as the letter "J" or "G." About half way through the lesson, my body finally was quickly overtaken by an immense exhaustion that started from my forehead down to my legs. I couldn't help but rest my head flat on the small little table where the children were scribbling their notes. "Oh no... I can't be sick can I?" I thought. I got up and walked around a bit, drinking some water, and tried to recuperate a bit. I had not felt nearly as exhausted as this ever in my travel thus far in Vietnam. It was surreal. As soon as I finished the lesson, I went over to my sleeping area and plummeted into bed, attempting to fall asleep and rest before my lunch with the family of my father's older sister, auntie Nga.
About forty minutes passed by, me still stirring around in bed unable to fall asleep, and still weary. "What can it be?" I kept thinking, "Malaria?" That is what I feared the most, as I did not bring back any pills to kill the parasite, should it enter my system. That whole day, I was paranoid over whether or not I had malaria. Having done research of it before, I knew that I did not have many of the symptoms, but the exhaustion was out of this world. I felt that I was being drained consistently throughout the whole day. My uncle Xuyen showed up to take me to my aunt's house for lunch. On the ride over, I talked to him about it, and he replied with "Its just the wind, the southern wind that runs through here." He told me people here often get exhausted by it and their bodies feel like they have been sapped of any strength. I didn't know what to think at this point. I tiredly hopped off the motorbike and walked into my aunt Nga's house.
She was quite the woman. She actually went with my father and mother when they fled Vietnam from my home village in 1991. She told me some stories about her life at the refugee camp in Hong Kong and showed me some pictures of my father when he was younger. One of her sons, who was also born at the camp just like me, sat next to me, asking my questions about America and my life.
My father looked so young and determined in his photos. With each passing day, I've come to think more and more of his sacrifices throughout his life, getting closer and close to understanding all the pain that he endured. My mother has also been through very much pain, knowing from her relatives of her tireless sacrifice before leaving Vietnam while serving as a nurse, aiding many children over at the camp, to where she is today. "You have to take pictures of these pictures, Ben" my aunt said, "your father will want to see them." I forgot my camera... Oh well, there's next time!
I had a great, refreshing meal with my aunt's family, while we watched a Vietnamese game show. I had some rambutans for dessert, which were by far the sweetest I had ever had in Vietnam. Feeling much better than before, I decided to go back to my grandfather's house to relax and get ready for my return back to the center at three o'clock. I didn't nap this day either. Instead, I stayed awake to watch a couple chapters of a horror series known as Supernatural, a series that my brother's at the center got me into watching. I ate dinner at my uncle Xuyen's house and set off with my uncle, for another ride back into the city.
Upon leaving my village while riding with my uncle back to Hue, I felt a release from the prison of exhaustion that had caged me before. That is, until I finally stepped off the bike and walked back into my room in the center. "Back so soon?" my brother Hai asked. "Yeah, tonight my uncle is taking me to see the city" I replied with a yawn. Just as soon as I set my things down, my uncle called me to get ready to head out once again. I changed my clothes and packed a little black bag with my camera and other small things to bring along, having little clue of where we were exactly going. Mrs. Hong's family and many close friends were to join us on a ferry ride on one of the river's in Hue during the night. Packing food for a picnic on the ferry, we all set off on our motorbikes, guitar, food, and bags in hand.
About a forty or so minutes later, we came to what looked to be a tourist district of Hue, noticing the busy traffic and the sheer number of foreigners standing around, waiting to be whisked off to another adventure. Along the pier, vendors were selling small gift items, and music could be heard in the distance. After our party of ten or so arrived, we all set foot into the ferry, set up the table full of food, and set off to enjoy the sights and sounds of Hue, and to hear the stories of one another. "Why the long face?" Mrs. Hong asked me, with her ever-so cheery mood. I told her about how tired I had felt these last two days and my fear over a possibility of being sick with something. She told me not to worry and eat up. So I did. We had a wide spread of food, ranging from bread to little tiny snails, alongside a large variety of drinks. The adults asked me to toast off to them with a glass of beer and so I did (I've been asked to toast many many times over the course of this trip). We talked about everything, well... they did at least. I looked around to the city, admiring the beautiful landscape and architecture. The sun was falling into the night and it set a beautiful amber stretch of light onto the river. The sky was a dark neon blue, and by the time it reached night, lights of every color covered everything in the distance, even a bridge, which I now remember as the "Bridge of Many Colors."
I played around with the family's children, taking photos here and there, and talking about a number of things. After a great time of laughter and joy, we pulled back up into the pier and me and the children went off to check out the nightlife at the pier. So many people had come at night. Couples, families, tourists, everyone came to see the stars and enjoy each others company. I decided to buy a couple gifts for my brothers back at home and so I bought five little wooden sculpted dragon flies (that can miraculously stay balance on its mouth on any hard surface) and a good luck talisman. As I starred off into the distance, I caught a glimpse of something I really hadn't seen too much of during my stay here - citylife at night. The sights and sounds were entrancing and I kept thinking to myself of all the things I haven't seen yet in Vietnam. Later we to rejoin up with the adults and say our goodbyes to one another. As me and my uncle rode off in the night back to the center, we talked much about the last two days, about all the fun, and also about all the planning we have to do for our next adventures in Vietnam.
"You have much to plan out Ben," my uncle Duyet said, "and I want to help you see as much of this country as possible." "Alright. Sound's like a plan", I thought, "but how?" We finally agreed that we would try to see a bit more of the city after I had finished many of my duties during the day at the center. All I would need to do is remind the director of my absence and I could go off and do my own business. Home at last...
I went into the house and fell into my bed, feeling overwhelmed with sleepiness. I had originally intended to write this entry yesterday, but instead decided to sleep and get ready for another day of work at the center. I slept soundly that night.
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