It was refreshing to be back at the center, my spirit being rejuvenated after another fulfilling day with my loved ones here. Today was Tuesday, another one of the swimming days, of which I decided to take, missing the good old times of swimming with the children of the center. I woke up late, at around seven, with an hour to spare before heading off to the swim center. What to do? Laundry, lots of it. I spent that hour, doing my laundry and cleaning up my room, humming some of the tunes to myself. I had no time for breakfast, but that didn't bug me, until of course I started swimming on an empty stomach (more of that later). By the time I left my room, all the children who were to go swimming had left on their bikes, taking off right at eight o'clock. I called my uncle to come pick me up to take me to the swim center. The weather was uncharacteristically cold today, the cloudy skies returning, hinting of rain. Some of the older brothers were sick today, some with colds and others with fevers, causing them to stay home and relax. I said a few words to them, before hopping on the motorbike with my uncle.
Another fine day at the pool, well this time pools, as we decided to swim outside in the larger out door pool. Wow, the water was cold, my first feeling of being cold for a while in Vietnam. We worked our way through it, doing a lot of the old swimming activities we have always done. For some reason, I was feeling a little bit weak, having trouble holding my breath underwater. Maybe it was the coldness? Anyways, we all had a great time at the pool as always, the splash fights always being enjoyable, me being the biggest target. On my ride back to the center with my uncle, I took along Chinh (who I will be discussing much more in the next entry as I learned more about him the following day), one of the little boys of the center. His mother had to go to the doctor today for an eye treatment of some sort. Upon letting him off to his house, I proceeded up to my room, greeted by my sisters from the Anh Dao house telling me it was time to eat.
Today's conversation at lunch was much more stress-free, the discussion of leaving/staying in the center done with. The older sisters of the house had many questions for me, asking me if I ate this and that, what life was like in America, and what I see as for my future. Sister Bang, a junior at the Hue University of Science joined us, after her brief vacation back to her home village. She teased me the whole time, joking with the sisters about me, making me return only smiles and laughter. The sisters were eager to see how my travels were in Vietnam thus far, so I brought out my laptop and let them see all the photos I had taken thus far. Many of them told me that even they haven't been to many of the places in Vietnam, much less in their own city, that I have been to yet. We watched some of the videos I took, particularly the send off of Mrs. Tao, the surrogate mother who just recently agreed to marry and left the center after almost ten years of serving it. Seeing that near thirty minute video again brought back some of the sadness that day, but I know that I will see her once again in the future. I wished them a good siesta and headed back to my room to take a break before my class for the day.
Today's class for the junior high students was intense, this group of students being the most populated in the center. I stressed to them the focus on speaking this second half of teaching at the center, to which they agreed, though a little reluctant due to their lack of practice in speaking English. We worked through many drills, each student getting many chances to practice their English. I urged them to speak in Vietnamese if they didn't know how to say something in English, then allowing me to translate back to them in English - and make them repeat it. I asked them questions in English, something that they were never used to in the passive style of classroom mechanics in their schools. I could see them improving a lot, their confidence and comfort with me improving. I've noticed that becoming their very own friend and sibling here at the center has really been inspiring to not only me, but to them, as they are more eager to understand my teachings and aspire to be like me (not to say that is necessarily a good thing!). I taught them intensely for that full two hours, making sure that they all had the chance to practice their English. I sent them off home, me walking back to my room to set my things aside.
I saw my brothers heading up and down the center walkway, tending to chores and such. I walked with them for a little bit, catching up on their activities for the day. "You know... what we always do" they replied, expressing to me the monotony of their activities. Many of them wish they could leave the center more to do things outside in the city, and some of them wish there was more understandings between the girls and the boys of the center, there still being a divide. From what I see, its just normal for children to feel this way. The children of this center actually know how to function as a family with one another, caring for each other, cooking, cleaning, accepting their responsibility to serve one another. They are very much raised to be thoughtful of their family at the center, and consider their future as after finding their career to always remember and find ways to help the center as it continues its history in Vietnam. After walking around for a bit, the girls called me in for dinner, us eating a very early dinner once again, to which I was probably still digesting lunch it felt like. I feel that they are getting more open with me, more willing to ask me questions, and their mother, Ms. Hen, also taking part in discussions at the dinner table. This time I demanded to wash the dishes, taking my station at one of the sinks and washing away. "Are you serious about this? Are you just messing around over there?" asked Yen, one of the older sisters who just recently got accepted to her university of choice. "Of course not, look, I'm working really diligently here" I replied, smiling. They were all surprised that I wanted to wash dishes, their mother, Ms. Hen, telling me that men are not supposed to wash dishes. I responded that I was not quite of traditional Vietnamese roots, continuing away with my work. They all went to Ms. Hen's room to watch television, while I headed down to the younger childrens' houses to visit them for them day (I've been trying harder and harder each day to get to know them and spend time with them, rather than holing myself into my room during my free time).
This night resembled last night, filled with fun and laughter. Phuong and Tuy came back rather late in the night, telling me that they were starting to go back to school. School for the children begins in two weeks from now, many of the children anxious over reentering school and having to endure the stress during the weekdays. School in Vietnam is much more demanding then back in the states I will say, the children not receiving food from their schools, having to pay for public education, having to attend after school teaching sessions, and bike/walk through the blistering heat or pouring rain during the day and night, for their education. These children were very resilient, very caring, and very fortunate to be members of the extended family created by this center. Many people love them, the local television station filming the center many times, as a symbol of hope and showing the public what kindness can do to people of humble backgrounds. A humble background, what an interesting group of terms. What does it mean? Do I have a humble background? Do they? This is something I will think about even more in the next weeks about what it means to have one.
Going back to the rest of that day, I spent time talking with the children, playing, and enjoying another night of bonding. Now that all nearly all the children were back at the center, I felt that it was the right time to begin getting to know them, each one by one, little by little. Though the closer I get to them also saddens me, as I will eventually have to say goodbye when I sever my physical connection with the center. I honestly should not even be thinking about leaving right now! There's a month's worth of adventure still ahead of me and I will enjoy each and every last minute of it. I went back to my room at around ten o'clock, allowing them to watch a movie on my laptop up 'till then. I went back and decided to sleep early, the following day being perhaps one of the most inspiring and awe inducing days of my stay here thus far.
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