One Heartland - Bittersweet

I am extremely thankful for this One Heartland project. It couldn't have come at a better time. For awhile, I started to feel like UC and HANU students were becoming distant. And furthermore, I was beginning to question who I really love and miss in Vietnam and who I would regret not seeing when I leave. After seeing the power of all the students in our class to be able to raise $3000 within only 5 or so days, I fell in love with HANU students all over again.

When we went to Nghe An this weekend, it finally hit me that this was gonna be the last big trip together as UCHANU. It made me extremely depressed. Everyone in UCHANU is so amazing and has their own little quirk. It was the first time that I had such a beautiful and deep conversation with Van, the first time that I got to hear such inspirational stories and quotes from all the people sitting in the back of the bus, and the first time I got to see all the HANU students pull their organizational skills together for such a passionate project. Being Thai Linh's roommate was also awesome because we just exchanged stories of VN and the U.S. with one another. She's definitely one of the people that I admire so much here in VN. What would I do without her. :(

I think it was a reality check for all of us, UC and HANU. When me, Khuong, Lan Anh, and Nancy went to drop off clothes to the families, we all felt really depressed. In one of the households, one of the woman immediately burst out in tears. We all held her really tightly and began tearing up as well. It was so hard to bear. It made us really appreciate what we had in Hanoi and in America. For the first time, I understand what my dad meant when he said Vietnam was still really poor. Sure, it's developing, but we cannot deny that the poor are still here. Vietnam has just gotten better at hiding it.

Sharing this experience with the HANU students really brought us together. In the bus ride home, we shared really personal stories with each other and it was one of the first times I got to see everybody's life views, little quirks, and personalities come through. And it made me fall in love with every single individual. We all talked about where we wanted to be in 20 years and I must say, I'm really excited to see where people end up. I genuinely want to know that everyone will be okay in the future. I'm not sure if we'll meet each other in 20 years but I know I'll still remember them all later on. HANU students have made such a big impact on my experience in Vietnam and in my life that I do not know how I'm gonna leave. I keep thinking about this and I'm becoming more and more depressed. Unlike before, when I was questioning who my real friends were in Vietnam, now I know. Its the great folks that I've met in this UCHANU class. From the beginning UCHANU party till now, I know I gotta cherish all these memories with them. AH! Vietnam, you are bittersweet.