Xin Chao by Jake Gatof - VIETNAM

7/5/2007 3:57:03 AM Xin Chao by Jake Gatof

As we finally overcome the long-lasting jet lag and overwhelming humidity we are all preparing to set out on our trek through the ethnic minorities of Vietnam. Yesterday was crazy as we tried to cram in so many different activities. Despite the fact that the constraints of time limited our ability to become truly immersed in each oppurtunity, we were able to gain some insight into the work of the Women's Union in Vietnam, and through the museum of ethnology, some insight into the ethnic minorities that make up 14% of the country's population. We also shared a lunch with our fellow high school students from Chu Van An which was an awesome time to communicate one on one with the students in our very limited Vietnamese. Before yesterday we spent time at Friendship village which provides housing, care, and education for kids effected by Agent Orange. Being there I was utterly ashamed to be American. Though at first my disgrace to be part of a country who directly caused these kids disabilties plagued my emotion, as the day continued, the ability to share even a basic smile with the kids was comforting enough to leave without burning an American flag. Though I left Friendship village initially with some form of comfort in the soft smiles of the kids, after visiting the U.S. embassy and having the representative tell us that the U.S. won't own up to the horrific effects of Agent Orange made me feel so utterly disgraced that I had no words to describe my stark feeling of anti-patriotism. Later that day we went to visit with Chuck Searcy who is a Vietnam Veteran who is the in-country leader of Project Renew, a charity program focused on the post-war clean up of Vietnam. While I walked in still enraged from the embassy, Chuck's humility, humanity, and humor allowed me to end the day on a note of hope and not disgrace. Today was a free day and I spent the morning working on my ISP in which I am focusing on combining Western and Eastern music. Though I was not as succesful as I hoped, I was able to see some of the traditional instruments of the country and even purchase a small bamboo flute to have with me in hopes of finding someone to play along with me as I play the guitar. In the afternoon the guys of the group shared the rest of the day with our Chu Van An counterparts. We shared in an intense game of laser tag being as they wanted to experience something western with us westerners, and we shared the similarly intense activity of bartering for various vietnamese and communist outerwear. Tomorrow we set off into the jungle for the trek, and tonight we will finally meet our 4th instructor Brad. Hope all is well back in the states. Marie we're all pulling for you to get here as soon as possible, can't wait.

Xin Chao from and to Hanoi,

Jake