Only one week remains until I board the plane and head home! I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by. I've learned so many things, met so many people, and had such incredible experiences. Although I am looking forward to going home, it's going to be so hard to say goodbye to the place I've called home for the past nine months. It's crazy to think that when I first came here, I was completely lost. I couldn't even cross the street by myself. But now, I can navigate through the city, speak the language (not great, but enough to argue with the taxi drivers when they overcharge me) and cook the food (not as good as my host mom)... I no longer feel like a foreigner in this land. I'm a local. That's really an amazing feeling. And although I have to say goodbye now, I know that I will return again. Vietnam will always be home to me.
Here are just a few photos from my last few days..
I'm always so impressed by the elderly people riding bikes around Hanoi. It seems to me that Vietnamese people keep on working until the day they die. My host grandparents, who live in the countryside a few hours outside of Hanoi, are both 80 years old and still work on their farm everyday! That's impressive.
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Chaos at Peace Village, as usual. I'm going to miss these kids so much! They've been a huge part of my life here.
This little guy may look innocent, but I always catch him stealing candy and other things from my bag.
Bin, acting sassy as always.
Two of my favorite little kids at Peace Village.
This is Thinh. For the past nine months I've volunteered at Peace Village, he has always been very confusing to me. He used to be very unresponsive when I talked to him, and would barely pay attention to me even if I touched him. He would always have these violent outbursts where he would scream and cry very loudly, and try to hit himself and pull other children's hair. But in the past few months, he seemed to have some sort of breakthrough. He barely ever has any outbursts anymore, and I even figured out how to make him smile! Last week, he was so much fun. He was climbing all over me and laughing so much. I took a million pictures.
I'm definitely not going to miss all the traffic and smog.
As part of our final community service project, my fellow students and I visited a local hospital and spent the morning playing with sick children.
A little girl resting after having surgery.
A father plays with his little boy who is waiting for surgery.
