So hard to say goodbye

I'm very heart broken right now. We're getting ready to leave Hoi An, Vietnam and our entire class came to the hotel to see us off. Although the faces were very somber we all managed to smile and joke a bit as we visibly anticipated the bus pulling up. We were congregated in the street next to the curb in front of our hotel and that caused quite a scene. The hotel staff, motorbike rental people and the ladies with the snack stand in front of our hotel came out to gawk along with many passersby. Over our travels through Vietnam we've learned that gawking is rather common in most situations and specifically those sitiations involving Mateo and myself. For the most part people have been starring at us because we've got dark skin but today in addition to our dark skin we were surrounded by a group of handicapped Vietnemese adults in wheelchairs and on special motorbikes and all of us had sad looks on our faces.

The director of the school stopped by to say his goodbyes and after maybe 3 minutes he couldn't take it anymore. I could see his eyes welling up and the shape of his cheeks started to change when he breathed out "I can't stay here anymore...Bye". I was done, and for a few more seconds he couldn't start his bike to drive away. We said thank you to him and I turned my head away from the students as the tears ran down my face. I could hear people starting to cry behind me.

For the past two weeks we've been volunteering in an incredible environment. We don't speak the language but they have accepted us and treated us like family. Almost daily we walk into the office to ask for help translating something and everyday we received an invitation for lunch, coffee or snacks. One day we went 6 kilometers to the countryside to have lunch at Lieu's house (one of the students). She's been disabled since she was ten. Laura hopped on the back of her 3 wheeled motorbike while Mateo and I walked beside the other wheel chairs. We stopped by their houses and met their families and when we arrived at Lieu's house we all did our share of assisting with the meal prep. Of course for us Americans that consisted of picking the stems off the mint leaves while Mr Thong chopped banana blossom with a hatchet on the floor and Lieu sauteed up one of the best Vietnemese meals we've had. It was a great effort and I enjoyed every mint picking moment. On the way back to town we had a wheelchair race and although Miss Tam and I lost to Mateo and Miss Hanh we we're kilometers ahead of Laura the tortoise who eventually used that exact take it slow tactic to edge us all out. The three of us shared a bottle of water after we dropped off all our teammates. It was great! On a couple of other days Mateo and I got to exercise next to Mr. Tam as he rode his motorbike and we jogged along side. He was "Veri Hap-ee" to be spending time with us and so were we. For morning coffee it was like being invited into a part of the culture that only those who know someone on the inside get to experience.

Now we have to leave our days of rolling out in the entourage down the main street, eating at the local hot spots and having coffee in the morning even though we don't drink coffee. Except Laura and her cafe sua which turns her into a whole different person :) It's hard to capture the feelings behind the stories and of course there's a ton of it that I'm not telling but just know that now we have a family in Vietnam and after only spending a short time with them and witnessing and hearing some of their challenges, as well as enjoying good times with them it was painful to leave. With the few lessons we had before our final day they had learned to say "Please keep in touch" and they used that line over and over. It rings in my head right now. I also have to let you know that they wanted us to give our best to you all. They of course know we have family and friends outside of Vietnam and they send their best. Of all the horrible things we have experienced and the challenging things we try to overcome this has been a bright spot in our life that will last forever. If you want to know where we'll be heading back to on our return trip across the pacific Hoi An, Vietnam is at the top of the list.

Joronda