Humble Pie.

My first week has passed in Vietnam.  I have come to realize there is so much to share already, but so few words.  In sum, I will say that I am happy.  Part of this happiness comes from our roommates and I would like to dedicate this post to sharing a way in which I have been humbled by their presence here.

At the beginning of the week I asked my roommate, Oanh, why she liked the Loyola program.  She said, “I like the guest house, before I would share the same [size] room with many girls.”  At that moment, I thought that was an exceptional answer.  After all, I myself wouldn’t want to live with ‘several girls’ in one bedroom with one bathroom. Train wreck.  Any way, I ended the conversation there only to return to the subject today.  I had been thinking to myself the benefits of what Loyola students can gain from the program and I began to really wonder what the roommates ‘get’.  So tonight, while I sat in the study room folding paper wish stars with Neg, Oanh, and Anh, I asked in a similar phrase, “What do you get from the Loyola program…do you get paid?” Their answers surprised me.  Immediately they said, “funs time.”  They said they, referring to all of the Vietnamese roommates, got to be together and hang out as we were in the study room but on a regular bases.  If they didn’t live at the guesthouse their time together would be sparing.  They also said they liked being across the street from school so they wouldn’t miss classes.  “I used to wake up at 4:30 to go to school, sometimes I would feel like not going,” Neg explained.  For a girl that would feel isolated without being near to friends at school, I was ashamed that the first thing that came to my mind was money.

I don’t know the “agreement” Loyola has with the Vietnamese students, but their answers make the fine print unimportant.  I am humbled by the joy the roommates have by being together and their willingness to guide us.  Even I get tired of showing my sister around Chicago when she visits (sorry Samantha) because I have lived there for two years.  The Vietnamese students have been here longer, but enjoy showing us their favorite places to eat street food, talk with friends, or shop for bargains.  It has definitely been an eye opener to new ways of interacting socially.

Chao,

Stephanie

I have tried to upload a few photos but have had some technical errors.  Photos to come!