Abundant Hospitality
I am now an expert at peeling and chopping vegetables. I was at mere amateur status before Sunday. One of the humorous recollections I have from Sunday is, several Vietnamese women grabbing my hand to adjust my knife. I was even given a new task from time to time because I was doing it “wrong.” Cooking mass quantities of food is specific and no joke here people!
Sunday I attended an event for the TAM THIEN BUI DOI charity in Ho Chi Minh. Once a month, a group of about 50, gather and cook a meal to deliver to disabled, homeless, and random wanders throughout the districts. I met the founder, Danh, through our Loyola coordinator, Chris. On our first night in Ho Chi Minh, we ate at Danh’s restaurant, Quan Bui, and were told all about the service he does for the people in Ho Chi Minh. At first glance Danh is an intimidating guy. He is tall and buff and looks like he can throw a punch. In reality, Danh is kind and compassionate in a way that is inspiring. “It is all about the people,” he says.
At the beginning of October I emailed Danh and asked to join the October event to supplement the English teaching the Loyola students do each week. I also held interest from my experience with Hunger Week at Loyola and global hunger issues in general. I wanted to learn more about food culture in Vietnam and interact in person as opposed to reading an article or listening to a lecture. Due to busy schedules, I ended up going alone. I was honestly nervous and somewhat scared. A hard fact to admit but it turns out I had an incredible day at Tam Thien Bui.
The day was divided into three parts. One, the group would prepare the food. To prepare food we sat on the ground and chopped and peeled and cleaned for several hours. (My hips still hurt by the way) The older men and women cooked the soup and tofu outside. We shared a meal together and had the best conversations we could with the language barrier. Two, the group packaged the food. The assembly line was comprised of rice stuffers, soup and tofu packagers, as well as meal kit baggers.
Three: By five o’clock I was hot and exhausted. I thought my day would have ended by noon, but it was five and I hadn’t even handed out a meal. This thought excited me. I didn’t want people to resist my meal gift on the street. So, when Danh said he’d drive me home I felt relived. But soon I realized that he had prepared the motorbike with several meal kits to hand out on the way to the guest house. We turned a corner and he would say, “Get off and give that man the food.” So, with my large umbrella in hand and my oversized moto helmet I gave that man the food, as well as many others. I will never forget the smiles.
Later I learned that this month was small in comparison to others. I didn’t understand this because we had almost enough food to feed 3,000 people. The charity itself depends on monetary and food donations each month to create each event. The previous month the charity traveled to three central provinces and fed over 10,000 people and gave away 90 bicycles. This month a small meal of rice, soup, and tofu was given. Danh said it wasn’t much but the people appreciate it. This is the only organization of its kind in the city. The group may be small and the donations may vary, but the hospitality is abundant and I had a lovely time.
Now I am off to study for my Vietnamese midterm! Da Lat this weekend for hiking and relaxation!
Xin Chao,
Stephanie
P.S. In 12th grade my Psychology teacher asked if I had ever been on tv. I said no. But, Sunday I did a television interview. So, now I say yes and I am famous (but not really).