CSDS, Vietnam - Life is beautiful

CSDS goodbye present

After one week of being back home I can now better reflect on my last 3 weeks in Vietnam. I didn't have much expectations to be honest or at least I tried to not raised any. When I was preparing everything for my trip I read the volunteer guide that the organization sent me. In this guide I had all the information, from what I should take, a bit of Vietnamese history and also a little bit of what we should expect of being a volunteer.

Happy beautyful little girl

After reading all of it I thought "yeah I am not going there and change anyone's life!!" and it's true we don't change anyone's life by spending a few months with them and in my case even less because I was going to be there for just 2 weeks. When I started to think about it I wondered if it made sense to go for just 2 weeks... I was troubled with these thoughts for a while. But then, what does it matter if it's just for 2 weeks, 2 days or 2 hours... you can actually impact someone's life just by spending 2 minutes with them. We don't make a big change people's life but we definitely can have a little impact. And that my friends... that is exactly how I felt every day that I spend with the children or with the students in the community classes. Yes I didn't do anything special, I just played with kids tried to entertain them and I also only spoke english with the students, what does it matter?? I help the little ones go through the afternoon with a bit more fun and I helped the students to know even if just 1 more word or that Portugal exists and where in the map. Is this too little? Probably but... Well it felt like a lot to me. So looking back there is nothing that  would change about this experience. The CSDS staff was the most helpful and gentle that I could ask. I met very interesting people that do an amazing job to help their community, people passioned about their work, people that actually care. They do an amazing work with the little resources they have.

I learned through these weeks that life is beautiful, you help by giving whatever you have (english knowledge or just passion for children) and you get it all back. You get it all back by having just one little girl coming to play with you every time she sees you or just having students saying that they enjoyed the class and they wished you could stay longer.

At this moment I am writing with tears in my eyes. I really connected with the children I met, I loved the time I spent there and everyone I met. I just wished I could have stayed longer. But duty called.

Another learning is that, it is very good to travel alone. You meet a lot of people and you are a lot more open to talk with different people. You meet a lot of people that turn up to be really weird but that is fun too.

So I will probably repeat this experience... Maybe I will go back... who knows.

Day #7 - Visit Hanoi city centre

The Lost soldier memorial

Today was day to go to the Old Quarter of Hanoi and visit some historic monuments of the city. 

The day started early, CSDS local supporters came to give us a tour around the city centre. We walked through some little roads (looked a bit like a gueto) to get to the bus stop and then go to the city centre. Once we were on the bus I was surprised with how much respect everyone one has for the older people. The moment someone older would get in the bus, a couple of people would stand to give the seat straight away. It didn't need to be an elderly... just someone older than you. And men would do the same with women. There was no need to ask or just direct to the seat. The moment they would get in the bus, someone would give the seat straight away. It's amazing to see. There is no need for priority seats around here... people are just polite!

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

First stop: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Ho Chi Minh was the General that kicked the Americans ass out of Vietnam during the war. He wanted freedom for his country and he made it, then he became Prime Minister and after President and all Vietnamese are thankful to him for the independence of the country. Therefore the Mausoleum, to worship and to remember that "Nothing is more precious than freedom and independency" (by Ho Chi Minh). 

To get into the Mausoleum area is not easy, there is a lot of rules but anyone can go. You need to cover your knees and you can not show your shoulders, the queue is massive and when you get inside the Mausoleum... Is just impressive. I felt goose bumps. I don't really believe that the body in the Mausoleum is the real one but the truth is... it feels powerful to see how much he is important to the Vietnamese and how much he has done for his country. To me this is impressive. Ho Chi Minh died on Vietnam independent day, 2nd of September and apparently every 2nd of September it rains and Vietnamese believe it is the sky/gods crying for Ho Chi Minh.

"You can kill 10 of my men for every one we kill of yours. But even at those odds, you will lose and we will win." - Ho Chi Minh

After the Mausoleum we went for lunch and I had my first ride n the taxi in Hanoi - that is an experience. At som point we passed by a woman that was driving a motorbike wearing a dress showing her legs but all covered up on her face and rest of the body (Vietnamese don't like to be in the sun) and the taxi driver opened the window just to tell her that the way she was dressed didn't make any sense... (and we say that Germans are straight forward!). For lunch we had Pho cuon, Pho chièn tron and other Vietnamese delicacies. Everything delicious - we do eat a lot here. And when back into the centre we were 6 in a car of 5 and the taxi driver never said anything, he just wanted to take where we wanted - people are so relaxed here... when they don't have a car horn in front of them.

Then we walked around the Old Quarter and dam' it was so hot, I had egg coffee (it is amazing). Apparently, there is only two places where you can drink egg coffee and the recipe is secret, it's passed within the family from generation to generation. Awesome isn't it? And delicious, if you come here you have to try. I also tried Sugar cane juice. I thought it was going to be super sweet but actually it's not, and is so refreshing. It's great for summer, super hot days.

Magic Turtles @ Literature Temple

The city tour finished in the Literature Temple, Temple of Confucius. This was Vietnam first University and the students come here to worship Confucius to have luck in the exams. Now the University is closed but they have these stone turtles with the name of the better students and their grades, where before, the student could go and rub the turtles heads to be lucky in their exams and successful in their careers. 

After being walking around all day coming home was just what I needed. A shower and be inside a little with air con on is just a dream. Later getting into the Old quarter to enjoy a little of Hanoi nightlife.

It's so difficult to describe anything in this blog. There is so much that I have seen that is not possible to write and I just try to absorb see and try as much as I can while I am here... unfortunately only for 3 weeks. After this first couple of days, life in Europe just seems other life. I feel I am in a completely different world and that, is definitely not a bad thing... not bad at all.

It's time to go!!

This is it! I am going!

I have passport, Vietnam guide and my lucky charm (the keys of my home in Portugal) so I am ready to go!!

The last couple of weeks have been crazy, so many things happening at the same time that I don't think my brain realized that it's here... it's now... I am going.

So many questions, so many fears (the plane accident in France definitely did not help!!), so many things to be excited about, so many things to think about, to organize... aaahhhhhhh But in the end, this is why I am doing this. This trip is all about to do this volunteering experience and take me completely out of my comfort zone. Ana's, an old friend of mine, reaction was "Vietnam??!! Really?? Why? Why don't you go to... France?!" - I still smile when I think about this.

I have just finished packing everything, or at least what I think it is everything. I tried to be a bit prepared for any situation but knowing myself I probably forgot to pack something very important... but hey!! That is part of the fun isn't it?

However during all this preparation, to make sure that I leave everything done at work that I have all the vaccines, all the paperwork and so on, didn't prepare me to feel ill just before departure. Yes, I have a flu like I don't think I had for many years, I even stayed one day at home to try to recover a bit more. I feel better. I also took a lot of drugs and I have some more to take in the next couple of days. Whoever is going to be in the same flights as me I say "I am really sorry!!", I am taking medicines and sleeping pills so I won't disturb too much anyone with my unstoppable, irritating cough. I am trying my best.

Of course that at this moment my brain doesn't stop to try to predict what I am going to find once I get there. How are the people going to react? What am I going to do on my daily basis? What are the conditions? How many kids is in the Hospital? Are they going to like me? Am I going to be able to help them and make their lives a little easier? How am I going to react? And of course also remember to follow every rule, understand any detail of the culture so that I don't offend anyone, anywhere, what will I be able to visit? All sorts of food that I want to try. Wow, so many many things. All the activity meant that I haven't been able to sleep properly so I woke up ridiculously early and went to work before 7am!!! Yeah you read right 7am - at least I managed to do everything I wanted/needed.

Before I go I also need to thank to some of my friends, Verinha for helping me setting up this blog, Carlinhos for helping us with ideas, my family for showing me that there is nothing else that matters than being there for someone when they need the most and all the other ones that supported with money, with time or just a "good luck, you'll do great!!".

Some of you might think that this is a weird thank you but I am also very lucky to work in a company like Mondelez, where everyone supports these initiatives. I am taking 3 weeks off work: 2 holiday and 1 week unpaid leave, while in the meantime, I was in the process of changing job and getting a promotion. To me this is a Great Place to Work... working with your friends and making chocolate helps a lot... I cannot deny it.

So to be honest I have no clue of what I am going to find. I don't know what my next 3 weeks will be like, but I am with arms/heart wide open. I want to see, I want to learn, I want to live and enjoy every single minute of this experience. And if at the end of this program I managed to make someone smile because I was just there giving my time and sharing my craziness I will come back with my heart full of hope and happiness.

Time to go...  I am ready!! Let's go :)

Selma - Martin Luther King

Last weekend I watched the movie Selma. Once again I was astonished and empowered by Martin Luther King fight for the civil rights. So much to learn about this man, so much to know about his fight... I just leave here his acceptance speech for his Peace Nobel prize.

"Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I accept the Nobel Prize for Peace at a moment when 22 million Negroes of the United States of America are engaged in a creative battle to end the long night of racial injustice. I accept this award on behalf of a civil rights movement which is moving with determination and a majestic scorn for risk and danger to establish a reign of freedom and a rule of justice. I am mindful that only yesterday in Birmingham, Alabama, our children, crying out for brotherhood, were answered with fire hoses, snarling dogs and even death. I am mindful that only yesterday in Philadelphia, Mississippi, young people seeking to secure the right to vote were brutalized and murdered. And only yesterday more than 40 houses of worship in the State of Mississippi alone were bombed or burned because they offered a sanctuary to those who would not accept segregation. I am mindful that debilitating and grinding poverty afflicts my people and chains them to the lowest rung of the economic ladder.

Therefore, I must ask why this prize is awarded to a movement which is beleaguered and committed to unrelenting struggle; to a movement which has not won the very peace and brotherhood which is the essence of the Nobel Prize.

After contemplation, I conclude that this award which I receive on behalf of that movement is a profound recognition that non-violence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time - the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression. Civilization and violence are antithetical concepts. Negroes of the United States, following the people of India, have demonstrated that non-violence is not sterile passivity, but a powerful moral force which makes for social transformation. Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

The tortuous road which has led from Montgomery, Alabama to Oslo bears witness to this truth. This is a road over which millions of Negroes are travelling to find a new sense of dignity. This same road has opened for all Americans a new era of progress and hope. It has led to a new Civil Rights Bill, and it will, I am convinced, be widened and lengthened into a super highway of justice as Negro and white men in increasing numbers create alliances to overcome their common problems.

I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the "isness" of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal "oughtness" that forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsom and jetsom in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.

I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. I believe that even amid today's mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men. I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive good will proclaim the rule of the land. "And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid." I still believe that We Shallovercome!

This faith can give us courage to face the uncertainties of the future. It will give our tired feet new strength as we continue our forward stride toward the city of freedom. When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds and our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, we will know that we are living in the creative turmoil of a genuine civilization struggling to be born.

Today I come to Oslo as a trustee, inspired and with renewed dedication to humanity. I accept this prize on behalf of all men who love peace and brotherhood. I say I come as a trustee, for in the depths of my heart I am aware that this prize is much more than an honor to me personally.

Every time I take a flight, I am always mindful of the many people who make a successful journey possible - the known pilots and the unknown ground crew.

So you honor the dedicated pilots of our struggle who have sat at the controls as the freedom movement soared into orbit. You honor, once again, Chief Lutuli of South Africa, whose struggles with and for his people, are still met with the most brutal expression of man's inhumanity to man. You honor the ground crew without whose labor and sacrifices the jet flights to freedom could never have left the earth. Most of these people will never make the headline and their names will not appear in Who's Who. Yet when years have rolled past and when the blazing light of truth is focused on this marvellous age in which we live - men and women will know and children will be taught that we have a finer land, a better people, a more noble civilization - because these humble children of God were willing to suffer for righteousness' sake.

I think Alfred Nobel would know what I mean when I say that I accept this award in the spirit of a curator of some precious heirloom which he holds in trust for its true owners - all those to whom beauty is truth and truth beauty - and in whose eyes the beauty of genuine brotherhood and peace is more precious than diamonds or silver or gold." - Martin Luther King's Acceptance Speech, on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, December 10, 1964

Martin Luther King was a men that fought for his dream of freedom and "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams" - Eleanor Roosevelt 

Change the world

I used to work in Reading and sometimes for lunch I would go to buy my lunch at the University's canteen. That day when I went to pay I looked to the man at the check out and I just smiled at him, he smiled back at me and said "Oh please don't ever stop smiling like that... you just made me smile back at you and made my day better", my response was another smile. On my way back to work I was feeling a lot happier, instead of thinking on how much I was not enjoying my job at the time or moaning about anything else, I was just happy. I was happy because with just a smile I made someone feel a little better and also the reaction of that man also made me happy. 

Sometimes we are having not such a good day and we are so drown in our thoughts that we don't acknowledge someone's presence, in the train, on the street or just on the check outs. Someone that might just need someone else to listen to them or just give them a smile - is such a random act of kindness.

“It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”

― Mahatma Gandhi