goodnight and goodbye from Cau Go Street

I have been up and down this street tonight thinking of what to post...how to possibly put into words what I want to say. It has been a life changing trip but now it's time to go. I never know how to say goodbye to Vietnam.

Today I went to an ethnology museum. There was a quote by a man named George Condominas, who lived with Mnong Gar people in the Central Highlands for several years. On the wall, I read a quote from him and it just seemed the perfect way to end my blog. My heart skipped a beat when I read this, so I grabbed my pen:

"I remember this house with emotion, as it were here that I experienced the greatest continual effort of my life. And yet I was only really part of this house at night. I am not speaking of sleep, during which the individual vanishes, nor the gatherings where my hosts poured out his confessions to me. I am speaking of the evening when the village, exhausted by a long day of work, lay asleep in mass, giving me the chance to write my letters."

I think we should all remember to study the "language" of people.

Tam Biet.

Our last walk. we did it.

We walked through the gates of Hoa Binh "peace" Village today at 11:00am. All 7 of us walked in, arm in arm, with approx. 40 or so supporters from the University and various people around Hanoi, as well as some friends from Saigon who flew up to be here for this special day. The dusty and tired jeep followed, bearing a big banner, driven by Sim, the skinniest and sweetest kid in all of Vietnam.

We were greeted by the Director of the hospital and several staff members and then escorted to a room on the 2nd floor. They had a beautiful set up for us and we were seated behind a big table up on a stage of sorts where we were formally greeted by doctors and various officials from the hospital. We each were given a chance to speak and it was so emotional. We all found it hard to talk without our voices cracking. I looked out into the audience and saw AO kids, some of their parents, hospital workers, TV crews, photographers, and a literal sea of people wearing orange in show of support. A father of one of the children receiving care at Hoa Binh stood and thanked us for walking for his son and then told us that "the war is over". There were many tears after this and it was honestly this really beautiful moment in my life. I just looked at his face and thought about how kind people can be, how forgiving they can be, even with no promise of a brighter future for his child. We were presented with a huge bouquet of flowers and then taken to a room to see some children receiving physical therapy. We spent time with the children and answered questions from reporters and reluctantly made our way down the drive to the jeep. 

Tomorrow a formal dinner is being given in our honor by the Minister of the Communist Youth Party. This is a very big honor for us. We also meet with the Ha Noi VAVA and have other engagements. I think we are all a little stunned that we're here.

We actually did it. I am amazed that we did it. Some days it felt impossible but here we are.

When we pulled out of the village, I thought about how hard it will be to not wake up and walk the usual long distance tomorrow. Those days of walking gave me so much time to deconstruct my life, think about what I believe and what I don't believe, what I hope for in life and what I hope for other people of the world. Walking always allowed me the time to remember the faces of the children and the parents that we met along the way. They are all so clear in my mind. I seemed to be given the chance to take in every feature, to hold every detail in my hand. I think about the thin gold band on the middle finger of one of the brothers in Quang Binh. The mother told me it was to protect him. The skin on his hand was so thin. The sound of the flies swarming around him. And so I just kept on walking, imagining myself magical and searching for some way of retrieving their stolen futures.

I am so grateful for this chance and for the hundred awakenings that accompanied the journey.

Sleep now, more tomorrow, with photos.