Sorry anyone who have kept reading this blog since the beginning :( really, i'm sorry.
Since the Gặt Lúa event, I'm so busy with the workload at school, tests start to fall like stars :(( And I still, keep writing stuffs I feel about how each week passed by and what I learnt. But I just didn't post it up to the internet. I made a folder in my PC and keep writing as a real diary using WinWord. My internet access have some trouble at times and I can't control myself to concentrate on only one thing when i'm online hahaha So to concentrate writing stuffs I experienced on the week, I just noted them down on a Word file hehe and intended to post it here whenever I'm free as long as it's before the end of the class. But it's such a mess now cuz I made each day a file but not in oder of time TT So now when I post all here I post them in wrong order :( and some of the words were lost due to some error that i can't understnad >< >< hichic later, when I'm done with the presentation draft to be due next Monday and homework and readings at Hanu, I'd come back here and do sth with this mess! So many piece of writing haven't been posted yet :( Can't take it >< Can't wait to upload also pictures I took to better illustrate for u guysssssss yeah!
See you,
please understand :)
Love hihi
Thanh.
Thứ Năm, 26 tháng 11, 2009
entry for the last field trip
The week began with a terrible news!!! I had to take HCM’s ideology since this week! I love HCM so much but I’m already having so many things wondering on my mind about the university system we are working in VN desired to be partly answered by the seminar on this Monday and ACCIDENTALLY the HCM’s ideology class started on the exactly same day huhuhu what a real pity………
Missed the seminar, I had to take HCM ideology class, basically it’s so alike to all history stuffs that I already learnt in schools that I felt asleep huhu but the teacher does not let anyone in class sleep at all. She spoke really loudly so that hardly anyone can have a good sleep.
These days I’ve been so busy with all the studying stuffs at school. Teachers are giving tests like every day and I hate tests >< I hate Bank MNG too UC have just come back from the South and Phat invites me to the Bowling! How nice! I’d love to hichic But as I said, Bank management is in test period and UC guys intended to go bowling on the very night right before my test hichic I had to cancel hanging out with them one more time… so sad, I’ve never tried bowling before and we had so little time spend together…
This week is about the factory life in Vietnam. We had 40 pages of readings and a field trip of a WHOLE day to 2 factories around Hanoi area. I didn’t know this would be our last field trip and the class that day is second to last!!!! I can’t believe it hichic Seriously it’s so sad now, when I started to get quite close to many of UC guys… it’s kinda late…
The reading in the text book has a thing that amazes me really much! I thought I know how systems work in Vietnam but as the course goes by, really I feel like I didn’t know anything at all. There’s a pie chart showing how the selling price of a shirt is divided into costs of each process. Out of $45 selling price in the US, only $0.75 is paid for the labor… I didn’t believe in my eyes when I looked at that chart. How Vietnamese and many other Third World countries’ women’s labor is undervalued so much. Can we call it EXPLOIT??? Thinking of how the value of the shirt is distributed among factors of producing it, I feel like we’d better make clothes for Vietnamese market rather than receiving orders from the rich countries. But in a second thought, I realized that the money they gain from exporting is way too much higher than the sad fact that they are kinda being exploited.
Missed the seminar, I had to take HCM ideology class, basically it’s so alike to all history stuffs that I already learnt in schools that I felt asleep huhu but the teacher does not let anyone in class sleep at all. She spoke really loudly so that hardly anyone can have a good sleep.
These days I’ve been so busy with all the studying stuffs at school. Teachers are giving tests like every day and I hate tests >< I hate Bank MNG too UC have just come back from the South and Phat invites me to the Bowling! How nice! I’d love to hichic But as I said, Bank management is in test period and UC guys intended to go bowling on the very night right before my test hichic I had to cancel hanging out with them one more time… so sad, I’ve never tried bowling before and we had so little time spend together…
This week is about the factory life in Vietnam. We had 40 pages of readings and a field trip of a WHOLE day to 2 factories around Hanoi area. I didn’t know this would be our last field trip and the class that day is second to last!!!! I can’t believe it hichic Seriously it’s so sad now, when I started to get quite close to many of UC guys… it’s kinda late…
The reading in the text book has a thing that amazes me really much! I thought I know how systems work in Vietnam but as the course goes by, really I feel like I didn’t know anything at all. There’s a pie chart showing how the selling price of a shirt is divided into costs of each process. Out of $45 selling price in the US, only $0.75 is paid for the labor… I didn’t believe in my eyes when I looked at that chart. How Vietnamese and many other Third World countries’ women’s labor is undervalued so much. Can we call it EXPLOIT??? Thinking of how the value of the shirt is distributed among factors of producing it, I feel like we’d better make clothes for Vietnamese market rather than receiving orders from the rich countries. But in a second thought, I realized that the money they gain from exporting is way too much higher than the sad fact that they are kinda being exploited.
entry for the week of Nov 2 :D An important week :D
Today is an important day!
This week UC guys are away for the Southern trip. What a blast! I love to come to the South too. If I had big money, one of my dreams is to come to the huge fruit gardens and floating market in the South. How lucky UC guys are :(
No class but this week is still very important to our PROJECT! Finally, after so long long long delay and waiting for approval of the SJ director, we will start the project!!! Finally :) I’m so happy. But sadly, all UC members are in the South and all Hanu boys are busy for the Asian Indoor Games III event hichic Only me and 2 other girls left will be available to conduct it this Sunday.
Today, Sunday November 8, 2009 we will start with the first Peace Culture class.
Haha I’ve just come back! How’s the project going today? U might ask that haha Funnily, only 6/23 official students + 1 kid that I taught last year but does not belong to SJ anymore came to the class WITH my effort of going directly to some of the kids’ houses in the Fisher Village to call them to class >< So much disappointed!!! I wanted it to be good since the start then I asked the Hanu girls to meet at 1.30pm, but even the kids come earlier than them hichic
The class is supposed to start at 2. But it took half an hour for me to go calling them to class, then only til 2.45pm can we start. This is my first time leading such a class and I know it should be serious enough to make them understand the significance of what they would be taught here. However, being too tough would make it a boring and not absorbable for small kids. Haizzz Finally I had to start. 3 of us have to nearly fight with them to settle the class down hichic They hardly focus and to stay in one place only was such a so damn difficult task for them hahaha SO I thought of one game that we played last year that really worked in this situation to present partly the RESPECT content of today’s class: stay silent for only 2 minutes. hahaha at first some old kids I taught last year sighed boring but since it’s a real issue for them to stay silent for a few minutes, it’s still interesting haha 3 out of 7 players were dead and being punished by singing and dancing (as Manh suggested me that haha). 2 girls were singing the kids’ song: One duck, and I thought Manh was going to do some soft dance (múa), then he suddenly jumped in and do break dance hahaha so funny and passionate Oohhh we all had fun at that time. Then I had to head them back to the main topic. I told them the meaning of the game, how 3 of them had disrespect the rule of the game. Then we stared a discussion and I tried to stick to the main topic while the kids talk when we waited for the preparation of another small game for them. I loved to listen to the kids. At first, it’s kinda awkward and they were being so unserious, then as time passed by we got more familiar and they were really frank to us. I asked them very simple questions, just kind of to care about the stuffs teachers would never be asked before like what color do you like and what scared you most. The aim of all these questions is to teach kids not to make fun of others’ ideas, respect each other’s opinion.
How funny, they tell us a kind of new version of kids’ rhyme about color:
Màu vàng là nàng công chúa, lấy cái búa đập vào đầu hahaha
Yellow is a princess, originally it should stop here but they added: who hit her head by an axe LOL see, I told ya, they’re really violent-oriented hahahaha
I listened carefully. And basically it’s kinda hard for anyone not to listen to such lovely voices and ideas. Actually, disregarding all nuisances and disobedient, they are just small kids needing love and care. The result of the talk bring me something to think about. Most girls loved pink, the boy loved black – the color of demons as he told us. 5/7 kids were scared of whom??? His/her teacher hahaha so damn funny! They even told me their successful plan to meet and hit the teacher that they hated at school in the bustop OMG I can’t believe it!!!! But really, they did :-s So scary, I told myself I must not let them hate me for any seconds hahahahaha And so we talked about the death since one of them said she’s only afraid of the death. I’m so agreed with her! I asked a few more but I hardly remembered now. It brought me so much thoughts though. Then we divided the class into 2 groups and provided them with 8 pictures. They should categorize which is the action showing the respect and which is disrespect, then telling the whole class the reason why they chose the picture. It worked. They really paid some thoughts there. It’s such a bless! Or else my class was more of a mess then a class. To encourage them to being more competitive and tried harder in thinking, I announced a prize of ice-creams for those who won! Haha they showed much more efforts and wishes to win hahaha I knew them b-)
This week UC guys are away for the Southern trip. What a blast! I love to come to the South too. If I had big money, one of my dreams is to come to the huge fruit gardens and floating market in the South. How lucky UC guys are :(
No class but this week is still very important to our PROJECT! Finally, after so long long long delay and waiting for approval of the SJ director, we will start the project!!! Finally :) I’m so happy. But sadly, all UC members are in the South and all Hanu boys are busy for the Asian Indoor Games III event hichic Only me and 2 other girls left will be available to conduct it this Sunday.
Today, Sunday November 8, 2009 we will start with the first Peace Culture class.
Haha I’ve just come back! How’s the project going today? U might ask that haha Funnily, only 6/23 official students + 1 kid that I taught last year but does not belong to SJ anymore came to the class WITH my effort of going directly to some of the kids’ houses in the Fisher Village to call them to class >< So much disappointed!!! I wanted it to be good since the start then I asked the Hanu girls to meet at 1.30pm, but even the kids come earlier than them hichic
The class is supposed to start at 2. But it took half an hour for me to go calling them to class, then only til 2.45pm can we start. This is my first time leading such a class and I know it should be serious enough to make them understand the significance of what they would be taught here. However, being too tough would make it a boring and not absorbable for small kids. Haizzz Finally I had to start. 3 of us have to nearly fight with them to settle the class down hichic They hardly focus and to stay in one place only was such a so damn difficult task for them hahaha SO I thought of one game that we played last year that really worked in this situation to present partly the RESPECT content of today’s class: stay silent for only 2 minutes. hahaha at first some old kids I taught last year sighed boring but since it’s a real issue for them to stay silent for a few minutes, it’s still interesting haha 3 out of 7 players were dead and being punished by singing and dancing (as Manh suggested me that haha). 2 girls were singing the kids’ song: One duck, and I thought Manh was going to do some soft dance (múa), then he suddenly jumped in and do break dance hahaha so funny and passionate Oohhh we all had fun at that time. Then I had to head them back to the main topic. I told them the meaning of the game, how 3 of them had disrespect the rule of the game. Then we stared a discussion and I tried to stick to the main topic while the kids talk when we waited for the preparation of another small game for them. I loved to listen to the kids. At first, it’s kinda awkward and they were being so unserious, then as time passed by we got more familiar and they were really frank to us. I asked them very simple questions, just kind of to care about the stuffs teachers would never be asked before like what color do you like and what scared you most. The aim of all these questions is to teach kids not to make fun of others’ ideas, respect each other’s opinion.
How funny, they tell us a kind of new version of kids’ rhyme about color:
Màu vàng là nàng công chúa, lấy cái búa đập vào đầu hahaha
Yellow is a princess, originally it should stop here but they added: who hit her head by an axe LOL see, I told ya, they’re really violent-oriented hahahaha
I listened carefully. And basically it’s kinda hard for anyone not to listen to such lovely voices and ideas. Actually, disregarding all nuisances and disobedient, they are just small kids needing love and care. The result of the talk bring me something to think about. Most girls loved pink, the boy loved black – the color of demons as he told us. 5/7 kids were scared of whom??? His/her teacher hahaha so damn funny! They even told me their successful plan to meet and hit the teacher that they hated at school in the bustop OMG I can’t believe it!!!! But really, they did :-s So scary, I told myself I must not let them hate me for any seconds hahahahaha And so we talked about the death since one of them said she’s only afraid of the death. I’m so agreed with her! I asked a few more but I hardly remembered now. It brought me so much thoughts though. Then we divided the class into 2 groups and provided them with 8 pictures. They should categorize which is the action showing the respect and which is disrespect, then telling the whole class the reason why they chose the picture. It worked. They really paid some thoughts there. It’s such a bless! Or else my class was more of a mess then a class. To encourage them to being more competitive and tried harder in thinking, I announced a prize of ice-creams for those who won! Haha they showed much more efforts and wishes to win hahaha I knew them b-)
Thứ Tư, 30 tháng 9, 2009
Quê mùa 09 collection
me in my grandmother's Nón ^^
my grandmom and her daughter-in-law (i.e. my mommy ^^)This entry I'd be dedicating to my beloved Quê and the life in this rural area :X
it's a rural area beside the Red River, in old Hatay province (the extended Hanoi now)
the road home...
the main earnings from crops are here!!! Bananas everywhere in the garden hô hô
a hard rain this summer took away a large area of ngói in the roof
view from outside to the kitchen
inside the kitchen
Bếp củi (her old fire wood... use til now... when I was a kid, I loved to come inside the kitchen and sit next to the fire until the body feel the very deep warmth and my face skin got cracked a lil LOL)
many old ladies like this one (around 70s) are on the road back to their home from the rice paddle fieldamazingly...
Luckily I come there right at the time of harvesting. All the paddy fields filled with the yellow color ^^
Interestingly, I wrote this entry half month ago but now I'm still finishing it hahaand some days ago Gerard've told us about the trip to experience the VILLAGE life and harvesting! So funny I rooted from a typical village where life mainly depends on corn and rice, and now I'm going to experience the work that my grand grand father, my grand father and my father did years long to earn their living... It would be very hard, I know... but it's worth experiencing! And I believe even I will be living in this city for another 100 years, I'd not have much chance (~0%) of trying doing this once :D I'm so looking forward to it!!! And for UC or any VNese guys who have never know what it may look like when the whole "Village" in the harvesting season, here are some of the pictures I took in the trip back to my QUê half month ago ^^
P.S: This course is getting much much worthy to take!!!!
Thứ Sáu, 25 tháng 9, 2009
the week without UC
This week all UC mem go to the central of Vietnam for a great field trip. It's amazing that they'd be visiting the area of Tây Nguyên (Central Highland) where I've never had a chance to experience. The place is among the most special places of the country, in many senses. One day, I'd definitely be there!!! And especially after we've studied about last year about all the coffee growing things, I do have a desire to see the place with my own eyes. Last week we have 3 articles to discuss on. And this is definitely one of the most impressive week so far I think, in aspect of the content of the articles and all the ideas about it. They raised in me so many questions and confusion, and for a moment, I was quite lost. But now I know what I know is right, and everything has two sides, we gotta trade off to get to the goal we expect to be better. And what I learnt in the class seriously is to read more, experience more and be more open to all possible theory/opinion. And to be really objective in viewing things is way too difficult. We always have a tendency towards something that is quite bias.
This week is nice! First of all: No UC class in Thursday hahaha If you know how much studying I had to take every Thursday, you'll understand. Every Thursday I have class from 7am til 7pm huhu no break except for lunch!!!!! How craziiii hichic And this Thursday afternoon I stayed at home and edited photos for the whole afternoon haha how relaxing... no reading and no class. Just wondering what folks are doing in the far Central land... It would be amazing! The land of poor and dust but kinda mysterious to me ^^
The week started with my family's visit to my father's QUÊ (i.e. hometown for closest meaning but still not yet precise). It's amazing trip and for the first time after so many years we were there exactly on the days of rice harvest! The color of yellow spread all over the fields on my way back to my QUÊ. I'd write another entry dedicating only for that trip with amazing pictures of that beloved place, poor but filled with love and most importantly is it's experiencing very much development, which makes it relevant to this blog hahaha
Then, on Thursday, I was caught (again! for god's sake hichic the last time was only 2 weeks ago in Tràng Tiền/ Bờ Hồ for a very stupid mistake huhu) by THE SAME traffic police officer haha It's so ridiculous! And yet very much fun and thankful yes! Since I was so surprised at that coincidence and couldn't help laughing right on the spot, he realized me and let me go hahaha or else I'd be fined with (I guess at least) VND 100,000 or more since I don't have the lisence (I'm so lazy haha). It's Duyên! I believe so! Talking about Duyên, I don't know if there's any English word relevant to that Vietnamese word but it's among my most favorite Vietnamese words. As said in Budism theories, we'd be in this life is a Duyên, and everything in this world doesn't happen for no reasons. There're always some Duyên that causes all those things to be where it be.
Friday, rain and wetness, my motobike broke in the middle of a downtown street. 3 hours I had to stand on the street waiting for it to be fixed. Luckily, I had my girl friend there with me. When it's the very bad situation, having a friend there being by my side would make me much stronger and time flies haha of course! Girl talk b-)
Hanoi streets, I loved them. For me, this week marked the new season, Hanoi is in autumn. Today I realized the first Bàng tree wholy in color bronze brown and reddish... how beautiful!!!! The winter is coming soon. And my Birthday, yeah!!! Next week!!! YoYo!!! so much excited!
P.S: ahh, I forgot, when UC guys away for the Central trip, I met up with the Volunteers I collected in the school. They'd be working with us in this whole project so please be kind and coordinating, to me haha since I'm the only girl in the group huhu poor me huhu I'd be asking some other girls, but this year is quite a tough year for all of the 4th year students, I can't ask them easily to do voluntary stuffs. I collected 4 boys, two from Computer Science faculty and two from the International Relations. They're quite eager to see you guys and the kids too! Last week 4 of us met Lan, the SJ coordinator of Youth House project for the kids around Long Biên bridge. It's great that she still recognised me though complained on how much weight I have been gaining huhu And she agreed on our ideas for the project! But she needs a formal paper for detailed information of the project and we decided to contact her later for that. She also helped us out with a French name for potential interest to raise fund for this project. We expected this would go well! And our work for next week would be:
1. Meet with the kids for a number of purposes ^^ ( I already schedule to meet them with the guys from Hanu this Tuesday noon, since UC hasn't come back yet, we'll arrange some other day later for us all)
2. Meeting of all members of the project
3. UC mem to be taught to feel more familiar with the soccer thing haha
4. The proposal for the project
5. Contact the possible fund $$ real difficult hichic
6. Meet with Lan again for more specific plan of the start date of project ^^
This week is nice! First of all: No UC class in Thursday hahaha If you know how much studying I had to take every Thursday, you'll understand. Every Thursday I have class from 7am til 7pm huhu no break except for lunch!!!!! How craziiii hichic And this Thursday afternoon I stayed at home and edited photos for the whole afternoon haha how relaxing... no reading and no class. Just wondering what folks are doing in the far Central land... It would be amazing! The land of poor and dust but kinda mysterious to me ^^
The week started with my family's visit to my father's QUÊ (i.e. hometown for closest meaning but still not yet precise). It's amazing trip and for the first time after so many years we were there exactly on the days of rice harvest! The color of yellow spread all over the fields on my way back to my QUÊ. I'd write another entry dedicating only for that trip with amazing pictures of that beloved place, poor but filled with love and most importantly is it's experiencing very much development, which makes it relevant to this blog hahaha
Then, on Thursday, I was caught (again! for god's sake hichic the last time was only 2 weeks ago in Tràng Tiền/ Bờ Hồ for a very stupid mistake huhu) by THE SAME traffic police officer haha It's so ridiculous! And yet very much fun and thankful yes! Since I was so surprised at that coincidence and couldn't help laughing right on the spot, he realized me and let me go hahaha or else I'd be fined with (I guess at least) VND 100,000 or more since I don't have the lisence (I'm so lazy haha). It's Duyên! I believe so! Talking about Duyên, I don't know if there's any English word relevant to that Vietnamese word but it's among my most favorite Vietnamese words. As said in Budism theories, we'd be in this life is a Duyên, and everything in this world doesn't happen for no reasons. There're always some Duyên that causes all those things to be where it be.
Friday, rain and wetness, my motobike broke in the middle of a downtown street. 3 hours I had to stand on the street waiting for it to be fixed. Luckily, I had my girl friend there with me. When it's the very bad situation, having a friend there being by my side would make me much stronger and time flies haha of course! Girl talk b-)
Hanoi streets, I loved them. For me, this week marked the new season, Hanoi is in autumn. Today I realized the first Bàng tree wholy in color bronze brown and reddish... how beautiful!!!! The winter is coming soon. And my Birthday, yeah!!! Next week!!! YoYo!!! so much excited!
P.S: ahh, I forgot, when UC guys away for the Central trip, I met up with the Volunteers I collected in the school. They'd be working with us in this whole project so please be kind and coordinating, to me haha since I'm the only girl in the group huhu poor me huhu I'd be asking some other girls, but this year is quite a tough year for all of the 4th year students, I can't ask them easily to do voluntary stuffs. I collected 4 boys, two from Computer Science faculty and two from the International Relations. They're quite eager to see you guys and the kids too! Last week 4 of us met Lan, the SJ coordinator of Youth House project for the kids around Long Biên bridge. It's great that she still recognised me though complained on how much weight I have been gaining huhu And she agreed on our ideas for the project! But she needs a formal paper for detailed information of the project and we decided to contact her later for that. She also helped us out with a French name for potential interest to raise fund for this project. We expected this would go well! And our work for next week would be:
1. Meet with the kids for a number of purposes ^^ ( I already schedule to meet them with the guys from Hanu this Tuesday noon, since UC hasn't come back yet, we'll arrange some other day later for us all)
2. Meeting of all members of the project
3. UC mem to be taught to feel more familiar with the soccer thing haha
4. The proposal for the project
5. Contact the possible fund $$ real difficult hichic
6. Meet with Lan again for more specific plan of the start date of project ^^
Thứ Năm, 17 tháng 9, 2009
for today
I've been thinking a lot since yesterday, basically since I took this UC course. I'm kind of in a middle of so much confusion, disbelief and mixture of pessimism and optimism, and kind of a lost feeling, don't know who to trust what to trust, don't know what should I be thinking now and what should I be doing in the next some years or maybe this whole life to fulfill what really means the right! I have poor expression of my thinking in English then please understand whatever I wrote in a broad sense?? no, uhmm.. open sense? :)) haha LOL forget it.
Thứ Ba, 15 tháng 9, 2009
my autobiography week 3 and 4 with U.C
Week 3, we do not have any field trip and just a small reading to prepare. In class, Gerald asked people working for some NGO in Hanoi to come and talk to us about how they involved in the NGO thing in Vietnam and basically what they are doing and give out some suggestions if anyone of us want to starts an NGO. It's a good section though I hardly understand what they were talking and even laughing about in the second half of the talk haha I like the women and how she talked to us, in a very tender and clear English hihi I love it! The other two men, they talked in a low tone and skip so much words I think hichic so basically the UC students understand well, sometimes I had to ask them about what people are discussing about hic By the way, thank you Chau! How great I had you by my side that section haha Then, no field trip.
Week 4, we came to class and talked about our experiences in the Manor. Ly had a very valid idea! She's definitely right when recognized that the place was quite empty because we came there at noon! But thru what we had discussed about, I had some wonder on my minds. The apartment building I've been living in for nearly 15 years is going to be rebuilt since it's too old for the new look of the city. It's so thankful of the Government, all the people around here say that all day. But I'm wondering how my home is going to look like after it was rebuilt? It'd be kinda like another Western apartment complex? It'd be very beautiful but there's something not alright then. I haven't figured out what that is yet, I just know. I'm afraid it would turn out not beautiful as well as human-related and nature-realted. The budget is quite a problem and most significantly the issue of poor-managed construction with a lot of cases of builders pickpocketed money invested for the project. If people can build buildings with trees around and also inside it would be amazing! Now we only have 5 floors each building but in new schedule, the building would be like at least 10 floors! What I'm scared of most is the quality, I'd not want it to collapse like things already happened in VN.
What a blast! We had to come up with our projects right in that class! I love working with Agent Orange Victims and the filming stuffs and I have dreamt about working in such a project since secondary school. But since Phat's group about playground for kids has no Hanu student and my own project is somewhat related to that issue then I joined him. After some discussion, we come up with the idea of joining some org that already has connection with disadvantaged kids and then ask them for organising soccer events or just weekly game for them.
Next week I had 3 tests and hardly would I have time for this, but we need to do something. I'd call some friends from Hanu who play soccer and ready to devote time and effort joining us! And also try to contact SJVietnam where I volunteered for half a year last year.
this picture I took when tutoring the kids at SJ ^^ He's really naughty but very smart!
Week 4, we came to class and talked about our experiences in the Manor. Ly had a very valid idea! She's definitely right when recognized that the place was quite empty because we came there at noon! But thru what we had discussed about, I had some wonder on my minds. The apartment building I've been living in for nearly 15 years is going to be rebuilt since it's too old for the new look of the city. It's so thankful of the Government, all the people around here say that all day. But I'm wondering how my home is going to look like after it was rebuilt? It'd be kinda like another Western apartment complex? It'd be very beautiful but there's something not alright then. I haven't figured out what that is yet, I just know. I'm afraid it would turn out not beautiful as well as human-related and nature-realted. The budget is quite a problem and most significantly the issue of poor-managed construction with a lot of cases of builders pickpocketed money invested for the project. If people can build buildings with trees around and also inside it would be amazing! Now we only have 5 floors each building but in new schedule, the building would be like at least 10 floors! What I'm scared of most is the quality, I'd not want it to collapse like things already happened in VN.
What a blast! We had to come up with our projects right in that class! I love working with Agent Orange Victims and the filming stuffs and I have dreamt about working in such a project since secondary school. But since Phat's group about playground for kids has no Hanu student and my own project is somewhat related to that issue then I joined him. After some discussion, we come up with the idea of joining some org that already has connection with disadvantaged kids and then ask them for organising soccer events or just weekly game for them.
Next week I had 3 tests and hardly would I have time for this, but we need to do something. I'd call some friends from Hanu who play soccer and ready to devote time and effort joining us! And also try to contact SJVietnam where I volunteered for half a year last year.
this picture I took when tutoring the kids at SJ ^^ He's really naughty but very smart!I'm coming back there, soon, to discuss with the organizers about our project and see the kids again, too!!! So looking forward to it... really miss them :X
Thứ Tư, 2 tháng 9, 2009
the N.G.O
the third week with U.C is about N.G.O in general and its activities in Vietnam in particular. The teacher requires us to read some text ( I'm so happy and my eyes are so thankful to you LOL since the reading is long enough for them hahaha ) and search as much information as possible about one N.G.O in Vietnam to get prepared for a discussion with officers from some N.G.O at class this week.
At first, I know exactly which N.G.O I want. I want SJ Vietnam, Solidaritee J something that I can't remember because it is in French and it's kinda long hoho I was a volunteer there for 6 months last years and I think I know a lot about it, except for how it has been in progress 1 year up to now. But I don't see it in the list at http://www.ngocentre.netnam.vn/cgi/master.asp . How sad :( Then I had to choose one among all the list of some hundreds NGO hichic Which one to choose? I go to several websites and there're some problems. I can't know exactly how what the NGO did benefits the nation. They merely list out their activities and mostly say about stories of disadvantage people in VN that in need of help to attract donors. I hardly find out info else where and the only way to approach is reading their website or going directly there. I wonder how successful are those things posted on the website really are??? If I put my money there, where would they go? Would they end up in someone's private pocket? And most importantly, does what they do really make any difference for Vietnam? so many other questions...
I chose to read about "Children of Vietnam", available at http://www.childrenofvietnam.org/. The website is nice :) and moreover, as I read more, I find out how applicable and meaningful their projects are. They know what really means for the kids, what they really need to facilitate their studies and all. For example in addition to programs like scholarships and tutoring that other NGO have been offering the disadvantaged kids, COV asked for donation to give a bike for the kids. In rural Vietnam and especially in mountainous areas, houses are generally far away from schools. It takes some kids around half day walking on foot, even bare foot in winter... to school. They had love for learning and knowledge, their parents bare a dream of changing life by letting kids to school. But the harsh life drives some away from such dreams. The rate of dropping out of school recently is increasing as the kids grow up and their family needs their help more in earning their lives. They still crave for schooling but the distance is another factor contributing to the drop-out. It's a sad fact and though the government has been trying by many means, even sending teachers to each household to bring the kids back to school and help out with the parents but life isn't that easy. And a bike at that time is such a great motivation for more schooling and of course also very much helpful for the whole family's life.
At first, I know exactly which N.G.O I want. I want SJ Vietnam, Solidaritee J something that I can't remember because it is in French and it's kinda long hoho I was a volunteer there for 6 months last years and I think I know a lot about it, except for how it has been in progress 1 year up to now. But I don't see it in the list at http://www.ngocentre.netnam.vn/cgi/master.asp . How sad :( Then I had to choose one among all the list of some hundreds NGO hichic Which one to choose? I go to several websites and there're some problems. I can't know exactly how what the NGO did benefits the nation. They merely list out their activities and mostly say about stories of disadvantage people in VN that in need of help to attract donors. I hardly find out info else where and the only way to approach is reading their website or going directly there. I wonder how successful are those things posted on the website really are??? If I put my money there, where would they go? Would they end up in someone's private pocket? And most importantly, does what they do really make any difference for Vietnam? so many other questions...
I chose to read about "Children of Vietnam", available at http://www.childrenofvietnam.org/. The website is nice :) and moreover, as I read more, I find out how applicable and meaningful their projects are. They know what really means for the kids, what they really need to facilitate their studies and all. For example in addition to programs like scholarships and tutoring that other NGO have been offering the disadvantaged kids, COV asked for donation to give a bike for the kids. In rural Vietnam and especially in mountainous areas, houses are generally far away from schools. It takes some kids around half day walking on foot, even bare foot in winter... to school. They had love for learning and knowledge, their parents bare a dream of changing life by letting kids to school. But the harsh life drives some away from such dreams. The rate of dropping out of school recently is increasing as the kids grow up and their family needs their help more in earning their lives. They still crave for schooling but the distance is another factor contributing to the drop-out. It's a sad fact and though the government has been trying by many means, even sending teachers to each household to bring the kids back to school and help out with the parents but life isn't that easy. And a bike at that time is such a great motivation for more schooling and of course also very much helpful for the whole family's life.
my autobiography - U.C week 2 - the Manor
Week 2 started with a terrible shame. During that week I was volunteering for the World IT Forum in Hanoi.
I had to drop some classes at school but on Thursday afternoon, I could go for U.C class since my friend agreed to help me out on the work for that. However, since my cell was out of battery and I had to run around for a while to borrow a helmet, I was nearly 10 minutes late... And surprisingly enough, I even didn't know how much seriously late I was since the cell was off already. Right the moment I opened the class door, the teacher come out and tell me to go home right away without hearing any of my sayings lol then I was in real confuse and kinda like lost. My friend who took me back to school already left, my fone is off and my only purpose to do all the things and all the way that day was terribly rejected. I felt like all my efforts to come there was meaningless. If I didn't come back school and continued the work with air-conditioned environment and friends around, I wouldn't be that alone and lost. Then my childishness became serious when I didn't know what to do except for going directly to the door again and knock it, more politely than the first time and ask for a phone from my friends there. Then, the teacher became really angry. I never felt that angriness in him. He yelled at me to go away, he told me how much terribly I disturbed the class... I was so so so much ashame at that time and until now I still feel so much embarassing...That's all for the shame. Now that I learnt a lesson of being on time with American teacher, I always try to come to UC class soon. Ironically when I come to class soon this week, he came late lol of course he has his reason, that is because the N.G.O panelists have some trouble finding the place. But he refused to listen to my reason, which drove me crazy that day and I made my self a fool lol I was too immature after all. I'm trying now to fix it, the lateness in all classes. I hope this would never happen again.
Next was the field trip to The manor.
For those who doesn't know, The Manor is a complex of modern appartments and villas. It has Western achitecture and Western style of management and rent too. I asked a moto-taxi driver working in the region about the price of houses in there. He said the average rent for an appartment of 130m2 in the two highest buidings is around VND 8 BILLIONs OMG ...
And the price for the villas are cheaper, around 5 BILLIONs. And interestingly people who owns the appartment hardly sell them LOL They keep it as the housing price is increasing all the time, except for some tiny decrease. And since few people sell houses there, the price at the Manor is always high. They only rent it. What so funny is that when our class come, intending to go see the development and urbanization that we're studying at class thru this buidings complex. However, the security refused to let us in. Maybe we're too crowed then we started splitting up and try to get in in all entrances. We tried around 4 entrances but kept being chased out by the security and in the final one we get in the middle of the complex without any prevention.
But we can't be happy for long. The security once came out. They said it's their duty to keep the place secured which means ensuring no body wanders around the place or takes photos to protect the residents there. Basically, I think they are so right! hahaha if I lived there, for sure I would hate people wandering around and take photos of my place! It's privacy, right? And basically, only a few of us can't get in, many others go around and even go up to some buildings' top to get best view LOL And finally when the security came out the last time, they stood there talking to some of us about the place comfortably while the others go around without any prevention hahahaAfter the trip, I came home and told my parents. We discussed and what so funny was that except for the feeling of luxury living in a Western styled place, we couldn't figure out what more interest people there. Last year the Manor was so famous in all newspapers since the residents there protested the management for many unreasonable fees. Also, there're some problems with quality of the appartment although it was quite newly built. I also noticed that there're merely no Vietnamese shops and traditional markets around. I believe normal Vietnamese can't live without markets. Especially in places that are crowded, markets are essential. Living the life depending totally in supermarket is no good, stuffs sold at supermarket can't compare with things in the normal market about price and also about the freshness.
I have been living in a 40m2 appartment in one of the oldest building in Hanoi for 15 years. If you ever come to my neigborhood, you'll see how different they are! In the Manor, I was very much astonished. I never see such a place in Hanoi.
It was like I was walking in an European street. Hardly sees anyone. I don't know when will we be able to own a house like that haha This government is so poor just like the whole nation. My parents devoted for the government for more than 20 years and all they get back is an old 40m2 appartment... But I love my neigborhood. It's old and overcrowded but there's a market selling all kinds of things from the high quality to the cheapest ones in the center of the neighborhood, several hospitals in just around 1km, 5 schools for kids aged 3-15 and hundreds of household business hohoho What I treasure most is in my neighborhood, basically people know each other's family and being very much helpful and caring. I love it that every morning when I go to school, I could hear people saying Hi! to each other warmingly. I believe that is just what people at new appartment complex can never buy LOL
Thứ Năm, 27 tháng 8, 2009
my autobiography ( after UC week 0 + 1)
The whole summer I stayed at home playing around with my family and relaxed totally since my mother was in a biz trip. Then one day I saw the ad of U.C course at FMT's website, seeing that I could drop a subject to take it LOL I was not so much fond of it when I was afraid that it would be time consuming and bring no benefit. However, it's about Vietnam and I would study with the U.S students, who I know they're having quite an uneasy thought about the country since they were born. Then I applied for the course right in the due date. That's how "VN in transition" come to my life.
Two weeks ago, they came. All the American students of the course joined us in the 1st meeting starting the same week. I was quite surprised. Most of them are vietnamese american. They can speak some Vietnamese and the teacher does it so so well!!! But I was quite tired and stressed out when I hardly understood what they were talking about and why they were laughing, what's so funny??? Kinda lost, I didn't know anyone there except for my old classmates.
Then came the event Survivor Hanoi! It's so much fun! My team is so great haha I love all of them! I get to know them more, that's the most important thing. I like Vivian and I love to call her Vi as her original Vietnamese name. She is very cute and quite understanding, basically tender and laugh a lot just like me!!! Phat is such a dirtiness-hater lol He doesn't joke much hichic But he's handsome after all lol The other Vietnamese girl in my group is nice, too. But she has real trouble with car/bus sick and the heat of Hanoi. In the event, we were given a set of 15 tasks to fullfill in around 3 hours. Even though I was born here and has been living here for nearly 21 years, I've never done some of the things lol It was quite amazing such as riding a cyclo with the cyclo-driver as a passenger. During the game, I once thought we had to give up what I considered the most annoying task : recording the action of saying I love VN with an arm on a police officer's shoulder :-s The traffic police officers were all in duty thus we found it so hard doing such a thing! But then after all we still made it with a very nice policeman at one embassy.
The game ended. We spent most of the money, only 17,000 left (at first it was 150,000) since we hardly walked but taking taxis hahaha We came back fourth or something. It didn't matter much. We just had a lot of fun! Then it rained cats and dogs when we went for hotpot in the street nearby. 8 pm, exhausted, hungry, sleepy and a good dinner.
That's how the U.C course started. It was so much fun and relaxing. Then the first class came. The reading was 42-page long hichic I hate readings with so many new words :(( Fortunately the book has big font of letters. At class, we had discussions about Development and how it has been so far in Vietnam. Generally it was interesting that the U.C students see Hanoi in such a total different way compared to me. And basically what I learned is that the term "Development" is quite varied. And how people can say one country is developed? Indexes about income, education and all others can't tell exactly. Then, basically, every country is on its way to development, there's no stop for any one and the utmost utopia is kinda far and away but it's the destination of all. And finally the question is how Vietnamm would look like when it's developed?? ^^ That's my most favorite question in that class. Also, there's a point the teacher and some students said in class that I'm still wondering. One asked him how's the middle class in VN? In her book she draw something like there's very little middle class and so many rich and poor people in the two poles. Funnily enough for me, the teacher responded that he doesn't know if there's middle class in VN lol I don't know what to say right away at that time since all people there tend to agree with him. I kept thinking and asked my father when I backed home. Definitely he said the opposite thing lol There's no exact boundary for classes but if we had to put it, the illustration looked like a pyramid with a very large bottom and body but a quite high top. Then, after all, if there's no such thing like a middle class in VN, I wonder where my family and almost all people I know are, in poor class?? if you ever think like that. Rethink, and go see more people in the whole VN, and judge it relatively in the whole national range. I went to places and know what the poor looks like. We're no rich, my parents worked hard everyday for 30 years for the government with a just-enough-for-everyday-life salary. But what's so important? We are happy and content with such a life, though so envious and sad when we look at how the rich buy cars and shop with piles of super-expensive stuffs. We have love. I lived in the 4th floor of an old block of flats but I'm happy when I could say and hear neighbors saying Hello every morning, I'm happy when we hardly had to rush for so all things like in rich countries, I'm happy when I could see smiles and hear laughters everywhere on the streets (there's people telling me that in VN people smile a lot lol). There's something that money can't buy. And I have it here :D in vietnam :D I'm proud of it.
Last, in week 1, we had a field trip to Friendship village to meet the victims of Agent Orange that U.S army spread all over the South and half Middle areas of VN. When I first heard about the trip, I felt like there's something aches in my head and heart. I had such a feeling every time I heard about that toxic and how the U.S army did that to this beautiful country. Actually my grandpa died for cancer and my father doubted if it was because of the time he was in the VN army and suffered from Agent Orange. Until now we're very carefully watching out for any strange things that might happen to the kids of my father's last two siblings who were born after my grandpa left the battle field. The victim of such toxic spread from the 1st generation who conceived it first and directly to their third generation. if anyone reading this does not know what Agent Orange is and how it destroys human's gene and lives, please google it. I wonder why overseas papers and organisations which always protest against and curse on this government, the VN army, etc. never mention such serious issues relating directly to the war they're for???? LOL
Back to the trip. It was a fun and meaningful trip. Prior to that, I knew there's millions of more serious cases ut there and the ones who stayed at the Friendship village are the less affected cases. But I only watched on TV, and in some part of those documentary films and reports on News I even can't bare it and stop watching. It was too much to say anything... Tears are not enough. I sometimes wonder what have they or their parents do to deserve such a misery(like the Cause - Consiquence theory in Buddism). Thus I never had a chance to meet the victims for real. It was around 3 in the afternoon. We arrived when the kids were on class. I'd talk in detail about class 1. Basically they just studied day by day the same lesson of distinguish which is blue, green, yellow or red due to their dysfuntional mental condition. I know, for sure, they'll forget me right the time I walked out of their classroom but I stayed there all the time, not wondering to the upper classes. I really don't know what I should do. I just played with them, sing and talk to them. They had a blank mind, but a beautiful heart. I felt hurt everytime a big girl in the class kept rubbing her head into my hold. Poor their parents. They're old soldiers devoted all their young days for the country and coming back receiving such a miserable life... If only there's real almight god who could keep the world in real fairness. Moreover, thinking about the others who are much more seriously toxicated, I really don't know what to say. If there's more hands out there helping out... And foremost, if there's real fairness in life... No way. That's life.
Two weeks ago, they came. All the American students of the course joined us in the 1st meeting starting the same week. I was quite surprised. Most of them are vietnamese american. They can speak some Vietnamese and the teacher does it so so well!!! But I was quite tired and stressed out when I hardly understood what they were talking about and why they were laughing, what's so funny??? Kinda lost, I didn't know anyone there except for my old classmates.
Then came the event Survivor Hanoi! It's so much fun! My team is so great haha I love all of them! I get to know them more, that's the most important thing. I like Vivian and I love to call her Vi as her original Vietnamese name. She is very cute and quite understanding, basically tender and laugh a lot just like me!!! Phat is such a dirtiness-hater lol He doesn't joke much hichic But he's handsome after all lol The other Vietnamese girl in my group is nice, too. But she has real trouble with car/bus sick and the heat of Hanoi. In the event, we were given a set of 15 tasks to fullfill in around 3 hours. Even though I was born here and has been living here for nearly 21 years, I've never done some of the things lol It was quite amazing such as riding a cyclo with the cyclo-driver as a passenger. During the game, I once thought we had to give up what I considered the most annoying task : recording the action of saying I love VN with an arm on a police officer's shoulder :-s The traffic police officers were all in duty thus we found it so hard doing such a thing! But then after all we still made it with a very nice policeman at one embassy.
The game ended. We spent most of the money, only 17,000 left (at first it was 150,000) since we hardly walked but taking taxis hahaha We came back fourth or something. It didn't matter much. We just had a lot of fun! Then it rained cats and dogs when we went for hotpot in the street nearby. 8 pm, exhausted, hungry, sleepy and a good dinner.
That's how the U.C course started. It was so much fun and relaxing. Then the first class came. The reading was 42-page long hichic I hate readings with so many new words :(( Fortunately the book has big font of letters. At class, we had discussions about Development and how it has been so far in Vietnam. Generally it was interesting that the U.C students see Hanoi in such a total different way compared to me. And basically what I learned is that the term "Development" is quite varied. And how people can say one country is developed? Indexes about income, education and all others can't tell exactly. Then, basically, every country is on its way to development, there's no stop for any one and the utmost utopia is kinda far and away but it's the destination of all. And finally the question is how Vietnamm would look like when it's developed?? ^^ That's my most favorite question in that class. Also, there's a point the teacher and some students said in class that I'm still wondering. One asked him how's the middle class in VN? In her book she draw something like there's very little middle class and so many rich and poor people in the two poles. Funnily enough for me, the teacher responded that he doesn't know if there's middle class in VN lol I don't know what to say right away at that time since all people there tend to agree with him. I kept thinking and asked my father when I backed home. Definitely he said the opposite thing lol There's no exact boundary for classes but if we had to put it, the illustration looked like a pyramid with a very large bottom and body but a quite high top. Then, after all, if there's no such thing like a middle class in VN, I wonder where my family and almost all people I know are, in poor class?? if you ever think like that. Rethink, and go see more people in the whole VN, and judge it relatively in the whole national range. I went to places and know what the poor looks like. We're no rich, my parents worked hard everyday for 30 years for the government with a just-enough-for-everyday-life salary. But what's so important? We are happy and content with such a life, though so envious and sad when we look at how the rich buy cars and shop with piles of super-expensive stuffs. We have love. I lived in the 4th floor of an old block of flats but I'm happy when I could say and hear neighbors saying Hello every morning, I'm happy when we hardly had to rush for so all things like in rich countries, I'm happy when I could see smiles and hear laughters everywhere on the streets (there's people telling me that in VN people smile a lot lol). There's something that money can't buy. And I have it here :D in vietnam :D I'm proud of it.
Last, in week 1, we had a field trip to Friendship village to meet the victims of Agent Orange that U.S army spread all over the South and half Middle areas of VN. When I first heard about the trip, I felt like there's something aches in my head and heart. I had such a feeling every time I heard about that toxic and how the U.S army did that to this beautiful country. Actually my grandpa died for cancer and my father doubted if it was because of the time he was in the VN army and suffered from Agent Orange. Until now we're very carefully watching out for any strange things that might happen to the kids of my father's last two siblings who were born after my grandpa left the battle field. The victim of such toxic spread from the 1st generation who conceived it first and directly to their third generation. if anyone reading this does not know what Agent Orange is and how it destroys human's gene and lives, please google it. I wonder why overseas papers and organisations which always protest against and curse on this government, the VN army, etc. never mention such serious issues relating directly to the war they're for???? LOL
Back to the trip. It was a fun and meaningful trip. Prior to that, I knew there's millions of more serious cases ut there and the ones who stayed at the Friendship village are the less affected cases. But I only watched on TV, and in some part of those documentary films and reports on News I even can't bare it and stop watching. It was too much to say anything... Tears are not enough. I sometimes wonder what have they or their parents do to deserve such a misery(like the Cause - Consiquence theory in Buddism). Thus I never had a chance to meet the victims for real. It was around 3 in the afternoon. We arrived when the kids were on class. I'd talk in detail about class 1. Basically they just studied day by day the same lesson of distinguish which is blue, green, yellow or red due to their dysfuntional mental condition. I know, for sure, they'll forget me right the time I walked out of their classroom but I stayed there all the time, not wondering to the upper classes. I really don't know what I should do. I just played with them, sing and talk to them. They had a blank mind, but a beautiful heart. I felt hurt everytime a big girl in the class kept rubbing her head into my hold. Poor their parents. They're old soldiers devoted all their young days for the country and coming back receiving such a miserable life... If only there's real almight god who could keep the world in real fairness. Moreover, thinking about the others who are much more seriously toxicated, I really don't know what to say. If there's more hands out there helping out... And foremost, if there's real fairness in life... No way. That's life.
Chủ Nhật, 23 tháng 8, 2009
my autobiography
Full name: Phung Thi Ngoc Thanh
DOB: 1 October 1988
100% Vietnamese, 50% old Hanoian, 100% new Hanoian
I was born in the last years of the period Bao Cấp (the period when the Gov subsidized all goods and services) when almost all people as well as the nation were poor. Moreover I was early born, weighted only 2.2 kg, so small and weak, thus my parents had to go through a lot of hardship to bring me up. We used to live in my dad's apartment at his school, 9m2 for 3 people. Only when I was 7 and we moved for the 4th time, we settled down in an apartment of 40m2 up to now.
I'm the only child of my family. People always think that I would be sad and alone. Funnily enough, I never felt alone or unhappy when I'm with my parents. They married old, at around 30 but their souls have never been old. My mother is very beautiful and she's a typical Hanoian woman. She has P.h.D in languistics and is especially talented at cooking!!! She has a quite nice taste in arts also, thus our tiny home is full of paintings. 5 ones for a 14m2 room hichic But I love it too!!! My father is a professeur at one Academy for 30 years. He is from the rural and I resemble him everything, including the chubby shape, the open mind and underarm smell haha. We have never been rich financially but all the time we have abundant laughters and happiness.
They love me and love me being at home with them as much as possible. When I was small, I felt depressed a lot because I wasn't allowed to going out with friends much, and totally no after 5 pm. But as time passed by and after suffering from serious illness, I know how much my family means to me, and how less I did to them. Then I feel so content with this condition. I may sacrify all my close relationship for this, but it makes my parents happy, and that's all I care now. Thus, after all the house-moving and no hang out late and often, I have so many friends, but I hardly have any true and very close one. I really have serious problem with being so close to anyone. I had my heart broken twice, one took me 4 years to vanish his affection on me and the other took 1 year, a so much painful heart and 3 kgs to recover after her leave.
That's all about the relationship. Now's the study stuffs. I was selected to be in the best class of most outstanding kids at primary school. Then in secondary school, I had to be in the worst class due to my father's late enrollment hichic Since then my kid life changed totally. I was the best at class but after a non-sense misunderstanding all the kids in class hated me. They even called me THE PIG all day and night (I live next to school) :-s And for a 12 year-old girl, it was such a nightmare. I still remember coming back from school everyday crying my eyes out and shouting angrily at my parents feeling no one understand and being at my side. I learnt the importance of being loved and so much scared of being left alone since then. 2 last years of secondary school, I became quite famous and loved so much all around the classes. My academic record still remained so good, always at top (my school is a small and low-rated one). I learnt to being nice to all kinds of people since the class was made up of kids from all kinds of backgrounds, a butcher's son or a gas-delivery girl. They were so naughty that the boys smoked when we're only in grade 6 and started bringing swords and big knives to school at grade 8. However, they made my childhood much more lively and memorable in comparison to being in an honor class haha Coming to Specializing Language High School, I was so shocked at all the hard-working students and so many requirements from the teachers. I was among the worst achiever at class. The kids were almost all girls and they were so talented and independent. They teached me so much in the sense of being more understanding and open-minded to anything. Afterall I made it to college. Hard-work and time spending at highschool brings me so great result in university entrance exam, then I made it to the most prestigious (at that moment) department of Finance and banking in Hanoi University. College brings me so far something: being confident, childlike is fun, being different is difficult but outstanding.
Now I know what I am up to and how I should be feeling. I worked as a volunteer at SJ Vietnam for half a year, tutoring the disadvantaged children living on the island in the Red River. The work and meeting people there insprire me very much. It brings me the sense of experiencing new things and being humble and caring. I know how much happy and lucky I am. And I want to treasure every minute I have and everyone I know.
just Live to the Fullest!!!
DOB: 1 October 1988
100% Vietnamese, 50% old Hanoian, 100% new Hanoian
I was born in the last years of the period Bao Cấp (the period when the Gov subsidized all goods and services) when almost all people as well as the nation were poor. Moreover I was early born, weighted only 2.2 kg, so small and weak, thus my parents had to go through a lot of hardship to bring me up. We used to live in my dad's apartment at his school, 9m2 for 3 people. Only when I was 7 and we moved for the 4th time, we settled down in an apartment of 40m2 up to now.
I'm the only child of my family. People always think that I would be sad and alone. Funnily enough, I never felt alone or unhappy when I'm with my parents. They married old, at around 30 but their souls have never been old. My mother is very beautiful and she's a typical Hanoian woman. She has P.h.D in languistics and is especially talented at cooking!!! She has a quite nice taste in arts also, thus our tiny home is full of paintings. 5 ones for a 14m2 room hichic But I love it too!!! My father is a professeur at one Academy for 30 years. He is from the rural and I resemble him everything, including the chubby shape, the open mind and underarm smell haha. We have never been rich financially but all the time we have abundant laughters and happiness.
They love me and love me being at home with them as much as possible. When I was small, I felt depressed a lot because I wasn't allowed to going out with friends much, and totally no after 5 pm. But as time passed by and after suffering from serious illness, I know how much my family means to me, and how less I did to them. Then I feel so content with this condition. I may sacrify all my close relationship for this, but it makes my parents happy, and that's all I care now. Thus, after all the house-moving and no hang out late and often, I have so many friends, but I hardly have any true and very close one. I really have serious problem with being so close to anyone. I had my heart broken twice, one took me 4 years to vanish his affection on me and the other took 1 year, a so much painful heart and 3 kgs to recover after her leave.
That's all about the relationship. Now's the study stuffs. I was selected to be in the best class of most outstanding kids at primary school. Then in secondary school, I had to be in the worst class due to my father's late enrollment hichic Since then my kid life changed totally. I was the best at class but after a non-sense misunderstanding all the kids in class hated me. They even called me THE PIG all day and night (I live next to school) :-s And for a 12 year-old girl, it was such a nightmare. I still remember coming back from school everyday crying my eyes out and shouting angrily at my parents feeling no one understand and being at my side. I learnt the importance of being loved and so much scared of being left alone since then. 2 last years of secondary school, I became quite famous and loved so much all around the classes. My academic record still remained so good, always at top (my school is a small and low-rated one). I learnt to being nice to all kinds of people since the class was made up of kids from all kinds of backgrounds, a butcher's son or a gas-delivery girl. They were so naughty that the boys smoked when we're only in grade 6 and started bringing swords and big knives to school at grade 8. However, they made my childhood much more lively and memorable in comparison to being in an honor class haha Coming to Specializing Language High School, I was so shocked at all the hard-working students and so many requirements from the teachers. I was among the worst achiever at class. The kids were almost all girls and they were so talented and independent. They teached me so much in the sense of being more understanding and open-minded to anything. Afterall I made it to college. Hard-work and time spending at highschool brings me so great result in university entrance exam, then I made it to the most prestigious (at that moment) department of Finance and banking in Hanoi University. College brings me so far something: being confident, childlike is fun, being different is difficult but outstanding.
Now I know what I am up to and how I should be feeling. I worked as a volunteer at SJ Vietnam for half a year, tutoring the disadvantaged children living on the island in the Red River. The work and meeting people there insprire me very much. It brings me the sense of experiencing new things and being humble and caring. I know how much happy and lucky I am. And I want to treasure every minute I have and everyone I know.
just Live to the Fullest!!!
Thứ Sáu, 21 tháng 8, 2009
The obituary of Helen Levitt, photographer of New York
Helen Levitt
photographer of New York, died on March 29th, aged 95
It's my bad to delay this assignment post until today, around 1 week later than it should be. I am currently joining a course of "Vietnam in transition" that is totally far from what I was supposed to study for my major of Finance and Banking. The requirement of week zero was that reading an obituary in the Economist Magazine and wrote some response to it. Actually I read a lot of the obituaries there. People are from all kinds of occupations, such as politicians, journalists and adventurers. I had to choose someone that led a life that was kind of amazing in some aspects to be a model for the others. However, actually I didn't find any one that inspire me enough to write about them. After all I chose this photographer, Helen Levitt basically because I love photography and the humanity I see in all her work fits my soul perfectly, as well as her humbleness.
Reading her obituary, I found out how much I can relate to this woman.
I love the way she shot. Earlier most of her photos are in black and white. Later in the 1960s she chose to work with color.
Though those colored work were pretty amazing too, but I still find her original black and white ones much more influential and inspirational. They are simple in the presence of color of the picture itself but so much more in the meaning they bring to people's mind.
Second, what inspires me most is her theme. She was the Street photographer of New York since the 1940s. The lives of NY people, especially the kids, were reflected greatly in her work. I love her pictures of kids, particularly she even took pictures of the chalk drawing on streets of the kids.
Utmost beauty lies in simplicity, I think.
What's so interesting is she did not name her photos much. Basically they are just NY of year something. They did not need explaining; they were “just what you see”. Words ain't enough to express all the underlying ideas that one might come up with when they saw a picture. Feelings are things that matter and how beautiful a picture is to a person is different from one to another. It might look fun and smiles are full in there but it also could reflect something that is very much like sad.
She led a lonely life with no kids and husband. The only one that come along with her all her years in life is finally just her pictures. But this woman never had high opinion about her work. She reluctantly accepted only some very few of the pictures that she took to be nice. Though her original prints eventually sold for tens of thousands of dollars, she let them pile up in her apartment in boxes labelled “Nothing good” or “Here and there”. Her hopes when she started were for photographs that would make a socialist statement of some sort.
Overall, she was a humble photographer that spoke so many things through her work about humble people of one of the most hectic cities in the world. Photography reflects reality in a so unique way and Helen chose it for her career path during 70 years of her life.
Reading her obituary, I found out how much I can relate to this woman.
I love the way she shot. Earlier most of her photos are in black and white. Later in the 1960s she chose to work with color.
Though those colored work were pretty amazing too, but I still find her original black and white ones much more influential and inspirational. They are simple in the presence of color of the picture itself but so much more in the meaning they bring to people's mind.
Second, what inspires me most is her theme. She was the Street photographer of New York since the 1940s. The lives of NY people, especially the kids, were reflected greatly in her work. I love her pictures of kids, particularly she even took pictures of the chalk drawing on streets of the kids.
Utmost beauty lies in simplicity, I think.What's so interesting is she did not name her photos much. Basically they are just NY of year something. They did not need explaining; they were “just what you see”. Words ain't enough to express all the underlying ideas that one might come up with when they saw a picture. Feelings are things that matter and how beautiful a picture is to a person is different from one to another. It might look fun and smiles are full in there but it also could reflect something that is very much like sad.
She led a lonely life with no kids and husband. The only one that come along with her all her years in life is finally just her pictures. But this woman never had high opinion about her work. She reluctantly accepted only some very few of the pictures that she took to be nice. Though her original prints eventually sold for tens of thousands of dollars, she let them pile up in her apartment in boxes labelled “Nothing good” or “Here and there”. Her hopes when she started were for photographs that would make a socialist statement of some sort.
Overall, she was a humble photographer that spoke so many things through her work about humble people of one of the most hectic cities in the world. Photography reflects reality in a so unique way and Helen chose it for her career path during 70 years of her life.
Thứ Tư, 19 tháng 8, 2009
Hello Blog!
It has been a long while since my last blogging. This feels quite strange.
I'm kind of a narrowed-minded person and a slow thinker then I need everything to be simple and straight. I love the truth, though it hurts sometimes. Then please talk to me, straightly and truthfully, even it's abt how you hate me, I would appreciate it very much.
Last, I'm quite Up and Down and I'm a typical Libra who owns a very contradictory personality. In addition, My grandfather suffers from serious memory loss then no wonder when I'm quite forgetful. Thus now after writing this piece I read it again and I really can't figure out what have I done to my first blog entry hahaha I tend not to know what to do at the right time. My mind is totally blank! My feelings can't keep up to changes but when the feelings itself changes, even me myself can't catch up with it hahaha.
Anyway, I'm a good kid.
I'm living beyond the judgement.
Enjoy my blog and comment on whatever you want ^^ I just love to listen.
Thanh.
P.S: more importantly, my English vocab is quite poor but I just love to make up words haha Then when I used this language, I'd often be misunderstood by both the English native speakers and the Vietnamese. I'm stuck, in the language, seriously hichic
Hahaha Now I realize that I intended to write this to say bonjour to this new blog but now it turns out like I was talking to the readers haha I told u, I'm so absent-minded :))
@ Blog: Hi baby! I'd be nice to you hihi I'd post nice and funny things hi~hi~ on you. I'd not sadden you for no reason but tears are still necessary for a fullfilled life my dear. Then prepare yourself for any possible emotions I would bring to you! Keep alive! Muahz :*
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