7,000 Miles Away Fom Home and Happy

Julia Shumlin

     Soon we will mark the three-month anniversary of our arrival in Viet Nam, with less than a month left for us unfortunate semester kids.  Somehow that amount of time seems inaccurate in my head, but I still can’t decide if it is too long or too short.  I remember as if it were yesterday the nerve-wracking flight from Boston to San Francisco as I waited in anticipation to meet my future classmates, and the numb shock I felt that first morning when witnessing Ha Noi’s otherworldly heat, noise and traffic.  These experiences are so vivid in my mind that I find it impossible to believe that they occurred a quarter of a year ago.  Then again, when I think of how much I have changed, learned and matured over the past three months, the time seems astonishingly short.  Here is where I am now. Here are the ways that I have pushed myself, met new challenges, and the ways in which Hanoi has changed me.

     Ha Noi’s traffic and streets and their chaos and utter lack of road rules were perhaps what shocked me most upon my arrival.  Although daunting at first, I have learned how to tackle these streets like a true Hanoian- with a calm temperament and a slow and steady pace.
     I have never been a particularly adventurous eater, and the wide varieties of unrecognizable foods served to me by my host family in the first couple weeks proved to be a great challenge.  I greeted each meal with a nervous apprehension- dreading the mystery meats that my host mother would excitedly place in my bowl.  Now, these family meals are no longer a challenge, but an opportunity to expand my palette and try some of thr most interesting- if not always delicious- dishes I’ve ever tasted.  Among others, I can add silkworm, pig liver and fertilized eggs to my list.
     Although my Vietnamese is still pretty basic, I’m proud of the baby steps I’ve taken towards mastering this complicated language.  I feel as if all the time memorizing vocabulary and practicing the strange, unfamiliar sounds pays off in the moments when I successfully direct my taxi driver where to go and carry out a brief conversation with my grandfather.
     Before SYA I lived my entire life in a rural setting, and Ha Noi is the city of all cities.  Now, I can finally say that I feel comfortable hailing a cab, meandering the bustling streets alone, and getting totally, blissfully lost.  Who knows- maybe I’m a city girl now.
     Lastly and most importantly, the relationships that I have made here are so strong that I often find myself shocked at the fact that I only met these people three months ago.  Whether it is the ease and comfort I feel with my host family or the close bonds I have formed with my fellow classmates, I have met people here that I know I will be in touch with for the rest of my life.
     Needless to say, these past three months have affected me in ways that I never would have imagined.  But where am I now?  I am 7,000 miles away from home, and happy.  Happy to be able to cross the street, eat all sorts of strange dishes, speak some basic Vietnamese, and navigate this wild city.  Happy to finally feel comfortable in this new, different culture.  I look forward to what the next month will hold.