A Word of Welcome...

On September 1, 2011 fifteen young people from a range of high schools around the U.S. arrived at Noi Ba International Airport in Ha Noi. Jet-lagged and overwhelmed, they spent the weekend getting oriented to their new home amid Independence Day revelry and celebration. Now one month later, they are members of host families, interns at various community organizations, students on a university campus and participant-observers in a foreign culture and society. Thus begins their year with School Year Abroad – Viet Nam.

This monthly blog will chronicle the students’ lives in Viet Nam outside the SYA classroom. A process of sharing and peer-editing in their English class will precede all posts thereby creating an individual and collective narrative. Travel-journalist Tom Miller said “The finest travel writing describes what's going on when nobody's looking.” May these young writers seek out and find their moments to see, with new eyes, what no one else sees. May they write their stories with sensitivity and passion. And may you, our readers, enjoy imagining their Viet Nam.

Becky Gordon
SYA English Teacher

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Clashing Desires

McKenzie Nagle

My desires are painfully paradoxical. My heart constantly yearns to dwell in Vietnam forever (I know…listen to your heart), but I cannot abandon my life filled with obligations and loyal friends back in America. The conflicting personal passions are tearing me apart, but I came to an imperative decision to return to New York City in December. The costs and benefits are difficult to balance; constantly, I battle myself to an excruciating woe—prolonging the decision became intolerable.

Where am I now? I am trying to experience the Vietnamese culture as hurriedly as possible. Even with my decision, I still frequently rethink my choice and cannot come to a lucid verdict which I was hoping for. I truly feel Vietnamese and have come to love Vietnam and its people to an immeasurable extent. When asked, “how long will you live in Vietnam?” I respond saying I will live here for 1 year, and that I will live in Hanoi in the near future, maybe even marry a Vietnamese woman. Why do I fib and say I am living here for 1 year? I yearn to be an insider, a local within the Vietnamese and international culture in Hanoi, and simultaneously I wholeheartedly feel a sense of belonging with Vietnamese people. Coming from a small nuclear family, I honestly cherish my relationships with my Vietnamese relatives and even with the general Vietnamese community. Maybe I adore Vietnamese people because they treat me like a superstar, or because they’re so welcoming and warm. I still haven’t found the answer, but I do know that my connection with Vietnamese is unwavering.

Currently, I am trying to satisfy my conflicting aspirations to be in Vietnam and America. This summer, I will be flying back to Hanoi to spend two and a half months with my host family. I love chi Linh, ahn Nam, and em Ti just as much as I treasure my American family; I love my families more than the whole world. I will never emotionally detach myself from Vietnam. I am making the most of my last month here, and I am anxiously awaiting my return to Vietnam in June.
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