OY CHOY OY aka Oh My Goodness! It my new favorite Vietnamese expression. Thats obviously not how you spell it, but it is really fun to say and the Vietnamese kids think its sooooo funny when we say it.
GREAT JOB UVA Swimmers at Nationals!!! I loved keeping up with the meet. OY CHOY OY, Scotty you swam sooo fast I'm so proud of youuu, you rock!!!!
Here are some pics from Competition Day.
-Princess of the red team, Nhu. (with an accent thingy on the U) She is the sweetest thing in the world. But she is also very sassy!!! She puts up a fight with the boys and always stands up for herself in leadership class when expressing her opinions. She gave me a photo of her and her little brother. She also gave me some sequin hair pins, they are cute haha. (All Vietnamese people love sequins/diamonds.)
Photo: Matt this photo is for youuuuu :) The kids in Vietnam LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE soccer. This boy, Khang, wears different Arsenal gear every single day. He is wearing a Flying Emirates jersey under his red shirt. They sing the World Cup song Wavin' Flag every single day, its so funny. They sing the English words and don't even know what they mean. One boy from Camp 3 (7th grade) who always lingers around the school refuses to be called anything BUT Ronaldo.
Competition Day on Friday was a lot of fun! It is a little more relaxing to run the tennis competitions and proctor tests as opposed to teaching and coaching. BUT, I do spend alot more time and energy on getting the kids excited and cheering for them!
Morning and afternoon red teams did really well! The highlight of the day was probably an afternoon boy on red team, Lop, winning the camp championship game of knock out. (game for basketball) Wow...I dont' think I've seen anyone smile that big in my entire life. It was so cute. I am growing so close with all of the kids, I do not know how I'm going to say goodbyeeee :(
Also, I forgot to write about the home visit to a campers home. I ended up going with a few other people to Tan's house. (High school helper/coach for Red Team who has a sister on Yellow team) Going to his house was incredibly eye opening. I've known the entire time that I've been at camp that I've been working with extremely poor and underprivileged children, but not until I actually saw Tan's house did I realize the extent of their living conditions. Tan's house was more along the lines of a bamboo shack. It was one main room with two "beds" with mosquito nets over them. The beds were raised wooden planks with straw mats on them and mosquito nets over them. (Keep in mind their are 5 children and two adults living in this home.) Then there was a stove in the back of the main room, and a sectionalized area separated by a big tarp and some other sort of drape. I would say their home was about the size of a classroom, maybe smaller, and much lower ceilings. It was all made by hand out of bamboo and other wood. One outlet with one light hanging over the main area and I'm assuming something else that allows the rock stove top to function. The big blue tarp separating the main room from the back/closet room was covered with probably 30 awards. The awards were all academic awards from their children. They are all so smart! Then their were medals and certificates from Coach for College that their children have collected/won over the past few summers. There was even an article from their local newspaper hanging up about their seventh grade son being a chess champion! I guess he is the best in their province! Andy challenged him to a game, and when the boy went to go get his chess set, he brought out a cookie tin with a piece of cloth that was drawn on to be a chess board and then a bunch of plastic pieces were in the tin. We are currently in the process of buying him a nice chess set.
As I was scanning over the awards hanging in their home, I felt so happy thinking about the pride they found in their achievements. But, my heart sank as I came across a photo. At the end of one of the rows of awards there was a photo that I had given Tan of me with my siblings. I took a moment to realize the craziness in the fact that there was now a picture of my siblings and I at a UVA football game, all dressed up, looking so happy, at a home in Vietnam where the family members truly have nothing but each other. Tan had chosen that photo specifically from an album that I let him look through. I was so happy that he valued it and it made me feel like he will remember me. For the next week or so that I am here, I want to do everything I can to spend time with Tan and help him with English, sports, whatever he needs. I really want to give him something, some sort of gift but I'm not sure what would be good or appropriate. I got him a journal when I was in Can Tho and I'm going to write him something on the inside but I sort of want to give him something else. I'm open to all suggestions!!!!
xxx
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