In the face of darkness, high stakes, and horrible odds, you can save yourself and the world
What you see above is pretty much my view of Vietnam. For six intensive days, a squad of around 25 students and five teachers revamped classrooms for Vietnamese students in Tra Vinh, one of the poorest areas of the country.
Under the watchful eye of Uncle Ho, whose picture was in every classroom, we ripped up old tiles, dug out dirt, laid rock, covered it with cement and tile, scrapped the rooms, and repainted the walls and the shutters. Pretty glamorous, right?
Hello Everyone.
I returned from Vietnam on Saturday. That was quite the experience. Twenty students and five instructors gutted three classrooms and a hallway, and we rebuilt said area with the strength of our backs and shovels. It was a grueling six days, but I feel like I don’t have to worry that I’m losing my edge anymore. I kept up with everyone, sweat and all. We did a good thing (TM).
As is common with many groups, we shared a cold. Mine went from being a manageable sore throat and sniffle to bronchitis in the course of a day. Susceptible was the word the doctor used when I got back. Fear not. It’s not almost pneumonia kind. It’s over the line from sinusitis kind. If I keep resting and taking my meds, I’ll be just fine.
No, I don’t like bronchitis as my new hobby, and yes, I will be doing my best to avoid it as much as I can in the future.
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So, while I have seen many films (can you say 16 hour flight each way?) and read many books (can you say end of day after construction collapse?) since you last saw me, I have done very little writing. Before the construction started, I did a lot of planning and plotting. And, next week, once I feel better and have some more time, I will continue on from where I left off.
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This weekend, I will be at Convergence in Minneapolis. I have 3 panels each day at 5 pm (Plotting, the (Spy Fi) Avengers, and Modern Retellings of Fairy Tales on Thursday, Friday and Saturday respectively; and I’m part of the Broad Universe reading at 3:30 on Saturday. Please come and see me do my thing.
Photos? Yes. But don’t expect beautiful Vietnam photos. Expect service learning photos.