And the smile will dry everything

July 27, 2015. Mild sunshine…

This afternoon, he was free, so he took out his huge backpack and folded his clothes. He sighed, he only had two more days to stay in Van Tho. After two more days, he had to say goodbye to Thai Nguyen, say goodbye to the team, Nam, Quynh,... so many beloved brothers and sisters in the team. 34 brothers and sisters, what would he do if he left them?! He would no longer be able to cook with Trang, Ngoc, or Sen. He would no longer hear the royal family "grumbling" to each other. He would no longer be able to dry clothes with Ha, with Hien. He would no longer have the chance to fish, dig for worms, and laugh with satisfaction when a person who had never fished before suddenly caught a really big fish, really big. Nights spent lying down to sleep whispering and laughing. Meals of vegetables, eggplant, and beans, which were more popular than meat. Why was boiled water spinach so delicious?! A bowl of eggplant was fought over. One person ate the head of the fish, the other ate the tail. A banana was broken in half. “Smart stick”, raw instant noodles, “spaghetti” were poured into each person’s hand a little. The eighteen members of the team were assigned to Uncle Binh’s house to eat, live, and share joys and sorrows. There was a sense of loss about having to leave.

At the bottom of the backpack, he dug out a small square notebook. The notebook had been lying neatly at the bottom of the backpack since the day he prepared for the volunteer trip. He was so excited about his first volunteer trip! As soon as he registered, he ran straight to the grocery store, bought a notebook, he wanted to write and he would write. But during the past few days, he had completely forgotten about it. The joy, the excitement, the dancing, the clapping,… all swept him away. The dance “Everyone has a dream” lifted his steps. He hummed the song “Blue Shirt” all day long in excitement. “Oh dear life”, “Dad, let’s go to fight”, “Drum”, “I love”… All day, night and even in his dreams, he kept jumping, dancing enthusiastically and clapping loudly… Only until now, did he have a few minutes to calm down, to let his emotions, his heart, his soul drift away. He was infinitely sad. Pressing the pen, he carefully wrote the first lines into the still-blank volunteer diary.

And my new friends too. I love everyone very much. The days of volunteering are unforgettable moments. I feel more confident, more active, and more open-minded. Sad stories, worries, relationships, stormy past, money, material things... I almost forget them all. I immerse myself in a new life, a new house, new teammates, new brothers. I get to do what I like and live more meaningfully, more humanely. I smile more and make people smile more. I am so happy when I see my teammates, my aunts, uncles, children, and young men excited when a volunteer group returns. I love the enthusiastic and warm handshakes. I love the simple, warm-hearted people here, and the nature here - the lush green hills. It was a meaningful and unforgettable volunteer trip.

• Sister Nam!
• Sister Nam is back!
• Hello sister!

It could imagine a flock of wild ducks rushing out to the yard, clasping their hands to greet her and whining to see if she had brought gifts for them all… It was excited. It quickly put away its pen, put its notebook in its backpack, put away its clothes, and ran out to its family. It would not sit alone. It abandoned its inherent ego. It opened its heart. It took a deep breath. It was different now. Different from the one from ten days ago! The girl from ten days ago was still sleeping in a corner somewhere. That girl used to sob, “Dad, don’t drink alcohol!”, “Dad, don’t sell the house!”, “Dad, don’t hit mom, okay?”. That girl used to be unstable, wavering, and giving up. That girl used to hold tightly to a relationship with someone who was not worthy. A girl who lived alone, happy with her own joys, sad with her own sorrows. That girl was asleep, sleeping peacefully in a faraway, gentle, and romantic world…