Moving on

Last night, the PVNF team had a farewell dinner, a bittersweet moment for both us and the Ben Tre students we met. The food was nothing special, but it was still a memorable night. I could see the joy in the Ben Tre professionals and students as they received gifts of gratitude from the leaders of both the camp, and their own teams. They were also obviously disappointed that our time in Ben Tre had come to an end. Personally, I had come to hold a deep respect for these students that came everyday to help us at clinics. These students had taken times out of their days to devote to helping improve their own community, attempting to strengthen the well-being of those around them. One of the Ben Tre student's motivation and dedication inspired me to working harder during clinic. After working in the burning sun for 1 1/2 hours, we were told to take a break. The Ben Tre student refused to take a break, and continued to work throughout the day. This gave me motivation to work harder, seeing this girl work twice as hard as I did.

The next morning was one of the most exhausting bus rides I have ever experienced. Although we were scheduled to leave at 6:45, we did not end up leaving until 8:30, spending time waiting for an extrta bus, since there was an excess of people. The 6 hour drive was filled with bumpy roads, hot air and flat tires. When we finally arrived to lunch, we quickly consumed the food, and listened to a speech by the leader of the new Vietnamese students. We then settled into the hotel, and sorted pills in preparation for the next day of clinic. I am very excited to see the new site, and work with this new group of college students.