By Francesca Peris
Photos by Joanna Maria
Having had an exhausting week, today was an amazingly ‘chilled’ out relaxing day. Most of us slept through the morning, only waking up around noon to grab a quick bite and continue to explore the unseen side of Saigon. The weather did not help speed up our process of getting ready thus leaving us as ‘blur as Dory’.
Hence our first and only stop for the day was to Caritas. In Latin, caritas stands for ‘charity’, which is exactly what these good hearted Vietnamese have devoted their lives to. To my surprise, all the speakers were able to communicate in proficient English which facilitated the question and answer session smoothly. I was very impressed by the passion, dedication and humility of this group of people who have committed their lives to serving to God’s calling.
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| A short explanation of the work before the main session |
Being a Catholic myself, I was touched by the lengths that they are willing to go through to help the poor and needy, especially since it is not an easy task to get governmental approval for such projects here in Saigon. Most projects are held internally, and all donations come from fellow devotees as well as volunteers from around the world. It is amazing how these people are putting their time and effort into helping the people in Vietnam live a peaceful life.
However I was a tiny bit disappointed for not being able to visit their church as we were all looking forward to that experience. Personally, I was looking forward to having a quick minute or two of alone time in church. I am not super religious, but this trip has left me with a constant longing to be in a place of worship.
Soon after the meeting was over, the study group walked across to a nearby coffee shop named Nguyen Café, where we sat on the balcony while having authentic Vietnamese tea. Some spent a little more on overpriced coffee, but really, what’s wrong with spending a little more on coffee you can’t get anywhere else but in Vietnam. Any who, words were flying across narrow pathways, gossip in the air, carbon dioxide as well and harmless teasing added up to create beautiful ambiance.
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| Enjoying the company |
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| Laughter and merriment |
The leaves, yes the leaves, weren't just doing us a great job by providing us fresh air. It made the place feel like an English tea garden. Cyren, being an insect lover, was amazed and decided to pick up some lessons from Vivien. Thus two beautiful handmade grasshoppers were born. The whole bunch of us decided to stampede down the narrow staircase leaving behind “woos” and “hahas”.
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| Cyren’s ‘love’ grasshopper. |
When we got back I found myself having an entire evening to myself and being a sleepyhead, I decided to take much needed nap. Today I also had the added misfortune of being ill. Unfortunately for me and my plans of napping, Cultural Night practices were taking place with full steam and the singing group (consisting of an interesting blend of talents), with their “Shooobeeedooobappp, app app app, app, Shalalala, Shalalala” came across to me as “Shalalalala, in the morninggggg, Shalalala, time to rise and shine”, and I resigned all hope of sleeping. Today I also had the added misfortune of being ill. But with constant bugging by my friend we decided to venture out to get some local delights. On the way I could not help craving for home food like ‘Indomee’ and ‘Maggie mee goreng tak mahu sayur’ (fried Maggi mee without vegetables) eventually giving in to the Vietnamese version of ‘meehoon soup’ which we tapau-ed (take away). While eating we shared intellectual gossip and updated each other of the latest dirt on everyone. We were almost done, but not quite, because I just remembered that I had to type out this diary entry! So, yeah people, day five in a nut shell, Francesca, signing out. Jumpa Lagi. Sayonara, Adios, and See you tomorrow for another round of journeying with the crazy Saigon explorers.
Francesca Anna Peris, 22, currently an undergraduate at Monash Malaysia, pursuing a Communications major. Her favorite quote:
‘Beauty itself is but the sensible image of the Infinite’ - Francis Bacon
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