Another thirty minutes. I'm going to write about my recent trip to Eagle Island with the people in my guitar class. Not just to jot down the event, it's meaningful to me in some ways because I discovered something interesting about myself from that trip.
To begin, I'm not the type of people who easily adapt to new environment. Instead, in a new place, I often stay back, observing people and atmosphere, if I feel like it, I will participate actively, if not, I just retreat, and find the way to escape from it. There are many times I feel lost in the crowd, not that I can't fake to be open and friendly, it's just I don't want to. That's the reason why I hardly get out of my comfort zone to join new activities.
When I heard about the picnic held by my guitar teacher (he is actually only 1 year older than me), I was excited. But a part of me was reluctant, what if the people there were so wild, what if they were so noisy, what if they were so annoying and ignorant, what if I couldn't fit in and made this event another forgettable memory. But another part of me whispered: just do it, then I registered anyway. And when I went to the warm up meeting before the picnic, my doubts dispersed. From their halos I could tell (don't ask me how, I just know it) that most of the people are not normal, they are smart, they are thoughtful, they are well - educated, well, it seemed good.
And then came the day the picnic took place. We rode our bikes for 40 kms out of Saigon, then took the boat to the island. It was actually an islet in the middle of a lake, very small, one can finish his round around the islet for 30 mins. They had basic accommodations there, a football field, a small restaurant and a lot of trees. We arrived, took rest, and had lunch with local fish and shrimp caught from the lake. It was delicious, partly because we all were hungry after the ride. Then it rained cats and dogs and the wind blew bows and spoons. We took a nap while waiting for the rain to stop, then went to the football field for some group games.
Needless to say how dirty the games went, full of powders and water, let alone the wet ground after the rain. Initially I didn't want to play but after a while I found myself actively involved. I was surprised to see many youngsters in the group experienced in activity organizing and team leading. My team won several games, especially the game with one person walks on two hands in the plank position with his legs held by another team member, went 10 meters to dig in a bow full of powder to find marbles. While other girls couldn't do that, I did the most of my team turns and felt super proud of myself, the personal training with my yoga teacher proved its effect. After finishing the games, we all were covered by powder and sweat, and friendship and fun. I actually felt close to some people in the group already, a tomboy girl in my team, the guitar teacher (he appeared to be cold and strict in the class, just like me), his best friend...
With the dirty clothes, we went to set up the tents and prepared the barbecue dinner. OMG I loved tents, and I love camping. So I jumped right into the place, eagerly pulled out the sticks, the canvas, and set it up. With the bbq, again I did zestfully, because I like cooking, and I also hate standing alone seeing people busy. Setting fire to the coal, putting food on the trays, grilling things. Then I went to have bath after other people finished and we all were ready for dinner. I put some more corn and sweet potato into the coal stove and served as dessert, and we enjoyed the cool dinner with grilled chicken, pork and vegetables.
Dinner finished with the official introduction from the group members, what they were doing, how did they get to know the guitar teachers (some of them were not guitar students but musicians and his friends). I didn't did my part quite well (I'm always embarrassed to talk about myself), but the guitar teacher told people afterward about my writing on Facebook and recommended them to check out some of my articles about education. Other people introduced themselves very impressively. I got to know that there were a lot of people were self - educated, special and talented. A boy in the group, he dropped out of school, went working for several companies, he could play piano, violin, harmonica, guitar of course, and is now a music teacher. My guitar teacher also gave up his university study and worked as a marketing/PR expert, then he was tired of corporate environment so he went teaching guitar instead, and now having a book publishing. (See what's going on with Vietnam's education).
All out of the sudden, someone pulled out the guitar, and harmonica, and some more guitars joined in, then we made a band. They played all the old music that I loved and some funny parody songs. We sang out loud at night, then play some more games for fun (The Yes/No game was the most hilarious, one has to answer yes or no for questions like "Before you engaged, did your fiancee know that you were gay" or "Besides chicken shit, do you eat cow shit"). There were a lot of jokes and laughter, and my stomach got hurt because of laughing so much.
Then the guitar teacher threw up a special game called car - wash. We stood in pairs, talked about impression and feeling with one another, then changed to the next one. I was surprised again, many people saw exactly who I am and liked me (not all, but I was happy to know it because I am always considered to be isolated). The harmonica boy told that his first impression about me was something passionate and confident, despite my small appearance, he didn't know where did my strength came from until my introduction. A girl told me that she admired me and wanted to learn many things from me. The tomboy girl told she was very happy getting to know me and being in my team. The teacher's best friend told me that he felt like knowing me for a long time already and that night was just like a dream he dreamed before because everything was so familiar. I was glad to know because I also felt the same about him. It's not gender attraction, but something harmonizing between souls that is very rare to happen, the people give me that feeling can be counted on the fingers of my one hand. And the guitar teacher. He told he was impressed by my determination, when I promised something I always finished it, when I attended class I was always on time, and when I decided something I always did my best to accomplish it, which is something he couldn't do (well I was not always determined and on time as I appeared to be, but I appreciated his ideas and would try to keep it). And he told he understood my struggle because he experienced the sorrow and pain, then he suggested me to develop myself through coaching and guiding people. From guiding people, I could find my path. And he was glad to have me joining the picnic because he knew I would love it. And we hugged, and I felt relieved from the struggle I had fought.
We stayed up until 2 in the morning, and went to sleep. I decided to sleep in the tent while other girls slept in the rooms, then 3 more girls joined me saying they wanted to sleep in the tent to but were afraid to sleep alone (haiz, thought I could have the whole tent for myself). Anyway, we had a good sleep after all.
5 AM, I was woken up by some voice talking outside. Other people already left the tent, I thought to sleep some more but then went out to see the sunrise. It was so nice in the island early in the morning, some birds singing peacefully, fresh wind blowing the trees, the horizon was inweaved with red, orange and blue color, the river was quiet, a small boat sleeping near the shore. I found a wooden swing to sit on and admired the scene and meditated in peace. Some people passed me by, and I was happy that they let me be alone. I knew that they were also in serenity themselves.
Well, it's over 30mins now again (I did check Facebook in between the write, too bad, will concentrate fully next time). To finish it, that morning, we went to the nearby island after breakfast and visited the fruit farm. The durian was so so so delicious that I bought a big one (I don't usually buy gift back home after a trip), then we rode back to the city, received the gift from the organizers (a picture of each person in the picnic), then said goodbye and went back home.
I went to have my bike fixed, back home at 5 in the afternoon. Then slept like a log.
To begin, I'm not the type of people who easily adapt to new environment. Instead, in a new place, I often stay back, observing people and atmosphere, if I feel like it, I will participate actively, if not, I just retreat, and find the way to escape from it. There are many times I feel lost in the crowd, not that I can't fake to be open and friendly, it's just I don't want to. That's the reason why I hardly get out of my comfort zone to join new activities.
When I heard about the picnic held by my guitar teacher (he is actually only 1 year older than me), I was excited. But a part of me was reluctant, what if the people there were so wild, what if they were so noisy, what if they were so annoying and ignorant, what if I couldn't fit in and made this event another forgettable memory. But another part of me whispered: just do it, then I registered anyway. And when I went to the warm up meeting before the picnic, my doubts dispersed. From their halos I could tell (don't ask me how, I just know it) that most of the people are not normal, they are smart, they are thoughtful, they are well - educated, well, it seemed good.
And then came the day the picnic took place. We rode our bikes for 40 kms out of Saigon, then took the boat to the island. It was actually an islet in the middle of a lake, very small, one can finish his round around the islet for 30 mins. They had basic accommodations there, a football field, a small restaurant and a lot of trees. We arrived, took rest, and had lunch with local fish and shrimp caught from the lake. It was delicious, partly because we all were hungry after the ride. Then it rained cats and dogs and the wind blew bows and spoons. We took a nap while waiting for the rain to stop, then went to the football field for some group games.
Needless to say how dirty the games went, full of powders and water, let alone the wet ground after the rain. Initially I didn't want to play but after a while I found myself actively involved. I was surprised to see many youngsters in the group experienced in activity organizing and team leading. My team won several games, especially the game with one person walks on two hands in the plank position with his legs held by another team member, went 10 meters to dig in a bow full of powder to find marbles. While other girls couldn't do that, I did the most of my team turns and felt super proud of myself, the personal training with my yoga teacher proved its effect. After finishing the games, we all were covered by powder and sweat, and friendship and fun. I actually felt close to some people in the group already, a tomboy girl in my team, the guitar teacher (he appeared to be cold and strict in the class, just like me), his best friend...
With the dirty clothes, we went to set up the tents and prepared the barbecue dinner. OMG I loved tents, and I love camping. So I jumped right into the place, eagerly pulled out the sticks, the canvas, and set it up. With the bbq, again I did zestfully, because I like cooking, and I also hate standing alone seeing people busy. Setting fire to the coal, putting food on the trays, grilling things. Then I went to have bath after other people finished and we all were ready for dinner. I put some more corn and sweet potato into the coal stove and served as dessert, and we enjoyed the cool dinner with grilled chicken, pork and vegetables.
Dinner finished with the official introduction from the group members, what they were doing, how did they get to know the guitar teachers (some of them were not guitar students but musicians and his friends). I didn't did my part quite well (I'm always embarrassed to talk about myself), but the guitar teacher told people afterward about my writing on Facebook and recommended them to check out some of my articles about education. Other people introduced themselves very impressively. I got to know that there were a lot of people were self - educated, special and talented. A boy in the group, he dropped out of school, went working for several companies, he could play piano, violin, harmonica, guitar of course, and is now a music teacher. My guitar teacher also gave up his university study and worked as a marketing/PR expert, then he was tired of corporate environment so he went teaching guitar instead, and now having a book publishing. (See what's going on with Vietnam's education).
All out of the sudden, someone pulled out the guitar, and harmonica, and some more guitars joined in, then we made a band. They played all the old music that I loved and some funny parody songs. We sang out loud at night, then play some more games for fun (The Yes/No game was the most hilarious, one has to answer yes or no for questions like "Before you engaged, did your fiancee know that you were gay" or "Besides chicken shit, do you eat cow shit"). There were a lot of jokes and laughter, and my stomach got hurt because of laughing so much.
Then the guitar teacher threw up a special game called car - wash. We stood in pairs, talked about impression and feeling with one another, then changed to the next one. I was surprised again, many people saw exactly who I am and liked me (not all, but I was happy to know it because I am always considered to be isolated). The harmonica boy told that his first impression about me was something passionate and confident, despite my small appearance, he didn't know where did my strength came from until my introduction. A girl told me that she admired me and wanted to learn many things from me. The tomboy girl told she was very happy getting to know me and being in my team. The teacher's best friend told me that he felt like knowing me for a long time already and that night was just like a dream he dreamed before because everything was so familiar. I was glad to know because I also felt the same about him. It's not gender attraction, but something harmonizing between souls that is very rare to happen, the people give me that feeling can be counted on the fingers of my one hand. And the guitar teacher. He told he was impressed by my determination, when I promised something I always finished it, when I attended class I was always on time, and when I decided something I always did my best to accomplish it, which is something he couldn't do (well I was not always determined and on time as I appeared to be, but I appreciated his ideas and would try to keep it). And he told he understood my struggle because he experienced the sorrow and pain, then he suggested me to develop myself through coaching and guiding people. From guiding people, I could find my path. And he was glad to have me joining the picnic because he knew I would love it. And we hugged, and I felt relieved from the struggle I had fought.
We stayed up until 2 in the morning, and went to sleep. I decided to sleep in the tent while other girls slept in the rooms, then 3 more girls joined me saying they wanted to sleep in the tent to but were afraid to sleep alone (haiz, thought I could have the whole tent for myself). Anyway, we had a good sleep after all.
5 AM, I was woken up by some voice talking outside. Other people already left the tent, I thought to sleep some more but then went out to see the sunrise. It was so nice in the island early in the morning, some birds singing peacefully, fresh wind blowing the trees, the horizon was inweaved with red, orange and blue color, the river was quiet, a small boat sleeping near the shore. I found a wooden swing to sit on and admired the scene and meditated in peace. Some people passed me by, and I was happy that they let me be alone. I knew that they were also in serenity themselves.
Well, it's over 30mins now again (I did check Facebook in between the write, too bad, will concentrate fully next time). To finish it, that morning, we went to the nearby island after breakfast and visited the fruit farm. The durian was so so so delicious that I bought a big one (I don't usually buy gift back home after a trip), then we rode back to the city, received the gift from the organizers (a picture of each person in the picnic), then said goodbye and went back home.
I went to have my bike fixed, back home at 5 in the afternoon. Then slept like a log.
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