My palms are sweaty, wide grin,

I’m deliriously happy.

Heart palpitated in trepidation

Like a student about to fail his examination,

As I looked at the calendar.

To excitement I surrender.

Because it is just two more days, two more days

To an adventure that will set our hearts ablaze

With exhilaration.

 

Over the seas we will travel, to a destination

So near yet so far, not by distance

But by values, attitudes, cultures.

Not just a holiday, not just a complimentary vacation,

Not just a freshman trip.

It’s an opportunity, I see

A chance to learn, a time for new experiences,

A privilege.

 

To develop myself as a

Scholar, Global Citizen, Human.

By providing us the most intellectually stimulating environment,

Not in a classroom of high IQs, but

The real world.

Behind closed doors, flipping through textbooks,

There is only so much to learn.

But facing the locals, walking the same ground,

The takeaways are

Infinite.

 

We will see for ourselves, through

Unfiltered lens,

The raw touches of the Vietnamese way of life.

What they practice, conventional or not

How they perceive, common or not

Why they preserve, critical or not

 

We will learn for ourselves, by

Approaching

With an open mind and sensitivity

The old street vendor, whose life stories could fill the pages of a book

The young undergraduate, whose ideas could bring changes

The ministerial, whose work could better his people

We will walk for ourselves, down the very

Path of the ethnic minorities

Who live in the highlands, away from the

Bustling urban life,

Residing amongst the mountains and rice fields

To the cacophony of nature’s voice.

 

Knowledge is gained first-hand.

 

My very first day of school was

A lesson taught by my mother.

On this exchange, I will have my lessons

In the rice fields, on the sidewalks

On this exchange, my teachers will be

The old street vendor,

The tribal-clothed farmer,

The children of Sapa,

As they show me, and teach me

How similar, yet different we can be

In this global village.

 

Relationships I hope to build

On this journey,

With my peers, with my mentors, with the locals

As we will experience the highs and lows together, literally.

I believe bonds forged in a

Foreign land, will be unbreakable.

But more importantly,

Recognition and acceptance of

Diverse cultures are what I hope to achieve.

A keen eye for observations,

A golden mouth for respect,

An open mind for constant learning.

 

The fragrance of Vietnamese black coffee,

Sapa mountain air as fresh as a freshie,

I can already smell them.

Because it is just one more day, one more day

To my first ever homestay.