Harvey Scholar Travels - Vy Returning to Vietnam
Dear friends,
For the summer, fall, and winter of 2017, I had a grand trip planned out. I traveled to Guatemala, Vietnam, and Australia, in that order. My summer in Guatemala, I spent with my boyfriend, David LaPorte, who was doing his Masters’ research on risk perception of landslides in underprivileged communities. I spent most of my time helping him with his research, whether that be conducting interviews, coordinating for a team of Mines students to come in the summer (Travis Ramos, another Harvey scholar, was a part of this group), and learning Spanish.
My time in Guatemala was very enjoyable between the research and weekend travels that led to taking photos like this:
When I arrived in Vietnam, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I did not fulling comprehend what it would mean for me to go back to my home country since I have left in 2005. I thought things will be easy. I would have a great place to stay if I am with my aunt, and I will just fit in with all the other Vietnamese people. Unfortunately, I did not fit in. So I started to draw.
The above drawing is of my boyfriend on the left, me in the middle, and my Vietnamese professor on the right. This represents how the Western and Eastern culture has affected me, and how I am not sure where to look but up.
It was hard to find the answers to my questions. And I think these answers are fluid, changing with additional time and experience. But I was able to identify what was most important to me: my family and the memories of my past in Vietnam. So I drew them.
Perhaps what I learned the most after my trip is how the time for self-reflection, self-exploration is just as important as exploring the world. I am much more aware of myself and my identity now. I am much more comfortable in my own skin and confident in my abilities. I hope that my story will encourage others to also seek time and adventures with the purpose of self-exploration to hopefully reach self-love.
Sincerely,
Vy
For the summer, fall, and winter of 2017, I had a grand trip planned out. I traveled to Guatemala, Vietnam, and Australia, in that order. My summer in Guatemala, I spent with my boyfriend, David LaPorte, who was doing his Masters’ research on risk perception of landslides in underprivileged communities. I spent most of my time helping him with his research, whether that be conducting interviews, coordinating for a team of Mines students to come in the summer (Travis Ramos, another Harvey scholar, was a part of this group), and learning Spanish.
My time in Guatemala was very enjoyable between the research and weekend travels that led to taking photos like this:
There was a lot of turbulent things going on in my life at this time. Just like that volcano erupting in the distant in that photo. I know that it is happening, but everything seems so distant and far away. I was able to keep the big picture in mind, and not let things get to me too much.
When I arrived in Vietnam, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I did not fulling comprehend what it would mean for me to go back to my home country since I have left in 2005. I thought things will be easy. I would have a great place to stay if I am with my aunt, and I will just fit in with all the other Vietnamese people. Unfortunately, I did not fit in. So I started to draw.
At first it was just clothes….
The art showed me how I really felt. Chained. Trapped in my own body. It was not until this point that I started to ask myself why I was unhappy. This was not what I wanted when I planned on traveling to Vietnam. I started asking myself some harder questions about identity: am I really Vietnamese? Do I want to be fully Vietnamese? Can I be accepted as who I am, a person straddling two different cultures: Vietnamese and American?
The above drawing is of my boyfriend on the left, me in the middle, and my Vietnamese professor on the right. This represents how the Western and Eastern culture has affected me, and how I am not sure where to look but up.
It was hard to find the answers to my questions. And I think these answers are fluid, changing with additional time and experience. But I was able to identify what was most important to me: my family and the memories of my past in Vietnam. So I drew them.
Perhaps what I learned the most after my trip is how the time for self-reflection, self-exploration is just as important as exploring the world. I am much more aware of myself and my identity now. I am much more comfortable in my own skin and confident in my abilities. I hope that my story will encourage others to also seek time and adventures with the purpose of self-exploration to hopefully reach self-love.
Sincerely,
Vy
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