ISL was a good week, and I enjoyed my time in Ben Tre and Ho Chi Minh
I got to know new people.
I did some constuction work.
painting. scraping the doors and the walls. leveling the ground. cementing.
things that i may never have a chance to do in my lifetime.
and I was lucky to have such an experience.
I got to know more people.
I talked to friends, I talked to kids, I talked to parents.
It made me understand more things, and in the same time it brought me many questions.
I enjoyed the places and the weather.
it was such a long time since i came to the south.
the last time was too long ago, and i actually forgot most of it.
ben tre was nice province, quite peaceful.
but we did not have chances to explore it much.
the countryside was nice. the road was a bit small for the bus, and sometimes the bus had to stop to put up the electrical line overhead.
i always loved the views of the countryside.
the cooling winds breezed through, slightly slanted the whole rice field, the rustling sounds of the leaves and the golden-red colour of the sun in the sunset.
relaxing and tranquilizing, it eased my mind and my whole body.
the school we had to work in was not really the kind that i expected.
it did not seem like it actually needs help.
but it did not matter. we came to work and we worked. diligently.
the food was enjoyable. A lot of different dishes, and quite the unfamiliar kind.
the milk coffee was more of milk than coffee. sweet to the core.
visited the families of poor people.
it kind of pained me to see those things.
they looked sad, they looked poor, they looked lonely and they looked pitiful.
and it was painful to be not able to help them.
played some old children game.
brought back memories of my childhood.
sugarcoated childhood of a well-fed kid.
i watched the tv again. boys over flowers korean version=))
it was quite entertaining though.
and the sight of 8 guys watching kungfu panda together was quite hilarious.
ho chi minh city was quite pretty, a bit messy though.
i learned that shopping is totally not my things.especially in the markets.
the smell, the messiness and the crowd really took me aback.
i watched the people racing after vetnam east timor match.
quite something unique in vietnam.
it may seem queer, but somehow it made me happy
if i had a motorbike i would definitely join them.
eating late at night, talking random stuffs at 2 in the morning.
chicken feet rocks.
i will definitely miss this very short week.

something a guy said during the trip really ticked my mind
the kids are very easily fulfilled. they only need a few marbles to play, and they will be happy. not like us,we always demand things like ipods, psps, and can never be fulfilled .
well it is really truly absolutely true.
we really demand too much.
we should look at the kids and learn from them.
we complain about the school, about studying. they have to struggle a lot but they still come to school without complaints.
we complain about our parents intervening too much into our life. their parents have to work the whole day and they have to play by themselves.
they take the initiative to come up and talk with the strangers, and they offer to help us, sacrifice their short breaks between lessons.
we say that we miss being a little kid.
what's so nice about being a kid?
the memories of being pampered? the nice times spending with the family, with the neighbourhood kids, or with friends in school?
and now you feel irritated if your parents complain about you. you skip the time with people around you to do your own things..
i really think it's all about yourself. cause you are more appreciative when you are a kid.
you are happy if people compliment you, give you something, or just spend some time with you.
so simple, but it can make your life so much enjoyable.
i should learn to appreciate my life more.

for some unknown reasons, i tend to enjoy manga like Usagi Drop and My Girl more.
i don't know why, or just because the ultimate adorableness of those kids.
well, kids really make me think a lot nowadays