"Its a small world after all..."

I just got back from a wonderful wonderful weekend! Hold on to your seats, this is a random happening...so, my mom gets her hair cut in Redmond, WA by a lady named Heidi. Heidi has been in the states for almost 30 years but is originally from Vietnam! As it turns out, Heidi was due to make a trip back home which my mom found out a few weeks ago while...you guessed it...getting her haircut :) My mom proceeded to give Heidi my email address. Long story short, it just so happens that Danang is among one of the many stops along Heidi’s 2 week stay in the country. She was to fly into the city and then drive about 2 hours to a city called Hue. Her cousin (and family) lives there and Heidi was planning on spending 3-4 days doing some sightseeing. She invited me to come along; I at first declined because she was getting in on Sunday morning and I needed to be back Monday evening for class. Heidi and her counsin, absolutely insisted that I come and said that they would love it if I joined them (and that it would be no problem to get me back in time for class)...so I accepted.

Heidi’s cousin, cousin’s husband and daughter picked me up Sunday morning and so the adventure began. We went to the airport to pick up Heidi, Heidi’s sister, a friend from Saigon and then a Vietnamese couple (who were visitng from Renton, WA...crazy!). I was only with them for about 36 hours but we did so much and oh man did we eat! I thought I had been eating well while here (and I have been) but it sure did pale in comparison to the amazing food that we ate (Don Lewis- I totally thought of you, I think your “foodie” self would have been overjoyed by the feasts that we had :) The things that we did and the food that we ate were amazing...but what really made it such a spectacular weekend was the people that I shared it with...

There were multiple times over the weekend that I found myself tearing up at the breath taking generosity that these people showed me. In typical Vietnamese fashion (a “Vietnamese invite” usually means that the inviter pays but I didn’t know that this would apply for the entire trip!), they didn’t allow for me to pay for anything and I mean anything-not the 5 meals, not the countless coffees/beverages, not dessert, not the boat ride, not the hotel room...and to top it all off, they knew that I needed a purse so they took me to the market and had me pick one out and gave it to me as a gift! And just in case there is any confusion, allow me to make it clear...in no way was I just “tagging along” on this trip...they pampered me and catered to me...treated me like royalty! At every meal they made sure that the food was everything that I could eat and my last meal with them was at a special Vegetarian restaurant.

Through Heidi translating I came to understand that this family from Hue wants to take me in as a little sister, that is if I will accept. They said that I could come to Hue any weekend that I wanted...and the thing is, I really do believe that they meant every word! If I were literally to come every single weekend I think it would do nothing but please them...talk about generosity! They also invited me to come and be a part of their family for the New Year celebration in February. This celebration virtually shuts down the entire country. Many people, foreigners and Vietnamese alike have advised me to leave the country at this time unless I have a family to take me in (think, Christmas day for a week straight). All this to say, these people were honestly and sincerely, inviting me to be a part of their family.

I at one point over the weekend I told Heidi “Gosh, I am being SO spoiled” and she replied “No you’re not. You are family, we all love you. This is normal.” Wow.

Heidi and I began talking about the Vietnamese people and how hospitable they are...it was a pretty interesting conversation. She helped me understand that in Vietnam, versus the US...they don’t use a lot of words to communicate care but they sure do show it in their actions. Whereas in the states, sometimes we can say a lot of nice and flattering things...but I don’t know if our actions line up as much. We meet people for coffee, invite them out for a meal...but I don’t think that it is really a part of our culture to open up our homes and families...at least not to the extent that I witnessed within the past 48 hours.

This weekend served as a model for me. I want my life to be characterized by the same kind of generosity...and my hope is that it would flow as naturally and abundantly.

Grace and peace,

Kait