Ngan, is one of my dearest friends. She was a fourth-year student at Quy Nhon University when I taught there 3 years ago. She was my first real friend in Vietnam and was my language tutor and cultural informant those first few months. Ngan and I both moved to Hanoi from Quy Nhon and were able to experience it together. Most people thought she was crazy to move to the North, but I was able to see her develop and thrive in her new surroundings. We only had each other during that time and I have some very sweet memories that I will always hold dear. When I left for the States, she took it the hardest. Friends and family in Vietnam don’t leave each other because the loyalty to stay together is so important. So when she heard that I was coming back, it was something very special for the both of us. She is now working for a Canadian company as an interpreter/secretary, sending home half of her paycheck to her family who lives in a rural area in the South-Central region (about 20 hours by train), and supporting two of her siblings who she invited to live with her in Hanoi to go to university. She is an amazing person. Last weekend, I went to her house for dinner. It was so exciting to see her have a place of her own (rented, of course)…though it is only a bedroom, shared by three, and a little cement square of a kitchen, it is more of a home than many places I’ve been. I enjoyed dinner (a 6 hour event) and the company of Ngan, her sister, brother, and boyfriend. We laughed, ate, and enjoyed being together. Now that is living a life of meaning.
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