Hey Mom,
The little boys name was Ngoc pronounced (knock). He was the sweetest thing ever. He saw me right when I got off the bus smiled at me and grabbed my hand. He and I had an instant connection. Even when I went to the bathroom and I left him to play catch with one of the other high schoolers he came looking for me. He was so cute. We played a lot of frisbee and put stickers on each other. He also made some really cool things with the pipe cleaners. And he gave me like 60 hugs. I cried when i left the place. He even stood on the curb and waited till the bus left. He was so cute. The orphange was amazing and so was Ngoc. And I love Cambodia. It is sooo hot and the temples are soooo cool!!!! And no I have not lost anything, it just has been super busy. yesterday I got up went in the ocean and came back to the room to find that I was almost late for checking out. So, because of that and having to fly and going to bed at 8 that night I sadly did not get to email you. But it sounds like you would have been overloaded with reading another one of my emails. hahhah. Ohhh and one more thing, the temple we went to today looked like the temple of doom (Indiana Jones). hahah. I cannot wait to see you and the rest of the family either. And I cannot decide what I want for dinner, so many things sounds good. I'll ponder it tomorrow.
I love you,
[2010 Vietnam Traveler]
The little boys name was Ngoc pronounced (knock). He was the sweetest thing ever. He saw me right when I got off the bus smiled at me and grabbed my hand. He and I had an instant connection. Even when I went to the bathroom and I left him to play catch with one of the other high schoolers he came looking for me. He was so cute. We played a lot of frisbee and put stickers on each other. He also made some really cool things with the pipe cleaners. And he gave me like 60 hugs. I cried when i left the place. He even stood on the curb and waited till the bus left. He was so cute. The orphange was amazing and so was Ngoc. And I love Cambodia. It is sooo hot and the temples are soooo cool!!!! And no I have not lost anything, it just has been super busy. yesterday I got up went in the ocean and came back to the room to find that I was almost late for checking out. So, because of that and having to fly and going to bed at 8 that night I sadly did not get to email you. But it sounds like you would have been overloaded with reading another one of my emails. hahhah. Ohhh and one more thing, the temple we went to today looked like the temple of doom (Indiana Jones). hahah. I cannot wait to see you and the rest of the family either. And I cannot decide what I want for dinner, so many things sounds good. I'll ponder it tomorrow.
I love you,
[2010 Vietnam Traveler]
Curtis,
I just thought you might like to know that [traveler] has just begun her second year at [a California university] and has declared her major as International Studies. Since she traveled with the group to Vietnam last year, she has gone from having no clue as to what she wanted to do in school, or even where she was going to school, to pursuing an undergraduate International Studies degree and eventually an International Law degree. I have your trip to thank for all of this. When my daughter came back from Vietnam, she immediately started researching the five schools she had been accepted to and chose the one that best fit her new goals. What a trip! Thank you thank you thank you!
[an MIHS mom]
2008 Vietnam Trip
I just thought you might like to know that [traveler] has just begun her second year at [a California university] and has declared her major as International Studies. Since she traveled with the group to Vietnam last year, she has gone from having no clue as to what she wanted to do in school, or even where she was going to school, to pursuing an undergraduate International Studies degree and eventually an International Law degree. I have your trip to thank for all of this. When my daughter came back from Vietnam, she immediately started researching the five schools she had been accepted to and chose the one that best fit her new goals. What a trip! Thank you thank you thank you!
[an MIHS mom]
2008 Vietnam Trip
Mr. Johnston,
My friends just came back from the February Vietnam Trip and they are so different now and so excited about everything that I HAVE to get onto the April Trip! What do I have to do to go? Everybody has pictures of the cute orphans and I can’t believe I did not get my act together in time to go on that trip. Can I please get onto the April Trip?
[2009 graduate]
(she did go on the April Trip and is currently preparing for an internship for Summer 2011 in Ho Chi Minh City, working for Proctor and Gamble)
My friends just came back from the February Vietnam Trip and they are so different now and so excited about everything that I HAVE to get onto the April Trip! What do I have to do to go? Everybody has pictures of the cute orphans and I can’t believe I did not get my act together in time to go on that trip. Can I please get onto the April Trip?
[2009 graduate]
(she did go on the April Trip and is currently preparing for an internship for Summer 2011 in Ho Chi Minh City, working for Proctor and Gamble)
MI ’08 in Vietnam (article originally published in the Mercer Island Reporter)
By Kristen Muramoto
After a merciless, 13-hour flight, 39 exhausted Mercer Island high school students, myself included, and four teachers stumbled off the plane into a humid, Asian oasis. Anxiously shaking in my seat upon our bright-pink bus, I snapped photo after photo, from acres of rice patties to a sea of racing mopeds. Though jetlagged and over-heated, our Mercer Island crew highly anticipated the epic excursion ahead.
This year, 67 Mercer Island seniors on two trips hopped the flight to Vietnam to bring a ray of happiness to 252 Da Nang orphans and Dong Ha disabled students. Our Islanders delivered pipe cleaners, school supplies, new clothes, soccer balls, and a whopping $16,000, from individual fundraisers. At the Da Nang street orphanages, I developed a few new friendships with girls that immediately grabbed my hands and started conversations in very poor English. One could tell that just our presence and not the small packages of hair clips and colored pencils inspired the ear-to-ear grins on the children’s faces.
After visiting the orphanages and disabled school, we ventured into a Vietnam War museum where we learned the atrocities of Agent Orange, crawled through the cramped, Vinh Moc tunnels, and visited Ho Chi Minh’s tomb. We tried our skills on mopeds and haggled down prices at the Ben Thanh market. I was even awarded the nickname “the Hammer” for being the best bargainer on the trip.
As Day 10 loomed ever closer, I dreaded the flight home and pleaded to my teacher to let me stay another month or two. I went as far as asking our amazing tour guides if I could live with them for a while. Although they said yes, I came home anyway. And I would bet all of my numerous silk scarves that our high school students brought home not just thousands of amazing photos and some knock-off designer bags, but an array of everlasting memories from our immersion in history, culture, and philanthropy.
By Kristen Muramoto
After a merciless, 13-hour flight, 39 exhausted Mercer Island high school students, myself included, and four teachers stumbled off the plane into a humid, Asian oasis. Anxiously shaking in my seat upon our bright-pink bus, I snapped photo after photo, from acres of rice patties to a sea of racing mopeds. Though jetlagged and over-heated, our Mercer Island crew highly anticipated the epic excursion ahead.
This year, 67 Mercer Island seniors on two trips hopped the flight to Vietnam to bring a ray of happiness to 252 Da Nang orphans and Dong Ha disabled students. Our Islanders delivered pipe cleaners, school supplies, new clothes, soccer balls, and a whopping $16,000, from individual fundraisers. At the Da Nang street orphanages, I developed a few new friendships with girls that immediately grabbed my hands and started conversations in very poor English. One could tell that just our presence and not the small packages of hair clips and colored pencils inspired the ear-to-ear grins on the children’s faces.
After visiting the orphanages and disabled school, we ventured into a Vietnam War museum where we learned the atrocities of Agent Orange, crawled through the cramped, Vinh Moc tunnels, and visited Ho Chi Minh’s tomb. We tried our skills on mopeds and haggled down prices at the Ben Thanh market. I was even awarded the nickname “the Hammer” for being the best bargainer on the trip.
As Day 10 loomed ever closer, I dreaded the flight home and pleaded to my teacher to let me stay another month or two. I went as far as asking our amazing tour guides if I could live with them for a while. Although they said yes, I came home anyway. And I would bet all of my numerous silk scarves that our high school students brought home not just thousands of amazing photos and some knock-off designer bags, but an array of everlasting memories from our immersion in history, culture, and philanthropy.