#tobeunderstood...

#abouttoday...

"3 and a half hours later, we had arrived. it was like Hue had been swallowed up by a giant cloud. A white fog covered the entire providence and i loved breathing in the chill from the air... we walked into the direction that we thought the city was in, after successful avoiding the friendly locals [as in a little too friendly, as in creepy]. we stopped to get some street food and it was super delicious. Pho and other noodle options, the meal was 20.000VND- $1. I enjoyed it so much, i paid for Dennys meal and gave them a tip, they kept trying to hand it back to me, they didn't understand but once they did they kept repeating "cam on" [thank you] and i got slightly uncomfortable, it felt as though all the people on the corner of that street were looking at me, i ran away...well i walked away- quickly...

we walked for a really long time, in fact, it wasn't that long at all, it just seemed long as we were carrying everything we brought to this country. We were walking along the path, by the river, when in a nearby park i saw a group of Vietnamese, around my age, signing to each other. They saw me look as i was walking by, one of them waved, i waved back and signed "hello, im from Australia and im studying auslan- Australian sign language" they all left the park and came to meet me on the footpath. We talked for about 20 mins while Denny waited patiently and i interpreted some of what they were saying. I was surprised at how much we could understand each other, i showed them some Vietnamese signs, id learnt at the cafe in Da Nang, earlier that day...I was reminded of my sign school class, and the privilege it is to share time with those people four days a week. The Vietnamese kids invited me back to the park tomorrow at 4.30pm and hopefully that will work out, its just hard to say cos im planning to take the night bus to Hanoi at 5pm but haven't booked yet. i walked away from that interaction feeling great about life. They could understand me more than anyone ive met here..."

#stay...

February 25 near Hoi An, Vietnam · 

#abouttoday

"i am not happy here... In Hanoi. I miss Hue already. i keep thinking its best to move on, safer or something and then when i get to the next place, i feel it wasn't enough, that i moved on too soon. 

the Vietnamese ATM ate my only bank card and making those calls to ANZ and Visa cash emergency was difficult. My phone being long gone, borrowing a phone, the line breaking up, the disconnect, the calling back, the line breaking up again and yelling [not in an angry way, in a deliberate way] the personal details, numbers; things i care nothing for but are attached to me whether i like it or not...

i like the traditional Vietnamese coffee, it has character, a bite to it; almost like a liqueur but of course when it comes to coffee not much can come close to Melbourne quality. Fried eggs for breakfast and a man across the cafe, also from a foreign country, watching me. i should drink more water... so much has happened and ive written so much but there are still things ive missed and i think to myself "did i already write that down and its coming back to me or am i keeping it in mind, as to remember to write it out?"

i loved the hostel in Hue and the pregnant lady who owned it and was due to have her baby on my birthday. i loved that massage [i would have never thought that someone standing on you could be so beneficial], i loved that annoying coffee man who stood on the corner and asked me in for coffee every time i walked by. i loved that street food that i can't describe, that i went back for 4 times in one day. i loved my new Vietnamese friends from the deaf community that i met in the park by the river. i loved riding the motorbike around, getting lost and seeing all the different shades of green.#imisshue [#itsaplace]

Dennys said if she was me she would be crying and crying and crying- they were here exact words... 

Maybe that's the thing about moving on too quickly- maybe you miss something, something that was meant for you, something worth hanging around for. And being brave enough to stay even though you might get hurt... we'll thats life really isn't it... and life is very hard and very beautiful."

#adventurehands

its been seven days since i started my 2.5 year journey into the world of Australian Sign Language. I find it creative and enchanting... it's a transparent space where your communication failures and successes are brought to the surface and there is something very vulnerable in that. Our teachers are deaf and we communication with our hands, with our face. It's a learning environment unlike any other.

In many ways i feel like a child again, yet now i'm completely aware that i'm discovering things for the first time. Every common noise is heightened; the sound of pen to paper, someone drinking from a water bottle, even breath and breathing but the silence is still louder than any of that. The room is full of  the sound of things we've never put thought into before, because we can hear them. I can't imagine what it would be like to never hear someone sing or to feel the beat but never hear the music...
Even now I'm starting to see things differently, I feel a change in me already- the way i see things, my senses and the ability to observe and read behaviors. Its a powerful thing to be able to communicate effectively in this way and this study will open up, for me, a whole new community of people to know and love. 
A language so expressive and beautiful should be learnt by all. Imagine how much more effective we  could communicate if we were aware and controlled our face and hands, our body language.

the silence is deafening, deafeningly beautiful...