#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..."

#words

#abouttoday...

all the words i have written about Ha Long Bay do not justify it's breathtaking beauty... after my first night onboard the ship, early in the morning i was noticing everything, seeing everything and i wrote this:

all ships sailing
and there is now no difference 
between the shore and the sky
all is white
floating
wanting to stay
to wait
when there is time 
to wait
to stay
to hope
but hope is not hope when having
no, hope is grafted into longing
eyes closed now
white light, brilliant, dances around me
i want to pull it in
and keep it inside me
for when the fragile me
is eroded in parts again;
this bright light, brilliant
will shine through the gaps
the holes, the spaces, the pain
and when there is nothing else
this white light, brilliant, shall remain — at Ha Long Bay.