-^-for posterity-^-

the youth union was celebrating its anniversary. there were to be small tents set up for each class and long, long nights of fun.

i don’t know what the function of the youth union is nor am i exactly sure how old it is. i would guess it’s somewhere around 30. i would guess its job is to further the desires of the youth whatever they might be.

the tents were each unique and did not at all resemble a tent as we would imagine it. you can’t buy a tent like this at wal-mart. each class went about the exhausting task of creating their own, specific tent. most classes brought long bamboo poles and an old, large tarp. some of the tents were thin and tall. other tents were squat and wide. they each had a unique personality. the vietnamese flag flew from the top of each and inside there was a framed photo of ho chi minh.

the campus instantly transformed into what looked like a refugee camp with a million red and gold flags waving in the breeze. the celebration began sometime after supper and stretched long into the night.

julie, jota and i (she’s a new volunteer here from britain working with vso) made our way to the camp around ten. it was dark and we couldn’t find the english department. the atmosphere was electric. there was movement and noise everywhere and it was all unique. each tent was lit up like a christmas tree and people were happily strolling from one tent to another. we found the english department tents snuggly pressed against the back corner of the security fence.

the next six hours or so were spent walking from tent to tent talking to the students and listening to their questions. for students who normally go to bed around nine or ten at night, staying up until dawn is daunting. some were wide-eyed and energetic. others simply gave in and fell asleep on the ground. some walked around in a daze pretending they weren’t tired but not able to hide the exhaustion in their eyes.

there are three different third year classes and one second year class that i teach. we sat in circles and played games and talked. game one: put a bunch of requests in balloons and hang them from the middle of the room. sit in a circle and take turns urging people to go up to the balloons, pop one and comply with what was written on the slip of paper. most requests were directed at the opposite sex. “go up to the person in the room that you like the most and tell them why.” “find the person you think is the most lovely and dance in the middle of the circle like two birds.” “find someone and pinch them hard.” the students would spend an incredible amount of time selecting who they liked the most. game two: sit in a circle and make up teams of three. each team picks an animal and is assigned a noise. there are three noises each group must make: tac, si and bum. after bum is said that person names another group and they continue the trend. the group is out if they call on a group that doesn’t exist, take too much time or don’t respond when their animal is called. game three: sit in a circle and ask jon as many questions and you can muster up. ask him questions that put him on the spot and make him feel uncomfortable. make sure he is always reeling but stills feels obligated to stay.

and that was the night. i stayed with them until four in the morning and took jota home (who had an incredible reserve of energy and kept digging in the dirt and making a mess). surprisingly, most of the students were still very active. some had fallen asleep in groups but they were tormented by those who stayed awake. i was glad to be able to return to my room and sleep in peace.