1st Week in Washington DC

Time flies! It's already a week since I have been in Washington DC. Living in a dorm isn't as bad as one would think it would be. It' s true that I have not lived in a dorm for the past 2 years, but as I am familiar with dorm living it just makes me nostalgic of my undergraduate days. I also like small spaces...maybe it's because I grew up in NYC?

We met some outstanding people this past week. Every day just reinforces my desire to serve my country. I feel like I'm finally in my element. There's lots of work to be done but I feel it's good productive work. Even after a 13 hour day I have the energy to hang out with friends. I finally understand when people say. "I can't believe I am getting paid to wake up every day to do what I love".


Rangel Fellows from my cohort at a Welcome Dinner


Having lunch with Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Donovan,
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Puerto Rico, Latino Partnership Leadership Fellowship

So this post comes very late - not a surprise, huh? I have been letting work consume me and that is not good!

From July 25th until August 1st I went on a fellowship trip to Puerto Rico with my Latino Partnership Leadership class. It was an amazing experience. This was my second time to Puerto Rico but this time under very different circumstances. Last year, I went with my best friend and my roommate and simply said- it was a vacation. However, this fellowship trip was enlightening and life changing. To say that a trip could change your life in simply a week seems ludicrous, but believe me when I say that it did.

Friendships were strengthened and some new ones were made. I can now say that I have a family away from home and that I have people that I feel connected to and who I know will have my back no matter what. These are people who understand my struggles and my uncertainties because they've had them too. For the first time, I feel like I am getting closer to being more honest and accepting with myself.

This trip is probably the catalyst to many good things to come and to changing the way that I view myself and the world around me. When I went to Puerto Rico I saw a proud nation of people who would do anything to hold on to their culture and values. They were all very passionate and hard working individuals who were a part of this journey of ours. As a Latina who grew up in the South Bronx, I always hated being Latina. I hated living where I lived. I hated being so dark skinned. Yet, this trip enabled me to do some self reflection and I realized that, these are not things that I should be ashamed of, these are things that I should be proud of. I should be proud of being a Latina who came from the South Bronx and who graduated magna cum laude from a top university. I should be proud of my indigenous background that has afforded me such tan skin. I should be proud of being a successful Latina at a time when Latinos are being persecuted and being looked down upon.

Ok, enough reflection. If I do it too much I will start to feel uncomfortable. This whole being human and having feelings thing is tough on my psyche. I am going to try to take things one day at a time while indulging in some much needed self improvement.

Some pictures below.




La Guancha in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Just beautiful! Took the picture from a tower.





Virginia (left), Karla (center), Me (right)
Some of my LPI girls at El Morro



















That's me in Loiza, Puerto Rico at the coconut mask maker's home.

Dominican Republic, Paying a Visit to Dad

So I spent 11 days, from November 15th until Nov. 26th in Dominican Republic. The main purpose of the trip was to visit my father. Unfortunately, the internet was no where near as abundant as it was in Viet Nam. I was very anxious before I left for the D.R. because the last time that I had visited I was 7 years old (it's been 15 years). I also have mixed feelings about the trip as I was able to do what I set out to do, which was to visit my father, but at the same time it wasn't all fun and games.

By day 2 my dad contracted conjunctivitis (pink eye) from a family member I suppose and by day 4 I had it too. I couldn't go out when it was sunny, so he and I had to wait until the sun went down so that the sun wouldn't aggrevate our condition. Luckily, my condition lasted for 4 days and not the whole trip. Though, it was also very rainy (more so than I had anticipated), I was still able to see a bit. I went to Santiago, Puerto Plata and the capital, Santo Domingo.

In December, hopefully I will be off to Cancun, Mexico for a week. I am very anxious and excited. I anticipate that it will be an interesting experience.

Life After Viet Nam

I got a bit bored today so I decided to read over some of my blog and was thus struck with inspiration! I should at least write one post on, "life after Viet Nam". For me, life is not so bad! I have a great internship lined up for the next six months with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Philadelphia. I will be doing something with small business development and Latin American trade. Viet Nam now seems like a dream...Sometimes I find myself looking at pictures just to remind myself that it was real and that, no it was not a dream. However, I have found that it is a great conversation starter! haha!

I still keep in contact with my Vietnamese host mom in Can Tho and her family. My 16 year old host sister is taking the high school entrance exam soon so she is studying non stop. Then there is my Vietnamese host sister is Saigon (HCMC). I don't have her email so I will have to get a calling card to call her. She is coming to America soon. She will be here for a month doing some sort of leadership conference with other students from all over South East Asia. I feel sad when I think of her. On the last week of my stay in Viet Nam I found out she has Lupus. She is such a bright girl and so hard working too! I promised her that if she got sick while in the States that I would do all that I could to help her. I just hope it doesn't come to that. I want her to be happy and to enjoy her stay in the States.
Next Spring I will be graduating... It seems like life is just full of one phase after another... It's interesting and amazing, yet at the same time quite scary.
Henry told me the other day (Father's day) that he is tired of telling people that I am his girlfriend and would like it to be his fiancee from now on. I guess he is thinking about THAT. I guess it can't be helped, we have been together for 4 years. However, I am not as impatient as I used to be. Something like that can wait. It won't change how we feel and it shouldn't change how things are (unless it is another positive change).

I think my next target country will be somewhere in Latin America though I really want to go to Korea, Thailand and Japan (to practice my Japanese).
I definitely want to go back to Viet Nam. Hopefully in 2010 if I get a fellowship through Princeton in Asia.
Surprisingly, I have yet to do a road trip of the USA. Maybe this too should be on my list.

To those who are reading this:
Don't be afraid to take a chance, because otherwise how will you know if it was the experience that your life needed? Don't live in regret.

Back Home!

I am back in the states yay! I am really happy but I also feel a little strange. I am pretty much back to doing what I used to do. I am back to my "normal" routine. Yet, things seem so strange! I am currently in Philadelphia as I will probably live her with Henry throughout the summer and if I get this co-op which I REALLY want, I will be here for 6 months. I am pleasantly surprised but kind of scared in terms of how things have changed. My dad is thinking of going back to his country and selling his lands probably next year. My mom actually has a job. My sister got her driver's permit and is taking driving lessons. She is also looking to buy a car. Henry is currently on co-op and actually has become quite serious and kind of old in my eyes. So many things have happened since I have been gone! Apparently, there is a rice shortage? Coming from Viet Nam I have to say that is pure bs. However, there WILL BE a shortage in terms of the market if people freak out and get into a hoarding mentality where then people will buy amounts of rice that they don't need because they THINK there is a food shortage. Funny how the economy works huh? Thankfully eating food has not been a problem. I thought I would get sick or something because I had gotten used to eating Vietnamese food for the past 3 months but then again America is so much cleaner and restaurants have standards here.
I see my parents this weekend. Yes, I have not seen my parents yet but that's because I have a co-op interview in Philly on Friday with the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (gphcc). I am happy to see them but at the same time I don't want to stay there too long. I think I would lose my mind if I stayed there for more than two days. I have gotten used to being away from them and having my freedom. I am 21 years old and I want to continue to do as I please. When I come home what usually happens is that my parents (specifically my mom) are very nice but then after two days my mom tends to lose her cool and things tend to go downhill from there.
I seem to compare a lot of things to Viet Nam; I find this to be very annoying. I am hoping that I am not annoying Henry with it. For the past two days a lot of what I say usually entails the sentence, 'in Vietnam...'.
Life is so much more relaxed here. I mean life in America in general is pretty stressful but when I compare it to the things that I did in Vietnam then it doesn't seem so bad. hmm, let's see how I will be in a few months! However, I must say that since Vietnam I have acquired a level of self confidence and focus that I did not previously posses; It's great! Vietnam has definitely sparked my interest in traveling, to new and 'exotic' places but I have to say that for me, life in America is wonderful.

Burma Has Been Hit By a Cyclone - 5 Days Till My Return

Yesterday I got in to Saigon from Can Tho City with Jenni. It was pouring when we got in. It was raining so heavily that it didn't look like we were crossing a street, but more like we were trying to cross a river! Apparently, a cyclone hit Burma/Myanmar on Saturday and I did not hear about it until yesterday. Then when I told Jenni she told me she just found out too and that she was worried because her brother was in Burma when it happened. It is now Monday morning and it seems as though just now America is getting word of it. Thankfully when I woke up this morning Jenni sent me a text message telling me that her brother was ok! Thank God! Tomorrow I give my ISP presentation and I have to make sure to get a couple of binded copies of it before May 10! It's 21 pages, about the minimum which is 20 but oh well! I just couldn't write anymore...
I CAN'T BELIEVE I AM GOING BACK! It's been 3 months already?!!

Viet Nam: It is What the Doctor Should have Ordered

"You are a student, why did you spend so much money(10 dollars!)on this hair clip for your mother?"

"Because I can make money at any time but my mother won't be around forever." After saying this which I thought was only natural, I made my homestay grandmother cry (she was so touched).

I think Viet Nam may have made me into a more considerate and kind person. I am finally starting to like the type of person that I am becoming. I suppose three and a half months away from home and being in a foreign country where you learn to speak the language because English simply won't do can do that to a person.

I am so excited to see my parents, my sister, henry and all of my friends!
8 days and 14 hours until my scheduled return to the states!