What is supposed to be in a preface? Is a preface just a way to introduce the coming entries or should it give the reader an understanding of the purpose behind the blog? Either way I will use this preface to paint a picture of the thoughts I have had before meeting Vietnamese culture and my reasons behind exploring life there and wanting to give my donation – however not monetary.

Sitting on the train in Denmark watching how people tend to choose the seats as far from other passengers as possible, makes me start wondering. I am wondering if they just don’t want contact with other people or if we, as professor in intercultural communication, Geert Hofstede, claims, have one of the most individualistic cultures in the world. And does our individualistic culture mean that we don’t really care about how we are fortunate to be born in a country where the state supports our education, a country where we know that there will always be a range of safety nets catching us, if we happen to take a wrong step? I can’t help hoping that all the people on this train are donating some of their thoughts, experiences, expertise or money to the people around the world who were not born as fortunate. A trip to the supermarket sometimes makes my hopes fade slightly. I am not saying that ‘the saint Kiri’ is thinking about unfortunate people every minute of her day. But watching how people take extra cheese, extra bread, extra everything just because they can, experiencing how people can get upset about a small mistake, letting their anger out on the poor girl at the counter, tends to make me a tiny bit angry.

These people have everything they can ever dream of. Poor people in Ho Chi Minh City, and the provinces surrounding it, do not. The families in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City think that the best way to make money is by sending their children into the streets to ‘earn’. They think that they will lose their income if their children have to be in school during the day – and they may be right. If schools in the slums only teach the children how to be quiet and only are able to hire teachers who rarely are educated enough to teach the needed subjects, the children will not gain the knowledge and skills acquired when climbing the job ladder. This vicious circle keeps turning until the education level is raised and until families can actually see the benefit of other children getting a proper education.

Saigon Children’s Charity was created to support this cause and spending time in an individualistic culture has made me want to explore Asia in all its facets – which this time turned out to be in Vietnam. I have traveled a great deal in Asia and have not stopped asking the families I have met and the random people in planes, shops and elsewhere for reasons why they think they do what they do the way they do it. I have had long talks and discussion about everyday life and have experienced the differences between the way I think and the way they do. I will attempt to take up a range of issues during my stay in Vietnam and I hope you will join my discussions and give me your ideas and thought throughout.

Before I leave you, I will use this preface to express my love to my dear friends who host me around the world. Sunny, Daughty and Simrat, thank you so much for spending time and energy trying to explain Indian ways and culture to me. I know I sometimes was a pain in the neck, but I hope you enjoyed our discussions, or at least the outcome of them, as much as I did. You have taught me some great lessons – one of them: to listen – to respect if I cannot accept. Shalini, Arul and Vasanthy, I cannot thank you enough for taking care of me when I was unable to move, eat and at some points speak! Without you I don’t know what I would have done and I truly felt like your adopted daughter while staying with you. Last, but not least, thank you Kane for opening your house to me as if I was your sister. Singapore would never be the same without Windy Heights and (as promised 🙂 ) you are so cool, man…….

I can’t wait to meet my new host family in Vietnam, Thao and the rest of you, you have already helped me in so many ways and by giving me the opportunity to stay with you, you have made it possible for me to follow this dream of mine. Thank you so much for everything!