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It’s surreal to say this, but today we’re flying back to the US. Bags packed, passports in hand, and hearts full, not just from the last few weeks, but from everything this journey has given us. Saying goodbye to the amazing 16Gers is so much harder than I thought it would be. Each and every person brought something beautiful to this incredible trip. We showed up wanting to help underserved communities, but in many ways, they helped us. They reminded us what it means to conne

On our final day in Vietnam, I awoke at 5:30 am to a "Wake Up" call from the front desk and finished packing before making my way down to breakfast and call time. It was a little hard to wrap my head around the fact that our near 3 weeks on this Mission Trip were coming to an end and how much we accomplished in this period of time. As we loaded up the bus and were seen off by over half of the mission trip group that stayed behind, I realized how dearly I have come to hold the

HI EVERYONE! Clinic is officially over and we are traveling back to Saigon! After the long, fulfilling three days of clinic we had, this is kind of our last early morning since tomorrow everyone flies out of Vietnam :( After packing everything up and getting ready for the long bus ride, I walked to the elevator and took a photo of the beautiful view of Tra Vinh. I loved seeing the sunset through this window after everyday of clinic! Then I went down to have the lovely hotel b

After three long and busy, yet highly rewarding, clinic days, I woke up bright and early at 6AM to get ready to leave Trà Vinh where we served hundreds and hundreds of patients. As I boarded the bus, I felt a warm sense of fulfillment, remembering the many lives we changed by providing free healthcare services to the underserved and the meaningful interactions I had with patients throughout the past three days. It truly felt rewarding, knowing that our efforts have left such

Today was our third and final day of clinic, which I greeted with a sleepy start. After two rounds of snoozing, my last alarm blared at 5:45, forcing me out of bed. I stumbled out of bed on autopilot, quickly getting dressed and hurrying downstairs just in time for call-time. Luckily, it seemed like everyone else was on a similar delay for our last day so I was able to grab a quick bite before call-time. Despite it being our last day, the crowd of waiting patients greeting us

Today was the third and final day of our 16G clinic. I volunteered in the optometry station where I helped in registration to record the patients' pupil reflexes and intraocular pressure using the iCare machine for the majority of the day. Before today, I had no clue about the steps that optometrists took to create prescriptions for glasses, so it was interesting to gain insight into this field. It was captivating to me how the pupil responds to light very quickly and simulta

At the earliest crack of dawn, I felt my phone vibrating. It was 5 am. It was time to get ready for the second clinic day. I opted to skip breakfast today to get some extra rest for the busy day ahead of us and also to get ready. Afterwards, I headed down to meet everybody else downstairs and board our bus at the 6am call time. Since our journey from the hotel to Cau Ngang would take around 45 minutes, I made the executive decision to take a power nap to really stock up on en

Risen from my slumber, I dressed myself and stumbled to the dining area, where an array of Vietnamese breakfast cuisines was prepared in a buffet style. Gutting for the rice and chả lụa, I stuffed myself to last me the day, placed a trà sữa đá in my hands, and hopped to the bus. As I counted off my team members, ensuring their attendance, I observed as many continued collecting hours of sleep as I soon followed ensue, preparing to conquer another day. Upon arrival at our clin

After an arduous bus ride to Tra Vinh and setting up M.E.M.O.'s mobile clinic the day before, Clinic Day 1 started bright and early at around 5:45 AM. Since the hotel was roughly 45 minutes away from the clinic site, we had to be on the bus by 6:15 AM. Prior to beginning clinic, it was known that the first day is the least busiest day out of the 3 clinic days since not as many patients come. This turned out to be a blessing since it allowed us to experiment with the structure

AHHH CLINIC DAY ONE IS FINALLY HERE!!! Last night, I found out that my first role was in the pediatric department, so I was super excited to meet all the younger patients. With all that built-in excitement, waking up at 5 AM wasn’t too hard despite the fact that it was, well… 5 AM. Before I headed out, I recited all the việt questions I could ask the children like “Em tên là gì?” “Em mấy tuổi?” “Em thích ăn món gì?” For breakfast, I had a small banana and some yogurt, which a

I woke up around 4:55 AM for our very first clinic day, ate breakfast, and boarded the bus with all our 16G volunteers! We had a 40-minute drive to the clinic venue in Tra Vinh. Shoutout to Sheirica, who found my glasses on the bus that I had thought I lost! We received a pep talk from Dr. Bui and Dr. Le, who emphasized the importance of the "Four Agreements". I was stationed in Vitals to take patient's cholesterol levels and helped to translate, and it was inspiring to watch

The morning of the 23rd started at an early 6 am when I had to pack away all my belongings for storage or transportation to Tra Vinh. The morning was particularly rough to wake up knowing what lay ahead was a long bus ride and heavy lifting throughout the day. Nonetheless I trudged myself out of bed and began stuffing my suitcases. Due to space limitations on the bus, we were only allowed to carry one smaller bag with us to the next several days of clinic. I packed the essent

Today, we departed Saigon for Vĩnh Long province, where our mobile clinic will take place. We rose at 6:45 AM to store our luggage at the hotel and pack essentials for three days of clinic work. The four-hour drive to the province gave me time to feel excited about the clinic and wonder how many patients we’d assist this year. En route, Bus 1 turned back to the hotel to retrieve last-minute optometry supplies. Since the clinic marks the end of our trip, most of us were tired,

Today was the last day of Scholarship/Orphanage! We boarded the bus and headed 2 hours towards the middle school Binh Hoa Nam. After...

Today was a Scholarship day at a distant middle school called Binh Hoa Nam. Like always, I woke up 15 minutes before the 7:45 AM call...

Waking up bright and early this morning, I double checked the schedule I had sent my team for the day. Today we were embarking on a full...

Today was the day 3 of scholarship/orphanage, and we went to a remote orphanage called Thien Binh in Dong Nai province. Our call-time was...

Almost a week into the mission trip and day 2 of orphanage days, I was looking forward to stepping outside my bubble and playing with the...

Our call time was 9:00, with us arriving at Chua Tu Hanh at around 10. Once we arrived at the temple, the monks greeted us with great...

Hello hello! Today was our very first scholarship day, and I personally was super excited after hearing everyone’s past experiences with...