Flight back to US (7/28) || Katelyn Mai

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 these dedicated students as new and old friends and how infectious their passion throughout this trip was. I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to work alongside not only these amazing MEMO members and BOD, but also the providers that continuously provided guidance and motivation for all of us.

When we arrived at the airport and waited in line for baggage check in, I was able to reassess my thoughts and feelings about this trip with other students, and the consensus was that this trip allowed us an opportunity to witness and assist people in so many different ways and left us feeling fulfilled by the end, with the exception of a couple unfortunate circumstances that limited our time with the children from the orphanages and schools. All in all, I would love to return next year for 17G Mission Trip once again, to continue MEMO's abroad program and incredible work.

We arrived a little early to the Starlux Bag Check line so they weren't set up yet. Better early than late!

There was a small issue with a couple of the MEMO boxes that we packed to return to the US, including my check in. After a bit of difficult questioning and explaining with the help of Dr. Bui, we were able to continue on to customs and TSA. The 3 hour flight to Taiwan went smoothly as I got to sit next to Allyson and watched the slightly disappointing Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and the 13 hour flight to the US I sat next to Allyson again but also, luckily, with Alicia. Although there were was a young toddler behind my seat that cried and kicked my seat throughout the flight, I was able to sleep and watch a couple more films before we finally arrived in the States!

Waiting to board the plane, goodbye Vietnam <3

There was a bit of trouble getting all the MEMO boxes past a security guard, and after some more explaining about who we are as pre-health students, what MEMO stands for and what we do, and of course the words of Dr. Bui, we were let go and wished well in our journeys as pre-health students. Note for the future: have labels of contents on each box, or easily accessible itinerary of the boxes. With that final hurdle it was truly the end of a phenomenal chapter, and I'm so excited to continue working in MEMO and for next year's Mission Trip.