Once Upon A TYPE…

I’ve been here in Vietnam for almost two years and I’m living in the heart of Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh City. The climate is similar in the Philippines and the faces are almost the same. Maybe because South East Asians look familiar to one another. But I’m not gonna talk about the people, ‘eh! I wanna share my favorite ‘cultural dress’

Ao Dai (pronounced as - aw yay) is the national dress of the Vietnamese women. It’s worn by high school students, employees in the government and worn as an engagement dress by ladies before getting married. Usually, ao dai is made of silk and it’s fascinating to have one ‘coz it’ll cost you a lot, but of course you can also choose your own material for your ao dai. Now a days tailors use different kinds of clothes for ao dai. Normally, it’s tailor-made and only women with good figures can wear it, ehem, take note…ONLY women with good figures can wear it! Maybe you’re wondering why, ao dai may have long loose pants and long tight sleeves but the truth is ” AO DAI covers everything but it HIDES nothing “. Beautiful isn’t it? where can you see a dress that’s so tight in your body but it’s not malicious to see. It displays all your vital parts which makes it more elegant. As a foreigner, it’s a must for me to have one and because I really like it a lot now I have two beautiful ao dai’s. I still can remember the first time I wore my ao dai at school. It was pink and has little cute flowers in front. Since motorbike is the common way of transportation here, I asked my mom to send me to school for me not to make any wrinkles on my dress. I thought it’s gonna be an ordinary day, I told myself, Vietnamese teachers wear this dress everyday so why not me! When I arrived at the school gate I noticed people glancing at me and saying “dep” meaning “beautiful” in english. Then I entered the lobby of the school…to my surprise, all of the receptionist and even the visitors clapped their hands as I open the door. All of them told me that I was so beautiful in my ao dai and I looked like a Vietnamese. I dont know what to say so I put a big smile on my face and said thanks to them for such a nice greeting in the morning. Throughout the day, even my students teased me and told me that I should wear it everyday when I go to school. What a nice experience it is! Now I just wear it whenever there’s a special occassion like cultural programmes and I feel like a Miss Saigon when I’m in my lovely ao dai!

I wasn’t able to have a good sleep this past few nights and I dont know if its because of the diet pills that I’m taking since I arrived from PI or I’m just stressed. But how can I be stressed when I just had a very interesting 2 weeks break?

So many reasons came, they’re coming like monsters in the dark, haunting and sending creeps to me…whoa!!! What’s happening to me? So, while I was having my break earlier I thought of going to a monastery. Last December I spent Christmas with a friend in Da Lat. It’s the Baguio City of Vietnam and I could say that the place is really beautiful! The weather is lovely during daytime and it is freezing cold at night, if I’m not mistaken the temperature was 8 degrees Celsius during our stay. My friend and I booked a whole day city tour for Christmas as a gift for ourselves since were celebrating away from our family. We did a lot of sight-seeings and our eyes were so full of beautiful sceneries. Before we ate lunch we stopped to a 13 years old monastery. I was amazed with the place! It’s not just beautiful and relaxing, it’s ENCHANTING, that’s the right adjective to use! Out of my curiousity I asked the tour guide some questions regarding the monastery and I learnt from him that people can come there for a retreat and do some meditation if they want to. They do not have any religion preferences, everybody’s welcome. People do not need to pay for their stay but of course they must show some gratitude to the monks that helped them throughout their meditation by giving donations or offering some good deeds that will be benificial for the monastery.

Now that I’m troubled with the way my life is going, I’m thinking of going there and try to sort out the things that I needed to do in my life. I need peace of mind and the antidote to solve all the ailments I’m feeling inside. I want to free my heart from diseases, from the bonds of confusion and to recognize the possibility of bringing the best out of me.

I’ve read inspiring stories of people who went to a silent retreat like this and it helped me a lot to think whether I should go or not. Hopefully, I’ll be able to find the answers to all of my questions and may all the monsters that are haunting will go away after my own retreat