Team leaders Brooke and Greg offered their final goodbyes on December 9th (Asia Time) 2013. In a rushed yet emotionally sincere exchange at the airport in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam the final weeks student leaders, along with Greg and Brooke, scrambled to collect everyones bags and set the crew on their way back home. After three months of deliberate living, intentional action and service offerings to life, we parted ways, with transformed hearts, open minds, wider perspectives, and teary eyes.
Sitting now in a trendy cafe in Saigons District 1, it seems disturbingly quiet without Katie cracking open a can of Coke light while the boys debate The Dharma’s influence on frat rappers.
A big exhale. A content smile. Pride.
One by one we are receiving “friend” requests on facebook from our new partners in Carpe Diem citizenry. Spying on their past through the lens of social media, we glow as we recognize the transformations they have made; changes in humility, newfound understandings of the causes of happiness, the acquisition of cheap, elephant printed flowy pants and Sai-Gon tank tops…
What a long strange trip it’s been. An expedition much like the planting of a seed. And now the real journey begins. As we make all make our plans for re-entry, further travel, integration, etc. we confidently trust that the proper balance of preservation and change is (and will continue to) taking place; that all values held prior to this magical mystery tour have been strengthened and/or appropriately adjusted and that in the days, months, and years that lie ahead the world will bear witness to the full blossoming of 7 brightly colored, richly textured, compassionate global citizens.
Your OE’s love you more than you know.
We are profoundly proud of you.
“Go far, stay long, see deep…..”
Your friends,
Greg and Brooke
P.S. Leave your phones at home.