In Thailand we carried bulging heavy packs into the San Francisco airport, our day packs strapped across our chests and our hands dripping with sweat. We carried different backgrounds and unique stories to share, as well as the nervousness that clung to us as we arrived on the other side of the world with complete strangers. In Cambodia, we carried sweat stained shirts that never seemed to become clean, a collection of elephant pants, and the heavy burden of the country’s past weighing down upon us with each step upon the bumpy, unpaved streets.
We’ve carried memories, tears, newfound friendships, an annoyance with firelining, and an excitement for what is to come across two countries and now, as we arrive in Vietnam, the weight we have carried so effortlessly now seems crushing. Now we must carry the knowledge that our time left together experiencing life in Southeast Asia as we have never lived before is coming to a close. This realization is a burden that makes our scuba gear feel light, but as we arrive at our beach resort on Phu Quoc island, it is easy at least to ignore the creeping reality and focus on the present: Scuba Diving!
I hate to burst your bubble (get it?), but the first two days of scuba diving weren’t as mystical as they sounded. Our first day was in a classroom, spending an entire school day struggling to pay attention to informational videos that seemed to just be trying to get us to buy scuba accessories. Our second day was spent scuba diving in a pool and unfortunately, a sizeable chunk of our group weren’t able to continue. However, for those of us that did, the next two days were magical.
Though we struggled to not fall over with the scuba gear crushing our spines as the boat rocked along the waves, once we submerged ourselves, breathing in our last few breaths of fresh air as we sink underneath the ocean, we were transported into an entirely new world. Fishes I have never seen before wafted in my eyesight, coral reefs plunged upwards, balls of air streamed overhead with each breath. I felt like I had entered the pages of my science textbooks, but more importantly, I felt like I had entered another world. It occurred to me as I drifted through the waters, taking in all of the sights, that this was a habitat I had only heard about, but never seen and I had the privilege to be a guest in this new territory.
At the end of the day, we would go back to our beach resort and as I sat on the beach, taking in the lobster faced tourists in skimpy bikinis, it occured to me how strange it was that decades ago teens our age were coming to Vietnam to kill and die and we were on a beach. I suppose the reminder of the history of this region that seems so far removed from what we are seeing is an extra weight that I carry. However, it is the reminder of this history that I look forward to the most as we explore this region and in our dwindling moments here, I intend to make the most of them.
Signing off from Vietnam,
Anika