Vietnam pride day

This is international week at summer camp and today was Vietnam/rest of Asia day. I gave the teacher one of Gianna's Vietnamese song books with CD and provided lychee and mango puddings for snacks. Gianna wore her traditional Vietnamese dress, the áo dài, and traditional Vietnamese hat, the non la. I sent along another more elaborate áo dài for the kids to see. Gianna was so proud to be wearing her dress. Once we got to school, my ordinarily shy child was showing it off everybody that would listen. One of her Indonesian teachers made fried noodles and each of the kids constructed a non la from paper and painted it with water colors.

I have been reading about the Áo Dài Association, a charity that was recently formed to provide educational scholarships, training courses, and other social assistance to poor girls in Hue, Vietnam. As their name implies, they also provide áo dài dresses to girls who would otherwise never have the opportunity to wear this symbol of national pride. During our trip to Vietnam, we realized how a new dress, something we take for granted, is treasured as if it was made of gold. Some of this sentiment has worn off on Gianna as she adapts to her Western lifestyle of plenty, but it is awesome to see that sense of cultural pride in her eyes when she wears the áo dài!