Every single person laughing, truly laughing

Photograph of the Premier's Anzac Spirit School Prize students joining in with the 'Happy Yoga' group on the streets of Hanoi, chosen by Elise Tutur as a special image from the trip to Vietnam.


Elise writes:

The lessons I have learned

Since the trip to Vietnam, I have had a lot of time to reflect on what I saw and experienced during the time we were away. I don’t think anything that I say will fully be able to I explain how life changing and important this experience was not only for myself, but for everyone else too.

I found it difficult to choose just a single photograph from the trip, mainly because I got emotional scrolling back through all my memories, but the photograph above - an action shot during a 6:30am Happy Yoga class outside the Trang Tien Plaza in Hanoi, on one of our last morning walks is still as clear as day in my mind. I took one look at all the laughing faces and immediately thought - this is the one! This is Vietnam! This is what I loved and this is what I will remember for a long time.

I have to admit, I was not impressed when I was told that I had to be down in the hotel lobby at 6am in the morning to go for walks in each city that we went to, but Malcolm promised that it would be one of the biggest highlights of the entire trip. And he was right.

Getting to witness the city waking up, watching the Vietnamese people already on the streets so early in the morning, carrying big baskets of fruit to their usual spots at the markets and hearing the constant laughter and chatter from large exercise groups in the park, was worth all the early mornings.

Walking through and witnessing with my own eyes the everyday lives of these people made me realise that the heart of Vietnam is the people. The community, the love and the acceptance that occurs daily is because of the people! And watching everyone in our group getting their backs massaged in the giant yoga circle on what would be our final morning walk, and seeing each and every single person laughing, truly laughing, having an amazing time - honestly, I had never felt so content, happy and at home in my life.

I have to say that these early morning experiences are a lot different to the ones we have at home. For one, I can say that I have never walked down the streets of my own hometown and seen fifty complete strangers dancing on a side walk! “It’s just not a part of our culture” someone said to me when I was explaining this photo to them. Immediately I asked, why not? What I got to stand in the middle of was communication and connection in its purest form. Something I think we have all lost sight of.

The Vietnamese were so quick to take us in, to make us one of their own and to treat us like we were a part of their family, yet we don’t seem to return that same affection. I start to think about what it is that we lack in our own community and thinking?  I don’t think we lack anything but the Vietnamese were just a lot quicker to figure out what happiness really is.

I have got to meet some of the most amazing people on this trip and have come away from this adventure with a bucket full of gratitude and appreciation for the teachers and tour guides. I am forever grateful for the lessons that I learned, not only about the history of the Vietnam War, but what it really means to be happy and to share happiness. I am thankful for war veteran Bob Kearney and the knowledge and wisdom he shared with us each day and the detailed insights that Malcolm and Martin gave us about the history of the country. Also, a massive thank you to Maddi, Lauren and Ellen for their valuable insights and sharing of knowledge.

I can assure you that the lessons we have all taken away from this trip will only guide us and lead us into bigger and better things in our future.