Da Nang, Vietnam
The alarm sounds its 6:15 am I haven’t woken up this early for anything other than a travel day in a long time. I get ready for the day gathering everything I think I’ll need. My team leader Jason and I don’t really know what to expect but we’re excited as we catch a cab and give him the address to a local university.
In Vietnam we were volunteering at an English program helping the students with their conversation skills by playing games, talking about life and facilitating conversation. During one such conversation Jason was asked if we would like to go fishing with one of our students Nam and his friends. I said yes instantly, getting super excited for the adventure that awaited me.
We met Nam and his friends at a coffee shop across from his university. They are all architecture students and are extremely gifted. One of the guys showed us a project he had recently finished a six foot roll of paper with a hand drawn house concept. It was amazing. Nam has even had one of his drawings for a hotel lobby built and he is still in his early twenties!
The coffee was delicious in the usual Vietnamese style of being essentially espresso in its potency. This is where the generosity that I would experience throughout the entire day began. As they payed for our coffee, we mounted up on scooters and motorcycles for the half hour drive to the lake.
Vietnam is a beautiful country and taking it all in from the back of a Honda CBR was breathtaking. Upon arriving at the lake I was blown away again by the natural beauty that I saw. We made our way over to a good fishing spot and I watched the local rowing teams practice on the lake.
Finding a nice spot away from the heat of the sun we started casting our lines. The sense of peace I got while fishing there was so refreshing. Nam came over and we chatted about life while I cast my line a few more times.
Then I felt it, the tug on the line.
This was it my first fish of the day. I gave the rod a pull to make sure it wasn’t just stuck on some seaweed. Sure enough the line was being pulled away from me.
I had a fish on the hook!
Reeling in cautiously, I battled the monster that I was sure I had on the line.
The hook was nearing the surface and the water was splashing around with the thrashing beast I knew was coming closer.
But I overcame and as I pulled him from the water I was awarded with the smallest fish I’ve ever seen on a hook in my life.
He was at most two and half inches long. The hook hadn’t even gone through his skin, it was wedged in his mouth since he was so tiny. I was still pretty stoked though I had just caught a fish in Vietnam!
So having that one under my belt I kept fishing catching one more fish for the day, this one was about 6 inches though. So I felt a little more accomplished as a fisherman.
They served us lunch of squid and pork. We gathered around and used chopsticks eating family style. It was delicious!
After lunch we hiked up a creek, climbing over rocks enjoying the cool water.
The day wasn’t over yet though as we were all invited over to one of the girls houses for dinner. Upon arrival we had some incredible fresh fruit and corn on the cobb. Dinner was My Quang a traditional Vietnamese dish, that just further convinced me the food in Vietnam is possibly some of the best on the planet! I had three bowls. (Side note: if you can ever try Banh Xeo do it, it’s probably my favourite food right now)
We rounded out the day with the ride home arriving at the hotel exactly 12 hours after we left. Completing one of my favourite days on the race!
I was so blessed to be able to spend the day with Nam and his friends. Since Vietnam does not allow open evangelism doing things like this are one of the best ways to show the love of Christ. It also instilled in me a desire for greater adventure. Now whenever someone invites me along on a trip I’m much more inclined to go for it!
