Li's education

Greetings,

My name is Li. I am almost 14. I speak excellent English. I finished nine years of school in my village and learned what I really needed to know on the street. What I really needed to know to survive. What I really needed to know to make money. I use really a lot. As someone said, "You don't want to let school interfere with your education." How true. 

Tourists visit Sapa. It's in the mountains close to China. I've never been to China. Someday I plan to go back to school. It's good to have a plan. A dream. 

I'm not talking about the hungry, angry, crazy, confused day trippers from Ha Noi or HCMC. They never talk to us. They are busy eating, drinking, fooling around with "special" friends at the nightclubs and buying cheap Chinese material products. They don't buy from us. They buy a lot of junk. They must be rich.

They make me laugh because you can always tell who they are: 1) they arrive on big white buses 2) they wear bright red tour baseball hats so they don't get lost 2) they travel in packs like scared animals 3) they stay in the local government hotels and eat at the local Vietnamese places 4) they ignore you.

No, I'm talking, and I speak excellent English, about the foreigners. We, my friends and I, who work the street selling, politely pestering visitors to buy our handicrafts and offering guided treks, don't call the foreigners travelers because they are only here for 2-3 days. It's weird. Its such a beautiful place and they don't stay long.

They have a vacation schedule. I think a vacation means free time. Time is free isn't it? They eat, sleep, wander around, maybe take a trek to a local village and then, POOF! like magic they disappear. 

And then the tourist machine spits out more tourists and visitors for us to sell to, pester and offer treks to our village.

Some want to see the real deal. They want to experience nature. They want to experience the real Sapa. Some even stay overnight in my village which is great because if we avoid the hotel middlemen, the greedy ones after all the profit, my folks can make some small money.

They are super friendly people. I've been learning English from them for years. Many really get to know us, they are intelligent and thoughtful and seem to really care about us; how we live, work, play and evolve as human beings. They don't leave a mess like trash and stuff.

I'll tell you a secret. Many of us stay in Sapa overnight. We share a room for $20 a month so we can get to the hotels early and meet the tourists who want to go trekking. It's more convenient than going all the way home which takes two hours and...you understand. 

My friends and I have a lot of fun in the room. It's simple. A bed and toilet. We talk, sing songs and do our embroidery work.

I'm a great little trek leader. It's nice to do what you love and love what you do.

Nature is my teacher. Life is good in Sapa. Bye-bye.

Metta.