Somepeople live their lives without a chance to see the country their parents andgrandparents came from. Two years ago, my whole family went to Vietnam, thecountry of my ancestors. The tingly feeling of excitement and amazement stillexists in me whenever I think about visiting.

When I first stepped out ofthe plane into the burning hot weather, I thought the trip would be long, boringand hot. I didn't recognize my grandparents and uncle because I had never seenthem before; they were both family and strangers. The longer I was there, themore I enjoyed the stay. I be-came very fond of my two grandmothers, and lovedtalking about what my parents did when they were younger. The more time I spentwith them, the more I knew I would miss them when it came time for me to go backto the United States.

Besides my grandparents, I also loved to spend timewith my cousins and uncles. Because they are close to my age, they knew exactlywhere to take me for fun. We went on boat rides, mountain climbing and to manyparks and gardens.

One of my favorite places was the fruit garden. Forabout two American dollars, you can eat all the fruit you want; it was fruitheaven. The fruit was weird, some I had never seen before. The oranges were greenand tasted as sweet as a sugar cube. There was an odd-looking fruit - I never didfind out its name - with an outer shell as red as blood, and lots of pointy softneedles sticking out. It looked like a mini-porcupine that knew how to roll upinto a soccer ball. But once I broke the shell, the meat was juicy and sweet andI got addicted right away.

I had an incredible time, and also realized howlucky I am to live in America. Although the country itself is magnificent, thereare many poor and homeless people. The thing that was most heartbreaking was theenormous number of disabled Vietnamese, especially children begging for food ormoney. Looking through these people's eyes made me realize what I take forgranted; I have many opportunities but am not putting them to useproperly.

Finally the last day in Vietnam arrived, and we had to part fromour relatives. Though there were tears and sadness, we all knew that one day wewill reunite and have more opportunities to discover one another. Two years havepassed, and I still remember this trip like it was yesterday.






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