26th Mar

Today’s plan… Interview a girl and her parents

11:00@ The house of the interviewee

Today I interviewed a blind girl who is working as an interpreter and her mother. Despite her physical difficulty, she graduated from university and got a regular job. When I talked to headmaster of VBA Hai Duong province on Monday, he said that he doesn’t know anybody who is working at a regular company with sighted colleagues. So her circumstance is quite special. But through the interview, I recognized that her privileged lifestyle is by her own effort. In Vietnam, there’s no braille textbook for higher education levels. Even the braille textbooks for primary and secondary levels, these are not proofread and actually many mistakes have been found. Under this circumstance, she has studied English and became an interpreter.

After interviewing her, I interviewed her mother. The parent has a different perspective from blind person themselves, it was quite worthwhile.

12:30  Lunch time

After the interview, her mother offered me to eat lunch with her family. To my surprise, she appeared on TV program while we were eating. On TV, she got a prize as one of the brightest youth in Vietnam. I’m really surprised because she is so famous as to be chosen as a representative of the nation.

13:30 have a nap

Vietnam has a nap time routine. Her mother offered me to have a daytime nap with her. I hesitate for a moment, but I had a good nap in the same bed with her.

16:00 Leave the house

I slept too much. When I woke up, a newspaper journalist was there. She also came to interview her. She is special indeed. I said thank you to her and left her house.