Vietnamese Homesickness

In my last post I discussed how important the family is in Vietnamese society and how painful it can be for Vietnamese to be separated from their families.  I've recently had a dramatic example of just how tight Vietnamese homelife can be.  

I was assisting with a first-year Reading class one evening and was running a simple vocabulary exercise.  As my students were working, I noticed that one student seemed to be asleep with her head on her book.  I approached the student only to find that she was moaning in pain.  Realizing that this was a bad time to force the student to practice her English, I called Ms. Ngan, the head teacher, over to see what was wrong.  I continued the lesson, helping the other students complete their work.  When I looked back to the moaning student, I saw that two of the boys were more or less carrying her out of the classroom.  She looked like she had fainted. 

Concerned, I asked Ms. Ngan what the problem was, and if we should run to get help.  Ms. Ngan smiled and said that it was nothing serious.  She told me that the student just hadn't been eating.  Seeing my concerned expression, Ms. Ngan went on to say that this was very normal.  Many first-year students, especially girls, miss their mother's cooking so much that they simply don't eat the food at the cafeteria.  This student, right before my eyes, had more or less passed out from hunger, self-imposed hunger at that.  While I've certainly had some bouts of homesickness myself, I couldn't imagine refusing to eat (and I've had some pretty wild meals).  

The whole episode showed me again just how vital the family is to the average Vietnamese.  It also helped me to see myself through my students' eyes.  If my students were having this much difficulty being a few dozen kilometers from home, they probably couldn't imagine being in my shoes, 12,000 kilometers away from my family.  The idea of being that far away must be terrifying to them.  I now understand why I'm constantly asked the question "are you homesick?"  My answer?  I'm happy to say that I'm doing well, especially compared to the tribulations my students.