The last day. It has such a tone of finality to it, and all of us strove to make the most of it and our time left together in Viet Nam. The day opened, and the project officially ended, with a press conference held in the hotel lobby. It was attended by project members, our mentees, teachers from the 15 May school, representatives from our sponsors, and members of the press. Hoai and An were our emcees, and the conference included a summary of SEALNet and our project by Misha, presentations of gifts to May 15 school and our sponsors, a slideshow presentation put together by Tuan, and short speeches by Ben and two mentees talking about their experiences on this project. After the conference went out for lunch with some of our mentees in classic style: taking over the whole restaurant.

After our final (again that word) group debriefing, we headed out to Ben Thanh Market for dinner and some shopping. For the first time during our trip, we all got to choose our own dishes with no limiting price except our own wallets. Laden down with souvenirs, clothes, and in the cases of some guys, stuffed toys, we made our way to the Jazz Club, where we shared drinks, good music, and good company. It was a perfect ending to our project, with everyone gathered together regardless of illnesses or fatigue; for the first time in a long time every member of the group was out, for that final night.

We walked back to the hotel, enjoying the coolness of the night, chatting, now pros at crossing the streets without fear (or at least less fear), and we stayed up til late, hurriedly packing and finishing our “yearbooks”. One by one we succumbed to sleep, and as you looked around the room you could see people with a pen in one hand, an open notebook in the other with an unfinished sentence trailing off, and a partially open mouth with closed eyes.

And thus brings an end to Project Vietnam 2007. An end to our project, but not the work that we have started through the mentees, nor the friendships we have made. Who knows when we will all be able to be together as a group again, coming from different schools and countries, but hopefully, it will not be too long. Cheers to everyone, for each person played an integral part in the chemistry of our group. God bless!

Long after the pictures grey

Friends shall we forever stay

Though the places and faces fade

But not memories that we have made

For while the work is never done

But if our hearts bond as one

Then in the end we’ll meet again

At the victory line; forever friends.

– Selena Tan