The Language of Peace
Hello everyone! This is Nam. I have been a Global Network Team member for almost 4 years. It is such a meaningful journey for me to be a part of GNT and of our bigger EIC Family. It is my pleasure to meet with all of you, Camp Participants, Group Leaders and Camp Leaders in EIC, EID, Global Network Initiatives (formerly Ambassadors of Peace Network) and Overseas Study Tour.
It is sad to share with everyone that I am leaving GNT and will continue my journey in Viet Nam as a full-time facilitator. Writing this blog post, I want to share with you that being able to use English has brought me so many wonderful opportunities. Meeting all of you is one of that.
When I am writing this, I am surprised to recall that I have been learning and communicating in English for almost 15 years now! I still remembered the countless hours I studied grammar book just so I could get a good score.
However, the moment I found my English to be useful was when I joined a volunteer program after I graduated from my high school. In this program, I stayed in a volunteer house in Ha Noi, the capital city of Viet Nam, with 20 Japanese volunteers. I lived with my new Japanese friends for 1 whole week without returning home (Just like our EIC experience right?).
It was thanks to this experience that I realized being able to communicate in a common language, English, brought me so much joy and meaning!
When I worked as a GNT member, English for me was a gift because it helped me to meet with so many people and learned about different cultures. When I counted how many countries’ Camp Leaders I have met so far, the number surprised me a lot: more than 50 countries! And we all communicated in English, shared our feelings and exchanged new ideas.
More than that, what taught me about being a Camp Leader and a staff is the focus on our growth together. Looking back over the years, our team has been through a lot of changes and difficulties. Sometimes, we disagreed. It was challenging when our ideas were different, but I realized it was important that we continued to listen to each other and stick with each other no matter what. This is when we don’t just need English, we need a language of understanding and a language of Peace. And for me, the language of Peace is the language of friendship.
In this language of Peace, we might not speak each other’s language, but we learn to observe others’ values, enjoy our time together and reach out to each other when needed. Imagine everyone in the world could speak this language of Peace, what kind of a world would it become? Especially in this pandemic of Covid-19, we need to emphasize this language of Peace despite being physically far away from each other.
Look at the talks and laughter we shared in our past online Traveling Around the World sessions! Friendships still happen even when we are far apart.
Even though I am leaving GNT and leaving Japan, I am not sad because I am still a part of our EIC Family and will always keep the dear memories we shared in our heart. What I am excited to do next is to bring this language of Growth, Peace and Friendship to more young people in Viet Nam. I will update you all again about my next journey in the upcoming months!
Until then, I want to say thank you to all of you who always have a special place in my heart.
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