Vien Chieu Buddhist Temple

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This flower blooms and withers within 24 hours...
Mistreated and under appreciated... So often we fail to show the women in our lives we love and appreciate them. Vietnamese women are loving, loyal, strong and resilient, but living in a male dominated society can produce its fair share of pains and heartbreaks. Patients and loyalty eventually turns into anger and resentment. Pain builds up like plaques in arteries blocking blood from entering the heart. Without blood there is no oxygen and the heart slowly withers....This flower symbolizes the life of a Vietnamese woman. Its life cycle only last a day...white and pure in the morning, rosy by noon and withered by night..


"I went with Ong Hien and Ba C to the Buddhist temple where his mom is staying. Afterwards they took me to see their house outside of the city. Uncle Bao designed the house. It was more like a mansion than a house. I'm disappointed that Dani couldn't come with me to the temple. I felt as though I'd let her down... I have also been an ass to her as well. As Chi Ngoc pointed out, my fear of my own people is a result of lack of understanding of them. The guys at Ong Hien's house invited me out to drink with them tonight. They're awesome and kind folks. They told me that que (places away from the cities) are where the good people are."
Journal Entry: 12.21.2013

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