But here we are in June 2011. What a year we’ve all had too. Floods in Queensland, Earth Quakes in New Zealand and then the Tsunami in Japan,. It’s been a terrifying year it seems, which is truly making people come to fear what’s to come in 2012.

We all know that a life lived in fear is not a way to live so I say stand tall and live for the moment.

Have a look at what I’ve been up to so far this year =)

What’s next? Who knows! Isn’t that the beauty of it? Though I do have one plan… FIJI IN AUGUST!!

Stay posted! Hope everyone is having a fantastic 2011!

You know, we all hear about disasters happening everyday, all over the world but you’d never actually imagine that you would be involved in any way.

Just two and a half days after I had arrived in Japan, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake which struck just off Japan’s East Coast on March 11^th at 2:46pm JST, caused a massive 10 meter high tsunami to crash ashore, causing so much death and destruction in its path.

On the day that it had happened, my friend and I had been out the entire day in Osaka and did not return back to our hotel room until 7:30pm JST. Unaware of what had just happened earlier that afternoon in the country that I was currently in, only 500km away from me, I approached the front desk and asked “which station do we go to, to catch the train to Tokyo tomorrow?” He looked at me for a second, his English not that great and then replied “I don’t know if the JR is open to Tokyo.”

A bit confused, I had taken his reply to mean that he just didn’t know much about the trains and decided I would ask another receptionist later. My friend and I walked up to our room and noticed that the phone I had left back in the room that day was full of messages and missed calls. Message after message just kept asking if we were ok and to please reply back letting everyone back home know we were safe.

“Huh?” We didn’t understand why everyone was so worried, that is, until we turned on the television.

Wow, the images I saw on the screen still shock me now to think about. Seeing all that water sweep through this country that we had most definitely fallen in love with broke our hearts. Anything in the tsunami’s path didn’t stand a chance.

Immediately, we knew we had to call home to let everyone know that we were fine. We couldn’t believe that something so tragic had happened so close to us, yet we had no idea. I guess we were lucky actually, lucky that we had planned to stay in Osaka as long as we had and that it was far enough to not have been affected by the earthquakes or tsunami.

Everyday we watched the news, despite it being in Japanese and being unable to understand what was being said, we could see the pain and hurt it had caused for everyone involved. Everyday, the news got worse, death tolls rose, the number of missing people rose and then another blow for Japan with the Fukushima nuclear plant having been damaged during the earthquake, causing radiation to leak.

As things began to settle in Japan, the number of those confirmed dead has climbed well above 11, 000 people, there are still over 16, 000 people unaccounted for and now thousands have been left homeless with nothing left. Even though I was closer to it all, I can still only just imagine what those involved and those who had survived will have to face now.

Japan needs our help. We can all do our bit, even if it’s just a little bit. Please go to this link and donate to help this wonderful country and its people. www.redcross.org.au/Donations/onlineDonations.asp

Each family has their own traditions and every year, they’re usually revisited as we welcome in another year, hopefully one full of luck, love and prosperity. At the Huynh property, the usual traditions include; lining the kids up from eldest to youngest in front of the parents and then each person has to say a well wish to our parents and wish them a happy new year before we can receive our luck money or ‘lì xì’. Then we’d proceed to the next eldest married couple in the family and repeat it all again. I remember when I was younger, the Vietnamese New Year was the one time of year that I could end the day a few hundred dollars richer and be the happiest girl ever but now that I’ve gotten to this age, well, I’d be happy to even get a dollar. After the well wishes are done, we’d pray to those in our family who unfortunately aren’t able to ever share a Vietnamese New Year with us again and then the fun will finally begin.

Out come the games; lotto and Bâù Cua Cá Cọp. For those who don’t know what the game Bâù Cua Cá Cọp, it’s similar to roulette where you place money on any six different pictures on a board and the banker has two dices which he must shake up in a bowl. Whatever picture comes out on the dice, the banker must pay the same amount betted, if there is money on pictures that are not shown on the dice, the banker gets to keep the money. Needless to say, I always wanted to be the banker. It’s always fun to be able to have these traditions with family and to be able to introduce these traditions to new members of the family. And you wonder why gambling is so prevalent in our community when it’s introduced to us at a young age. =p

But simple traditions can bring family members closer together and help you to truly appreciate those around you as well as the culture you are part of.

Last year, Vietnamese New Year celebrations were unfortunately put on hold since my parents were visiting family in their home land but since we’ve got everyone back this year, there’s no doubt that we’ll be having one fun day alive with traditions and fun, hopefully bringing in luck for all us this New Year.

See, there’s a difference between the western New Year and the Vietnamese New Year, when the Western New Year comes around, we make resolutions, things we hope to achieve for the coming year but when the Vietnamese New Year comes around, we hope for mostly luck and prosperity. So aren’t we so lucky that we get two opportunities where we can ask for a good year ahead?

I’d like to wish you all a very Happy Vietnamese/ Chinese New Year, may the new year bring you good health, good wealth and a whole lot of good luck. Chúc mừng năm mới, sức khỏe dồi dào, vạn sự như ý.

Write to me and let me know what your family’s Vietnamese New Year Traditions are.

2011! It’s a New Year and I’m determined to make it an awesome one.

Check out what I’ve already done this year and have plans to do.

What I’ve already done:

Canyoning in the Blue Mountains

I booked and organised this for myself and friends for Khang’s 27th Birthday. It was so much fun and would definitely recommend for anyone to do it. Great way to see parts of the Blue Mountains that you didn’t know was there to begin with. Booked with a company called River Deep Mountain Company and they were fantastic.

Things I plan to do:

-On Saturday February 12th, there will be an event held called ‘Warrior Dash’. It’s a 5km course with 9 or so obstacles along the way. Looks like it’s going to be crazy fun. Going to be crawling through mud, climbing over walls and jumping over fire. Applications are still open so sign up and join in!

-Next holiday has been planned =)

I absolutely love to travel and I’ve booked my next destination for early March. I’ll be going to this country here and I can not WAIT!!!!

Japan, here I come!

What are your plans for the New Year?

Not only that but this column’s a special one for me because it’s my 100^th one. Wow wee, when I first started writing for Viet Luan, I was in my second year of Uni at UTS and was just learning the ropes as a young journalist getting my experience anywhere I could. It’s been over two years now and I’m still enjoying doing my writing for this paper. It’s given me the chance to express myself and practice my writing and I can’t thank Viet Luan enough for all that they have done for me.

Opportunities like this have made me realise that there really isn’t a limit to our possibilities. If there’s something that you want enough, you just need to get yourself out there and make it happen. Opportunities don’t just come to you but rather you have to seek it and each step you take will be a step closer to fulfilling your dreams.

Every step is an opportunity to learn and if you’re getting yourself out there, realistically the only way you can go is up.

As we reach the end of another year and embrace the beginning of yet another one, it’s always good to look back on the year we’ve had and be thankful for our experiences, our encounters with friends and families and all that we have.

Many students will be finishing off their school year now, going onto another grade where they will learn to progress further in their schooling. Others such as the year 12 students who have already completed their schooling will go onto a completely new cycle.

I still remember how it was for me when I had just finished my high school degree. So young, so unsure but very optimistic about my future. I figured that I’d go straight from high school onto university and then straight into a job.

It hasn’t quite been like that but life isn’t meant to be straight forward after all. Life isn’t a straight path, sometimes it leads you to forks in the road and a simple decision can change your entire course but the bends and winds in the road are what makes it exciting.

We’re lucky enough to be living in a time when the only worries we have are the dramas in our friendships and possibly at home. There are no external worries that are beyond our control such as a war that we have to wake up to every day, all we have in front of us is a future that only we can control.

What we choose to do with our time will provide us with the opportunities in our lives to create the future that we want for ourselves.

I know that sounds like a lot to get your head around but I’ve come to realise that I cannot wait for opportunities to come to me but rather I have to create them and once they are created, I can then take a step forward in fulfilling the path that I desire.

A new year simply means a new year open to new possibilities and new opportunities. What will you be doing with your new year?

I’d like to thank those readers who have stuck with me from the start as well as my new readers also. All the emails and contributions that I have received through the years have encouraged me to keep doing what I love doing.

For those who don’t know what it is, it’s a community forum that allows you to post your secrets annonymously onto the back of a post card.

Sometimes there are secrets that we feel like we have to keep, but it eats away at us on the inside not having anyone know it. What I like about post secrets is that it’s also a creative outlet for people. There’s something about reading other peoples secrets that make you feel better. Maybe it’s the fact that it makes your own problems not seem as big as they were in the first place.

~Phil Donahue

I’ve been feeling a little bit down lately and then I remembered that there was something I liked to look at when I was down, this was Post Secrets. For those of you who have never heard of Post Secrets before, it’s a community based project that allows you to submit your secrets anonymously onto the back of a postcard. Let’s face it, we all have secrets that we don’t want to share but keeping these secrets to yourselves can often weigh you down. The purpose of posting your secret anonymously is meant to allow you to feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders; your secret is now out there but no one knows who you are.

I spent the entirety of today, reading through other people’s secrets, there’s just something about reading someone else’s secret that makes you feel better. Perhaps it’s because you realise that your problems really aren’t that bad in comparison. Reading through all those secrets today, there was something that really struck me. There were so many posts from youths who spoke about cutting themselves and secretly wanting to die. It made me realise that there are more people than we realise who do this, yet they feel that they are alone in their depression.

There are approximately 2000 deaths a year in Australia from suicide and it is estimated that more young people die from suicide than from car incidents. For every death from suicide, there is an estimated 10- 30 times as many attempted suicides or episodes of deliberate self harm.

Suicide is often the result of depression, many youths will not know they are suffering from depression but adolescence is a hard time and moods tend to change very easily during this time.

This is quite a personal topic for me. I’ve always been against the idea of self harm and suicide but I did know people who used to cut themselves in high school. I never understood it, I still don’t. When I hear of suicides, I wonder if the person realises all that they’ve left behind, did they ever stop to think how this might affect their family, their friends, their children?

Why I say this is a personal topic to me is because it reminds me of my friend in high school, we were close friends, best friends in fact but in our final year of schooling, he spoke about being depressed, he spoke about hearing voices, he always wore a large band around his wrist and he cried out for help from me. I didn’t know what to do, I still don’t know what to do. I was afraid to tell him that he needed professional help and that I couldn’t help him. The best I could do was tell him to talk to the school councillor, he did but I don’t think that helped him very much. One night, he sent me an SMS, saying his goodbyes to me and telling me what a great friend I’d been to him. I panicked and continually tried to call him, hearing nothing but the phone ring for minutes on end. I began crying and started sending him SMS after SMS, asking him to stop what he was thinking of doing. He replied about an hour later, thanking me for saving his life. Our friendship never returned back to the way it was after that night. I didn’t know how to deal with it anymore so I eventually drifted away from him. I know that had anything happened to him afterwards, I would have blamed myself.

There is help out there and you are not alone in this. Life is precious and you might not know it but you as one person can add value to so many other people’s lives. Don’t waste what you have; the problems won’t be around forever.

Translation: “No matter how old you get, you are still your mother’s child. Throughout your entire life, I will always follow you.

~Vietnamese Saying

I’ve used this quote in a previous column before but it’s created a real impact on me because I believe I truly understand the meaning behind it. I write this today on Mother’s Day, perhaps to some people seen as another commercial holiday because in reality we should be appreciating and spoiling our mothers every single day of their lives. But I think Mother’s Day is a good holiday because it reminds us that there was someone who birthed you, fed you, cuddled you and was there for you your entire life. It reminds those who don’t get a chance to see or speak to their mothers as much as they should, to make that extra bit of effort to let their mothers know that they are loved.

To me, my mother is my whole world. I know that I don’t get a chance to tell her this very often or even to let her know how much she means to me. I could never imagine a life without her and I would never want to. When people ask the question of ‘who do you look up to?’ I can honestly say my mother. She is the strongest person that I know. She has raised four children, helped to raise another three (my nieces and nephew) and not a day goes by that I don’t see a smile on her face. She carries more burdens so that we don’t have to. In the face of defeat, she keeps her head high so that we all know everything will be ok. She never complains and she never asks anything of us other than for us to be happy. If your mother is anything like mine, then she has seen many tough times and right now just deserves a hug every single day of her life from those whom she brought up so carefully so that we would not stray in the wrong direction.

No mother can say that it has been smooth sailing bringing up their children. For my mum, I know that no matter how old we become, she will never stop caring about us. From time to time, my mum replays memories in her head for me. She tells me of the time when my brother became a young adult, she would not sleep until she knew he was home. This meant sometimes being up till 6am. I know this is no exaggeration because even now when I’m not home by a certain time, I’m positive that a call from my mum will come. My sister who is now 26 still gets these calls on a daily basis. You might call it over worrying, but to her, it’s assurance that her children are safe.

A tear was brought to my eye the other day, when my mother was potty training my niece. Her English isn’t that great but it’s the only way she can communicate with this little two year old. I over heard her telling my niece in her broken English that she remembers the time when I was the same age, she would sit by me in the same way she was sitting with my niece now just so that I wouldn’t be afraid to go to the bathroom myself. It made me smile but at the same time it made me sad. Like all children, we grow up. All we have left of our childhood is memories and for me, all of my memories consist of all happy times because she ensured that for me. I know that we can never go back to those times now but can only move forward with our lives and continue to make more memories with the ones we love. I will ensure that I make the most of the time I have left to create the very happiest of memories with my mum. She’s brought me up her entire life and it’s time to start giving some happiness back to her. I love you mum. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there. I hope your children were able to show to you that not only did you create their world, you are their world.

~Franklin D. Roosevelt

Two weeks ago, my column titled ‘Leaving the Bird’s Nest’, depicted my view that Vietnamese youths are particularly lucky that their parents care for them so much so that they did not want you to leave the family home and preferred for you to stay where they know you were kept safe, with them. This view then led me to say that I was happy staying home as I would not have to worry about all the excess expenses of living out of home, thus leaving me with more money to use elsewhere. After reading the column, my sister came to me and told me that I sounded like a spoilt, unappreciative kid. Upon reviewing, it could have been interpreted as that though of course it was not my intention. Although I can say that I’m happy that I’ve got all those excess worries cared for, it’s really made me appreciate all those little things that my parents do for me. They look after me, hoping that one day I can be the person that I’ve always dreamt that I can be and be that person that can achieve the impossible all because they were able to help me along the way. Right now, it may be more about me, but I’ve always known that one day, I will return the favour to my parents.

A few days after writing my column, I switched on the TV to find Dr Phil telling a mother that she should no longer nurture her 24 year old son. He was 24, still living at home, not currently employed and living off his parents. Maybe it’s just our culture but I still see no reason why he shouldn’t be able to live at home. I don’t agree with the unemployment and living off the parents business but the show then went on to say that there’s now a new generation formed known as Generation Me. Generation Me is basically youths who are seen as self- absorbed, spoilt and entitled; a generation that only cares about themselves. The blame then became shifted onto the parents. It was believed that parents were the ones setting up their children for unrealistic standards of living. Throughout the child’s life, they would be brought up believing that they could be entitled to anything they wanted. The children would then believe that they deserved all the riches in life without having to work that hard to achieve it. Not every youth has grown up and become part of Generation Me but the worry is there that children will not be able to stand on their own two feet when they go out and face the real world. When they do not reach their expectations, it often leads to the child becoming miserable having only been set up for things going their way.

Accordingly and I do believe that to some extent it is true, the new generation shows that when in the work force, it has become more about  ‘me’. We wouldn’t hesitate so much to take a sick day to go get a hair cut, we wouldn’t hesitate to leave work a little earlier to get to a party in time or we probably wouldn’t hesitate to skip a few days of work to take a holiday.

We’ve grown up now with things becoming available to us at our fingertips. What’s the latest sports score? I’ll go switch on the TV. What’s the weather going to be like tomorrow? I’ll go turn on the computer. What’s the next line in that song? I’ll check my Iphone. Instant gratification has become available to us so in a way, it’s hard not to be part of this spoilt new generation.

I don’t think it wise to shift the blame to the parents for the new generation. Our parents have been through so much in their past, they’re just hoping we wouldn’t have to go through the same hardship. Knowing that they had such a tough past should only motivate us to work harder for them.

I’ve been so so busy training and training and training.

Hopefully I’ll find some time soon to post some more past columns and posts. Thanks everyone.

A quick update, we had one of our biggest races for the season at Darling Harbour recently, Our boys smashed it and came second, well done to them and our mixed team took home a bronze trophy.

Here’s an article they wrote about me in the local paper. Why they’ve called me the dragon boat boss I don’t even know :/

http://www.fairfieldchampion.com.au/news/local/news/general/cabramatta-dragon-boat-boss-loves-to-race/1765366.aspx

Two more races to go this season before we find out if our mixed team including myself will be competing in Macau for the World Championships.

Thanks to everyone who came to support us and coming to our tent at Cho tet in Fairfield Showground. It was so much fun.