The organizing committee would likes to hear all your feed back positive or negative about the camp. Your comments are important for the committee to learn and improve its weakness so the next Len Duong Camp could be a better one. Please email to: vhkh@vhkhvn.org and include your name and phone number just in case the committee has question. THANK YOU
Date: Monday, May 29, 2000 7:11 PM
Anh Truong & Anh Lan men,
Minh Bao arrived more than an hour ago. He just finished telling me all the activities participated at the Camp. He was extremely glad that he went. Had nothing but praises for the youth leadership development organized by all of you and appreciated the efforts and care you all put into that program. He had to go and meet a friend for a summer job but asked me to relay the following message to you: "I'm glad that co Anh Lan told you (me, HL) about it to tell me, because it was extremely fun and it was an uplifting Vietnamese experience for me; especially because I never communicate with my fellow Vietnamese brethen. It was very sad when I left... I wanted to cry."
I copied word by word of what Minh Bao wrote before he left. He promises that he will join next year's Len Duong and will try to encourage some of his friends to come.
Thank you all for the encouragement and joy you have brought to the young ones like Minh Bao. Minh Bao loved it and was sad he did not have the opportunity to say good bye to his new friends and specially to you.
You all deserve a rest but more than that you deserve all the respect and affection the young ones like Minh Bao have for you. He is all excited and I have never seen him so happy like that. (I'm sure he must have shown off his break dance !)
Regards,
HL Nguyen
Hi Co AnhLan;
Vo chong chung toi rat cam kich truoc nhung tam hon tre day nhiet huyet ...Dac biet la nhung anh em trong ban to chuc... Nguyen xin On Tren luon luon tran day va` luon luon a^'p u? cac anh chi trong ban to chuc va toan the cac chau VietNam DAU YEU.
PS.Cam on co va ban to chuc da cho chung toi nhung gay phut vui tuoi thoa mai va day tin tuong vao ngay mai cua Que Huong noi cac em.
Than Thuong,
HuanTuyet
From: huyenthanh luu huyenthanhluu@hotmail.com
To: anguyen1@pdq.net anguyen1@pdq.net
Subject: [vhkhvn] Re: Len Duong 2000 Report
Date: Wednesday, May 31, 2000 10:49 PM
Hi all,
As you know that i'm in Beijing now; but i could not wait to see the report of the lenduong 2000. I had to leave early, and coul not know the ending( to see if my team won any of the 3 prices). Generally speaking, i'm still very tired. i have traveled here and there since i got here. I miss all of you at home, especially the camp. I just want to say congratulation to all the camp staffs who had worked very hard to have a great camp. i'm so proud to be apart of the staffs. Also, i hope that y'all would understand and forgive me if i had maked any mistakes or been unacceptable sometimes during the camp. I'll talk to y'all when i get back. have a pleasant summer
love,
Huyen Thanh
From: Jerry Dao daojk@yahoo.com
To: VHKHVN
Subject: Re: [vhkhvn] Len Duong 2000 Report
Date: Thursday, June 01, 2000 9:59 AM
Hi AnhLan and the Houston team,
My hat off to you and the Houston staff for your talent and dedication to help make this camp a success. A while back, before having the opportunity to work with you all, anh Dung and anh Tran Anh of the Dallas team suggested that we the Dallas team should do a Dem Tho Nhac to raise fund for the Vietnamese flood victims; I was very much in doubt if we could do it with a handful of not-know-how people. It wasn't until I saw how you, anh Nguyen Ngoc Bao anh Truong and the Houston team worked that all doubt was erased from me. All of you plunged into working like it was your own project to make the night a success opening my eyes to why anh Dung and anh Tran Anh had so much confident in you all. I greatly admire you and the team and still feel badly about charging you for the admissions. But you know what, we up here had to pay for our admissions too and more. Anh Dung would not let us get away with that. Anyway, it is great to know and work with you all. I have never seen such a group of selfless people before in my life.
I also have a few words about anh Tuan, our game master. He is a real BoyScout and a wonderful, charming comedian. I told him that we would love to keep him here in Dallas so that we would have someone who could tell good jokes for us at our meetings but he said that he had only 5 sets of talk and after the fifth day he would repeat the 1st one so I let him go.
Have a good day!
Ngoc Anh Mguyen (KyLan Dao's wife)
From: ThaoNguyen281@aol.com
Date: Tue, 30 May 2000 20:46:12 EDT
Subject: Thanx!!!!!
To: linhkb@yahoo.com, alexphan817@hotmail.com,
john_ha98@hotmail.com
Hi guys,
It was my pleasure to meet all of you. Although we only spent a couple of days together, I feel like we all have become good friends. I had alot of fun and I enjoyed knowing each and everyone of you. We complained about the heat, the rain, the food, the broken a/c in our cabins, and sharing our beds with our litte friends Charlotte the Web (well, at least I had to share my bed with the spiders) and Mr. Mosquitoes, however, in the end, I had alot of fun. I learned alot from the camp and from you guys as well. I guess the most memorable moment was when we were doing our skits. My hats off to Quoc and Chi Thuy for being so spontaneous and hilarious. I got a few good laughs myself. ... Once again, thank you for the memorable moments.
Your friend,
Thao
From: Katherine Tran kathtran@hotmail.com
To: Anhlan Nguyen anguyen1@pdq.net
Subject: Re: [vhkhvn] Len Duong 2000 Report
Date: Thursday, June 01, 2000 10:54 AM
As a HVHKH member and a camp attendee, I'd like to thank everyone for making it such an interesting and memorable experience. I enjoyed camp immensely....probably as much as I enjoyed meeting new friends. It opened my eyes to new ideas and it made me explore my strengths, as well as, admitting my weaknesses. Thanks to camp, I am more determined than ever to learn more about Vietnamese language and culture. I thought that I knew Vietnamese pretty well until I got to camp. I was soooooooo confused and clueless about everything :P It was sort of embarassing having to ask someone to explain what the Vietnamese phrases meant. All in All, thanks for everything....your hard work, time, and effort trying to make everything the best possible.
Thanks again,
-Thanh
P.S. Anyone want to teach me vietnamese? :P
I want to write thank you to all of you that I have a chance to participate a good camp of my life. This is the mother of all camp. Thanks to all the efforts of every one that involved. All of us really have a nice learning enjoyable time. What a good experience!! All staff members please give me your mailing address so I can send you a check to express my gratitude in action.
The Security team is superb, we have no incident that I am aware of. Everybody is safe.All parents can breath for relief now. Your children are safe. I can not help if they do it to themselves. Otherwise, all are safe!!!
I wrote this message earlier to LDcamp2000egroup.com but mail was returned so this time I write again and use this e-mail address: vhkhvnlist@vietmy.org hoping you all get my 2 pennies thought mail. This is my first time at camp with you all , and I really have a blast! and I wish the camp last forever, but forever is a long time, so I change my mind and I wish one week instead. Anything longer than this may produce quite a few of baby or several babies, I wonder who will take care of them.
Right now I am suffering from all the love kissing bites of chiggers; I see myself tuning into a monkey with six hands and 30 fingers! thanks to anh Lan Dao and members to DFWVHKHGHIMPOSEAFOODGUMBO reminded me that at drug stores they have chiggerid to cure this itching of the century.
Next camp I am going to wear long double pants,long sleeve t-shirts,including body guards with head protection,gloves,ear muffs,neck guards, navel guards, safety eye wears,butt wears... to protect myself from the mother of all itch producer.
About the camp spirit: Everybody seem to have a good time. I have the feeling that we are really from the same WONDERFUL egg 4000 Years ago:egg-foo-yong.
I did not have a chance to catch any complaint from anyone.Everybody worked like monks and nuns. No complaint, no whining, only smiling in suffering! I discover that a lot of us can go on and on like a pink rabbit without sleep for several day working in a dreammy state with heart burnout that soon will be healed by che`,cha'o,bap,ngo,mi` go'i,love, kisses, hugs, va`... tho' lu.c ba't !!!
Remember the poem we all write? make me dreaming to night that we all are prince and princess::
"Gap nhau o trai len duong
Mung vui chang ngai duong truong xa xoi
Nu cuoi no ro tren moi
Han hoan vui nhon khong thoi noi cuoi
Ben ta xay dap tinh nguoi
Len duong nho mai nu cuoi trong tim."
Thank to our poet master, anh Ba'o,all members of camp LenGiuong 2000 suddenly discovered inside us a poet,some romantic,some dramatic,some automatic,!!! I have proof for this:
Anh Ba'o of DFW VHKH announced that some young lady forgot her black high heels,blue t-shirt,white under shirt,one water bottle and other small ladies items , Ba'o wrote this poem:
"Em o' phuong na`o, a'o o' day
"Go't son dau thay, chi' thay giay,
Tuong tu, anh de trong bi`nh nuoc,
"Nho' mai mu`i chua, that ngat ngay !!!
Anh Lan Jerry Dao write this poem cho Bao:
"Em di anh tiec ngan ngo,
Anh ngoi anh nho' doi bo vai thon,
Gia`y ma`u den , chan son em buoc
A'o da troi anh gio'i mat theo
Em di sao chang mang bi`nh
La`m anh vuong van moi ti`nh tuong tu!!!
What a good enjoying spirit!!! We all passed Poem class 101!! with Summa Cum Laude ! I learned a lot of good characters from our camp leaders and staff, the ability to plan,to work the plan, AND the art of delegate! This camp is the mother of all camp!
We have good food,
We have good game,
We have good songs
We have good class training sessions
We have good weather most of the time
I saw so many young beautiful , good looking boy and girl and wish they all call me: "anh" should not call us chu',uncle,ong,ba'c !!! make me wish somehow I can go back in time and be in my 20' again. Next camp I agreed with the suggestion that we change the name to camp : Anh + Em Len Duong!!!
I really have a good time thanks to the efforts of so many good hearts I learned a lot in this camp. I think when we decide to have a good time, we have good time! What an opportunity to LIVE , to LOVE, to LEARN, and to LEAVE a legacy for future generations! Camp 2001 !!! here I come. Thanks for being with you all,
What a life!!! Live today with passion!
Dzung Michael Dao
Goat6@juno.com
From: Jerry Dao daojk@yahoo.com
To:
Hi everyone,
I didn't have a chance to fill out the Len Duong 2000 feedback so here it is. The camp was a success because:
1 - We had good choices in choosing our speakers. Both Dat Nguyen and Cam Van were excellent. Their speeches were lively as well as humorous at some points. I think they would have great positive influences on our campers on their work ethics, their courages and their desires to be the best. I was moved by the credits they gave their parents for their successes. I was amazed at such fine qualities in these two young people.
2 - The materials chosen for our workshops were excellent. I could only participate in one, the Goal Setting. I would give a 10 (perfect score) to our 2 teachers Phong Pham and Dzung Michael Dao on choosing and presenting the materials.
3 - The campers were very decent "NGOAN" people. To all the young campers out there, your parents did a good job raising you. I was in the Food committee and I noted that never once anybody would refuse to help when asked to do chores at the camp. Everybody worked with a smile on his/her face.
4 - The young campers made an effort to speak Vietnamese. The skits the teams performed at the Camp fire were the proofs. I myself had a chance to refresh my memory about the info. on our heros and believed that it was a good exposure of our Van Hoa' to our young Vietnamese people.
5 - Last but not least, the staff deserved a big round of applauses. You all worked tirelessly to provide a good time for everybody. I heard that the Security team patrolled the camp ground all night long to make sure that everyone was safe and sound. I heard that chi. AnhLan stayed up until 4:00 a.m. the night before the camp to make sure that everything was ready. I saw the dedication from anh Dung and anh Tran Anh months before the camp to make the event a success. I saw that Matthew Phu Tran (program manager), Bao Luu (transportation), Phong-An (Dallas promotion team), anh Long Tran(MC), anh Bieu (technical), Chinh Nguyen and Christy Van Nguyen (Food and Catering) gave 110% of themselves to the tasks they did. I praised anh Tuan the game master once but it doesn't hurt to do it the second time. You are good, anh Tuan.
Ann Nguyen
P.S. I don't know if this message would reach all the campers but I would like to have a few words to my teammates, the Ly Thuong Kiet team. This is chi. A'nh. If I'm not mistaken, from AnhLan's report on LD camp 2000, I read that our team won the skit competition. If it's true, congratulation! Our team were lectured twice about lack of teamwork at the big game and it made some of the team members sad so now cheers.From: Movado Y2K <mrlakeland@usa.net>
To: Anhlan Nguyen <anguyen1@pdq.net>
Date: Wednesday, June 07, 2000 6:20 AM
Subject: Re: [Hello from Houston]
Dear chi. Anhlan and camp staffs;
I was rush to go back to Houston right after the bonfire. Thus, I couldn't say good bye to chi. It was a very successful camping and as usual for the past three years, I really enjoyed every bit of it. Chi. Anh Lan and the staff did a tremendous job to put this camp together. We are proud of you guys! It was amazing to know that there were numbers of people from many different states to participant in this camp. Florida by itself, we had 5 members! Like I said to chi., it would be nice that we have Len Duong in Florida in near future. ...
Thong Vo
Dear Anh Lan,
Thanks for everything that you and your friends have done for me. I really like Camp Len Duong and I miss Cac Em very much....
Chi Nguyet Anh
Hello C. Anhlan
Thanks God, I am back to normal and been catching up with my sleep. I did have a good time. Especially, something that touch the bottom of your heart. A few time, I did have to clean the tear of my eyes. One after singing DDe^'n Vo+'i Que^ Hu+o+ng with Camp Staff and the other time after listening to a young camper predicted what would happen in the next 20 years that Vietnam will be free of communism and under democracy. You and everybody had done a great job.
Quang Q. Tran
Design Lead Engineer
Renton Post Production Structure Engineering
Hi Chi. Anhlan,
I really enjoyed camp Len Duong 2000, thanks to you and all of the wonderful and dedicated staffs that planned and make it happen. I did see my team (Nguyen Du) and other teams all get along together well. We love each other and we were taking care for one another. The things that we all learned and the memories that we shared sank deep into our hearts and will last forever. Above all, we all have excellent staffs, delicious food, tastety cha'o and che`, inspiring speakers, great leaders, fun game, challenging riddles, creative skits, nice cabin, very good camp. I can't wait for Len Duong 2001 next year maybe?.
Is there a get together Campers Reunion July 4 like last year, let me know if there anything I can help.
Sincerely,
Duy Danny Nguyen :)
| From: | "Ann" <froyo1@yesic.com> |
| To: | "Anhlan Nguyen" <anguyen1@pdq.net> |
| Subject: | |
| Date: | Sat, 10 Jun 2000 01:58:49 -0700 |
Sorry I couldn't write back sooner, my computer has problems connecting to the internet, but anyway... I'm feeling great! Prom was grrrreat! How are you?
Chi Lan, it was very worth it to travel all that way from Canada to attend Len Duong- I will always value those four days.
The camp site was breathtaking, the cabins comfortable, the games exciting, the food could have been better, the lessons valuable, but above everything- I was most impressed by the people I met. Not only was everyone really warm & friendly but I was totally blown away by the high level of spirit. I felt spirit in every activity we did regardless if it were small b/c everyone contributed their full effort & participation. And patriotism! I have never been with a room full of youths so proud of their heritage! I was so surprised and impressed by the extent of knowledge on Vietnam and Vietnamese people have even though they were brought up in America. It seems each person inspired me with their own story, and I know it was only over a couple of days but the friendships we formed were over real bonding.
Chi Lan, if you hadn't persuaded me into going to Len Duong, I would have missed that reality check that I so needed. As you know, I live in a surrounding with very few Asians so my parents try especially to teach me to be proud of my Vietnamese heritage. And I do feel good about being Vietnamese because it makes me feel special and unique. At the camp though, I felt a different sense of "good" - I felt belonging. Not only that but now I feel like I understand what being Vietnamese is really about and why I should be proud. Now, to me being Vietnamese means to be determined, strong willed, high spirited, warm, and united. Thank you for opening the door for me and allowing me that deeper insight.
I hope there's a Len Duong 2001- can't wait to see everyone again!
luv,
Tana
Original Message From "tom nguyen" <tomistom@hotmail.com>
I recall my nostalgia as I left Fort Worth for home, and as I pulled into the driveway of my home, my sister ran out to greet me, asking me how the camp had gone. The experience was truly inexplicable, and with all the screaming at Len Duong, from my sore throat, I managed only to exclaim, "Awesome!" Awesome is an understatement. Truthfully, I had expected Len Duong 2000 to be just another summer camp, where friends are made, and games played, in an effort to "de-stress" from the everyday hectic environment. But was I wrong! Len Duong 2000 was a learning experience, beyond all my expectations. The atmosphere of Len Duong was indescribable and I felt a sense of belonging-ness immediately stepping foot onto the campground. Even with so many young Vietnamese, from as distant as Canada, California, and New York, everyone bonded, and there was no doubt that this group was exceptional, a group with a purpose and direction in life. As an active member of the Vietnamese community, I frequently attend political rallies or demonstrations, or community functions in general. Never have I witnessed such enthusiasm and unity among a group of Vietnamese, especially so young, as demonstrated at Len Duong. What brought everyone together was his/her interests in listening to inspirational speeches by Dat Nguyen and Josephine Cam Van, how they overcame obstacles in life to become successful in their respective fields; playing Anh Tuan's traditional Vietnamese games, Anh Bao's "tho* lu.c ba't", among others. All these activities were interesting, educational and entertaining but perhaps the event that moved me was the "candlelight rally" conducted by Chi Nguyet Anh, where she led us back to our homeland through inspirational songs and poetry. She reminded us who we are and why we are here. Her passion and spirit were so profound; she promised she "will not stop fighting until Vietnam achieves democracy". The one and a half hours of singing patriotic songs and "praying" for Vietnam's freedom motivated me and instilled in me a greater sense of duty. The effect of the rain that night was overwhelming, perhaps the purpose was to bring everyone closer together, to unite under one roof, to listen to one message, and that is to show our solidarity with the people back home in demanding democracy and human rights for Vietnam. Thus, unity is so critical. From witnessing certain activities at Len Duong, such as The Big Game, "tho* lu.c ba't", skits, presentations, etc., there is so much talent in each individual. And what made the activities so interesting to participate in and watch is each person being able to contribute his/her talents, whether it is singing, dancing, writing, drawing, or acting. In my opinion, Len Duong 2000 was so successful because of the leadership displayed by the staff, and the unity and teamwork among the participants.
Thank you cac anh chi at VHKHVN for making my experience at Camp Len Duong 2000 so memorable! Len Duong 2000 was awesome! I'm looking forward to Len Duong 2001!!!
Tom Nguyen (team Nguyen Trai)
| From: | Cuong Phan |
| To: | "Anhlan Nguyen" <anguyen1@pdq.net> |
| Subject: | What my teammates and friends think about the camp ... |
| Date: | Sat, 10 Jun 2000 09:52 PM |
i just
wanted to let yall know i had fun at the camp..it was a lot better than what i
expected..cept fer all those ugly mosquitos..i like the icebreaker games the best..even
though i couldn't understand a word they said...
...til our next len duong come around! someone told my dad that if this was my and my sisters' first time attending len duong, then he was certain to see us again next year...and he's absolutely right! if all goes well that is....
I can barely understand vietnamese, but I vowed after this camp trip to make it a point to learn it with a passion. I know it sounds funny to use the word "passion", but for me, if this element isn't present, then i won't really learn.
I think this camp was great n fun.
| From: | "Cuong Phan"<cphan@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu> |
| To: | "Anhlan Nguyen" <anguyen1@pdq.net> |
| Subject: | Len Duong 2000 - It just gets better and better ... |
| Date: | Sat, 10 Jun 2000 09:45 PM |
Hi to all the people in BTC trai Lenduong 2000,
First of all, I would like to thank everyone who got involved to make this meaningful event happen. Many of my teamates and friends have expressed their feelings toward the unforgettable experience they had at the camp. THE CAMP IS AWESOME! Even for a second LD camper like me. I know i said the same thing last year but honestly, i probably just keep saying it. I will never get tired of the camp. The experience is never the same. The preparetion and organization is just getting better and better.
"Di mot ngay dang, hoc mot sang khon"
We even spent the whole weekends at the camp. We definitely had fun and learned so much. Though I was exhausted at the end, I truly enjoyed every minutes of it, whether participating in the Big Game, working on the skit, or just having breakfast together. We really had fun! We were able to speak up, to share with others about our experience, our feelings and opinions on various topics. We made many new friends! We learned so many useful skills and techniques from those workshops, Big Games... We had a chance to listen and talk directly to successful youth fifures like Dat Nguyen, Nguyen Cam Van... And amazingly, we gained all of those within a short period of three days. What else could one expect from a camp?
Compared to last year's camp, Len Duong 2000 obviously improved alot. Many mistakes were corrected and the timing is excellent. However, i personally think there's a few areas that BTC may want to look at in preparing for LD 2001:
1. Some great events didn't get much of attention because they took quite a long time. Example? Dem Van Nghe Lua Trai, everyone was tired, sleepy and yet, fighting hopelessly with those "lovely" insects. The spirit was lifted up at the end, when we sang together, but the night could be much more memorable, the program would be more effective if...
2. I have thought about what anh Truong, who coordinated the Sharing THoughts discussion, said that night. "Out of 300 campers, we only have a few Presidents or VPs of VSA." What's going on? Is there anything wrong? Certainly not everyone who went to the camp wants to learn about leadership or community services. But Why is such a small number of the people that LD camp is aimed for? Those are a few thoughts that I would like to share with BTC.
Again, THANK YOU ALL! FOR EVERYTHING!
more to come ...
