You must have known about my desperation about finding a scholarship in the previous story. And I truly mean desperation, the feeling of helplessness being unable to find, apply or win any scholarship for my beloved mother. I was so drawn into the terrain of despair and so, forgot the ultimate aim of finding one. I felt obligated not by society, by life, by my family but by myself to be outstanding and full-ride scholarship is so far a proof, an indication that society has taken to measure excellence.
I forgot the reason why I came to love overseas education, and why I came to love the Netherlands. It was one ordinary evening when I was wandering aimlessly through the TV channels hoping to strike something not too political or too nonsensical. To the most vivid recollection of mine, I encountered a breathtaking scene that stole my heart away. It was the most magical but the most real fairytale I had ever seen in my life. It was Utrecht. Somewhere street - a program by NHK, took me to this wondrous land where nature felt so close to men, where water meets the wood with tons of canals and shady lines of trees. A sense of exhilaration was bumping inside of me, so much so that I told my mother: 'Mom, I think I have been there before, I felt so personally connected. Mom, I want to go there and live the rest of my life'. It was miraculous how people there are so friendly to strangers, considering the fact that they even let them come into their house for a chat while they are working (this never happens in my country, people avoid strangers at all costs because there are so many kidnapping, robbing, spell-imposing cases taking advantage of goodwill).
That would have almost faded away had it not been for the pieces of stories I read from Vietnamese students studying in the Netherlands. I want to be like them, to bicycle in the white pure and fairytale snow of Amsterdam, to go buy a second-hand bike of my own and meet a cute seller, and finally to miss and to love my country's cuisine, Pho and rice, more when getting sick of bread and cheese :))) I love the Netherlands, from now on, love will fuel my education journey, not despair.