There was a lot of fighting around the area where the school is built. My aunt’s husband lost his leg here. He showed me the exact location where he was hit, just a few hundred yards from the main road. I talk about the war during my concerts. I experienced it during my childhood. It’s still rather eerie to hear about the war from another person and to connect my memories and reality together.

The local government gave the VSF the land on which the school is built. I didn’t know this from my previous visit, but on this trip I found out the school is built on an old American army base. There’s no trace of war here, just stories and memories. Soon they too will blend into each smile, each blade of rice plant, each flower, each day.

How befitting is it to build a school on top of an old army base? Viet Nam is constantly changing. It has been 30years, and for the first time I can feel it, deep in this heart of mine.