This weekend was our first and last weekend in Ho Chi Minh City. To say we made the most of it would be an understatement. My favorite part of the weekend was on Sunday when we stopped at Lang Viet Lacquers.

I initially was so hot and tired that the last thing I wanted to do was stop somewhere on our way back to the hotel, but it turned out to be one of the experiences on this trip that will stay with me forever. Lang Viet Lacquers is an art company for handicapped individuals. Each individual works at a station and specializes on one part of the artistic process. We were told that depending on the artwork they take 2-6 months to be finished.

They use different techniques to make the art, but the one I found most interesting was the duck eggshells. For example, the picture above is made out of duck eggshell cracked into a bunch of small pieces. After, we got shown around the building we were given the chance to actually sit next to the artists and help them work on it. At first, I did not want to do that because I thought it would be awkward. However, one of the students from UEF named Lin pulled me over to one of the artists and encouraged me to try. Despite the language barrier because this woman knew little English and I know little Vietnamese, I was able to help learn how they put the duck eggshells on the canvas to create a picture. Even though we didn’t speak the same language and just met 30 seconds ago, she allowed me to be a part of her work and we shared laughs and smiles, and it was one of those moments that I will remember forever.

I am someone who has never been good at or liked art, but this companies mission, and the people touched me. It was so cool seeing the process of the work being made and getting to actually try doing it. Putting the duck eggshell on the canvas was way harder than it looked, and I now have a deeper respect for the work artists do.