Prior to coming on this project, I made sure to read the profile of my mentee so that I could prepare questions that would spark conversations between the two of us. When I arrived, I discovered that she had mysteriously dropped out of the program. Instead, I was reassigned to one of the village children who had already come. She speaks no English so I welcomed the challenge to overcome the language barrier and to practice my own Vietnamese. It was better for her and to make her experience in this program, however, if she was able to have someone who was able to communicate with her more fluently. Therefore, she was assigned to another mentor and I was given one who could speak English well enough. She was only my mentee for an hour or two, but I still felt like I had failed her in not being able to communicate with her, so I have been striving to speak with her, no matter how little, to ascertain with her that I still hold an interest in her gettin the most from these two weeks as possible. For three days now, I have been asking questions, elementary at best, and she has managed shy answers. Today, however, she approached me and asked me a conversational question. It was a sign of success to me because I have made her feel comfortable enough to strike up a conversation with me, a foreigner. This was indicative that I have done well in helping her, for which I am very happy. More materially, I have broken ground with my proper mentee. She has expressed a wish for us to become better acquainted on a personal level so that we can communicate clearly throughout this project. I like her very much so I am glad that I have been able to put her at ease enough for her to wish to close the spheres of privacy that separate us momentarily. This is also a first step toward my ultimate goal, which is to build a long lasting relationship with her that will extend beyond the program. Today has been very successful for me and I will sleep well tonight knowing that the work I have done, laying relationship groundwork, is beginning to show its first fruits. I can hardly wait to see what tomorrow holds!

- Danelle Mallen