Annie Vo -- Navajo Nation (NVA)

Wonderful, fun-and-laughter-filled, mind-opening, rich, humbling, thought-provoking, simply amazing: a whole host of adjectives could describe my experience in the Navajo Nation. I embarked on this trip truly ready for anything and everything, I simply wanted to immerse myself in this new culture. I was with strangers in a new place and culture. Once there I went out of my comfort zone, tried everything there was to try, and fully engaged myself in this experience. It turned out to be one of the most satisfying experiences I have ever had.

The open desert landscape there offered a stark contrast to that of my hometown, New York City. Instead of hearing honking horns, seeing bustling people, and walking among skyscrapers, I saw vast fields dotted with the occasional hogan, mobile homes, and one-story houses through the window of the EIL van, which my group lovingly called the smooshed adventure van. The natural beauty here is literally breathtakingly gorgeous. I remember standing outside a Native American Church tepee of an evening with my host father and other host relatives looking across open fields into the horizon at the setting sun. There were gentle brushstrokes of orange, red, and purple across the sky and all I could say was, "It's beautiful". "Yes, it is", my host father whispered back.

As stunning as the scenery was, underneath it lays a more precious treasure, the Navajo people. Even though I spent less than ten days with a host family, I got a sense of both the richness of their heart and culture. Right after my host father picked me up the first day from Dine College, he told me, "We deeply believe that you have come here for a reason and we welcome you into our family". This is a simple but heart-felt statement that both characterizes the warm welcome that I got from my host family and gives us a glimpse of my host father's sense of family. In almost everything he said, my host father included his family. Later on I found out that he was the marriage counselor of the family and that he had saved a sister's marriage. I also got the sense that my host family's extended family is very close-knit. Almost everyone lives close by (or in the same house) and grown-up children take care of their parents.

I tried as many things as I possibly could. I was able to attend two overnight Native American Church (a synthesizing of Christianity and the traditional religion) meetings and surprised many by overcoming the challenge of staying awake through the 11-hour service. My host father was very nervous before the first meeting and almost advised me not to come, since it is considered disrespectful to leave early. It was my host mom who convinced him to let me have a try. In the tepee I listened to the Navajo prayers and chants and felt the constant drumming vibrate through the ground and coming up through me. I went through all the rituals, such as blessing myself with the pungent minty smelling sagebrush. I felt my cramped legs and aching back and knew the physical sacrifice that the members of this church made every week. The second overnight meeting that I attended was actually part of a wedding ceremony. It was a two-part ceremony, one part being the Christian vow-taking in front of a pastor and the other a traditional wedding in the tepee. I can still feel the contagious joy that pervaded the atmosphere that day. I was able to attend two live concerts, one with more traditional music and one with modern adaptations. The steady beat and usually powerful singing of Navajo music rarely fails to energize me.

My experience in the Navajo Nation has been a humbling one. Though it might be a cliché to say that money does not equal happiness, my host family really showed that this is true. They did not have a lot of material wealth, but they had what matters: strong values and morals, and a loving family. Not only was their nuclear family strong, their extended family came together to form an interlocking web of support. I learned much about this nation that has faced many years of oppression and persecution from the U.S. government, this place where old traditions clash with new way of living and this people that have been struggling to adapt to a more modern society, and the rich culture and strong people that have sustained the nation until now. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have been given.