Read “GLIK Leadership Scholarship and 22,000 Miraculous Miles” by Bao Tram (The Gioi Publishing House, 2020). The 286-page book on thin, fragrant Do paper took me on Bao Tram's journey through 4 countries: Japan (7 weeks), the US (6 weeks), Singapore and Thailand (2 weeks) for the course “Global Innovation Leadership Skills”. The book is not written to introduce or promote a study abroad program, nor is it a travelogue but a work that combines many genres with full cultural and intellectual colors. The author's experiences through theoretical lessons from famous professors and scholars in the program, especially the program's field trips, gave the author a large enough space to fly, to struggle, and from that space, to reflect on himself to look deep into his inner self, to discover and more clearly identify his ego and identity.
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Step out of her “comfort zone” to venture into new spaces, do new jobs, and meet new people. A Vietnamese girl with two small children dared to give up a stable job with a good income but seemingly quite boring and dull to embark on a four-month study abroad program, sweating with lessons in class and strange experiences never before in her life and an unknown tomorrow when the scholarship ends. How many Vietnamese women have the courage and desire to venture like Bao Tram? She confided: “Only when the dream is big enough, it will urge us to do it!” And it is true that Bao Tram “did it” with the desire to change, to live a bright life, to escape the rut, the dullness, the tastelessness of a life that no longer has much fire, no longer has the passion and desire of the past.
Each part of the book is structured with very short stories in a simple, rustic style. Yet the reader is drawn endlessly, from one story to another, unable to stop. Tram tells about lectures, about what she saw and heard on the journey of thousands of miles, about her own feelings when facing things she had never seen before in her life. And looking at cultures, with very different value systems, from Tokyo to Hawaii, from Singapore to Thailand, the author gradually understands herself more clearly than ever.
Committed to a desire for change, a fragile, pure, innocent soul goes hand in hand with a certain depth in the perception and thinking of a person who graduated with a master's degree from the University of Maryland, USA. Having experienced many challenges in different professions, Bao Tram's words bring us both surprise because of the innocence as well as the maturity and depth in her comments and lessons learned. There is something very poetic, very romantic, strangely pure emanating from the words. But there are also many philosophies about social issues that make us startled by their wisdom and depth. The journey of experience has allowed the author to find a part of her soul that has not been found or a part of her soul that has been lost. To determine a mindset: "Whatever tomorrow brings is okay. I learned that and live fully with my today, without worries or fears about the uncertain future". Bao Tram admits that she is "a country girl coming to the city". "Country Girl Bao Tram" will lead me and you from one surprise to another throughout a journey of more than 20,000 miles with countless wonderful things waiting.
The book is full of energy, urging us to dare to dream and never give up on our dreams. Urging us, even just once, to have the courage to step out of our “comfort zone”. Overcoming fear, we will have more wonderful experiences.
Source: https://baodanang.vn/channel/5433/202505/song-tron-ven-voi-ngay-hom-nay-4007889/
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