Le Thi, a 97 years old woman from Hanoi looks like another raddled old woman. She has lost almost all her teeth and a severe hunchback impedes her movement. What makes her different is her passion about life and knowledge.
“If there are 10 things I don’t know, I want to learn however much I can,” she said.
She swiftly rocks herself upright, a glint in her eyes and a grin that stretches from ear to ear, to talk about life in French-colonised Vietnam over half a century ago; Skyping with her grandson who lives in Moscow; and writing a book at the age of 87. Le Thi recalled she first time using the computer in 2007 as she had been writing a book about her own life but found it hard to continue with pen and paper. “My hands were shaky, and I couldn’t see things clearly,” she said. Her struggle prompted her grandchildren to get her a laptop and teach her to type. Three years later in 2010, she launched her 600-page autobiography, “Upstream”.
Her digital foray has earned her many young fans who have given her nicknames like “Lady Teen” and “Forever Young”.
“Though I am almost 100 years old, my soul is 20,” said Le Thi with a toothless grin.
Afterall, Le Thi admits that her age is finally catching up with her, and writing isn’t as easy as it used to be. She used to be able to stay up all night to write, but now she gets tired after a couple of hours. However, the great-grandmother isn’t giving up – even if it takes her another ten years to write the book.
“I want to transfer my knowledge to my grandchildren,” she said. “The world is a whirlpool of materialism. People think money can bring them happiness. But to me, happiness is freedom, happiness is knowledge, and happiness is science.”
Thank you for your word of wisdom, Le Thi 🙂
Photo Credit & Source of Information: Channel News Asia
