Despite her advanced age, a great-grandmother in Hanoi uses Google, Facebook and Skype to check the news and keep in touch with her family, in addition to regularly writing and painting.
Channel News Asia shares the story of Le Thi, a 97-year-old woman who has lost most of her teeth and walks with a bent back. The razor-sharp nonagenarian has an insatiable hunger for learning.
"If there are 10 things I don't know, I want to learn however much I can," Thi told the news source. "I used to be an illiterate child, you know."
Thi learned how to use a computer in 2007 after writing with pen and paper became too difficult. "My hands were shaky, and I couldn't see things clearly," she explained to CNA.
Her grandchildren bought her a laptop, and in 2010 she released a 600-page autobiography called Upstream. The book chronicles her long life, from being born during the French colonial years when women weren't allowed to study, to marrying her husband who died in a bombing raid and having one son.
Thi taught herself to read and write despite the restrictive rules of her childhood years. "When I saw my father and brothers reading books, I couldn't stand being illiterate," she shared. "I didn't accept my destiny. Anything a man can do, I'll do it no matter what."
She has pursued artistic outlets throughout her life, according to CNA, completing over 2,000 paintings and writing roughly 50 books and diaries. She plans to write a sequel to Upstream called The Whirl of Life. "I am writing about my thoughts on modern life," she explained.
Though she tires more quickly than in years past, Thi continues to learn and share. "I want to transfer my knowledge to my grandchildren," she said. "There are millions of things I'd like to know. It will take me another century to learn more, but I am willing to do so."
[Photos via Channel News Asia]
