Vietnam Report
After a long flight and an overnight stop in Bangkok, we arrived in Hanoi in the early morning. With a short break to acclimatise, we were straight into a sight-seeing tour of Hanoi, first visiting Hanoi’s central lake and pagoda, before going to a museum to find out more about the ethnic group we would be working with in the village. Then it was off to the village – a six hour drive but, thankfully, not followed by the 2-hour hike we had been expecting.
In the village, half of the students stayed at the local school, whilst the others stayed with host families in the traditional housing for the area (swapping over half-way through the stay). These were beautiful wooden houses built on stilts, with the animals living underneath. It was certainly an experience to try going to a long drop toilet only to find a water buffalo looking up at you!
Initially the local people were unsure what to make of us, but as we started our volunteer work, we quickly became a popular feature of the area, and we couldn’t walk down a road without being greeted with smiles and cries of “Hello”. The mornings were spent on a range of projects including building houses, cleaning and painting culturally-significant buildings, producing simple water filtration systems, and even helping to put in the electricity cables to a house in the jungle.
In the afternoons, the Fettesians became teachers and taught English to Vietnamese primary school children. Using songs, games, and a host of other activities they were popular and effective teachers. Both groups of students were sad to say goodbye at the end of the week and I’m sure that the lessons learned by both sides will not be forgotten.
Evenings were often a chance for some down-time and a game of football with the Vietnamese volunteers who had accompanied us. However, we also went out to some local villages to teach the children songs and games, and to learn some of their nursery-rhyme equivalents. A particular highlight was learning the traditional dance of the area, before being given a demonstration by the young-people of the village.
The Fettes students made a fantastic impression in their brief time in the village. Not only we were greeted by cries of “Hello” and trailed by excited children, but a film crew appeared to make a short news article about our work, and brought with them a group of Vietnamese volunteers who, inspired by our work, were there to continue it for an additional week.
After the village we headed for a well-deserved rest at Ba-Be Lake, Vietnam’s largest natural lake. A sight-seeing boat took us to waterfalls, natural caves and islands that we could swim from, and we then spent a relaxing evening at the hotel, playing table-tennis and pool and teaching the Vietnamese how to Ceilidh!
We then had two days in Hanoi, enjoying the international cuisine and the amenities of a big city. Much shopping was done by all, and some of the boys had very fetching suits tailor-made. Our final night was spent on a boat in Halong Bay, a stunning UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our visit here was somewhat curtailed after a typhoon hit further up the coast. However, this was still a memorable way to end the trip, with three-course meals, a party on the boat, and canoeing and swimming in the bay, not to mention the spectacular back-flips off the boat that some of the students impressed us with.
Overall, the students had a lot to contend with on this trip: the culture shock, the hottest weather in Vietnam for the last 50 years, illness, and some difficult living conditions, and all this on top of some demanding volunteer work. However, the students took this in their stride and showed impressive perseverance and almost consistent enthusiasm. I am sure that they have made a lasting impression in the village where we worked, but I am equally sure that Vietnam has made a lasting impression upon them, and that they will long remember the amazing experiences of this trip.
