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Published: March 22nd 2007
UntitledDear Everybody,
Hello to you all again! I am writing to you from the SJ Vietnam Youth House now after a hard day of volunteering, and although I'm totally beat I can't help but feel I have earned my dinner tonight. It is quite a relief to have taught English today though. My project began last Thursday with an introduction to the project and visit to the proverbial "fishing" village, and on Friday we were due to begin teaching English to the children. However, on Friday, rather than hanging around in the afternoon the children went off to a charitable school and so I was frustrated in my efforts to help. Not that this would have mattered, but the same happened on Monday and Tuesday (Tuesday was a special celebration at their school and unusual) and as San (pronounced Son) kept promising me the next day etc I did become a bit sceptical about the whole project. Of course we had brief periods of teaching (usually just "Hello, what is your name" and telling the children English names to pictures of objects on cards), but this was not the same and I have to say there were a few periods of tedim, restlessness and the feeling of impotence. But today, despite being on cleaning duty rather than teaching duty, I taught for hours in the morning and afternoon, and although we only got as far as the alphabet and numbers up to twenty-five, and not all the children attended, I do feel that this was the start of something important for those children. Of corse, by providing a safe, clean environment for them to wash and play, as well as giving them a good cooked meal we are providing an invaluable service, but it does feel good to get some tangable achievements out of the project. Actually I shouldn't complain - I've probably been really useful, as they drafter me in to teach English to volunteers for two hours on Sunday and volunteers like to practise their pronunciation on me, so I'm helping in more ways than I know. Anyway, I'm exhausted and am absolutely looking forward to dinner!
All the volunteers have been really friendly and we get on really well, although the difference in language has meant that some jokes go on and on and on and on...! But really we all get on great, and the volunteers have cooked every night for each other this week - Monday was Vietnamese Day, and we had Samosas and played Vietnamese games in the evening (despite a power cut, which actually probably made it even more fun), Tuesday was Korean day and we had a crazy stew made from all sorts of carbohydraty things (potatoes, dough, noodles etc), last night we had Vietnamese Day II with traditional Vietnamese food and tonight I have Japanese Day to look forward to (although fortunately the Japanese volunteer, Reina, will be cooking Japanese pancakes which I failed to try whilst I was there so it will be a difference). The food generally is great - sometimes I can't believe that they are cooking it for street children, but I guess if anyone deserves it they do - although I am missing some western staples a little, like potatoes etc (but let's not get on to cravings - when Eleanor and I went away to Europe in October we ended up talking a LOT about our longings for cheese on toast (not for want of anything else to say, by the way)). The people are really friendly, and as there are only three of us in the dorm, it is not too bad, even though I am looking forward to beginning my tour in a luxury hotel. The Vietnamese volunteers are constantly keeping us company, which is great, and I've made quite a few friends as well as some email buddies. One girl, Lan, is particularly keen - she keeps threatening (joking) to come back with me to England, although I don't know whether it's my allure or that of the UK that has her so interested. Anyway, it's always nice to have a stalker, and the volunteers are great at making us forget about home. One guy who took us on a tour of Hanoi on Sunday even gave us ethnic minority friendship bracelets as he left us, which was so kind and unexpected, although I am desperate to find out what the colors of mine mean as they are supposed to be significant.
The only real annoyance is the power cuts, which can be particularly bad as they stop me from getting a shower, but obviously that's not as bad for me as it is for everyone else! However, the power cuts do give us the opportunity to bond over games, so rather than make the evenings boring they make them quite fun, and even more fun when you factor into the equation the spiralling stairs. Otherwise, of corse I am looking forward to soft, comfortable beds and my own bathroom.
This weekend I am off to Sa Pa (possibly known to some of you as Sapa) which is a really famous ethnic village region up in the mountains. It is quite expensive, but according to all sources it is absolutely worth it and my philosophy is 1) I'm only here once 2) What is expensive here is comparatively cheap anywhere else. But for now, I am simply enjoying the project and my charitable contribution!
Love to you all,
Richard
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Grandma & Grandad Elliott
non-member comment
Greetings from Redcar
Hi Richard. Your dad says you will be leaving Hanoi in a day or two, just thought we'd send you a few lines to wish you well in the next phase of your adventure. The group you are with sound very friendly - but have they had your cooked meal yet??. We will be seeing your mam and dad later this week as we are going down to the wedding of Joyce and Ray's daughter (Rachel) who live in Oxford. Then we will stay with Jean and Bryan in Harpenden for a couple of days. We have really enjoyed reading about your journey so far and look forward to further instalments, so keep them coming. Enjoy your next tour and take care of yourself. Lots of love from Grandma and Grandad. PS. Graeme and Debbie have moved into a new house this weekend.