Mid-Autumn Festival

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This week was spent at the Youth House (house for short-term volunteers) making masks. Because of the lack of communication and SJ's organizational skills we didn't really know what we were making them for, but we made about a billion and one masks each!

Thursday we started realizing that we were celebrating the 'mid-autumn festival' - a national Vietnamese holiday for children. All the SJ volunteers, Vietnamese and international, went by bus to a centre for disabled children in the "country side" (looks exactly like Hanoi) to celebrate this holiday and help set up for the party. The bus ride was highly entertaining as everyone was singing songs from their own countries. We managed to get out of singing a Danish one though.

Before going to the centre a group of us went to a kindergarden to teach the kids a song which we were going to perform at the party. They were really cute but also very hyper, and after about 50 tries they finally learnt 'If you're happy and you know it clap your hands'!

As the pictures show, the celebration was very colourful. All the children were wearing our masks and carrying 'star lights' which I think is a tradition. There were several Song and Dance perfomances (including ours!). All the children at the centre had one handicap or anything due to the American 'Agent Orange' from the war. They all wanted us to take pictures of them - so cute!

It was a very very long day, and the many speeches and present-giving ceremonies dragged on, but it was a nice party and very interesting to see.

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Photos

Christian's ugly mask
The ugliest mask at the party!

Comments

[ayso]

agent orange kids? you know how un politcally correct that is? jeez.

[juliefranck]

hahaha i know i know.

[Milena]

Aww what a cutie that little boy is! That party is very impressive. It must have been very cool to prepare :) Are the kids very happy with you and what you are doing for them? Do you feel like you're extra extra white? I know it sounds silly but it always is funny to feel like you're really a minority! I'm so glad you have all these pictures up, it looks amazing. And makes it feel like you're a little less far away. Your parents are visiting? Cool! I hope they like it :)