Hello everyone! Here’s a quick update from those of us in Vietnam!

Yesterday  was our first day at the Quang Phu Kindergarten, and the beginning of our service learning Music Room renovation project. We started our day with very early buffet breakfast at 6am. Many of us were surprised by the different breakfast options offered, including noodles and french fries. Some of us (Kyra) were underwhelmed by the condensed milk coffee served, tasting very sweet compared to to the barista made coffee at home.

We got on the bus at 8am, and endured a very bumpy and scary ride, where the bus driver almost drove into a river whilst performing a U-Turn. When we got to the kindergarten, we were met by the smiling faces of children at the entrance, giving us each a bouquet of flowers, which were all differently stylised.

After a short presentation from the Principal, we split off into our 2 groups for the day, Teaching and Painting.The teaching team started in the upstairs classrooms, with the Greetings and Colours group (Heidi, Akayla, Page, Josh, Elissa, Liam) teaching the 4 year olds, and the Body Parts and Emotions group (Luke, Kyra, Samara, Lilly, Meg) teaching the 5 year olds. Whilst initially challenging, we found the best ways to teach the kids were through songs, actions, and whole-group activities. Thankfully, the university students were there to translate, removing many of the language barrier issues we anticipated. It was interesting to see how some kids picked up the words very quickly, whilst others required a little more help. However, all of the kids were very well behaved and kind. By the end of the lesson, most of the kids were able to speak and act out the words we had taught them.

 

 

The painting team started the day in the music room, spending around 30 minutes planning the designs for the walls. They split into two groups, one painting the parts which would eventually make the pergola, and the others sketching out the designs for the walls of the music room. The night before, we had reorganised the groups to make sure all our artists were on the first day, so designs could be outlined and progress on the room could be made. After the teaching team finished, they also helped out. Many painters had to stand on makeshift platforms of metal bars and wooden planks to reach the higher parts of the walls, so others held them together. It was great to see everyone helping out and doing their part. We progressed very fast, and by about lunch time all the sketches had been done and we were ready to begin painting the walls.

 

 

 

 

 

For lunch, we were served little trays containing rice, beans, carrots, onions and chicken (on the bone) with each portion being separated. Unsurprisingly, many of us struggled using chopsticks to eat the food, and instead relied on little spoons. We were also served a lentil/pea soup drink-thing that was definitely quite different to anything we’ve had before.

After lunch, the kids woke up from their 3-hour midday nap. The teaching group sat with the 3 year olds to eat their lunch, which was some noodle-broth dish. Whilst some kids were independent and ate on their own, others had to be spoon-fed. The teachers wouldn’t let the kids leave and play until they had eaten their food, so some ate as fast as they could and got out the toys in the playbox.

We then moved into our second lesson, with the Body Parts/Emotions group teaching the 3 year olds, and the Colours/Greetings group teaching the 5 year olds. The kids have fun signing songs like the Hokey Pokey and Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, as well as playing with the giant rainbow parachute toy Mrs Freeman had brought. The younger aged groups were a little more challenging to teach, and were quite tired and fussy.

At around 5, we got on the bus back to the hotel. Once we got back, we were given the choice of relaxing at the hotel, or going with the teachers to sightsee and view the markets. Some of us stopped by the Highlands Coffee shop, a Starbucks-like café, which served really tasty sweet coffees and drinks. We were surprised at how cheap everything was, with a large coffee and a cake only costing $4.70 AUD. AT the markets, we each tried our best to barter and lower the price of every item.

At 7 we left for dinner at Thi’s Kitchen. Unlike the night before, most of our dinner options were traditional Asian dishes, like fired rice and pho. We also enjoyed mocktails at the restaurant. Before heading back to the hotel, we wandered through the markets. Once back at the hotel, Mr Andrew told us about a new exciting competition, where we each partnered up and are given 100,000 dong to spend at some point on the trip, with the aim being to find the best item possible for that price, throughout the entire trip.

Yesterday was extremely fun but also challenging.

From Luke and Lilly x