Sorry it’s a bit late

May 22nd, 2009 by Jaye Anthony

Baby Tahn

: Spa day

Well I can’t believe that I’m at the end of week 3 – it has all gone so fast. We have such a full on schedule that is both exhausting and incredibly rewarding. I’m not sure where to start really, as we have so much going on, so I’m thinking it may just be easier to put the placements into categories and write about them separately, and hopefully give you a feel for what we do here.

Thanh Tan

Well Thanh Tan is a placement that I visit once a week for 1.5 hours to teach English to very poor children that live out by the beach. It is a beautiful place situated about half an hour from Tam Ky. The kids there are incredibly receptive and very smart. They all sit in anticipation, waiting for you to present the lesson. They all join in and we have a lot of fun. Lovely sweet kids.

Misa

At Misa there is a combination of private school kids and some children that come along especially for our English lessons. The children here are very polite and easy to teach. They have a real will to learn new things and are also very receptive. Misa is about 5 minutes from the GVN house, on the motorbike (that I don’t dear drive myself), I get picked up and taken there after dinner for an hour of teaching – my time is divided between 2 classes. I love going to Misa as we have a lot of fun and the kids are just so nice!!

Economic Zone

Economic zone is about a 5 minute bicycle ride from the GVN house. I love biking there after dinner to teach, mostly conversational English to adults that have formed this special club. The club is held at one of the club member’s cafes – it is a lovely cafe with a really nice vibe to it. I really enjoy going there and chatting with the club members. I learn a lot in return about Vietnamese culture and etiquette. We often go out afterwards to get fruit shakes at one of the road side cafes, and continue to chat about what ever takes our fancy. Great group of people!

Disabled Hospital

Well, after 2 weeks of visiting the disabled hospital and feeling to be honest like it was a bit of a waste of time, I have learned that it is in fact not. This week just past (my 3rd week) I decided that I have to make the most of being there, deciding to just get stuck in and try to help where possible. I learned how to massage, and I also put some physio techniques that I was shown into practice. The result was – that time flew and I really enjoyed myself, feeling a real sense of achievement. I now look forward to my final week there.

Home of Affection

I love going to Home of Affection – the kids are just so cool! They are kids that have had really tough lives and really rough deals. Once they warm to you, you’re in! I play lots of word and number games with them in class – teaching them in a fun way the basics, helping with their pronounciation skills along the way. They just make my heart melt – they all have such wonderful sense of humours – we joke and play around in class, but all the while learning. I love to use a picture chart with them, as they just get so excited when being shown new things – like dinosaurs or ocean life, even animals that are usually so commonly seen. I will miss them so much. Next week we are taking the kids (32 of them) to the local swimming pool as a special outing. I can’t wait it will be so much fun to just relax and have fun with them.

Baby Orphanage

Last but not least – my favourite actually. I could go on for ages about the Baby Orphanage but I won’t. The kids there are absolute darlings, when we arrive they hear our car coming and run to the gate and jump up and down laughing and giggling. It is such an amazing reception and it happens every time we go there. There is a baby section (up to 18 months), a toddler section and then the kids from about 3-6 years of age. After turning 6 the kids move to another orphanage in Hoi An. I spend most of my time working along side Suzanne, a kiwi midwife from Levin. She is amazing with the babies and I have learned so much from her. We have had our share of frustrating situations but we take much pleasure in the simple things. For the toddlers and older kids we have general play and basic English teachings. We also have fun days like: dressups, arts and crafts, music madness, sports and my favourite – spa day. Fantastic kids that I wish I could steal away.

Well that’s my placements. They have a lot of variety and no day is ever the same. I am learning so much about myself and what kind of person I will endeavour to be, the love and the kindness of those with so little it is incredible.

We also have a couple of places that we go for R&R – Hoi An and Tam Ky. Hoi An is a beautiful little town situated on the river with the beach not far away. There are lots of cafes with Western food and wonderful Vietnamese foods. A great place to go and party the night away. Tam Hai Resort is heaven on earth, 5 star accommodation and facilities for 3 star prices. A great place to just chill in the glorious sunshine and eat an array of magnificent dishes from the extensive French/Western/Vietnamese menu. The seafood is amazing, Janesse the owner, meets the fishing boats on their way back in with the days catch and purchases the seafood directly from the fisherman. You don’t get much fresher than that!!

I am sad to be leaving in a week, but also excited to go on the rest of my journey that will take me home, and to take time to reflect.