Today we woke up with aching muscles as we embarked on our busy day of building. We picked up where we left off yesterday and got cracking on our long list of jobs to complete our house. We are nearly finished and are excited to present the house to the deserving family. Today followed a similar schedule to yesterday but today the weather was much cooler. We had the opportunity today for some of the girls to weave long leaves to create the kitchen area. Working with some of the ladies from the village and them teaching us this tricky technique was a humbling experience. The people in the Mekong Delta are constantly happy and are always welcoming us with open arms. The mother who we are giving the house to had learnt “I love you” in English so she could say it to us. It really made us realise how much this house means to this family.
After lunch we always have a ‘Siesta’ which had been nicknamed ‘nap time’. The rest really helps us to regain our energy and enthusiasm so we can work 100% in the afternoon. It is really exciting seeing our hard work come to together and seeing the family’s dream come true.
Thanks to Mum and Dad who have made this experience possible, it’s impossible to describe how lucky we feel to be able to meet and help out these amazing people.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!! (from Mia) I miss you lots (and mum and Soph of course!). Miss you mum and dad, from Zak.
Mia and Zak
Continuing comments from the orphanage on Day 3:
Chloe: This trip so far has been so amazingly eye opening and it’s only day 3! When we went to the orphanage I went through a mix of emotions. Sadness and gratefulness being to most prominent. I must say I cried a few times during that time as seeing the kids is just such an overwhelming but amazing experience. Afterwards we went to the Cu Chi tunnels which was so amazing as we could finally see something that we’ve learnt so much about. The tunnels are so much smaller than I thought they were going to be and it takes a lot of physical strength to hunch over for that amount of time. I’m so excited for what’s to come.
Lucas O: The experience that I encountered today made me realise how lucky we are as the group visited the orphanage. This made me feel happy as I was helping the children that were at a disadvantage.
Lucas G: Today we went to an Orphanage. We had the chance to help make some children’s day. At first I thought it would be very challenging to communicate with the kids, I later found out that it was very exciting to try and communicate with some of the orphans. I made a code with one of the kids and he pointed to where to colour and which pencil to use. When we went to the Cu Chi tunnels I enjoyed learning about how the Vietnamese imagined the war in their eyes and how the Americans were seen as invading the country. Also crawling in the tunnels was an amazing experience learning what the Vietnamese soldiers did to travel around underground.
Photos: second day of working on the house- brick lines are a little straighter today- and the kitchen roof is being weaved and a group photo at the end of a busy day.
