nburke – Page 3 – Year 9 CUE

Day 8 – Home Stay, The Mekong Delta and back to Ho Chi Minh City

November 12, 2017

Day 8

After a fabulous night at the new home stay, we awoke to the sounds of local karaoke across the river and roosters. We fare-welled the home stay family and the Mekong delta but not before visiting the local clay, lolly, rice,fish sauce factories and floating market. Each factory as different to the last, and had a unique look, amount of traffic and vibe to each one. The candy market for example had hand made lollies being made, and many of us brought a few for home. We learnt that a floating market ave boats that sell one type of item each, and the item is put at the mast of each boat to signify what it is selling. The brick factory in particular was interesting due to the economics of the wages. Some of us wanted to bring back a brick but unfortunately as it is made of clay we were unable to. It was interesting to learn about how the industries were formed around the Mekong delta and how the Mekong Delta area depends on their industries. We said goodbye to our much loved local tour guide Han, and continued our journey back to Ho Chi Min City. For lunch we stopped at a traditional but touristy Vietnamese restaurant with a French influence. As it is 11/11 we partook in the remembrance of the fallen soldiers by listening to a poem written by Laurence Binyon called “For the Fallen” and also sharing a minute silence together, it was especially important as Vietnam and Australia have a powerful bond made by the Vietnam War (which we learnt that the Vietnamese call it the American War).

On arrival to the hotel we fare welled our fabulous pink bus which took us all around the south of Vietnam for the past week. We were looking forward to a hot shower as we had been having cold ones for the past 5 days. After an hour of chillaxing, we went to a local market and further built our bargaining skills and lowering our parents bank accounts <3. Some of us walked away with some presents for home and some seriously developed bargaining skills!

For dinner, many of us chose to eat western food, like burgers and pizza – as we needed to re-charge our ambitious stomachs with more familiar tastes. We were paying for our own dinners, meaning we had to monitor, and budget, our meals. As we are leaving to the North tomorrow, it meant we had to be very wary of the time. This meant that we had to enjoy our meals, while our minds were saying dude, move. We’re gonna be late!. After supper, we were prepared for tomorrow, including what to pack and what to expect culturally up north. We then ventured up to our beds in our AIR CONDITIONED rooms. Looking forward to travelling to the North, tomorrow! 🐾

Tash A, James K and Max S

Vietnam Red – Day 8 – Leaving the Home Stay, a journey across the Mekong Delta, and Back to Ho Chi Minh City!

November 12, 2017

By nburke

Day 8

After a fabulous night, we awoke to the sounds of local karaoke across the river and roosters. We fare-welled the home stay family and the Mekong delta but not before visiting the local clay, lolly, rice,fish sauce factories and floating market. Each factory as different to the last, and had a unique look, amount of traffic and vibe to each one. The candy market for example had hand made lollies being made, and many of us brought a few for home. The brick factory in particular was interesting due to the economics of the wages. Some of us wanted to bring back a brick but unfortunately as it is made of clay we were unable to. It was interesting to learn about how the industries were formed around the Mekong delta and how the Mekong Delta area depends on their industries. We said goodbye to our much loved local tour guide Han and continued our journey back to Ho Chi Min City. For lunch we stopped at a traditional but touristy Vietnamese restaurant with a French influence. As it is 11/11 we partook in the remembrance of the fallen soldiers by listening to a poem written by Laurence Binyon called “For the Fallen” and also sharing a minute silence together, it was especially important as Vietnam and Australia have a powerful bond made by the Vietnam War (which we learnt that the Vietnamese call it the American War).

For dinner, many of us chose to eat western food, like burgers and pizza – as we needed to re-charge our ambitious stomachs with more familiar tastes. We were paying for our own dinners, meaning we had to monitor, and budget, our meals. As we are leaving to the North tomorrow, it meant we had to be very wary of the time. This meant that we had to enjoy our meals, while our minds were saying dude, move. You’re gonna be late!. After supper, we were prepared for tomorrow, including what to pack and what to expect culturally up north. We then ventured up to our beds in our AIR CONDITIONED rooms. Looking forward to travelling to the North, tomorrow! 🐾

Tash A, James K and Max S

P.S. Hey Ma, I’m wearing sunscreen don’t worry xx -chomp

P.P.S Hey Dad, Mom, Abby, and Albert, I didn’t wash my hair for 4 days, Max. 🐾

P.S Hope your enjoying a well deserved rest while I’m away, I’m having an amazing time x -Tash

Vietnam Red – Day 7 – Leaving the House, a School visit, and a new Home Stay

November 12, 2017

By nburke

Day 7

On our 7th day venturing through the country of Vietnam, our morning was abruptly woken by the sound of chickens signalling the start of a long and humid day. We embarked on our last trudging journey down to the building site to add the finishing touches to the house, including the tiles at the front entrance. After long hard hours of sweat and tears, we handed over the house to a most grateful and fortunate family. During the ceremony, quite a few tears were shed by the husband and wife who graciously accepted the 2 days work. In addition to the house, the extra funds that we had raised were used to purchase essential furnishings including a dining room table, a kitchen cabinet, china, a mop, a fan and much more.

Handing the nearly complete house over was rewarding and was followed by the visit to the local school of the island and presented gifts to the 99 children who were all in grade 1 and grade 2. We found that each year, only one student who achieved the most amount of success in class were given 2 books for the whole year, so every student was elated to receive 4 books, snacks, and pens in a little pack for each child. We played with the children, allowing games to overcome the barrier of language. Students tried playing Australian Rules Football for the first time, Soccer and jumping up and down with their new skipping ropes.

After our last lunch in this remote village, we travelled to the mainland by boat, then followed by some tiring travelling by bus then another boat to our next home stay along the Mekong. The rain pattered down on the roof greeting us in this welcoming home stay. We were humbly received by the local family and had an excellent meal, a highlight being the elephant ear fish, served upright so the meat falls straight off the bones. After dinner we had a concert, including traditional folk music and their theatre. We then sung Advance Australian Fair to them as they wanted to hear a song from our country. This has been a rewarding, tiring and overwhelming day as we have looked forward to the village experience for many days.

Ashley D, Emily B and Harry Q

Vietnam Red – Day 6 – House Build (Cont.)

November 12, 2017

By nburke

Like yesterday’s build, we thought it best to get three different perspectives of Vietnam Red to write down how they experienced the day, Enjoy!

Today we had ourselves our second day of building. Time went much faster as we knew well by now what we got ourselves into, and the team work was much stronger; diong a new construction method which involved weaving for the roof with palm leaves and other resources, insuring that we used the best of what we had. Helping along side us was the “Aunty” of the house who clearly had more experience and although there was a a language barrier, she did her best to teach us. Walls got taller and although I bumped into one and broke a corner, nothing stopped our spirits as we worked our way into working on top of the scaffolding. The heat beat down on us, but we persevered and finished the day off dirty and sweaty.

As the day closed off and what we thought was the end to an already good day, I noticed that there was an abnormal buzzing on my neck and felt as though it was a bee, to check with my friends I turned my head and got them to check if everything was okay. Little to my knowledge, the turn of my head panicked the bee and it and flew into my hair. We then went back to our rooms and I felt the buzzing again on my neck, so it was picked off and thrown onto a friends’ bed, throwing most of us into a craze. Whilst this was happening, Jack realised a frog was on his bed having what seemed to be the time of its life throwing even more commotion into the room, until we all got it into order – removed the bee and frog via someones’ hat, and sorted the situation accordingly. This made me think that Vietnam, and Australia are similar in that the wildlife is only inches away from you when you are out in the rural areas.

At the end of the day we were informed that our efforts contributed to what was 3 weeks of work into 2 days, thanks to no one taking shortcuts and taking action where necessary.

-Saxon B

Today was the second day of building the house for a local family. We woke up to the cries and barks of roosters and dogs early in the morning. The lack of sleep didn’t help when I noticed (too late) when a frog hopped out of my shoe (It’s okay though).

When building commenced, we blasted through a majority of the walls, placing in windows and beginning to build a palm leaf roof, with minor mishaps such as me accidentally knocking down a small portion of a wall.

After a gruelling 3 hours of work, several sunburns and countless mosquito bites, a lunch of local cuisine was finally served. The building commenced again afterwards, for another 3 hours, which was somehow even hotter and more tiring than the last. Walls were built, windows were installed and although we did not complete the building, we have done a significant amount for the family who will be moving in within the week.

Our hours of work, commitment and teamwork finally paid off after we were told that we had completed about 3 weeks of work for the family in 2 days (for 2-3 builders), with only a weeks worth of work left after we leave (2-3 builders/specialists), with only the roof, furniture and floor tiles left to place within the house we built. We ended the day preparing bags of resources that can be donated to a local school tomorrow. The task was given to us without any directions, and we quickly found a rhythm and created a manufacturing line to put 4 books, 2 pens, 1 milk drink and 1 bag of chips into each bag to be tied up and delivered by us tomorrow.

– John Z

Yesterday I woke up at when the sun rose surprisingly feeling refreshed after a very hot nights sleep. After eating a soup for breakfast, I ventured to the house to continue building the house for the second day in a row. I began the build by constantly laying bricks and building a new wall in the interior of the house. Unfortunately due to this, many litres of orange-flavoured hydrolyte had to be consumed. Sweat was flowing from my head to toe, but the determination to achieve something phenomenal for a family in need was what motivated me and the team to continue working as hard as I possibly could. After lunch, our regular siesta was what I greatly appreciated as I was able to recharge my batteries before beginning working again. In the afternoon instead of brick laying, I switched to weaving yarn through banana leaves, which would be used as the roof on the families house. This was fascinating as I had never previously weaved before and it was interesting to understand how sustainable the people on the island were as no produce or vegetation was ever wasted. Seeing the women smile at me while she was weaving allowed me to reflect and understand that material possessions are not what creates true happiness in the world, instead it is simple things that I personally admit to take for granted such as family, friends and food on the table for each meal of the day.

– Eva R

Vietnam Red – Day 5 – The House Build

November 12, 2017

By nburke

As this is a day of very different experiences, we thought it best to split the experiences into “mini blogs” from our three bloggers today. Enjoy!

Isabella S

Today, we started our big day with a delicious breakfast cooked by the local Vietnamese family. It was such a privilege to be made a traditional meal from members of the village community. After breakfast, we walked to the building site, ready for a challenging day ahead. It was quite overwhelming to see bare land with nothing on it, knowing that by the end of the two days, it would be a house. As the day went on, it was really interesting to see the progression of the house. We all connected and worked together to lay bricks, mix cement and weave the banana leaves. The heat was exhausting and was a real obstacle for most of us who hadn’t experienced such climate before yet alone having ever built a house from the ground up. After a nutritious lunch, the group went back to their houses for a siesta. It was so relaxing and refreshing to quietly rest in our rooms during the hottest part of the day and gave everyone an opportunity to regain energy and strength. It was a 6 hour day of building and by the end, I’m positive everyone was overly impressed and proud of how much we had accomplished in such a short period of time. The commitment and enthusiasm that every member of Vietnam Red displayed showed resilience, courage and persistence. The opportunity to make a local Vietnamese families dream come true was a real accomplishment and made me consider just how lucky I am to live where I do and have the things I have. It made me appreciate certain items that I take for granted and respect how the villagers take so much pride in their family and that materialistic items mean nothing in the long run. Overall, it was a challenging, hot and exciting first day in the village.

JadeS

Today was an early morning wake up as it was our first day of the build. We first enjoyed a local breakfast of egg omelette in bread with cheese. After breakfast we walked through the village to where we were building the house for the family in need. It was a hard and sweaty job that started slow but as we progressed it got easier. I worked on one of the walls by myself. I did this by layering a layer of cement, putting a pyramid on the end of a brick and placing it, then scraping the edges and repeating this step until the wall reached the top of the door. We then had a lunch break and took a well needed afternoon siesta. After a slow wake up we all got back to work. This time I worked with Ash to build up the wall and we managed to finish it. We felt as though we achieved quite a lot in one day. As a team, Vietnam Red had done an amazing job overall and the house was well on its way to being completed. After a long and hard day of committed work we dragged ourselves back to our home stay. There we had showers which took a long time as it was one shower between 12 girls. After a relaxing afternoon we had a delicious dinner of local seafood, meat and vegetables. We fell asleep feeling motivated to wake up the next day and continue to work extra hard to complete the house for the family in need.

Michael J

Today was the second day of staying in the Mekong Delta, and the first day starting to build the house for the underprivileged family. We found out that along with consultation with the mayor and local people, the township agreed upon which family needed the house the most. Their value system and sense of community struck me as it was interesting to see that is how their community agreed on spending of the resources that we have raised.. Although the day started pretty early (5:30 to be exact), I slept very well, Waking up in the morning getting ready for the big day ahead of us. To be honest, although it sounds pretty daunting to start building a house from scratch, I was pretty excited and wanted to start right away. After getting ready and changed into building gear, we had egg pancake (something like that), bread, local mango, local cake and fried bananas. After a big breakfast to start the day, our group went off and entered the building site. We were split into many small groups, some were cement makers, most of us were brick layers’, and others did heavy lifting and many more heavy activities. As soon as the work started, I knew it would be very hard and very sweaty work. After 2 minutes of work, I was sweating buckets, even with drinking a lot of water, it felt like every drop of water immediately was sweated out. However, when work started everything just fit into place, we split into small groups to work on different parts of the house and with the teamwork of the group we had done an extreme amount of work. With the house’s walls being nearly complete in a matter of hours for the first day of work we felt very pumped and invigorated to work on the next day. Overall today was a sweaty, exhausting but meaningful and inspiring day.

Vietnam Red – Day 4 – Cu Chi Tunnels and The House Build

November 12, 2017

By nburke

First off we would like today a massive Happy Birthday to Ashley Daou and Emily Bell! Both on the same day!

Today we had an early start with a long 1.5 hour bus ride. We were headed for the Cu Chi tunnels. The group was all very excited to learn about the never ending network of tunnels right under the surface created by the Vietnamese to avoid the American Army. The most interesting fact that we were taught was all of the military tactics that were employed by the Vietnamese army, such as disguised pits of spikes and how they escaped capture through the tunnels.We all ventured into the tunnels and attempted a tunnel crawl, (which during the war were done every day). Some of us managed the 120 meter crawl while others tested out the 20 meter crawl.

It was then a long and wet ride via the longboats to Tam Hep where we are staying 3 nights and building a house for a fortunate family. Here we met an additional tour Guide, Han, who will be helping us understand the local culture of the Mekong Delta and help us with the upcoming build.Ho Chi Minh city is completely different compared to tiny island on the Mekong Delta which runs through Cambodia, Thailand and obviously Vietnam. We were surprised of the size of the Mekong Delta river and although it is cared for by the local residents, it is filled with plastic bags, old shoes and other debris. The food is still very delicious in a small village without the facilities of a larger one. The main transport here is motor bikes, bicycles and they used motored boats to travel up and down the Mekong river.

We are very grateful for the families feeding and housing us. The family we are building a house for earns little amount of money to afford a safe house and healthy food. The house we are building is being passed down to each generation and the family that going to live there has two children and a 86 year old grandmother living with them as well. All the Vietnamese locals surrounding us are really kind and caring towards us despite our war history. The people of this village are very considerate and we are also, for how much they are doing for us.

Lucia W, Li Hao Z and Daniel I