While some posts I’ll be posting will just be sharing some of the cool things I’ve done, some others will be a little self-reflection I’d like to share about. It may seem like we’ve only done a lot of fun things, but it’s not without some serious activities thrown in there too.
While we have been going out and about a lot, we’ve had two orientations. An Introduction to the Program from our program coordinator, Ho Vu (who also participated in this same program as a Vietnamese roommate 4 years ago) and Service Learning lecture from a Dr. Christophe Roberts, who also coordinates programs in Vietnam and who will be teaching us about the culture and history this next upcoming week.
The first orientation led by Vu was important as it taught us the do’s and don’ts during our time here. We must respect not only the culture and new environment that is we were just introduced to us, but to our bodies as we recover from jet lag and adapting to the new cuisine we’ve been eating. He also told us about how important we were to the area that we are volunteering in. DukeEngage and CET Vietnam are very respected there for the work they’ve done the past couple of years, and it’s our duty to carry our responsibilities and maintain that respect that’s been given to the people in the program. Overall, it was very helpful in learning the in’s and out’s of what to expect throughout the program.
The lecture by Dr. Roberts was very powerful. If I haven’t mentioned it before, Quang Tri sits right on the 17th parallel, which was the line that divided North and South Vietnam during the war. If you couldn’t guess, this place was demolished and in ruins as a result. Even though it’s been decades, the area is still recovering and could always use help, especially in the areas of education and public health. This is where we come in, and that’s first done by asking the community what they need. We don’t just go in and try to fix problems, we address the ones that the community needs. Let’s rewind for a bit and check out some of the previous projects in the past summers. A project in 2014 was the building of a parking lot and sidewalk for students that bike to school. Usually students just park in the yard in front of the school, but when it rains (which it does a lot) , the yard becomes a mud pit which can reach the students knees. A parking lot and sidewalk from the main road address this issue. Last year, they built a fence surrounding a school. During recess, if children are playing with a ball and it rolls onto the street, it puts them in great danger if they try and get it. A fence addresses this issue. Although both projects seem simple, they go a long way in the impact it makes in the children’s safety. This year, our project is restrooms. The current situation at the restrooms of the schools we are volunteering at are not too sanitary and the facilities are outdated. But we’re not building a new restroom just to build a restroom for the school to have, but we’re building it so the children have somewhere where they can deposit their waste and clean up safely. A simple act of washing hands in a clean and hygienic restroom goes a long way in terms of increasing the health of the area. Our ESL teaching is important too not because of the opportunities it provides the students in their future careers, but they also get to learn from a native English speaker and that’s a huge opportunity that not many students get. We’re also introducing type of teaching in which we try and facilitate conversation to improve grammar and group interaction skills instead of a regular lecture hall. All these are challenges that us volunteers face, but it’s something that could have a huge impact on a student’s understanding and usage of English. Recently, Vu met with a Vietnamese adult who partook in this program years ago and now holds a very well off job and said the program benefitted his English skills immensely and is the reason he is today.
Soaking in all this knowledge, I really thought about how I once viewed this program would benefit the community and people I would be working with, but not at the level of impact that I now understand. I can’t really just think about how important my service will be, but myactions must match and even surpass that level of thinking. There’s simply no other way to put it. This upcoming week is huge in terms of learning about Vietnam’s past and how it came to be today. I can say with confidence that it’s going to be very essential to my time here.
While we have been going out and about a lot, we’ve had two orientations. An Introduction to the Program from our program coordinator, Ho Vu (who also participated in this same program as a Vietnamese roommate 4 years ago) and Service Learning lecture from a Dr. Christophe Roberts, who also coordinates programs in Vietnam and who will be teaching us about the culture and history this next upcoming week.
The first orientation led by Vu was important as it taught us the do’s and don’ts during our time here. We must respect not only the culture and new environment that is we were just introduced to us, but to our bodies as we recover from jet lag and adapting to the new cuisine we’ve been eating. He also told us about how important we were to the area that we are volunteering in. DukeEngage and CET Vietnam are very respected there for the work they’ve done the past couple of years, and it’s our duty to carry our responsibilities and maintain that respect that’s been given to the people in the program. Overall, it was very helpful in learning the in’s and out’s of what to expect throughout the program.
The lecture by Dr. Roberts was very powerful. If I haven’t mentioned it before, Quang Tri sits right on the 17th parallel, which was the line that divided North and South Vietnam during the war. If you couldn’t guess, this place was demolished and in ruins as a result. Even though it’s been decades, the area is still recovering and could always use help, especially in the areas of education and public health. This is where we come in, and that’s first done by asking the community what they need. We don’t just go in and try to fix problems, we address the ones that the community needs. Let’s rewind for a bit and check out some of the previous projects in the past summers. A project in 2014 was the building of a parking lot and sidewalk for students that bike to school. Usually students just park in the yard in front of the school, but when it rains (which it does a lot) , the yard becomes a mud pit which can reach the students knees. A parking lot and sidewalk from the main road address this issue. Last year, they built a fence surrounding a school. During recess, if children are playing with a ball and it rolls onto the street, it puts them in great danger if they try and get it. A fence addresses this issue. Although both projects seem simple, they go a long way in the impact it makes in the children’s safety. This year, our project is restrooms. The current situation at the restrooms of the schools we are volunteering at are not too sanitary and the facilities are outdated. But we’re not building a new restroom just to build a restroom for the school to have, but we’re building it so the children have somewhere where they can deposit their waste and clean up safely. A simple act of washing hands in a clean and hygienic restroom goes a long way in terms of increasing the health of the area. Our ESL teaching is important too not because of the opportunities it provides the students in their future careers, but they also get to learn from a native English speaker and that’s a huge opportunity that not many students get. We’re also introducing type of teaching in which we try and facilitate conversation to improve grammar and group interaction skills instead of a regular lecture hall. All these are challenges that us volunteers face, but it’s something that could have a huge impact on a student’s understanding and usage of English. Recently, Vu met with a Vietnamese adult who partook in this program years ago and now holds a very well off job and said the program benefitted his English skills immensely and is the reason he is today.
Soaking in all this knowledge, I really thought about how I once viewed this program would benefit the community and people I would be working with, but not at the level of impact that I now understand. I can’t really just think about how important my service will be, but myactions must match and even surpass that level of thinking. There’s simply no other way to put it. This upcoming week is huge in terms of learning about Vietnam’s past and how it came to be today. I can say with confidence that it’s going to be very essential to my time here.