Simone Hummel
Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School
After only two days, I'm hooked. I realise that I have nothing negative to say about my experiences so far because already Vietnam is changing my perspective. The fresh fruit is amazing, but the Vietnamese people really make it. The hardest part is trying to take it all in; the motorbike honking, the modern architecture, and many different animals. I'm currently writing this from the rooftop of our hotel and even with all the street noise it's surprisingly serene. After dinner a few of us just couldn't leave the view of the river. I'm taking lots of photos to help share the experiences.
Another positive is the temperature is cooler than home right now! What a great experience!
Making a new family here and am looking forward to the rest of the trip! Love you and miss you Ma and Dad.
Simone.
Anysa McShane
Govenor Simcoe Secondary School
Hey everybody back home. Hope all is well. I am here safe in Vietnam. We are in our second hotel now. It is pretty nice minus the geckos in our room. Today we went to a Vietnamese cooking class and learned how to cook some new dishes as well as went to a market where we learned a lot of new things about food. And saw interesting cultural things. Not so sure about the food anymore. When I get home I'll explain why! Can't wait for tomorrow! We will have our orientation meeting with Habitat for Humanity - Vietnam and learn about the build, then take time to tour the Mekong area and find a market!
Miss and love you all!
Anysa McShane
Karen Ngo
Westlane Secondary School
Hi everyone!
It is day two on our adventure and I already feel at home. Even though it is the second time for me coming to Vietnam, I am learning a lot and realise there are many surprises waiting for me. This time I am learning about the people of Vietnam as a general population and culture, from a foreign perspective. I find the strange feelings of safety and openess amongst the citizens interesting. Children are running through markets unattended and the feeling you get from each person is as if everyone is familiar with each other, there is a lot of hospitality.
It is definitely a new and exciting experience. Everyone is welcoming and friendly and it is really sweet as they try the best they can to communicate. Their waves and cheerful smiles alone are enough to love Vietnam. Everyone feels like family and I feel this is a great start towards a wonderful trip. I even love each aspect of Vietnam: the common smells, noise, humidity. With these distinct attributes you know you are in Vietnam. Miss everyone - - thank you for all the support.
Sincerely,
Karen
You girls are lucky to be part of this experience, and we are lucky as parents to be able to see it through your eyes. It must be so odd to see how culturally different Vietnam is from Canada, the freedom they have and feeling enough of a connection as a community to feel safe among each other. Watching children run free without worry is something Canada has not seen in a long time. Enjoy every minute and take lots of notes to remind you of everything you did.
ReplyDeletewelcome to southeast asia. much of what you are narrating is similar to my country, the philippines- the motorbike honking, the fresh tropical fruits: banana and the various varieties from small to large and seeded(in canada, when i was there for a visit i only had cavendish banana), pineapple, starfruit, avocado. should durian be offered to you, the rule is: disregard the smell, concentrate on the texture of the fruit. the modern architecture. there is a portion of metro-manila where you would think you are in first world environment... i had a laugh at the geckos being referred to. i remember a guest of ours many years back(he must have been 7 years old). the mom left him in the guest house to get something in the nearby building. she was not even 30 seconds in the house when we heard shout from the guest house. the mom went running. when she came back with the little boy we asked what the matter was. he said there was an alligator on the ceiling of the room. it was a lizard. in the philippines as in any southeast asian country lizards are abundant. thank god they are abundant. they help eliminate some of the mosquitoes. geckos are larger. and they make a sound: crrrrrrr (pause) tikka, tikka.
ReplyDeletesoutheast asia is a paradise. i heard from a friend who was in vietnam a year of so ago. there is a beautiful beach somewhere there.
thank you for your posts and photos. my next holiday destination is DEFINITELY vietnam. thanks to you.
Beginnings... the world is a better place
ReplyDeletewith people like you all, thank you. A moment
wherein you let us be a part of it all is something I will treasure forever... a life
lived well for us to ponder. Again, many
thanks to all of you. It is a wonder.