Day 11

After a long night of karaoke, we deserved a high class breakfast. We found a nice restaurant to eat breakfast at near our hotel and it looked as if weddings were held there. Afterwards, we went to a giant indoor market. We spent two hours panning over every item imaginable. Poor Vuong shops with me, which means he will spend at least $20 extra over the course of the trip just because he hangs out with me and they jack up the prices so much initially. Bargaining is fun but after a while it is very tiring and annoying, as you just want a fair deal and you never know if you actually got one.

After, we wanted to get our nails done but we tried two salons and both were no good. One didn't do nails and the other smelled terrible and they wanted to sell us more stuff so we just left. After a siesta, we went and ate chicken with rice for lunch and then headed to the school and distributed food to the families. We gave them rice, sugar, salt, fish sauce, soy sauce, oil, milk, toothbrush, toothpaste and tylenol. We rationed the amounts based on the members in the family. They lined up outside like a mob, it was quite a scene. I was taking pictures of every family as they came in. When it was all said and done, it was very fulfilling to know we helped them out so much. One man came up to me sitting on the ground just to look me in the eye and give me a firm handshake. Tomorrow we will try and get our doctor/immunization situation worked out. Until then friends.

Tom

Day 10 Last Day with the Kids and Karaoke

Today we had our second informational day. It was sad to know that today was our last day at the school but we had a fun day planned for the students. We started off with hand washing, breakfast, and then played nutritional bingo. Our bingo sheets were filled with various types of healthy and unhealthy foods. Each round we explained that certain foods such as bananas and broccoli were good to eat because they helped bodies stay strong and healthy. We also used sunflower seeds as the bingo markers but realized we should have used something else because many of the kids wanted to eat them. After the bingo game, the classroom was covered in sunflower seed shells! It was a mess! Because the kids enjoyed the game so much, we decided to give the bingo game to the school so they could play it again. (*A BIG thank you to Shannon and Minh for making the bingo game!)

We then divided the students into three groups: boys older than 11years, girls older than 11 years, and all kids under 11 years old. The older boys and girls learned about human growth and development. We taught them about what to expect as their bodies changed. Surprisingly, they were very open about discussing it. All the students received deodorant and the girls were also given pads. Since the girls were shy about carrying their hygiene products around, we thought it would be okay to leave them in the back of the classroom until class was over. We thought wrong! At the end of the day we discovered that a mother of the one of the students instructed her son to steal all of the girls’ hygiene bags! All of us were too busy playing with the kids that we didn’t even notice! We were all shocked but there was nothing we could do about it. We assumed she stole them so she could sell them back for money. The school informed us that they knew who she was and would handle the situation. Luckily, we had some extra deodorants to give to a few of the girls.

While the older kids learned about human growth and development, the younger kids colored and made cards that said both “thank you” and “cam on” (thank you in Vietnamese). The cards turned out great so I can’t wait to give them to everyone who donated supplies and helped with our project.

Next, we did a pulmonary activity with the entire group to learn about the effects of smoking. We showed them pictures of a healthy lung, a black smoker’s lung, white teeth, and yellow smoker’s teeth. We definitely got our point across because the expression on their faces was priceless! Many of the students shouted, “ewww!!!” when they saw the black lungs and teeth. We also handed out coffee straws, had the students jump for 1 minute, and told them to try to breathe through the straw. This activity was meant to show them how difficult it was to breathe when you smoke. The kids really liked this activity because they were able to jump around.

The last thing we did was a drawing contest. The students were given the option to draw anything they learned that was related to health or draw what they hoped their future would be like. It was fun to see how excited all the kids were to draw because they all wanted to win a prize. The prizes included cute stuffed animals, animal backpacks, and robot toys. The robot toys were the most popular. All the kids wanted them! We chose 11 winners and the other kids who didn’t win were given a bag of candy so that everyone would have a prize.

Later that night, our group decided to go out to a karaoke place. We got our own private room to sing in too. It was a lot of fun singing Gangsta Paradise, Yeah!, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, and many more songs I don’t remember! We stayed there so late they had to kick us out! The cost was also only $2/hour! Tomorrow we will be handing out health kits and food to each family. We will also be taking family photos.

mai

Day 8 Let's Talk About Sex

Today we taught the kids about human growth and development. We were all nervous to teach the kids but it went better than expected. We taught kids 14 and older about not smoking, STD’s, contraception, and abstinence. This class was requested by Magali and the Catalyst staff and I thought it went quite well. The kids were interested and were very attentive. They found it particularly funny when Tommy showed them how to use a condom with his fingers. After the session, we went out for food. And course, it was delicious!

nhan

Day 7 American Hustle

Before the beach, we ate pho. That was definitely the worst idea ever. It was so hot and eating a warm meal did not help. I couldn't wait to jump in the water and go to the beach. The water at this beach was a lot cooler than the other one which was perfect. There were also a lot more waves, so we decided to rent a float. When Kenny and Vuong asked how much the prices were the little boy said 20,000 dong about 1 dollar. When me and Nhan went over to the stand they told us 10,000 dong. That just shows Vietnamese people are always on their hustle.

We spent the afternoon floating in the ocean on the floats. Tommy and Kenny started playing soccer with some older Vietnamese men. To no surprise, they won 2-0. They had to stop playing, because the game started to get a little intense. The ball got kicked off the field and hit some guy in a polo while he was eating and sand splattered everywhere. He was not happy. So, the boys decided to stop and find other ways of entertainment. My sunburn started hurting a lot more, so I went back to land. While I was in the shade, the boys decided to use my hat as a fishing net to catch a squid they thought was dead. The squid freaked out and inked all over my hat. There goes my attempt to shade my face and avoid anymore freckles.

Finally, after we gathered showered in these disgustingly small booths with no lock on the door, we went home. Our pit stop on the way back was the indoor market. This market already had some prices already labeled. We tried to bargain but failed because we were American. I almost bought a pair of sandals but they didn't have my size. Tommy bought a jersey for 50,000. The women first told him 100,000. The actual price that a Vietnamese person purchasing it would have been 35,000. Again, another hustle but then again 15,000 is less than a dollar.

For dinner we at a Vietnamese Crepe. It's made of flour filled with shrimp, pork, and beans. I had to make sure that there were no vegetables. Vuong started telling me how he would be pissed if I was his kid that he brought back to Vietnam. It's not my fault that I can't eat vegetables. Some of the ones the brought on the table were very hairy. It was just green, gross and nasty.

After dinner we went to our first massage. This was by far the worst massage I have ever gotten. She started to pinch my shoulders on my sun burnt area even though I told her that it hurt. After the massage we had to fill out this ticket. I had no idea what it said. So me, Alice, and Mai waited for U to come out of her massage. She then wrote how the massage was and the tip amount, which we each gave 50,000.

We had to wait in the lobby for the boys for probably 30 minutes. The boys went before us so we had NO idea what was taking them so long. When they came out we found out that the boys had gotten a steam room, sauna, and jacuzzi treatment. They were given robes and a change of underwear for the message. Apparently, the place we went to specialized in men not women. When I started to talk to Mai and Alice about their message, I found out that my women had gypped me of the best part, cracking the back.

The funny part of the night was definitely the tip amount. The boys after their massage did not wait for Nhan's cousin Kenny, so they had no idea how to fill the ticket. Tommy actually signed his name on the tip amount because he was so confused. The women wrote on a separate piece of paper a number he should write on the slip which was 300,000. This was over three times the price of our massage 80,000, unbeknown to him. Vuong only put 20,000 and Nhan put 100,000. Kenny put nothing. It's such a pain to find a good massage place because none are sex neutral. Hopefully we can find a suitable message place when we're back in Saigon. I'm not sure if I'll get anymore in Kien Giang.

Day 6 Roller Coaster of Emotions

After a week of hard work in Kien Giang, we decided to take a mini vacation for the weekend in Ha Tien, a city on the boarder of Cambodia and Vietnam. The car ride was only two hours away through the country side. As we got closer, we saw more and more rice fields. Our bus driver was awful. He did not know the area and had to ask directions multiple times. We finally got to our hotel Phao Dai on top of a mountain. The room rate was only 300,000 dong about fifteen dollars.

To settle our stomachs after lunch, we decided to go site seeing. The first place we went was Thach Dong, a temple built within the cave. As we stepped into the cave there was a 10 degree drop in temperature. Right away in the entrance there was a 10 feet painted wooden stature of Buddha with traditional lighted incense. We went inside a praying room filled with other gold plated Buddhist deities. We made the cardinal mistake of wearing our shoes and got yelled at by an old man. Then we got yelled at for trying to ring the bell. After the main floor their we went up a flight of steep stairs to look at the outside view. The view was gorgeous. All you could see were tree filled mountains in the distance in front of the rice fields. It was an extremely nice change of scenery from our normal city view. The last pit stop we made was to see the Cambodia and Vietnam boarder. There was nothing really to see and we didn't even leave the car so we left right away. We decided to leave right away because we were scared we would be kidnapped and our organs would be sold.

Then, we finally went to the beach. The beach had no sand and a murky gray color with black sand. It did not look very pretty, but we went in anyway. The water was really warm but there were no good waves to waves jump. So we just played volleyball in the water.

Once we got sick of the water we decided to try the rickety roller coaster. At first we were all scared to go on it. The initial rise up was completely vertical. On the way down, you had to manually accelerate and brake depending on your liking. It cost only two dollars so we decided to try it. The ride up wasn't bad. It was weird though that the people managing the ride did not force us to put our seat belts on. At the top, there was an amazing view. On one side you could see the ocean and on the other side you could see Cambodia and the casino on the border.The small top had a little cafe and the most of us ordered our favorite drink Bac Xeu, half condensed milk and half coffee. Before leaving the top, we fed the monkey in the cage its favorite drink, a strawberry soda called Sting. This monkey was so conditioned to drinking stuff given by customers it hated water and loved Sting and beer.

We finished the evening at the night market. It was extremely small. There really wasn't anything there other than clothes, not very cute at all, and small souvenirs. We also added pictures to the other blogs that everyone reading should look at. - Ann

Day 5 Info Day Success!

Today we held our first informational session with the kids. It was nice to come to school this morning having already started to get to know the kids. They were excited to see us and ready to join their teams again. This made getting their attention at lesson time a little easier. Admittedly, they had balloons on the brain from yesterday and kept asking for them. To organize, we split the students into two groups with four leaders leading specific stations.

Nhan, Mai, Kenny, and I worked inside teaching the kids the basic function of the heart. Nhan drew an outline of the body on the dry erase board in the front of the room and explained the direction of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. He had the kids locate their heart and guess the correct size, which is about first size. The kids followed along by drawing a body on their paper and calling out the names of body parts in English and Vietnamese.

Next we brought out stethoscopes and everybody got a chance to listen to their heartbeat. Tommy, Ann, Vuong and U led the other half of the students.

They drew two huge bodies on the ground in chalk. They taught the kids the names of each body part in English and Vietnamese. The kids then had to run to the
part of the body that was called out in English. If they were standing on the wrong body part they were out and the last kid standing was the winner. They really enjoyed this activity and burned a little excess energy. They also taught the children how to measure their pulse and the difference between resting and active heart rate.

We then regrouped and for the remaining sensory and hygiene lessons.We began with a quick memory game that used pictures of body parts and an associated hygiene product. We had twelve students stand in the front of the room with laminated pictures and they only turned around when chosen by their classmates. When a match was picked the two students left the line and the game continued until all the matching was finished.

Next we tried a game to show how germs spread by using glitter and hand lotion. We should have pulled aside a couple of students and stuck glitter to their hands with lotion and let them naturally spread glitter to other students. Instead we picked randomly within the group and the kids went a little crazy. Vuong has scratches on his neck to prove it. The point of the game was lost for a bit, but recovered when Nhan explained how germs spread and the importance of hand washing.

Once the students calmed down, we did our sensory lessons as one big group. We talked very generally about how the eye contains receptors for color and that you can tire them by staring at one color too long. We had the kids stare at bright pieces of paper for thirty seconds and then a white sheet of paper, so that they would see a different color because of saturated cones.

We decided to have a fun water relay activity before lunch. The blue team won this time, but green is still the best. The regular teacher roped the kids back in and got them organized, so that we could teach hand washing and explain the point of the glitter and lotion game. After they were all cleaned up, they got to eat and play for a bit.

Our last lesson of the day was handing out toothbrushes and teaching them how to brush properly. The kids were pretty good at it already and hopefully make brushing a daily routine.

After school, we rested and had a great seafood dinner by the ocean. We got to see the sunset and the moonrise at once. It was very beautiful and we are all looking forward to some time on the beach this weekend. Time for a bed! - Alice

Day 3 and 4 Two different worlds within 30 mintues

Day 3

Chao cac Anh Chi, the day was a neat one. First we had to find a new hotel, because at the one we were staying at, our bathroom constantly smelled like someone just went number 2 in it. I think it was because of the water piping. We asked a taxi driver to find us a better hotel, and we just went down a block to find one. The only trouble was that our hotel kept making us move rooms because they bookkeeping was just awful.

But anyways, after we found a new place to stay, we went to visit the families at the garbage dump with one of the teachers from the school. We first went to the old dump and then to the new dump. It was really sad, but interesting because the families didn't seem sad or depressed at all. They live right on top of trash, but still find the subtle gifts and enjoyments of life.

For example, right when we got there, we were just dumbfounded by the poverty, when a kid about 8 yrs old came out with a huge smile on his face and a simple bamboo fishing stick in hand, asked us if we wanted to go fishing. I followed him to his " fishing pond", and found just a small body of water that was filled with trash and darker than coffee. There wasn't really a place to fish on land so the kid didn't think twice, and just jumped in the dirty water. It was up to his chest, and he had to move trash out of the way to get some open water to cast, all while laughing and smiling at us.

The old dump was nothing compared to the new dump. Because they stopped throwing garbage at this location, there was no smell. There only remains of the dump was a ground filled with plastic bags and torn clothes. The houses in this location had some normal living conditions with beds, TVs, and even DVD players.

This year there's a new landfill that we also came to visit. At this new landfill, it was still operating, so every few hours a new trash truck will come and dumb trash. It was about 20-30 minutes away from the school. The minute we got there, our taxi driver opened the door and the smell hit us. Oh my God, I have never smelled something so bad. The taxi driver had to jump right back into the car. Also there were flies and bugs everywhere, just like swarming our car. We just had the door open for just 10 seconds, and there was about 20 bugs that got in. We were all freaking out about the smell and bugs and I turned to the side and there was a family eating dinner on a mat on the floor.

The smell was so bad, so we had Nhan, who was riding behind us with the teacher from the school, stop and buy air masks. Then it started to rain so we were going to turn back. I was kinda disappointed that we were turning back because we were already there. We were about 10 minutes on our drive back when we finally built enough courage to go.

The landfill was more active than the old one. People just stood around by the trash trucks waiting for the new trash so they can sort through it. They weren't wearing masks. It was such a eye opener. I still haven't really taken it in, because our hotel in the city is completely different. I guess the difference in classes is the same in the states but it's hidden away. Here in Vietnam, it's right in front of you. They don't try to hide it.

After the visit, we went back to our hotel. Tommy and I were told to take two female front desk receptionists out to the beach later in the night. We laughed it off. Everyone was really tired so we all napped for a while. Later we went to get some banh xeo. My dad told me to that Rach Gia is famous for their rat meat, so I've been wanting to try it. At the banh xeo place, there were tanks with eel, and fish, and there was a cage with hamsters. I asked if they were on the menu, but our waitress said "KHONG!". I was disappointed. After dinner, we all passed out.

Day 4

This was the first activity day with the kids. There was about 120+ kids that showed up at the school. Some of them weren't actually enrolled at the school, but heard that we were coming so they showed up. They were so cute! We broke all the kids up into four teams: Yellow(Nhan & Mai, Blue(Quang&U), Orange (Ann&Tommy), and Green(Alice and I). It was really hard to keep control. At the start all the teams were pretty even, but by the end Ann and Tommy's team was only about 10 kids. Their kids would abandon their team because Ann and tommy couldn't really communicate with the kids. They would join Nhan's or my team because we kept winning.

One thing that was surprising is that the older kids were the best behaved ones. I had about 4 older boys in my team that I used as my helpers. We had to cut out some of the games because the kids couldnt understand how to play. I felt like the kids like the team concept and the activities that were completions, like the tug of war and soccer matches.

The water balloons were a bad idea. The kids had alot of fun with them, but they would never listen to us after they got their water balloon. Tommy got hit in the face with one. The whole day was soooo chaotic.

The 3 leg race didn't work well because it was too hard to control the kids to race one pair at a time. Also our plans kinda fell apart after lunch because all the kids went home to eat, and they all came back at different times.

We also gave out prizes at the end. The most popular one was the bubble blowers, then the color pencils. We actually ended early, about 1, but I felt like i just worked for a 12 hour shift. By the end, I was soaked in sweat and lost of voice and had a pounding headache. I did not feel like coming back tomorrow. The kids were no longer cute.

When we got back to the hotel, everyone showered and passed out except for Nhan, his cousins(Quang & U), and me. We played monopoly deal for a while, then snuck out to get some food. Later we woke everyone around 9 because we didn't want them to nap too long. We went out to dinner and ate Lau. Tommy and I bought some Tiger Beer and drank it during the USA world cup game. I'm still amazed by that extra time goal. I spilled half of my beer when Donovan scored that goal. After that we sorted the toothbrushes went over what we were going to do tomorrow. Then I passed out.

- Vuong

Day 2 First Motorcycle Chase

Today was a really interesting day for us. Our day started off great because the weather was cooler than it was yesterday. We also gained two new members to our VHP team, Quang and Ngoc Anh, Nhan’s cousins. They’re great additions to our group because they are fluent in Vietnamese and have lived in Vietnam their entire lives. It’s also nice to have members who know the lifestyle here in Vietnam.

After eating breakfast together at Trung’s hotel, we took taxis to our 16 passenger van at the bus parking lot. Nhan, Tommy, and I (Mai) had a crazy ride there because our taxi driver hit a couple on their moped. Although no one got injured, the driver of the moped was extremely mad and started chasing our taxi. Our taxi driver tried to lose them by driving really fast. At one point, he drove on a road with oncoming traffic and almost hit people walking on the streets! I was really scared and although Nhan and Tommy said they weren’t, I could tell they were too! We did eventually get to the bus lot safely. After our scary taxi experience, we took a van to Kien Giang with another crazy driver! He sped the entire 6 hour drive there and also drove in the wrong lane. Oncoming coming traffic meant nothing to him! The van also drove onto a ferry to take us across sea, which was a first for many of us. On the ferry, children and other people would randomly open the van door, step inside, and try to sell us fruit and other items. We were shocked and a bit scared so of course we locked our doors for the rest of the drive.



When we arrived in Kien Giang, we met with Magali and Chi Hoang at a coffee shop to discuss our project with the families at the landfills and school. We then ended our day with shopping at the market for food supplies to donate to the families. Tommy bought a “Movado” watch for $25 and Vuong also bought a name brand watch, which is already broken. Let’s hope their wrists don’t turn green! Tomorrow we will meet with the teachers and visit the school. We have an exciting week ahead of us!

Day 1 Good Morning Vietnam

Today was the first day our entire group was together. Trung came around May and Duy Anh came early June. Vuong, Mai, Alice and Nhan arrived in Vietnam on June 18th and spent the night in Bien Hoa at Nhan's grandmothers house. Tommy and me arrived late Saturday, June 19th. No one except Tommy had trouble getting his box into the country. On the way out of the airport, the officials only questioned his box. With my weak ability to speak, I tried to explain that there were toys and books to donate to the orphanages. The officials were concerned about the 400 toothbrushes, but they eventually allowed us to pass probably due to their frustration with the bad Vietnamese.

The next morning, we all met for breakfast. My aunt dropped me off at the hotel and came to talk with my other group members about our plans. Currently, our agenda is to leave Kien Giang on Monday June 21st. That following day we'll be doing doctor visits to administer Hepatitis B shots, take a family portrait to develop and donate, and then conduct our own survey. Then we will plan to play games and teach the landfill kids at the school. Finally, towards the end of our trip, we will donate care packages and food to each family.

After breakfast, we went to the fabric store to buy silk for Ao Dai the Traditional Vietnamese dress for me, Alice, and Mai. Total cost to get the fabric and labor was $25. We spent an extra $3 for the fabric for the three legged race activity for the students. Trung then proceeded to be our tour guide for the rest of the day. We took the typical tourist pictures at City Hall, the Opera House, Post Office, Vietnam Museum, and along the way we saw three famous Vietnamese celebrities.

Because the heat was unbearable, we made multiple pit stops in the Vietnam malls that included Diamond, Vincom, and Parkson. These gigantic malls are very fancy and were better than any mall in Madison, probably more comparable to the Galleria in Houston. For instance Diamond had 13 floors. The stores included but not limited to Gucci, Burberry, worldwide renowned designers, etc. The only thing we could afford was the food at the food court. Everyone tried Vietnamese food and drinks and so far no one has gotten food poisoning. Most of the stuff at the mall was triple the price it is normally on the street, but to put price into perspective a plate Bahn Quon, rice noodle wrapped around meat, was three dollars.

Still jetlagged, we all needed a nap around 2pm, which is 2am in Madison. Our plan was to meet at 4:30 but everyone overslept. So, we finally left the hotel at 5pm in pouring rain. Currently in Vietnam it's the rainy season. Luckily it wasn't too hard of rain. We spent the night bowling, eating ice cream, and going to the night market. The bowling lanes are extremely waxed and a lot shorter than American lanes. Vuong and Tommy managed to get four gutter balls in a row. The ice cream here is so cool. They take a coconut, fill it with ice-cream and exotic fruit such as dragon fruit, watermelon, apples, pineapples, and stuff we can't even name. The night market was probably the most eventful. Bargain shopping is such a pain as a tourist. Merchants raise the price triple to what it normally would be. Immediately lowering the price by ¾ the merchants were still willing to sell. Tommy bought a new pair of Billabong swimsuits $3.50, sunglasses for $2 and a shirt for $7. After this extremely long day, we were all exhausted and ready to go to bed. We have to be up by 7:30 am to leave for Kien Giang. - Ann