EIL Intercultural Learning

Martin Campion form Co Cork is on a 12 weeks programme in Vietnam and is sharing is experience with us:

Things are going good here, I can’t believe I'm half way through the programme already, the volunteers are all doing well.

The volunteer house in Ho Chi Minh City is located about 3 km from downtown, It is a large 3 storey residence with 1 bedroom that sleeps 4 and a bathroom with a shower on each floor, we usually dine together and chat about what happened that day, there's a nice easy going vibe here, I'm sure life gets a tad uncomfortable when it's full but none of us have experienced that yet, you get to know you're way around the locality so going out for whatever you need is easy and enjoyable a lot of the time. Occasionally we share a taxi and go  out for dinner, It’s good to meet up with other volunteers and of course sometimes the local Vietnamese volunteers join us.

I have great admiration for the local Vietnamese volunteers, it's good of them to give up some free time for such a good cause and they are so cheerful and friendly, I'm looking forward to catching up with a bunch of them the next night they arrange a night out and they are very helpful in the orphanage as they can translate what the nurses want to convey and of course share what they know already know themselves.

Ho Chi MInh City is a very busy city and the natives never seem to stop working, They are very friendly too, calling out to you as you pass by as there isn’t too many westerners in this area,school kids get a great kick when you say hello.

The orphanages are about a half hour bus and walk from the hostels, traffic is crazy, it's actually kind of amusing, the Pagoda called Ky Quang is quiet beautiful really, fairly elaborate with fountains and lots of Buddha statues, nice view of the surrounding area as it's 6 floors high, the care centres for the kids are just off the Pagoda, it's a very nice setting, a lot of the kids like to get out and walk around.

The greatest admiration goes to the nurses I meet looking after the children at the Ky Quang Pagoda as they live on the premises and work virtually 7 days a week  for such a small wage, how they keep sane I don’t know, unfortunately we can’t communicate so well with the language barrier so there's a lot of pointing and gesturing going on.

I give English lessons 3 mornings a week in Tan Binh district, at a shelter for abandoned or orphaned boys, A local volunteer collects me and assists me in the classroom. There are 12 in the class ranging from 5 to 18, they're a rowdy bunch but they're fantastic really, some of them are extremely bright and some have a great sense of humour. The other mornings and afternoons I visit the monk run Ky Quang pagoda to play with and feed mentally and physically handicapped children, I seem to have been designated one individual boy since I started volunteering there,his name is Khi,he's 17 years old and has been at the pagoda since he was 7, he doesn’t speak and doesn’t communicate much but I think he's a lot smarter than he lets on, We usually walk around outside first for some exercise where he will  pick up shiny pieces of candy wrappers if he can find some, occasionally a big smile spreads across his face and he might laugh a little for an instant, he  isn’t bothered when other children get rough with him and take whatever shiny items he's found outside, he loves his food and is easy to feed, he prefers to look away than make eye contact but when he does you can see something special. Of course there's some other great characters who are more playful and others who will hug and hold you others that like to play jigsaw games and others that you can’t get to know as they have severe disabilities but it's a fantastic experience for me.

I haven’t met anyone that regretted visiting Vietnam as a volunteer, there's been emotional farewells here as you will become attached to the children, it's good to know that with donations over the years improvements have been made at this pagoda, simple things like beds, toys, medicine and a washing machine have made life a bit easier for all concerned but especially the nurses who live on the premises and work 7 days a week.

I would recommend any volunteer coming here to be open minded, to be prepared for the humidity and the chaotic traffic, to be mindful of the different culture, to accept customs and the way the Vietnamese live, they will have a great time, there is much to enjoy with these hard working, friendly, resilient people. I would recommend this programme to everyone, while it may seem you're not having much of an impact you're presence to interact and feed the children takes pressure off the staff and  you feel appreciated.

Perhaps some lines in this message will be useful  to people considering taking up a voluntary programme with you guys at EIL, all the best for now, Slainte and suas Corcaigh!