If I were asked to describe this first week in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in a couple of words, I would use words like surreal and dreamlike. This past week has flown by in a blur of colorful places and faces, not to mention heaps of new information about many different cultures. I've met new friends from around the world - Canada, UK, France, Italy, Belgium and more - and have visited some of the most beautiful spots that this city has to offer. The following is the past week at a glance:
Lainie and I took off from O'Hare airport around 11 a.m. Chicago time. I was stuck in the middle seat with Lainie on my right (the window seat) and a stranger on my left...wonderful. Lains fell asleep before the plane took off, so I watched her head bob for a while before my trusted pair of "plane pills" - Xanax and Dramamine - worked their magic and allowed for sleep to take me, too. We landed in Seoul, South Korea, 14 LONG hours later.
Our layover in Seoul was only 3 hours so we stretched out our stiff muscles, grabbed a coffee, and people-watched in Incheon International Airport. These few hours were our first taste of the language barrier that we would soon face. Even doing a simple act such as ordering a coffee seemed to be slightly challenging for us. I hoped that it would get better. We took off from Seoul at around 6 p.m., South Korea time, with a 5 hour (ish) flight ahead of us. Sleep came very easily this time around because of the time change; I was out directly after we took off.
The amount of people inside Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City was nothing compared to the zoo that waited for us outside. It took a while to find our bags but eventually, we rolled our way into the sticky heat of Vietnam and found our pick-up from the volunteer company amidst the crowds that waited for other passengers. Thinking back, this chaos was probably due to incoming family members for Tet, the lunar new year, which was January 25th. When we arrived at the volunteer accommodation (about midnight)), we were shown our beds and went straight to sleep.
Our orientation/culture week was led by our new friend, Vi, who works for the volunteer company, and consisted of seeing many of the tourist sites, as well as a Vietnamese cooking and language lesson. On Monday, Vi took the new group of volunteers - 5 of us: Lainie, Anna (France), Theresa (Canada), Jane (Canada), and myself - to the local college to hold our lesson on the volunteer accommodation, the Vietnamese culture, and the language necessities. Tuesday began with a trip to the Jade Emperor Pagoda, then to the Independence/Reunification Palace, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Saigon Central Post Office, the Ben Thanh Market, and finally, to the Vietnam War Remnants Museum. The following day we visited a local "wet market" which allowed us to see where the locals go to do their daily grocery shopping. During our Vietnamese cooking class we tried our hand at making fresh summer rolls and spring rolls, as well as a traditional corn dessert. On Thursday, we took a bus to the Cu Chi Tunnels where we experienced the conditions of the Vietnamese during the war, including the underground tunnels and the daily life. Friday began as a rest day and ended in a New Years Eve celebration that is only slightly similar to our own. Here, each family lays out a spread of flowers, fruits, water, rice wine, fake money and gold, and burn incense with prayers to invite their ancestors to come celebrate. All of these offerings will lead to an abundant and joyful year ahead. Lainie and I both fell asleep before midnight and were not fazed by the fireworks that went off.
The next day the five of us took a guided trip down the Mekong Delta in which we visited the islands around the delta, explored a beautiful pagoda, tried coconut candies from a local factory, and were pushed down a small river in a canoe. It was a fun and long day. Yesterday, we taxied to District 1 (the main city center) where we walked the streets and fell into a spa for a quick massage and manicure. These spas are extremely common here and are almost as frequent as coffee shops which, amazingly, are almost every other shop. The spas, coffee shops, restaurants, and markets are all extremely inexpensive!
A bit about the volunteer program:
Lainie and I are volunteering in Ho Chi Minh City and in Bali, Indonesia, through a program called International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ). This program allows volunteers from all over the world to choose a program that they'd be interested in participating in, as well as a place that they'd like to volunteer in. Thus, we were able to choose the places that we wanted to visit and then the work that we found most interesting. In Ho Chi Minh, we signed up for the "Food Outreach" Program which allows us to cook meals for the impoverished and disabled individuals of the city and surrounding areas. We start this work on Monday and I am very excited to get my hands dirty and feel like I am making a difference.
Looking back throughout this week, I cannot see a difference within myself, but I can see a difference in my relationship with my sister. It has been really fun to hear some of the answers that she has to people's questions and to learn more about her. I think that we are already growing closer and I'm hoping I'll continue to adopt even a small portion of her personable and motherly nature.
-Lilly
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