I just hope you try everything. (Including myself.) Many of the other volunteers came from Europe, so they had a lot of ideas like English classes or games. Rather than going with the mindset of ''just tagging along'' or ''I''ll just be there for three hours,'' I thought, ''If I prepare this, the kids will like it, right?''
When I think like that, the kids have fun and I enjoy it too. I guess I should have been in charge of crafts rather than English lessons haha.
-Recharging warm love with children in Hanoi, Vietnam / Jeong Eunji, gap-year family gapper / 8-week gap year |
# It’s not too regrettable because leaving some regret means there’s something to do on the next trip.
After the Philippines project ended, I went back to Korea for about three days, but time was so tight that I couldn''t mentally prepare to leave on another gap year — I just reorganized my luggage, fixed the mistake with the plane ticket I had bought before going to the Philippines, adjusted the checked baggage weight... I basically took the same luggage I had used in the Philippines lol.
I hadn''t prepared much about what I could do in Vietnam, so after arriving at the accommodation and before the volunteering officially started, I did a lot of searching at night. The more you know, the more you can see and enjoy, and since I''m the type to lay out options in advance and try them one by one, I spent the first week or ten days researching Hanoi a lot.
I ended up doing about two-thirds of what I had written in my diary then.It''s disappointing that I couldn''t do everything, but it''s not a huge regret — having some regrets means there will be things to do on the next trip haha.
While in Vietnam I enjoyed a lot of relaxed time, unlike traveling, which I liked. I also got used to Hanoi and thought it would be nice if I had a chance to come back for Vietnamese language study, work abroad, or to live there for a longer period.
So far, traveling around several Southeast Asian countries seems more appealing than a month-long trip to Europe. I don''t have the stamina to backpack for over a month, so I don''t know when I''ll do it, but reading many bloggers'' posts really fed my travel urge.
# A big advantage of the Vietnam volunteer project is that there’s a lot of personal time!
The kindergarten where I worked was scheduled only from Monday to Thursday, with Friday as a day off, so we could enjoy an early three-day weekend starting Friday.
Because it took about an hour by bus to get to the kindergarten, I would leave home leisurely at 7:45. Volunteer time was 9:00–10:30 (or until ~11:00 if helping with mealtime), then lunch & a break, (snack time after the nap at 2:30 ~) 3:00–4:30 — so it was about 3 hours a day of teaching and childcare.
Some volunteers assigned to other organizations would go back home at lunchtime to eat prepared food and rest or nap before returning for afternoon volunteering, but because my commute was too long I sometimes ate lunch with the teachers at the kindergarten or at nearby restaurants. After 5:30 pm, it’s free time.
A big advantage of the Vietnam volunteer project is that there’s a lot of personal time!During the breaks I picked a favorite cafe near each kindergarten, had drinks before or after lunch, completed missions, organized my diary, read books in their original language, and spent a lot of time alone.
On days off I would book local tours every 2–3 weeks to go out, visit the Old Quarter, or watch a movie at Indochina Plaza (IPH), hang out at cafes, go to karaoke booths, and then head home — I had fun on my own.
# I believe the kids liked me a lot and enjoyed the time we spent together.
1. What moved me
In the week I was returning to Korea, as my final volunteer day approached, the kindergarten where I volunteered threw a goodbye party for me. Even on that day, when I had taken a few days off with excuses, I kept thinking to myself, ''I should have come to see the kids...'' ''They probably don''t understand that this is the last time they''ll see this cute teacher, do they?''
''You can''t even tell the kids ''let''s meet again'' as an empty promise, right? T_T''
I was getting choked up when representatives from the Tom, Dumbo, and Donald classes selected a child to present me with a card and heart-shaped stick? (It didn''t really seem like the kids had made them or written the letters themselves haha) and one child even wore traditional Vietnamese clothing and walked over smiling to give them to me — I almost cried again... haha.
I feel like I didn''t do much in two months, but because I greeted them every day and they got used to my face, we became quite attached.Even though we couldn''t communicate well verbally, I believe the children liked me a lot and enjoyed our time together.
2. What I liked
I liked having plenty of free time, going out and spending money freely, and being able to think about myself — all of it was great.
Unlike in the Philippines, I felt like I could let go and be more myself.
3. Things I learned / Realizations
This is something I realized while doing one gap-year mission (sending a message first to a friend I hadn''t contacted in over a year): even I don''t know...I realized that when I express my thoughts out loud or in writing, they come back to me through my eyes and ears and I think, ''Oh, I was thinking this,'' which helps me organize them.
SoIf I keep saying things and then back them up with actions, I began to hope that those would gradually become my thoughts and values and shape who I am.
From then on—whether it was these gap-year reviews or my blog diary—my phone''s memo app filled with notes for missions, and I also tried stretching out various thoughts at length.
Without the gap-year mission during my project period, I don''t think I would have filled my time in Vietnam as meaningfully.
When I was unsure whether to do something (approach someone, ask something, try a new challenge, etc.), I felt that if I just went for it, my future self would answer and handle the consequences.Toward the end of the volunteer work, when I was agonizing over whether to extend it, I wrote a participant review for myself to show why I was hesitating and to find an answer on that decision path.
Even after writing that down I kept going back and forth, and even when I examined the real essence of why I was worrying and hesitating the doubt continued. In the end I only completed the scheduled plan and returned, but I was left with the regret that if I had actually extended, I would have learned how to find answers and tried more new challenges.
Coming back to Korea, where communication works and everything is familiar and comfortable,I''m a bit disappointed that the thoughts and inspirations that used to arise newly every day in Vietnam aren''t coming anymore.I also feel like leaving again.
The resolve ''do everything I want now and go back to school and graduate with no regrets!'' has also become vague,and since I didn''t have anything to pursue over the long term, I went back with the mindset, ''There''s nothing to do long-term, so let''s just graduate for now.''
They seemed to pay attention to what I was saying, so I was able to continue speaking more comfortably.
As in the Philippines, I think I missed many opportunities to meet new people during the Vietnam volunteer work. (+ and with that, chances to be naturally exposed to English!)
I liked leaving spontaneously depending on my energy level and spending relaxed time at a café. Also, after being out for a long day, I preferred to recharge and stay quiet for two or three days; that felt like the more natural version of myself.
Most of the friends I met during this project were open-minded and kindly responded even to random small talk. They didn''t point out that my English pronunciation or accent was lacking, and instead would ask, ''What did you say? What does that mean?''They seemed to focus on what I was saying, so I could continue more comfortably.
However, one thing I regret is that I wasn''t bold enough to put myself out there. While volunteering I met colleagues from teams 1 and 2, and when I worked with Daniela I lacked confidence in my English, so I couldn''t socialize much during breaks. Was it a holiday? One day I went out for beers with other volunteers the day before their day off, and I still regret that I couldn''t fit in well.
# For prospective participants
While keeping a record, there were moments I felt the joy of finding my own answer, however clumsy, but I think it''s still not a perfect answer.
The idea that I must change,and the pressure that I have to come back having gained something — letting go of that burden is probably the most important thing.The gap-year staff and the local coordinator kept encouraging me that I only needed to do as much as I could and to do things I could enjoy!
Even so, I constantly wondered whether it was okay to go each day without any preparation and kept thinking that I wanted to plan something for the children. In the middle, Gap Year gave us a project proposal form, so I interviewed a stakeholder (a friend who interned at the local organization) and clumsily drafted activities to do with the kids. I couldn''t execute them all, but I did run a craft class for the children on the last day of volunteering.
Vietnam volunteer projects seem to have many possibilities.
I just hope you try everything. (Myself included.) Many of the other volunteers came from Europe and had lots of ideas like English lessons or games. Rather than just tagging along thinking ''I''ll just join in, three hours together is enough,'' consider, ''If I prepare this, won''t the kids like it?''
When you think like that, the kids have fun and I enjoy it too. I guess I should have been in charge of crafts rather than English lessons haha.
