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#Got used to Hanoi #Had a lot of personal time #Moved by the children's love
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?''
-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?''
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?''
-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?''
What makes this project special
