Good Morning Vietnam!

My third and final placement is about to begin, I can't believe how far I have come already! I am looking forward to starting now and seeing how this experience contrasts from the other two. I am very glad I chose a diversity of projects, I don't think I could have stuck with one unpaid placement for a year, especially if not in an exciting exotic country!

I allowed myself a couple of days to settle in to Hanoi before coming to the volunteer house. I also treated myself to an affordable hotel as the first time in a room by myself, and even got a cheeky free upgrade! It has been good to absorb the new culture without rushing, with help from some friendly locals along the way. On my first day I met up with Izzy from Sri Lanka to explore the city with a couple of students, who showed us to the Temple of Literature, Botanical Gardens, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Museums. Even more exciting that they took us around on their motorbikes! The streets of Hanoi are literally heaving with bikes, you can't escape them! To cross the road you simply close your eyes and walk...

I was also lucky enough to have a free food tour with Izzy, run by some students setting up a mini tourism business as part of a university project. It was fab! We rode around on the back of their scooters to some of the top spots for traditional Vietnamese food. First a street vendor, with plastic tables and stools spreading around the street corners between the bikes on the pavements. They explained how to go about ordering street food, what dishes to get, how to eat it without looking like a numpty and not being ripped off with a tourist price tag. We had phở trộn with a cabbage salad to share - it was amazing! Phở trộn is basically noodles, chicken, green veg and herbs, served with a side of chicken broth with ginger and spring onion. Ok so I may not make it sound that appetising, but honestly it was delicious!

We also tried a traditional sweet dessert called chè, which is popular as a summer refreshment. It's a sweet drink with lots of sugar, ice, jelly, coconut and lotus seeds. Finally we were taken through silk shops, down an alley and through an old Chinese house to a cafe overlooking Hoàn Kiếm Lake. Six floors up the view was spectacular! Here they offered the famous Hanoi egg coffee - like a latte but with frothy egg on top. I am not a fan of coffee but it was acutually quite nice! I've since tried the egg and green bean drink too, again it's surprisingly good!

 
The food here has been described as rice is your wife and noodles are your girlfriend - you eat rice at home everyday but if you fancy something different you go out and enjoy noodles! Luckily I love rice and noodles, so I am enjoying the food a lot. It is all really fresh and I'm loving all the green vegetables!

 

  After a few days of wondering around Hanoi it was time to head to the volunteer house, which is just outside the city centre. On the ground floor is the CSDS office - Centre for Sustainable Development Studies - which is the NGO I will be working with. As with most Vietnamese buildings it is tall, long and narrow, six floors up with two rooms on each floor. The first two rooms are the kitchen and lounge, then each subsequent floor has two bedrooms and a roof terrace at the top. Unfortunately we have to sleep on creaky bunk beds, but I was over the moon when I saw air conditioning and hot water - absolute luxury compared to Sri Lanka! We have two lockers each as well so I finally don't have to live out of my rucksack.

When I arrived there were eight volunteers and two long term workers living here, but over the next two weeks I will eventually be the only volunteer remaining until a new batch arrive. Two of the volunteers have been working at my project in the Phuc Tue centre for children with mental and physical disabilities. They have been establishing physical therapy sessions for a select group of children to assist their motor development and encourage interaction and engagement. I will be observing them until they leave and then hopefully carry on the sessions, with the aim to bring in more ideas for future volunteers too.

  In a couple of weeks I will update you on what I have been doing at my project and how I am adjusting to life in Vietnam!
..x