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

Lassanai Ceylon

After our adventure up Adam's Peak we decided to visit somewhere that didn't require as much stress and effort, hence Ella was the perfect solution for the next weekend. Up in the hill country, Ella is a pretty little town with gentler walks and waterfalls, a great opportunity to relax. It was really nice that it was slightly cooler there too, I loved having a thick blanket to snuggle up in at night!
   
 It was a very chilled weekend; I simply enjoyed wandering around the little shops, delicious milkshakes and curd, catching up on wi-fi and finally trying to get over my Adam's Peak illness with a couple of other sufferers! 

Well we thought we had to do something a bit more active, so on Sunday we set off at 5am to see the sunrise at Mini Adam's Peak. We managed to make it to the top this time! The walk was only small and gentle in comparison, but we cursed the steps as they arose! The view from the top was certainly worth it though. There was a great scene of Ella Rock with mist and winding roads covering the surrounding mountains. The walk back was pleasant through the tea plantations and endless greenery - postcard perfect!  

Nevertheless this is Sri Lanka and there couldn't be a weekend without a bit of a nightmare. When we were waiting for the bus to Colombo and all smiling and saying how smoothly the weekend had gone for once, we realised that we were waiting in completely the wrong town. We had to scramble on the next bus, along with the other thirty local fighting their way on, with all the seats and standing room already taken. The prospect of six hours standing amongst sweaty body as the bus swayed down the hills was horrendous, plus Ieva and I were already feeling pretty nauseous. Instead we spent the majority of the journey scrunched up on the dirty floor, squished between a tangle of legs, probably getting in the way but just closing our eyes wishing for it to be over! I have never been so happy to see the streets of Maharagama, all part of the experience though I suppose!
     

I'm not ashamed to say I spent my remaining weekends on the coast. Project life can be so draining and I knew I had months of it still to come! So what better way than to appreciate the beauty of Sri Lanka whilst relaxing on a beach :) I stopped off in Hikkaduwa again and then fell in love with Mirissa on the south of the island. It has everything you could possibly want... fresh seafood, great prices, Ayuverdic massages, whale watching, cooking classes, beautiful beach, rabbit warrens, snorkelling, beach parties, cheap accommodation, and most importantly... The Rotti Shop. I'm pretty sure their speciality Banoffee Rotti is the best thing I have ever tasted in my life, like heaven in my mouth! It was so amazing that it brought me back to Mirissa four times!  

For our final weekend altogether we spent one night celebrating in Hikkaduwa, partying in our apartment then on the beach then in the club, with maybe a tad too much arrack... But it was the best night out and I had so much fun with all the other volunteers one last time!  When I felt alive again the next day a couple of us headed to Mirissa yet again, why not spend our last hours in our favourite place!  

All too suddenly it was our twelth week of projects and time to start saying goodbye. I had a great lesson planned for my youth teaching class, with games and prizes and all sorts! I wanted to treat them for their efforts and say thank you, whilst continuing to build their confidence speaking in English. So when I arrived to an empty classroom I was devestated - we hadn't been told they had an assessment workshop that day! My temple youth teaching class made up for it though, with our little kids party! We played Pass the Parcel with English questions and chocolates, Pin the Tail on the Elephant, Hangman and Shop Roleplay - they loved it! Saying our goodbyes at the Special Needs Home was the most sad - I have met some charming and inspirational ladies in there and each ward has those particular few that always make me smile. I know I will have gained a lot from my experiences at the projects and hopefully those skills will shine in my future placements.  

For my final week in Sri Lanka I was lucky to be able to stay once again with my wonderful Sri Lankan family, this time with a few special visitors! My mum, stepdad and godparents were there to spend it with me :) We celebrated two birthdays, ate too many delicious curries, and I resisted stealing the cute baby living next door! I had to visit Mirissa one last time with Alys, spending it purely at the Rotti Shop and on the beach, perfect place with perfect company :) 

So there it is, the end of that chapter. Let the next adventure begin!

..x

The Half Way Challenge

After a few weekends of exploring the island we decided to brave ourselves for Sri Pada, also known as Adam's Peak. The sacred footprint at the summit is worshipped by Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and Muslims, therefore making it the holiest mountain in Sri Lanka. There is a lot of legend and history behind Sri Pada, which has been interesting to find out about, especially concerning the mysterious footprint, which lies beneath a precious gem covered by a large boulder. There are different routes to climb to the peak too, with Ratnapura being the oldest, longest and viewed as the most difficult. We climbed up the Hatton trail, with about 5,200 steps up to the peak, 2,500m above sea level.

The pilgrim season runs between the Poya (full moon) days in December and May, with weekends bringing the largest crowds. So we were expecting it to be a tad busy. But we had no idea what we had actually let ourselves in for...

We started the ascent at 1.30am on Saturday morning, so that we could see the sun rise from the temple at the top for Rachel's birthday. So this left us a lengthy five hours, plenty enough time for some leisurely rest stops at the tea stands on the way up too. Our friends had made it up in under three hours a few weeks previously, so if anything we thought we'd be waiting around in the cold for too long at the top!

However nothing in Sri Lanka is that simple. At 4am the queuing began. One step every ten to fifty minutes. With absolutely no clue how long or how far it was to the top. I remember thinking that we were so close at this point, and when someone said it might take two more hours we scoffed and said that was ridiculous! As if!

Seven hours of queuing later...

So we eventually reached the peak at 11am, feeling drained and delirious, five hours late. But with a huge sense of achievement for our physical and mental determination! The temperature and morale had plummeted after a few hours of queuing amongst thousands of dedicated people, compacted all the way up the narrow staircase to the top. Luckily we'd taken a few extra layers, but I think it was the biscuits, singing and laughter that pulled us through! Although we weren't at the peak for the sunrise and the apparently spectacular shadow it casts, I must admit we had a pretty incredible view. It forced me to appreciate it a whole lot more, and I was actually kind of glad that I was able to just stand there and take it all in properly. I also gained a lot of respect for those that were climbing for their beliefs and religion. It was really motivating and inspirational to see some of the people who had already made it to the top - elderly, sick, disabled, mother and baby, with most of them being barefoot. I saw a man with one leg and another man with prosthetic legs, which just goes to show their dedication to their religion and their belief of a better rebirth. I reminded myself of this when I wanted to complain and moan - if they could do it then we could too!

We hadn't anticipated being out in the sun and heat at all, so after some celebratory photos and chocolate at the top we had to get on with the steep knee buckling descent! Breakfast was waiting for us at 2pm, eight hours late, which we needed after no sleep or food all day. It was an extremely long and exhausting day, and most people did not want to speak about it for days after as the memories were still too painful! Nonetheless I thought it was still an absolutely amazing experience and the view definitely made it worth all the hard work! This challenge marked the half way point for my time in Sri Lanka, so the achievement celebrated what we have accomplished in our projects and life in Sri Lanka.

Saying that though, the remainder of the weekend still didn't go to plan... When we got back to the guesthouse we realised that no one had our room key, and after an hour of searching we had to get the bolt and padlock removed, pay the damage cost, then got stuck in a bad traffic accident on the windy hill roads and then caught in torrential rain, eventually arriving at Bentota seven hours later for the rest of our 'relaxing' weekend by the beach! I did have my first Sri Lankan train experience on the way home though, with people hanging out the doors and the sea being right out the window only three metres from the track! So the weekend was certainly an adventure, but left us feeling physically and mentally exhausted for days, so much that most of us were unfortunately vomiting and bed bound for the rest of the week!

Lets Go Exploring

Due to popular demand I have decided to write about my weekend adventures around Sri Lanka, which means that I don’t have to update everyone individually too!

After our first weekend in the jungle we thought it was best to spend our time enjoying the beautiful coastlines of Sri Lanka, so we decided to visit Unawatuna and Hikkaduwa for the next two trips away from Maharagama.

Our bus arrived in Unawatuna just in time for the most amazing sunset, the perfect start to our weekend! It was nice to finally relax and soak up the sun, away from the intensity of our week-life. After dinner next to the stilt fisherman we had a night out in Happy Bananas, it was a treat for me to hear Western music again! Saturday was spent on the sand under the palm trees, swimming in the clear water of the natural sea bath, and sea food on the beach for dinner – paradise!

The next day we were lucky to have a private tour of Koggala Lake, where our homestay family are building a holiday villa. We were paddled across the water by two fisherman, with some planks of wood in between their boats as our seat! We saw jumping fish, bats, birds of prey and also some boats fishing prawns on the edges. The lake is huge and comprises of different sized islands - Bird Island, Temple Island and Cinnamon Island. Afterwards the fisherman took us to the tiny Cinnamon ‘factory’ nearby where the leaves are burned and used to make oil. It was really beautiful, apparently the director of Harry Potter lives next door, alongside other celebrities!

The following weekend was spent in Hikkaduwa, again arriving to see the sunset on the beach. That night we went out to a bar called Vibrations where there were Kandyan dancers, fire eaters and traditional drums, it was incredible! On the beach the following day we were delighted to find they had beds, with some mattresses in huts shaded by palm leaves. What more could you want? The waves are a bit bigger in Hikka so it wasn’t ideal for swimming, but a few of the others hired a board and tried out surfing! On the Sunday we stopped off in Galle on our way home and demolished some chocolate rotti’s at our favourite Dutch Café in the Colonial Fort.

After chilling out for two weekends we decided it was time to venture further into the island. We caught a bus from Colombo to head to Uda Walawe National Park, so we were up before the sun rose for our safari. There were hundreds of species of birds, lizards and crocodiles chilling in the lake. At one point our jeep became surrounded by a heard of mother and baby elephants grazing, they were absolutely fascinating to watch so close up in the wild! Unfortunately we didn’t spot any leopards, there are only around ten in the entire park so they are very rare to see. We also visited the Elephant Transition Home nearby, which cares for orphaned elephants and aims to rehabilitate them in order to release them back into the wild.

 Then for the six hour bus journey from Embilipatiya to Deniyaya, which was surprisingly enjoyable! I sat right next to the windscreen and loved the scenic route through the tea plantations on the narrow winding roads, watching the ladies plucking the tea. Another early start at 5.30am the next day to climb up to a rock temple, with a beautiful view of the sunrise over the hills on the way up. The view from the dagoba at the top was worth the steep trek up, on a clear day apparently you would be able to see Galle lighthouse too. We observed the chief on his morning meditation, pacing alongside the temple one hundred times; it seems a bizarre concept doesn’t it!

For the following weekend I was excited to stay with my Sri Lankan family again, three years after my first trip here. The Friday was Poya Day, so every full moon is a bank holiday (I think Sri Lanka has the most public holidays in the world!). In the evening we visited Panadura Temple for their traditional offerings and prayers; I was the only white person in sight so I got quite a few stares! Then we headed to the beach with all the locals to enjoy the atmosphere and the stars. The rest of the weekend was spent catching up with the family, walking along the beach, playing with their cute nine-month-old neighbour and getting a good night’s sleep! On Sunday we also visited Bambalapitiya Hindu Temple in Colombo, it is so ornately decorated and it was really interesting to watch their prayer routines!

I will leave it at that for now and update you on the remaining weekends soon!

My Psychology Projects

Where does time disappear to? With only five weeks left with SLV I thought it was about time I lock myself in an internet cafe booth and write!

I will just give a brief update on my projects for now, I'm sorry for the lack of photos!

I have surprised myself that I am enjoying youth teaching the most and really look forward to each session. I teach a class of 17-22 year old boys studying a Refrigeration and Air Conditioning vocational course in the Youth Centre. We have been doing topics like careers and hobbies as well as grammar e.g. distinguishing abstract nouns, adjectives and adverbs. They are all a bit giggly and shy but it's such good fun, they just need practice to improve their confidence in English! My morning at the Primary School is probably the most challenging, with a very cheeky Grade 2 class! They are only 6 years old, so their English and attention span is very limited. We've tried our best using songs and games to teach numbers, animals and shapes; but for a two hour class of children running about it can get very tiring!

Some of the psychology projects aren't quite what I had expected, I thought we would be learning more about how they deal with mental health, services available, therapies they use etc. But the fact is they don't actually have anything; for instance there is only one drama therapist in Sri Lanka and one mental health institution in the entire country. Therefore at the moment we are part of a progressive movement to gain contacts and trust and to understand the current facilities, so that they can be worked with to continuously develop and improve. The SLV founders have noticed a huge change since they first arrived, even from the nurses interaction with the patients and the participation in activities. Yesterday was the first time I experienced a facility that was already developed and successful - in the Occupational Therapy Unit at the Mental Health Hospital. As we arrived there they were doing morning exercises and stretching for physical stimulation, participation and focus. Next they did a social interaction activity where they sat in a circle and had to work out what was inside a box through movement and sound, which encouraged them to communicate and problem solve together. Then they were individually assessed on their mood and progress and each allocated an activity - there was cooking, an anger management session, sewing, card making, drawing/painting and jewellery making. I sat in on the last two to learn about what they did there and how it is beneficial. These sorts of activities help with their concentration, following instructions and gaining skills for outside the institution. They sell the things they make at a market in Colombo and all the profits go back into the institution which was really positive to hear.

My favourite project so far is one of the Special Needs Centres, which I spoke a little about in my previous post. We spend time on each of the wards, which requires a varied range of activities. On one visit to the acute wards I spent time with a lady who was severely handicapped and couldn't speak. She was fascinated by my bracelets and I simply spent about twenty minutes showing her, guiding her hand to feel them and then taking hers on and off her wrists as she seemed to like the sensation. The lady opposite loved balloons so we just volleyed them to each other on her bed, practicing my Sinhala numbers! Some of the ladies just love it if you bring them music or give them a hand massage, as it is giving them stimulation rather than just lying in a bed unable to move or sense anything. At first I found it really sad to see the conditions they were in; I suppose I haven't got anything to compare it to though as I've never been anywhere like that in England either. I often speak to a lady who doesn't like to do most of the other activities, so I just go to have a conversation with her. I have shown them my photo albums from home and they have taught me some Sinhala so I have to practice for each time that I go! Most of the other ladies don't speak much English, but always invite you to go sit on their beds for company. A lot of the more-abled patients sew pillow case designs, knit clothes or make greeting cards, which are also sold at the market. One of the ladies in a wheelchair even competes in disabled racing which is amazing! I always really look forward to this project and interacting with the people living there as I know they fully appreciate our time with them.

At the Mental Health Hospital I have worked on a variety of wards - Women's Forensic, Occupational Therapy, Men's Intermediate, Learning Disabilities and Men's Forensic Rehabilitation. In the latter ward I was excited to be part of the first ever drama therapy workshop in the institute. There were about 100 men, either awaiting a court trial or diagnosis following a crime. The atmosphere was surprisingly calm though and they all seemed to really enjoy the session! It encouraged them to engage, interact with the staff and other patients, be creative and be more open in  private sessions and discussions. They are now planning on running it weekly, so it would be great to hear how it has benefited the patients in a few months time. In all the wards the main aim is social interaction, stimulation and improving their well-being. This supports the Holistic approach to psychology and treatment of the whole person rather than solely focusing on their mental health needs. Therefore through therapeutic engagement our activities aim to build social skills, emotional awareness and creativity in a variety of ways. Of course with this type of approach the results are often not immediately obvious, which can be quite demotivating, but it is important to keep in mind the long term goal and development of the projects here in Sri Lanka.

So that's it for now, I will be writing about my adventures exploring Sri Lanka next time!

..x

Ayubowan from Sri Lanka

It is now my third week with SLV in Sri Lanka already, I still don't think I'll ever fully get used to the heat, spices and exhaustion! Some days I have even daydreamed about being back in the cold of England again - that's how unbearable the heat can be!

I am living in the town of Maharagama, which is inland from Colombo. It is probably the noisiest place I have ever been, hundreds of tuk tuks and buses race past with engines roaring and horns blaring and streams of pedestrians chattering through the chaos. The air here is quite thick and humid from the traffic, so it has been nice to get away at the weekends for fresher air.


There are nine girls in my homestay; Hannah and Chloe our coordinators, Chrissie and Seona my room mates, then Rachel, Annie, Anastasia and Ieva in the other two rooms. I love that we've got a great mix of nationalities - English, Swiss, Australian, Lithuanian and Scottish! We live in a separate part of the house to our host family, so it is nice to have some privacy but also get to spend the evenings and breakfast with the family. Amma and Thaththa (Mother and Father) are lovely, cook amazing curries and love to make us dance! They have three sons Kavinda, Deminda and Melinda, who have all studied in England.

I am adjusting back to life under a mosquito net, never having clean feet and wearing insect repellent as perfume. A new thing for me in Sri Lanka though is eating with my hands, it's a tradition here that requires lots of practice and napkins! The trick is to roll the rice up with the curry and only use two fingers and your thumb. Next time you have curry at home stick your hand in and give it a try!

For the first week with SLV we had our introductory orientation, which included seminars on teaching English to youth groups, working with special needs and lesson planning. It geared us up for what we should expect, ideas for lessons and how to engage and stimulate those at the special needs centres. For the rest of the week we visited some of the projects we'd be working with and attempted to learn the maze of bus routes and tuk tuk journeys. The projects are completely spread out so each morning and afternoon we have to battle our way onto the bus, cling on for our lives, surrounded by a sea of sweaty bodies. All for a fee of about 10p!

Our first weekend was spent in the jungle, where SLV had organised team building activities, white water rafting and a jungle trek. It was a great way to get to know all the other volunteers whilst settling into the country, adjusting to the heat and doing something active and fun! I loved rafting, although our boat decided to capsize on one of the rapids which was slightly scary! The jungle trek included a confidence jump from a high rock into a natural pool (cannot believe I did it!), rock sliding, getting lost and a few unwanted leeches!

After our introductory week we dived straight in with our projects. First of all on Monday morning the homestays meet up at the Youth Centre nearby and plan all the lessons for the week, which has proven to be harder work than expected. Then for the rest of the week we have a timetable that varies each morning and afternoon. I have three special needs projects, three teaching projects and two psychology projects. It was a little shocking at first to see some of the places we would be working, so it has been eye-opening. There was one special needs centre that struck me the most, particularly the acute wards for those with the most severe disabilities and illnesses. As with many places in Sri Lanka there are no doors or windows in the wards, but it gives the centre a great feel of openness, freedom and a connection to outside. Each ward has around ten to twenty beds, and it was great to see each had it's own mosquito net and the patients often have bright artwork decorating their space. Some other projects aren't quite so well-equipped, with only bare beds filling the room.

For the special needs projects our role is to provide sensory stimulation and a variety of therapeutic activities to engage the patients and enhance the quality of life being institutionalised. Some patients have really good English so enjoy simply having a conversation or teaching Sinhala, I've been told I am getting tested every Friday morning by one lady!

I am teaching a Grade 2 class in a Primary School, youth teaching for a vocational course and teaching English in a temple to community members. It's been quite a challenge to construct appropriate lesson plans and most of the time they completely go out the window! But it is teaching me to improvise and hopefully the students will still learn a lot!

I will update you on the projects and my progress in a few weeks time. For now I am ready to migrate to the beach for the weekend to relax and possibly have a lay in until 8.30am!

..x

And So The Next Adventure Begins

Here I am once again at the start of a very exciting new adventure! I have just read back my first blog post and chuckled as I am in the same situation... My departure has come around far too quickly it's 14 hours until I will be on the plane and I've had an absolute 'mare trying to squeeze eight months worth of stuff into my good old rucksack!

 

So at 5.30am tomorrow morning I will be leaving for Heathrow for the rest of my placement year. I will be spending the first three months in Sri Lanka on a clinical psychology placement in the South-East. This will involve running therapeutic activities at a psychiatric hospital in the Acute, Learning Disability and Occupational Therapy units. I will also be volunteering at a residential centre that provides long-term care for approximately 525 women who have a mental illness.

 

 

From here I am going straight to Hanoi in the north of Vietnam to work in special needs centres for children with a range of physical and mental disabilities. One of the centres provides support to young people who suffer from the effects of Agent Orange and Japanese Encephalitis too. My role here will mainly involve assisting academic teaching, general care, vocational classes to teach life-skills and improving their confidence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not really sure how I feel right now, everything has been so rush rush rush as usual, especially with working stupid hours to be able to pay for it all! But I know it will be worth it, and I think it will hit me when I arrive! This placement year has been my dream since the idea grew in Thailand in 2012, here I am now about to live it.

 

Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported me, I couldn't have done it without you. I'm certainly going to miss a lot of people!

 

I will try and update you in a few weeks once I've settled in and got stuck in with my placements. So for now, goodbye!

 

Emma ..x