Unveiling Vietnam | A Whirlpool of Cultural Experiences

April 16, 2019

The Green Lion

The Experiences by Diane Mclean

How can I even begin to describe my time in Vietnam……………one of the most amazing experiences of my life! I wasn’t sure what to expect when I arrived. My travel agent provided me with extensive ‘how to prepare’ information but I am not embarrassed to admit I was a little afraid. Here I was at 43 years old travelling half way across the world to spend 3 weeks on a placement in a special needs Day-care while experiencing a lifestyle and culture that was very different to what I was used to. Heck I had only got my first ever passport 9 months before and except for a short jaunt to Poland I had never been abroad.

What I found when I arrived at the airport in Ho Chi Minh was a lovely coordinator from The Green Lion, the host company that would take care of me during my time in Vietnam. She was smiling and friendly despite having to wait over 2 hours on my delayed flight and arranged transport back to accommodation. The accommodation itself was great and the food good and plentiful. It was described as basic in the info I had received beforehand but it was far from it with a dedicated and friendly The Green Lion team always on hand 24/7 to go above and beyond their job role to help out the participants with any problems or issues. I shared a dorm style room with a variety of helpers during my time there. These strangers along with others in the neighboring dorms quickly became friends and in a very short time amazingly started to feel like family. Every weekend, as was inevitable……some would leave, with tears shed and promises to meet up somewhere soon. The guys and girls I became close to there will remain in my heart forever. I will never forget them.

My first 3 days involved taking part in what was known as ‘Culture week’….. A fun filled range of activities and outings arranged by the Green Lion Team that would allow us to get to know a bit more about Vietnamese culture, learn about the local area and visit a few tourist sights. We also got a language lesson, a cooking lesson making some traditional Vietnamese food and got to meet students in the local College.

On the Thursday of my first week we traveled to the special needs placement where I would be spending my days helping to meet the children there. I wasn’t sure what to expect…..what would be the differences working in a special needs environment in Vietnam compare to working as an Autism Practitioner back home? But I soon discovered the Day-care was always a happy place and the kids were well looked after, some aspects of the Vietnamese culture were different to what I was used to but I could respect the differences and it certainly wasn’t a worse way of doing things just a different way.

I spent my days there Monday to Friday helping to support a variety of children of different ages and with different levels of disability and ability. There wasn’t a single kid there I didn’t fall in love with although there were 2 who really grabbed my heart and tears were most definitely shed when I had to leave them.
My day involved meeting up with our lovely coordinator in the morning who would travel back and forth with us every day to placement which was within a hospital 40 minutes from accommodation. As I walked up the street every morning I encountered so many friendly Vietnamese people, as I did wherever I went in the country, sometimes we even exchanged food or cigarettes and some of them became good friends.

On arrival at placement we would play with the younger kids or do physiotherapy involving a range of stretching or walking exercises. Some of the older kids would be doing workbooks at this time. A nurse would assign us who to spend time with and what to do with them. Before lunch it was music time…this had evolved over time from simple nursery rhymes to participants dancing and singing to a select range of ‘You Tube’ videos. Great dance moves had been mastered by the helpers for this purpose. The kids loved these songs with many joining in the dancing, singing or cheering as each one finished. I don’t know who had more fun…..the kids or us! And then it was lunch. A trolley of food would appear from another part of the hospital, we would help ensure portions were cut up accordingly and we would be assigned what kids to feed which were usually the same ones every day. After lunch we would tidy up lay mats on the floor for the kids nap get them settled and return on the bus to accommodation where we had an hour or two to eat, nap or relax before returning to placement. The strange thing was I never minded the commute. I would have having to do it back in Scotland but because I was so busy there it was great to have that period every day to unwind, think and relax.

In the afternoon we would return and carry out a pre-decided activity with the kids, this could be bubbles or painting or time in the soft play or my favourite stealing the paddling pool from the other room and having what seemed like an endless supply of water balloons to throw at everyone…fortunately I never had the laborious task of filling these…..again I don’t know who had more fun the helpers or the kids. I quickly realised that my main purpose for being there was to make these kids smile. At the end of the day I would return to the accommodation tired but happy.

The nights were for spending time and doing stuff with the other participants where it was great to just kick back and relax and spend time talking and laughing. Sometimes there were activities organised by the Green Lion Team….I will never forget playing football in the most epic thunderstorm I have ever seen as rain lashed us and lightning lit the sky…that is until we got thrown off the pitch.
At the end of the street there was a Beer Garden/ Seafood Restaurant where you picked your food live in a tank and they killed and cooked it for you….to my condemnation one night I went out with a group of helpers who picked a frog, named him George then proceeded to eat him when he came to the table designed as a meal…I couldn’t touch him…but this was early on in my stay….by the end of it I would eat anything if it tasted good…. including snake and baby birds. I was still glad I wasn’t there the night some of the guys went out to eat live coconut worms….the video was enough!!!

There was usually a number of new participants at the weekend so Monday nights were reserved for the ‘Family Dinner’ where old and new participants alike were all expected for a meal in the dining hall to introduce themselves and get to know each other…..although me being me….I had already done this….but darn could I ever remember anyone’s names. Other nights myself and other helpers would go out for meals, drinks or other activities together before getting a grab (the cheapest and best way to travel around Vietnam) and rushing back to accommodation before curfew 11.30…we didn’t always make it in time…but hey there were hotels nearby and it was all part of the fun.
A week after I arrived I remember sitting on the balcony near my room looking out at the beautiful city of Ho Chi Minh and trying to figure out how in such a short space of time a place so far from what I was used to could feel so much like home. Within another week I realised 3 weeks was never going to be enough time there……and much to the condemnation of my boss back home…..eventually stretched it to 6.
I also took up an extreme sport while I was there called ‘Crossing the Road’…a death defying activity that I never became entirely comfortable with although I rapidly understood that being confident and showing no fear was the way to go…..the pavements weren’t safe either….one time in a thunderstorm I nearly got knocked off my feet by a motorbike travelling along one with no lights on. The motorbikes on the roads number the thousands and at rush hour are a sight to behold.

The weather was hot every day…..never below 30 degrees…everyone sweated and nobody cared….and everywhere had air conditioning which was fantastic…especially coming from Scotland where air conditioning doesn’t really exist. On the very few occasions where we get warm weather we just stay hot.
The weekends were for travelling to other parts of the country and The Green Lion Coordinators were always on hand to help us book things. I had the opportunity to travel to Mui Ne one weekend to work in 2 schools hosted by the owner of them and spent time teaching English to some of the children there. We stayed in a hotel the first night and a hostel the second. This is where I learned that 2 people booking in does not equal 2 beds but our host was amazing. He kept us fed, watered and entertained throughout our time there with many meals spent with some of the children from the school as a way of helping them improve their English. While there we were also treated to a visit to the sand dunes to watch the ‘sun rise’…..and although we just missed it…..two of us managed to wheedle a ride over the sand dunes on a quad at speed….an absolutely exhilarating experience! This trip also gave us an opportunity to see Vietnam away from the touristy areas as well which was amazing.

Another weekend I travelled to Dalat with three other participants . An 8 hour journey but we travelled there and back by sleeper bus, definitely the best and most comfortable way to travel. The most organised of our crew booked a tour to see all the sights there for the 2nd day…and see the sights we did…a whirlwind day spent visiting everywhere including an authentic Vietnamese village in the central highlands. By the end of the day we were exhausted but exhilarated. The highlight’s being the ‘Ceramic Begoda’ and a train journey where the driver gathered fruit from the trees in a net as we trundled along.
When it came time to leave my ‘home’ in Vietnam I felt lost…..some of the guys travelled to the airport to see me off. Once I said my goodbyes and went through security…..all I could do was sit and cry while waiting on my plane. The people, the place, the vibrancy and energy of Vietnam……It had all just been so perfect and I hated to leave it all behind. I returned home sad and aching to be back there. It was life changing and an experience I will never forget! I can’t wait to go back!

The Green Lion

We hope you enjoy reading about the experiences of other travelers. If you are travelling with us right now and have a great story to share, please reach out to us :)