Our last week in Bien Hoa began with an idea: to hold a party/banquet for the students to get together one last time before we departed. So Monday morning, we traveled to the Fat House to plan out the logistics with Chi Lan. We decided we would clean up the debris of a collapsed house for our play area, since we would be expecting almost 200 students to attend. We also spent the morning playing with the children, and reconstructing the bamboo swing we had built earlier, but this time with stronger rope and the help of the littlest boy at the orphanage (he is SO cute.). In the afternoon, we made good on our promise to return to Bien Hoa orphanage to play basketball with the older boys. But this time, everyone came along to say goodbye the the children one last time. In the evening, we spent some time with some of our friends who would be departing the next day.
On Tuesday, we traveled to the Fat house to clean up the massive amount of debris. The task looked extremely daunting at first: around the foundation of what used to be an old "barn" made out of brick and concrete was piles of wood, bricks, broken glass, rocks, and trash about 6 inches thick, covering a space of about 500 square feet. There were only 10 of us and 3 shovels, so we began working by hand, piece by piece in the hot sun. It was interesting to watch our technology evolve from using our bare hands to using tarps to carry large piles of debris. We worked for 3 solid hours until lunchtime, when we headed home. In the afternoon, the teacher's took our very special friend, Chi Thanh Hien, out for her birthday. Karaoke is always fun, but especially when we have something to celebrate. We bought her a beautiful cake, and even the staff of the Karaoke place brought her a bouquet and gave a nice speech. The best part was learning a Vietnamese version of Happy Birthday, which sounds like something they could play in a club. It was bittersweet, though, because this would be the last time we would see her and Anh Trung, because they had to leave for work the next day. Personally, Thanh Hien is like an older sister to me, and I'm sure someday I will see her again. The volunteers spent the rest of the afternoon planning for the night class, and they all wanted it to be extra special because it was the last week. All the kids had a lot of fun, and some teachers even received gifts from their students. A few new English games were learned, and the kids had a lot of fun playing games like "Telephone" and "Cat and Mouse". All in all, a successful Tuesday!
Wednesday morning we went back to the Fat House at 7 AM to avoid the heat. We worked and worked and by 10:30, the place was completely transformed! All of the debris was cleared away, and all that was left was the smooth concrete foundation, which we were planning on using later for games. Some of the children were really helpful, and it was nice to do some work with them to improve where they live. While we were digging, we must have hit the home base of a cockroach colony, because what seemed like hundreds of them came running out. Needless to say, the chickens who patrol the area were quite happy after that! In the afternoon, the teachers prepared their lessons for the night class, where the C classes held debates, the B classes talked about the future and their dreams, and the A classes played word association games and learned funny poems. Some of the students were noticeably sad when it hit them that the last day was coming, but they were very strong and I am very proud of them.
On Thursday, the group split up. Some went to buy supplies for the party the next day, while others attended a local basketball tournament at the Youth Center. There were 3 teams from Saigon playing against the Bien Hoa teams, and all the teams played very well. The rest of the day we spent preparing for the last day of the classes at the center. So many students attended! Even some that I hadn't seen since the first week. The plan was to all teach our classes individually for the first hour, and then the second hour bring them all together outside to learn a song and have a closing ceremony. When they were all outside, we brought out the big chalkboard and the boom box and learned "I believe I can fly", and taught them to never give up on their dreams. The classes had an awesome time singing the song together. As a closing, we all sang the World Cup song ("Wavin' Flag" by K'Naan) because that was the favorite song of all the students. After lots of hugs and photos, we said goodbye until the next day's party.
Friday finally arrived, and with it the day of the party!! We traveled to the Fat House in the morning to cut the fruits and prepare the area for our guests. The theme was a carnival, so we planned a face painting station, pit the fire on the dragon game, a seed spitting contest, and a World Cup soccer game. We waited anxiously for our guests to arrive, and boy did they! Starting at around 1:30, all the children began to come. By 2:30, there were 200 students there! Everyone loved the face painting the most. The kids got all sorts of designs, from Spider Man to Batman to butterflies to sun and moon, and pretty much everything else in between. Pin the fire on the dragon was a lot of fun, because many children had not seen this game before. The fruits and snacks were delicious, and there was plenty to go around. We partied all afternoon until about 6:00. It was really tough to say goodbye to the kids we had gotten to know so well in the previous weeks, but we hoped that in some way we had touched their lives. Judging by the number of tears that fell that afternoon, it's safe to assume that we did.
For a final goodbye, we went to karaoke with the hotel staff to say goodbye to them and thank them for being our gracious hosts. We sang songs and danced until the late evening, which meant we wouldn't get much sleep since we were leaving the hotel at 5 the next morning!
All in all, the program in Bien Hoa was filled with "firsts" for the group. I am very proud of the team for adapting to every challenge that came our way, and for stepping up and getting the job done, even if they felt tired, sick, or even a little grouchy. We taught over 300 children at 4 different locations, spent hours at different orphanages, hospitals, and youth centers, built a basketball court, cleared a ton of debris, laughed, cried, and had some fun too. Best of all, we built a connection with a community of people who are similar to us in so many ways, a connection that will last infinitely longer than the 4 weeks we spent there. I am so proud, and I can't wait for next year.
The programs have not finished!! The Hue program still has one week remaining, as well as the volunteer project, so keep checking back for updates!!
Victor - ETA4 Dong Nai/Bien Hoa
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