Friday, December 5, 2008
( 11:53 AM )
The thing that struck me about the trip was the entire group's sincerity and willingness in putting in effort to make the trip meaningful not only for us but for the people we are helping.
At the high school, not only was work done efficiently, it was an enjoyable moment despite the painstaking manual labour. Everyone pitched in and i saw countless beads of sweat drop into the cement mixture as we lay it out onto the ground. However, the factor that made me pull through was the effortless attempt at keeping the morale up. And it wasn't forced like somebody shouting 'we can do it people' just for the sake of doing it. The jokes, the singing, laughter and smiles amidst the hard work was perfectly natural. Even the teachers were contributing to the lighter moments with their one-liners.
At the orphanage, once again our collective good nature was a highlight. Although we've only had one and a half days to interact with the kids, that was one the most meaningful days i've had in my life. Thinking back, i was rather apprehensive about the visit to the orphanage before the trip because i was unsure if we can even communicate with the children. This is because I was thinking that interacting with children is already a challenge, and here we are planning interactive activities with children without a common language. Am I glad my doubts were unfounded. There were the students running about giving piggy rides and then there were the students sitting down playing quietly with their 'charge'. We were so protective of the kids we chose. I think that the phrase of the day was 'Hey, thats my kid!'. There was definitely a connection between us and the children. I was surprised at how bright some of the children actually are. However, i do not think that we've fulfilled our objective of leaving smiles when we part. Instead, there were plenty wet and grim faces. It was heartbreaking and I've felt a teeny bit of how it is like to be a parent. The joys and the grief. I WANT TO GO BACK.
Lastly, I was really impressed with the friendliness and the unity of the Vietnamese people. We saw their strong spirit during the visit to the war memorial museum and the Chu Chi Tunnels. Experiencing the simple pleasures of their life amidst the complications in today's world was bliss. There are many more things I would like to say but the following words will pretty much sum it up. I miss the trip. I miss my kids. I miss you OCIP guys. I miss doing something meaningful. I miss the country. I feel lost back in Singapore.
Othman
