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Q: Is That All You Did This Summer?

A: :::panting::: :::sweating::: uhhhh, nuh uh.

So, I only covered the five main clubs of my fellowship project, as well as the big show… but, there was SO much more going on in the shelter this summer that every other activity seemed to just fit in with the “extracurricular summer camp.”  Oh, it was by far one of thee most active summers I’ve ever had (and I think it goes the same for every kid.)

The French scouts group were actually at the shelter every day for three weeks.  They worked on a few art projects with the kids, taught them singing/dancing games, and were always playing sports and games that just made you, well, tired.

The last night with the French boyscouts down in Saigon.

My brother Huy helped me with a couple photography projects, one involving their favorite hobbies and another involving light photography.  (He taught the kids about night-light photography and how to write their names backwards and in the air with flashlights.)

I took the initiative of starting an unofficial “Movie Club” and planned for at least 1 movie showing per week during the summer.  Some of the movies (…keep in mind they had to be age appropriate.) included: The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter 5, Mean Girls, High School Musical 3, Bruce Almighty, Madagascar 2, and Kung-Fu Panda.

With the extra fellowship funds, I also started an unofficial “International Food Cooking Club.”  The children and I made so many special snacks/dishes every week, (many dishes being completely new to them) including: pasta salad, potato salad, Thai green curry, ravioli, chili cheese fries, french toast, onion rings, homefries, jell-o, strawberry shortcake, rice krispie treats, s’mores, and chocolate chip cookies.  I was blessed to recieve many of these difficult-to-find-in-Vietnam ingredients, from my parents in the U.S.  (A Special Thank You for the Ranch dressing and Frank’s Red Hot sauce that traveled thousands of miles.)

French fryin'.

The Chili Cheese Fries Gang.

The Ravioli Rebels.

I was planning on setting up a yearbook club too, but the kids were just too busy with everything else.

…So, I did it myself. haha.  On the last night before I left, I gave each kid a yearbook of their own (Binh asked, “So wait, do we give these back to you after?” and explained to them what it was.  After initiating the first exchange of writing in yearbooks, they started to catch on and followed suit.  As a result, we had a room full of kids writing in yearbooks for about 3 hours that night.  I was blessed enough to get every child to write in mine (I mean, c’mon, I had to write in everyone’s book too.)

Here are a few sample pages:

The cover page.

A Note From Teacher Hy.

-And the last few nights in Hue were just constant celebration.  I can’t even recall anything other than the actual events.  All I know is that it felt like a 2-day festival with all the kids and there was laughing and screaming at all times.  We took the kids out rollerskating, to eat che and banh chien, to a haunted house, and to end it all off, we went to karaoke [might I add, in a VIP room too...]

The rollerskating rink!

My last che outing.

Our bike gang.

Last banh chien outing.

We walked to the haunted house... and everyone was temp tatted. Da's tat was the best.

The last karaoke session.

Here are some more “last’s” of the summer.

My last banh cuon with my best Hue friend, Topher.

My last meal at the shelter... damnit. It's that weird hot dog pasta salad again.

Yeah...

Saying goodbye to my SuperCub 50 CC

My last time at Huong Vuong Inn, the owner, Robert, generously threw me a goodbye party.

roBEAR! GRRR!

A table full of Hue expat friends. We were special, so we got to sit out on the sidewalk.

Robert and the HVI staff made us a huge, huge meal consisting of squid, egg rolls, 6 specialty pizzas, and cases of Huda beer. I <3 HUONG VUONG INN.

The night before I left the shelter, I didn’t get a minute of sleep because 1) I saved packing for last and 2) spent hours and hours making gift bags for all the kids.  The morning Huy and I left, I gave each of the kids their gift bags full of personalized gifts.  There were yo-yo’s (the good kind that can sleep), Highschool Musical school supplies (courtesy of Huy & the U.S.), books, CD’s, movies, posters, pictures, toys, random trinkets that would trigger inside jokes, and lots and lots of my favorite American candy that can’t be found anywhere in Vietnam. Ahem. Airheads and Laffy Taffy’s.  We took some group pictures, gave long hugs (well the girls didn’t give me hugs, just the boys haha), and then slowly drove off in our taxi holding onto each other with our smiles as long as we could.  I realized that I’ve gotten much better at goodbyes.  I knew would see them again soon.

Final Chapter: I Thought You Said You Liked Lists…

What worked:

• The kids liked the idea of starting up clubs (the notion of extracurricular clubs is rather new in Vietnam) and were thinking about starting their own silly clubs (like a Sleeping Club or a Doll-decorating Club) after I left.  So, at least the concept didn’t flop immediately.
• Some kids got to hang out with individuals they wouldn’t usually be around, and it was all because of having a common interest with one another.
• Exposure to group-work (whether some kids improved at group-work skills or not is a different topic…) is always good for growing children.
• It was so completely evident that the kids felt and showed a lot of pride in their work.  In an environment such as a children’s shelter, it’s often hard to feel individual recognition.  This project, however, with one of the main components being the goal of preparing something to showcase, was able to give each participating kid their own chance to shine.
• I was able to see leadership skills develop in the most least likely kids.  I expected many of the oldest kids to take control and lead, but many of the younger kids actually stepped up.  This project was able to give those certain kids an opportunity to show their natural leadership skills.
• This project gave the kids responsibility.  Sometimes, the kids would come up to me and ask me to make decisions for them and I’d say nicely, “Sorry, but that’s your responsibility!” They would usually punch me after, but eventually the constant questions started to diminish and the group leaders started to take things into their own hands.
• Without the volunteers’ help, I have NO idea how my project could have succeeded.  The kids really saw them as good role models full of new, inspiring ideas and unending support, and it was also good that, you know, I didn’t have to split myself up into 10 parts.
• Before this project, the kids were usually “forced” to prepare a dance/act for special occasions.  But, I could tell that this time the kids had a different type of motivation.  The dance club, for example, was really proud of what they had accomplished mostly because they put so much time into it and knew they did it well.  The consistent support and praise from several close-in-age volunteers definitely helped the kids feel more comfortable and less “forced.”
• Finally, the clubs really helped the kids come together during a difficult time of staff transition.  Even kids that recently left the shelter, all came to support the kids on the night of the big showcase.

The big show was something that EVERYONE could be proud of, even the kids that didn’t participate.   They were still so active in supporting the kids in the show and I remember thinking the night of the big show, “Now, this is a community.”

Of course, my fellowship project didn’t execute perfectly. Here is what didn’t work:

• There was always a constant shifting in their commitment/cooperation/dedication, which at first was disappointing to see since I was initially under the impression that the kids were excited about the opportunity to do what THEY wanted to do this summer.

But, this is what I realized:

1. This whole summer of extracurricular activities/creative learning was a completely new concept- so sometimes it worked amazingly, other times the kids probably thought, “What’s the point of all this again?”
2. To be straight forward, we have several teenage girls (going through a lot of changes right now) and sometimes they made it difficult for me to work.  Sometimes, their moods would fluctuate to the point where they would temporarily quit an activity and convince other people to drop out too.  Fortunately, some of the girls ended up helping the cook for the night of the big show. With my fellowship’s food budget, they were given the responsibility to go buy ingredients for fruit shakes and yogurt, and make them for their very first time (usually, it’s too expensive to even consider.)
3. For whatever reason, some of the older kids didn’t like the idea of being leaders.  Perhaps, they were intimidated by the responsibility and thought that no one would listen.  All I know for sure and from experience is that apathy in older children (teenagers) is a pretty common attitude everywhere in the world.
4. Hue, Vietnam is known for its brutally hot summers.  Because of the extreme heat, it’s easy to feel sloth-ish and have a lack of energy, and it’s also normal for all Vietnamese people to take a 3 hour rest break during the middle of the day (when it’s the hottest.)  This wasn’t exactly the easiest climate to stay active in.
5. Finally, one of the biggest variables was the tension among the children regarding staff changes in the beginning of the summer.  This definitely stunted the initial start of my fellowship project, and I had to put my it on hold so that I could help the kids adapt to their new environment.

In my mind, this project was as successful as it could have been, considering the time of shelter transition, the unfamiliarity of the creative learning concept, and  little amount of time I had to carry out this project (I wanted to start earlier, but the staff thought it would be best to wait for all the children to be out of school.)

But, no complaints and no regrets.  It will forever be one of thee most memorable and active summers of my life, one full of constant learning that can’t be done in the classroom.

…unless, of course, you print out this blog post and use it as a case report in your class.
Umm, is there some sort of copyright button?  …Help?

THE BIG SHOW

The big show was something that EVERYONE could be proud of, even the kids that didn’t participate.   They were still so active in supporting the kids in the show and I remember thinking the night of the big show, “Now, this is a cộng đồng [community.]“

And before the photos come-a-rollin’, I’d like to thank Nina, Kathy, Huy, and some of the kids for all the pictures below.  Go figure – I was planning on taking the most pictures on the night of the big show for my photojournalism project… but I happened to be in 50% of the show. haha.

The stage.

“]

Getting ready for the opening comedy club skit. Duc plays the bride's father, and Loan plays a lady who speaks up [does not forever hold her peace.

Tu getting ready by reading his comic book.

Hoai, the groom's mother.

Quang in the newest mosquito-net styled wedding dress.

Billy Ford & Nina Nguyen, the maid of honor and best man.

The wedding party and Father Julian Chung.

A "thank you" to our guests.

Fumbling for the rings.

The newlyweds. haha.

The traditional Hue music group sings us a lullaby.

The younger girls with Chi Nhi & Chi Tu- singing "Say you will... say you will be mine..."

The VIA Teach-In-Hue vols rocked the shelter with "Let It Be."

...and the crowd goes wild!

The Xuan Phu Dance Crew dancing to Mario's "Crazy Kind Of Love"

Finale pose.

A birthday cake eating contest? Yes, please.

The participants: Quang, Huy, Minh Thanh, and Da!

I mean, obviously Anh Huy won.

[Showcase acts not shown: Huong playing a song on the dan co, The French scouts leading an interactive sing-along song, A "Mr. Xuan Phu Shelter" competition between 6 male international volunteers, Mr. Xuan handing out Certificates of Appreciation]

The finale of the show... Xuan Phu Dance Crew does "Thriller."

After the show, our guests were invited to our art gallery night.

Oh, please.  I would never forget the refreshments.  I was just saving them for last.

Duyen took charge of the refreshments committee

Their carrot coconut fruit shake concoction.

Yogurt!

Sparklers are a must.

…and that was the show.

[videos coming soon.]

Xuan Phu Shelter’s First Wedding. (Now accepting reservations.)

“Mission Statement: To laugh and make others laugh.”

The comedy club was probably the least active all summer, since the commitment of writing out skits and practicing them too seems pretty overwhelming.  But, they really pulled it together in the end and prepared an amazing skit for the big showcase night… a mock wedding.

Going over lines.

Practicing the procession.

Hoai here plays my mother.

Remember your places, everyone.

The leaders of the group, Loan (chi) and Quang, contributed the most ideas and also gave the most creative input on jokes, direction, and costumes (what we spent most of the budget on.)  Quang was my wife-to-be and his wedding dress was more or less a mosquito net.  Loan chi had the most dramatic, longest monologue in the skit, and her superb acting skills really took the crowd by surprise.  For days after the show, the comedy club was saying, “So many people said our act was the most entertaining out of the whole night!”

This reminds me of how my kid Nhat told me, “If there is ever a really good cartoon character that everyone likes, every Vietnamese person will compare them to him/her and say, ‘He/She is very similar to me.’  So, everyone who likes Naruto will say ‘I am just like Naruto.’  But, really- I am more like Naruto than anyone.”