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.

~ by Hy Huynh on September 10, 2009.