Day 14: A Bitter Farewell

Saturday, September 5, 2009

We’re done?

“Thank you very much!” – Ricky Pai

Today marks the day that we have been planning for during the past week. The first week was meant for environmental awareness and leadership training both for the student leaders as well as the SEALNet team. But since the start of Week 2, we went full force into the Green Campaign to outreach for our club and our cause. Environmental Awareness Day was symbolic in that it represented our hard work but also a last time to say goodbye. The panels were designed to inform the 300+ students in attendance of SEALNet presence and how we have enlightened the students. At the same time, it was a day to bid farewell all around. We poured our hearts into this project. Now it is up to those who we have seen grown these last two weeks step up and continue the tradition of excellence.

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We did not start the morning well. Everyone was still saddened by previous departures. Now the team had to say goodbye to three more precious members. I woke everyone up at 6AM now that I have reprised my role as the Door-Knocker. Everyone seemed to be dead tired and not willing to do the morning exercise routine. How can I tell? Well, no one showed up. At around 6:30AM, we gathered at the hotel lobby to bid official farewells to RC, Hien, and Hieu. RC and Hieu took turns modeling for the cameras. All the girls were extremely sad to see half of the men on the team go, especially the six members of the RC Fanclub. The local members were also present showing how our relationships with them have grown quite close during the second week.

At around 7AM, Hien arrived with the taxi signaling the last minutes that our team will be together with three. It was like a scene taken from a tragic movie. The receptionist probably thought we were crazy before. But we proved to be even more so. Posing for funny pictures, sobbing, wiping sweat, making promises, and so on – It is so true: It’s so hard to say goodbye. As the van left for the airport, the remaining members had to collect themselves in preparation for the important day ahead.

We walked quickly to school while trying to look around more carefully for it was going to be the last time we were going to be in Thanh Cong Middle School. The people from the shops, cafes, bookstores, and stores that we’ve visited for the last two weeks probably recognized our sadness. But there was literally no time to waste. As the Opening Ceremony for the new school year was in process, we piled into our separate rooms and started our new job as interior decorators. We posted our artwork, craft projects, drawings, pictures, and so much more. It was an exhibit on the four environment issues that we have been lecturing about. What makes it amazing was that the kids prepared it and were going to present it as well.

Day 13

Stay tune for updates

Day 12: The Last Sprint

Thursday, September 3, 2009

“I’ll bite myself.” – Hieu

With only 3 full days left, we thought about just sliding by. We had accomplished two components – environmental awareness and leadership – with the workshops, Green Training, and the panel for Environmental Awareness Day. It was very tempting to just leave it at that. But with these 3 days, we realized that we can achieve so much more. We have already envisioned how we were going to secure the sustainability component of our project. Today is a test of whether or not we will take that extra step and tie every single loose end. We can’t do everything. Nevertheless, we had to do our best.

Today was even worst then before. We said goodbye to both Brian and Hung this morning. Both of them departed early to catch their morning flight. It was sad to see the newest people leave us only after a short time together. But their presence and contribution to PV09 is much appreciated. We said farewell to two team members but hello to the new challenge awaiting us.

We came to the school for our second day of preparations with the students. They have not lost their excitement and dedication towards a successful Environmental Awareness Day. They worked hard on their arts and craft project.

Day 11: Reconnecting

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Spotlight: Brian, RC

“Therefore, we are saved by faith” – Hung

As the country celebrate National Day, the PV09 team felt that it was also time to enjoy a break from work. We realized the importance of sustainability yesterday. Today, we take some time to let everything settle down before we take a final step. We only have a couple days before our time in Vietnam was over, but we were not willing to go away quietly. Our three components are environment awareness, leadership, and sustainability. We touch the first two, now it was time to address the last. We have evaluated our stake, impact, and outcome. What’s left is to collaborate, execute, and follow through. It was time to reconnect with why we are here and our relationships with each other. Today we determine whether we want to just finish or finish strong.

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For the first time since our arrival to Vietnam, most of the team got the amazing chance to sleep in. We woke up around 9AM. It was clear that an extra three hours of sleep was doing us good. Even though this day was just a relaxing preparation day, we still had work to do. Most of us used this time to buy materials for E.A. Day and our panels. I had breakfast at the hotel (simple Vietnamese style fried rice) with Alice in the morning and visited our next door neighbors in room 234 for conversation. They were working on the materials for their games and activities booth, but seemed a bit hungry. So I went with them for breakfast again – this time getting traditional Vietnamese congee (or porridge, cháo). I came back to the hotel for some rest only to go for lunch with the team an hour later. We had a nice talk about our goals and objectives of this project and of course shared more about our life story.

Lunch was pretty amazing. Originally we had thought that we were going to Hard Rock Café, Vietnam for some wonderful Western cuisine. Well, the Western part was right, but it turned out that the place was Hot Rock Café – poor Christina who showed off her Hard Rock Café, Hong Kong t-shirt. It seems as if today we rest well and we eat well too. There were pizzas with a Vietnamese twist, barbequed beef and lamb, fish, and salad. It was parallel to most American restaurant. The restaurant was decorated well with pictures of famous landmarks, a open bar, and computerized registers. It was like eating at home.

After the nice lunch, it was time to do some shopping. I went to Old Quarters for the third time in the past week. Instead of shopping for souvenirs and pretty things, some of the girls and I decided that we wanted to try the KFC in Vietnam. We split a combo meal that consisted of all the usual: Pepsi, coleslaw, mashed potatoes, and obviously fried chiecken wings. It tasted pretty much the same but as expected, it was relatively cheaper and the portion size was noticeably smaller. The view from the third floor was spectacular. We saw the same turtle lake that we visited the very first day, the busy street filled with an unending stream of motorbikes, and tourists looking for a good deal. You could still hear the nonstop honking and engine roaring from several feet up above.

We were just tired to walking around the strange shopping area. The stores were set up in line formation; one street would specialize in shoes, the other handbags, the next souvenirs, and so on. We met up at a restaurant for a fancy dinner. We needed to celebrate this turning point in our project where we have labeled our objectives and are ready to fulfill them. The restaurant was gorgeous enough for a wedding reception with a live stage, cool lighting, and most importantly, fully air conditioned. We were not willing to go back to the small hotel restaurant anymore. This was the ultimate upgrade.

We had a nice dinner. The food was quite unique and exotic: a tomoto/pinapple/clam sour soup, seafood mayonnaise wrap, shrimp rolls, and rice. Everyone was talkative and cheerful. We shared our new purchases and experiences with bargaining. Our teamwork was best demonstrated by our joint effort to tease Ricky about everything. We returned to the hotel for our debriefing meeting where we saw Brian open up for the first time to the whole group and Hung’s compassion. We were all very inspired and move by both of their presence

We retired to our separate rooms to welcome the next day.

KFC Combo Meal: 57,000

Clutch purse: 80,000

Day 10: Re-Evaluation

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Spotlight: Hung, Nguyet

“Hanoi RRRocks! Rejuvenate, Reshape, Regenerate!” – SEALNet PV09 Team

Day 9: Launching the Campaign

Monday, August 31, 2009

“Just leave it like this. Everything is perfect.” – Lauris

Today was a one of excitement and tragedy. We said hello to the successful launching of our Green Initiative Plan. This ceremony represented the accomplishment of all our efforts. We went beyond raising environmental awareness, planning a day filled with fun activities and panels discussing global warming, air pollution, recycling, and energy, providing leadership training for excelling students, and building friendships amongst ourselves. We were committed to building in a sustainability aspect. We did not want tot just touch their lives and leave. Instead, we had to leave something behind. This will be our Green Ambassador Club, the Green Campaign Competitive, Environmental Awareness Curriculum Handbook/CD, Bulletin Board, and most essential, a change in mindset of the students of this school.

Ginger, Hien, and I went to the school early to hang our backdrop. We had stayed up late to finish it and our efforts can now be seen by the rest of the team and the school. Students filed in one by one. It was quite a sight to see. They were extremely disciplined, knowing what to do and where to go.

Day 8: Party Time

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Spotlight: Christina, Linh

“SEALNet is about love.” – Hung

What supposed to be a stay-in-and-sleep or do-whatever-you-want day turned into a project day filled with stress, deadlines, and meetings as usual. We wanted a day of rest to recuperate from all the intensive planning, but there was no time to rest. The Green Initiative was our project and we couldn’t let our tiredness prevent us from moving forward. We cannot be burnt out after only one week. We must motivate ourselves in order to inspire others. Dedication and persistence are characteristics that we must integrate into our mindset. Through service, we will become leaders.

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I woke up at 7:30 to meet my partner Hien at the school. We had to finish our bulletin board by tomorrow morning before the launching event so that students of the school can be aware of our efforts.

Bread/Sandwich: 3000 – 5000

Hat: 18,000

Tank Top with Vietnam in letters: 25,000

Fabric Wallet: 45,000

Day 7: The Green Ambassadors

Day 7:  The Green Ambassadors

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Will it happen?

Our bodies exhausted, our minds burnt out, our energy drained, but still we marched on. Less than one full week into the project, our plan was slowly manifesting into something amazing. We had originally planned to replicate a previous idea but we have grown ambiguous and passionate. We wanted more and the Green Initiative Plan was our main focus. We were part of the Green Champaign whose mission was to spread awareness for environment problems and empower the students to make a change.

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We did our usual morning exercise – leap frogs, swats, push-ups, and all – eat the usual breakfast, and arrived at the school a usual. But today was not just any other day. We will present our proposal to the principal who will determine the fate of our entire project. As they students filed into the classroom, they still possess that same enthusiasm from the first day. They smiled, waved, and asked us questions. We were conduction a workshop on air pollution and it seems as though they were leading it themselves. The students were very clever and thoughtful with their answers: they cited weapons of warfare as a source of air pollution, and encourage their spouse not to smoke as a lifelong promise to help reduce pollutants in the air.

They knew everything it seems and we were there to inspire and motivate. They participated in the activities and games with determination and teamwork. Their youth was misleading for it hides the knowledge that was within them the whole time. They drew a beautiful world on paper fully aware of what it should ideally look like because they know full-well that this world will depend on the efforts they put into preserving its beauty.

Our plan received yet another blessing when the Green Initiative proposal was finally approved at the meeting and highly endorsed by the principal. The launching event was set for Monday when SEALNet PV09 team will present our vision to the entire school. We could not have asked for more. The school administrators wanted exactly this. They breathe life into our project and we truly appreciate their generosity.

English-Vietnamese dictionary: 45,000

Day 6: Our Vision

Friday, August 28, 2009

Will it work?

Spotlight: Alice

“We just peel dragon fruit.” – Nguyet Tong

Day 5: Our Green Motherland

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Spotlight: Janice, Hanh

“It’s all part of the master plan.” – Hanh Nguyen