The Charades Game

Week three! That’s a wrap! This is the first time in my life where I can say I have experienced the living versus the holiday. Saigon is literally unreal and everyday continues to be a full blown adventure. It’s the little things about this city  that gets me sometimes. Like how the dogs – I kid you not, look both ways before crossing the streets of saigon. Last night I dropped into a quick mart at 2am in the morning to have Vietnamese children congregate around me. Starting with two kids to about fifteen of them. Please just try to picture me sitting on the floor of this 7/11 type store teaching them how to give a high five and  take a selfie. This is literally my everyday.  I walk outside still and it’s I am famous for literally being the only white person in this town.  I went to order a smoothie yesterday and yes, of course, it turned into an hour production. Combining two different fruits is like asking them to make me a cake topped with 100 dollar bills. Everyday life has turned into playing the charades game as the locals do not even know the word “hello” in English. I end up taking so much time to find ways of communicating with these locals. I have to  point to what I want behind their cart, physically put the fruits into the blender and act out blend. When all was said and done my smoothie was amazing and the ladies probably wanted to kill me. There was a little left over, she was about to give it to me but I acted out “you try” to have them  taste my concoction (avocado, apple, banana, and yogurt) and everyone was saying “yum” and rubbing their tummies with smiles and laughs. I am really learning patience and to let go of some of my obsessive behaviors out here (that is besides how I like my smoothies). To be honest the language barrier can be bliss sometimes. I can’t complain about the route the uber driver is taking,  how I like my food prepared, or my nails done, because I do not know the language. You just have to take things how they are which adds a lot of  simplicity to the chaotic town.

Saigon is really starting to become home for me.  My VAS  friends have taken me in like I am one of theirs and they remind me so much of my friends from home. I have these days where I am exerting so much energy I honestly do not know where it ever is ever coming from on  4-5 hours of sleep. I thought I had a lot of energy in general but teaching 50 kids with a language and cultural barrier everyday has taken something else out of me. A dear friend of mine Tim, re-wrote the sports curriculum for me taking it back from  kickball to bounce, catch, throw. During relay races on Friday my kids were physically bouncing a ball for the first time. I know it sounds so silly but these kids did not know those three words (bounce, catch, throw) nor how to physically do it. Two weeks ago if you would of thrown a ball to them they would let it just hit them in the face. So yes, seeing my children properly bouncing a ball was very exciting. In comparison to Philadelphia the learning curve is so different. The major one is street smarts versus academics. In Vietnam, the children are strictly taught to the book. Creative thinking, imagination and again with the physical education is not touched on. Where in Philadelphia these kids come in never been read to a day in their lives but they can survive the rough streets and become the next Allen Iverson. VAS is doing a wonderful job adding this camp program. Team building activities is very difficult for these children. They struggle to be creative and create their own work. We were making journals that are meant for teaching core values. I told them to draw things that represented them. I showed them mine as an example and lets just say I now hold 30  journals with an American Flag, an airplane and a picture of the world. (AKA they just copied mine if you didn’t get it).

 Teaching creativity and critical thinking has truly been an honor these past couple of weeks. In Vietnam, individuality is not as important and valued as it is in Western parts of the world. Anything a Vietnamese does, he does out of consideration for the welfare of the family, rather than for himself alone. They even all hold the same birthday year. They celebrate their birthday on the same day, the Vietnamese new year, despite the day or month one is born.

 I understand how people live here for years and never want to leave. My European (well English now) friends crack me up. There is literally a different word for everything and I love when they mock my American accent.  They think I am such a typical American and everything I do reflects right back onto Americans (sorry guys) haha.

P.S Tim, I hope you are honored that you have been officially mentioned in my blog.

Namaste with me onto week Four!!