Day 9: Bidding Goodbye to Vietnam

Today started a little more hectic than usual. All of us got more sleep than usual, and got to a coffee-shop for breakfast. We crowded into the second floor of the establishment, where tables were joined together for everyone to sit together in a giant circle. As usual, after ordering our food, we were chit-chatting, oblivious to our surroundings.The food was one of the best we've had in our entire trip, but alas, the kitchen served up the food at a snail's pace. It was so slow that even when the first half of the group had finished their meal, the second half hasn't even received their food! This definitely threw us off schedule by about an hour. The poor volunteers who had received their food last were forced to gobble down their food ASAP, as we were very, VERY, VERY late for our second meeting with the Vietnamese deaf students at Hoa Sen University! So embarassing!

The little cosy shop served good food but unfotunately, their service left alot more to be desired.

The food was served so slowly that we even had time to take millions of "wefies".

By the time we arrived at the university, all flustered and sweaty, we were 1 hour past the starting time. Luckily for us, the Vietnamese were patient and didn't show their annoyance at our lateness! They still welcomed us with wide arms, and immediately proceeded with the issues to be shared today.

The warm smiles of the Vietnamese student sitting beside Sing Yi, even though we were late!

Today's topics for discussion!

For the sharing session this time, we had a cultural exchange with the Vietnamese Deaf students. First of all, a few representatives from COR, including Li Sha and Stephanie. presented on the Deaf Culture in Singapore, such as some myths that we usually have about the Deaf. Unsurprisingly, most of these misconceptions are also commonly experienced in Vietnam! Afterwhich, the Vietnamese students presented their side of the story, and even put up a mini skit for our entertainment and understanding of their culture. Despite being hearing impaired, they were all exceptional actors, acting with passion and alot of expressions. Like our own HI volunteers' skit last night, this skit also resulted in peals of laughter from the audience with their comical plot.

The 3 lead actors of the comedic performance put up by the Vietnamese Deaf students.

Following this act, we then put up our different racial dances for the Vietnamese's enjoyment, and to expose them to our culture.

Giving them a taste of our Malay, Chinese, Eurasian and Indian cultures, the 4 most predominant races in our uniquely Singapore!

Finally, to end off the day's events, our very own superstar, Jimmy, shared some stories from his extraordinary life. From challenging his limits, despite his deafness, to winning medals in dragon-boating, his stories are truly inspiring and worth the listen! All of us may have heard of his stories a thousand times over, but we hope that the Vietnamese students would take a leaf out of his book, and be motivated to push to their limits.

Jimmy passionately giving his speech, which is what he likes to do -- sharing his achievements.

Afterwards, a mingling session between all parties ensued, and this time, being our second and final meeting, everyone was especially friendly and talkative. It was our last chance to interact and chat with the Vietnamese Deaf! Alot of us managed to leave with more faceboook friends, and took away more information about each other! Penpals anyone?

As we said out last goodbyes to them, we then braved the pouring rain and headed out for lunch. During lunch, a surprise decision was made! We were allowed to choose our activity for the afternoon.We could either shop at the day markets at the same location as the night market 2 nights ago, or visit the local museum to learn about Vietnam's war-torn past. It was our final activity to be had in Vietnam as COR-EVG, and we had to choose wisely. We split into 2 groups and headed out on the 2 separate buses to our location of choice.

After several hours of satisfying our shopping cravings, as well as quenching our thirst for knowledge at the museum, we headed out in the drizzle to our final meal in Vietnam. There, the V team had prepared a surprise feast for us, including all kinds of Vietnamese dishes that we die die must try before leaving Vietnam! Not only that, the EVG girls had penned a special little note onto pretty postcards for each and every one of us, as our final farewell gift.

A sumptuous final feast in Ho Chi Minh City.

And with that, the end of our trip in Vietnam draws to a close, as we travelled the short distance to the airport (all of us wished the ride was longer, so we could chit-chat with the V team members just a little longer!). At the airport, we bade our last goodbyes to the V team girls whom we had formed a deep bond with throughout the past 9 days. Dguyen and Mai Anh even hand-made all of us friendship bracelets as a final final farewell gift! We will definitely hold the memories and gifts taken from our fruitful OCIP trip to Vietnam.

Until next time, Vietnam! May we meet again!

Spiderman

Wolverine

Captain America

Hulk

A big thank you to the Deaf participants who came onto this trip with us, and helped us improve on our sign language. The friendships we have made with you guys are definitely going to last a life-time.