Ecoventure 2010 -- walk the green talk: Activity

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What's next for Gia Bac?

6:46 PM by Wan Ying

Hi all,

This is summary report of the discussion of "What's next for Gia Bac?"

Recently, during the June holidays, ETS brought a few groups of students to serve the community in Gia Bac, Vietnam. At ETS, we believe in building sustainable projects to develop communities through collaborations and empowerment. The informal sharing session,What's Next for Gia Bac?, that is organised on 10th July aims to pick at the brains of these passionate students for ideas to sustain and continue the efforts in Gia Bac Village.

The session was very fruitful as the students, together with ETS, discussed and proposed solutions in 3 main areas, Education, Infrastructure and Environmental Conservation. One of the biggest and most promising projects that was discussed during the session was Project K that looks at the construction of an ECO-Compound consisting of an ECO-School, ECO-Plant and ECO-Raise, with the hope of building a "Sustainable Education & Ecotourism Development" (SEED) in Gia Bac Village.

Sounds exciting to you? We would have more updates about our projects in Gia Bac on The Little Green Dot as well as our website! Do keep a look out for it!

08 July 2010 in 08 June 2010

7:35 PM by Kh

08 July 2010 in 08 June 2010 is Day 4 in Ecoventure 2010.

Days in Gia Bac started early as well and on the average, everyone of us was awake and out of our sleeping bags by 5.00am or the sun would be shining down on you!

The start of our Village Life

This morning, we finally had a good look around Gia Bac. The wind that blew was cold but the sun warmed my skin. Outside, the hens and roosters were already up and about, wandering all over the place like the owned it.

Having lived for all my life in the city, I often wake up to the sound of annoying car drivers honking continuously in the neighbourhood or my sister's ringing handphone. The sight that greeted my from my bedroom window is that of tall HDB estates with limited greenery, save for the sparse trees scattered here and there in the carparks and a nearby playground.

Here in Gia Bac, I awoke to the sound of roosters, our alarm clock from Mother Nature. It was as if they felt it their all-important duty to wake everyone up bright and early. Taking a look out of the door, the view was simply breath-taking, all the more alluring for someone like me who had not had a chance before to immerse myself in such an environment that has not been thoroughly recreated by human hands.

This was what welcomed us when I went outside onto the corridor of the teachers' house we were staying in. Even for an extraordinarily imaginative mind like mine, (okay, again, I exaggerate) I would not have thought up such a beautiful scene on my own without any inspiration. You had to be there to see it for yourself and to experience it in order to know how it was like. However, hopefully the photo I took, albeit not capturing the place in its full glory, will be able to implant a certain seed in your brain that gives you an idea of what I saw.

Reforestation

We went out on our first FLITCH assignment that day and were brought to this vast area and our jaws nearly dropped when we heard that the whole huge area was supposed to be cleared. Did I mention? The place was humongous! So, we were led to a spot somewhere inside the entire gigantic patch, feeling smaller than we had ever felt. Did I mention? The area was massive! Oh wait - I did.

So through the help of translations by our Vietnamese volunteer from EVG - Thuong, we learnt that the area was owned by a lady and her family. It was necessary to weed the area but it was just so large! Nonetheless, with a certain firmness to do whatever we could, everyone set off promptly to work after we were shown how to use the tools. Along the way, we even devised our own methods to cut the weeds off more swiftly although we could never be as fast and efficient as the seasoned villagers themselves. =S

Teaching at Gia Bac School

In the afternoon, as we were preparing to set off to school for our daily English teaching, it started pouring heavily. Thankfully, we had the ponchos from our Eco Vietnam volunteers and we made it to the school dry and relieved but late! In addition, this being the first time we met our students, we were rather at a loss about what to do and the lessons kicked off to a rocky and nervous start.

Lucky for us, the weather was forgiving and the sun soon peeked from behind the clouds. That was great news for us because it meant that we could play some outdoor games! We heard that the students love them and it would be a pity if we weren't able to play together, especially on the first lesson when we were just getting to know each other and trying to create a friendly and fun atmosphere. We taught them how to play an improvised version of "Captain's Ball" with a frisbee instead of a volleyball. It was something new to them but they soon caught up with the rules and aims.

Before the start of the game, one group had actually run away and hid in a corner of the school though. At first, we were perplexed but we later learnt to give these children some time to warm themselves up to us when we realised that they were simply too shy to join in the games with us.

It was an 'Orientation Day'

This day was a learning experience for us being the first official "working" day in Gia Bac and helped prepare us for the others to come.

(Also, we learnt to predict when the heavy rain was coming so that our shoes and clothes did not get entirely soaked again as it did on that day. =S)

07 July 2010 in 07 June 2010

7:34 PM by Kh

07 July 2010 in 07 June 2010 is Day 3 of EcoVenture 2010.

All of us woke up bright and early that morning as usual. There is not a second to spare! (All right, I exaggerate...)

I said my final good bye to the view outside from our hotel room and did my last minute packing as we were to check out of the hotel that morning. Shoving the few items still left on the table into my bag with some stuffing and squeezing, I managed to pack them all in albeit not in the neat and graceful manner I had intended. Nonetheless, what mattered was that I was able to take along all that I wanted to bring, right?

Everyone gathered together at the hotel lobby, a hum of excitement in the air, our baggage all zipped up and ready to be lugged onto the bus. In a way, it was such a disorganized sight with everyone loitering around and bags lying everywhere, yet, our next step is crystal clear - ~~Breakfast!~~ the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) industrial visit was the next item on the itinerary.

But before that, breakfast! (Okay, so I couldn't resist after all. XD)

Did you notice the bright and cheerful balloons that decorated the place? When I first entered, I thought there was a birthday party taking place and perhaps there was! I have no way of knowing whether or not that is true now, though.

Over at VSIP, the whole area was huge! We were given a brief introduction, a presentation and a tour around the industrial park. As it was such a large area, we sat in our bus as it drove round, with our guide pointing out various features to us as we passed by them. Someone commented that it really felt like being back in Singapore. I also noticed that they used a 3-pin plug just like in Singapore instead of the 2-pin commonly used throughout Vietnam while we were in the presentation room. XD

Most parts of the rest of the day were spent on travelling and the expected journey to Gia Bac was 8 hours. I spent most of my time looking out of the window, refusing to sleep even though I was tired simply because I obstinately did not want to miss the view outside. As we moved further away from the city, the landscape outside changed from rows of houses to mountains and forests.

Once in a while, we stopped for breaks for meals and to visit the restrooms. At one of our stops, I was surprised to see Chinese Characters on the gate.

Asking one of our Vietnamese friends, we later learnt that the Vietnamese previously used "Chinese Characters" complemented with native Vietnamese words. It was later when the Latin alphabet was used to transcribe the Vietnamese language that the present Vietnamese alphabet was developed.

Slowly, as the day went by, the sky grew dark and my eyelids grew heavy. Somewhere, along some point, I finally gave in to my body's command and fell asleep. When we arrived at Gia Bac, it was already dark but it marked the beginning of another new experience in Vietnam.

The dear cook that came along with us to Gia Bac, whom we have grown to call fondly, "Auntie".

Day 2 - 06 June 2010

7:34 PM by Kh

06 July 2010 in 06 June 2010 is Day 2 of Ecoventure 2010.

That morning, all of us woke up bright and early. What time was it again? 6.00am? Typically, most of us would still be snuggling in our comfortable beds back in Singapore. One thing I realised about our Vietnamese friends is that their days starts off early! If I didn't remember wrongly, the first lesson at school can be as early as 6.30am.

So everyone packed their stuff, filled their water bottles and we're all set to go!

Wan Ying makes a final check of the address to ensure that

the place is not purely her imagination and that the hotel will stay there and not move away while we're gone.

Meanwhile, the rest of us set off for breakfast before heading down to the school.

We all needed energy for THE day!

Our first breakfast in Vietnam! What would it be like? Back in Singapore, my breakfast usually consists of two slices of bread with Kaya and a cup of Lipton tea. What about yours?

The food soon came in a while. This was what greeted us!

Don't they just look delicious? You can tell by the smile on Si Hui's face. =) It was a nice filling breakfast to start the day off and what a long day it was supposed to be! Some of us had coffee to accompany the day but I'm afraid I have no photos for you from that day at the moment. =(

We were running rather late according to the schedule - some woke up late - and thus, we hurried off to our next destination, the Ho Chi Minh University of Technology. The other night, we did not finish putting up our exhibition panels so we had to set them in place quickly before the whole event started.

Meanwhile, Nokia also arrived to put their things in place at the booth while some of us looked on. There was an LCD screen showing some clips, a recycling kiosk, some explanatory exhibits regarding the recycling process and several items made out of recycled materials such as notebooks and pencils.

In a while, we were all called to gather for the grand opening of the day. It began with a short introduction and then with a beautiful performance and a chorus of songs. We didn't know how to sing the Vietnamese song but everyone of us joined in enthusiastically by clapping to the beat.

Taking a glance around at the others' booths, I finally understood what it meant when the others described the setting up of the booth as "decorating". Just look at all their booths! They were all so nicely adorned with ornaments made by themselves from reusing materials such as aluminium cans. plastic and cardboard.

During the day, it was not all just work and no play. I was introduced to one of the traditional games in Vietnam (see picture below). I still remember that it was at HCMCUT that I first got to know Trang when I was somehow voted as the representative from EcoVenture to be one of the judges for the best booth.

Here, you see Trang being blindfolded. The aim is to hit the correct target at the first try with the pole that she was holding. No peeking! People would try to distract her but she must remain focused!

This is a group photo of us at the end of another game. We were supposed to reuse materials to re-create a beautiful dress for our lovely model. Can you spot her in the photo? Isn't our wonderful work runway-worthy? ^^ We were all very pleased with ourselves. Afterall, we won! It was also most fun to work with the other students from the other clubs. It was a brief interaction but memorable nonetheless.

There was some time in between when I needed to head for the restroom. (Who doesn't?) Anyway, the above were some of the interesting things I spotted around their campus.

Look at the penguin! Isn't it cute? Doesn't it make you want to feed it? It's a rubbish bin! I suppose that could be the intention. Just recently, it had been reported in the newspapers how elsewhere cleaners always had to clear the rubbish stuffed down the mouth of a dragon stature (or was it a crocodile? XD Can't remember!). Anyway, it could be that people want to feed it so here, you're given the chance to feed the penguins!

Another interesting sight was the parking for the motorbikes. In Singapore, the closest thing I've seen is the parking area for bicycles at Boon Lay MRT station. I should so take a photo and put them side by side for comparison!

In the afternoon, the heavy rains came and all of us retreated to shelter. The winds were so strong and the rain was beginning to soak us even though we were hiding with a roof over our heads. In the end, we had to enter the auditorium to stay out of the mean weather. There, we had our lunch and my preliminary encounter with fish sauce, the beginning of more of come and it was no wonder why the Vietnamese like it so much. I like it too although I'm not a person too used to adding sauces to my food unless necessary. XD

The forum proceeded after lunch with many interesting information shared by the various groups. It was indeed a learning experience for us, knowing about the other clubs' actitivities, greening hotel procedures, solar cars and many more! In between all that serious talk were some fun performances peppered here and there and of course, that of our very own which we had painstakingly prepared for!

Clearly, our performers had transformed into celebrities in just an evening! Everyone loves their costumes and the photo-taking carried on for longer than Harry could tolerate as we were running behind time yet again! He had to chase everyone out before we would all leave. XD

In the night, we headed to a nice restaurant for dinner and some quick walk around the city. The city at night was as bustling with activity as it was in the day!

Well, it would be good bye Ho Chi Minh City after this as we were headed for Gia Bac the next day on an 8 hours long bus ride...

(This turned out longer than I intended! So much for short entries! =X)

Recalling Day 1 (05 June 2010)

7:33 PM by Kh

05 June 2010 was Day 1 of Ecoventure 2010.

On that day, we gathered at the Singapore Changi Airport, Budget Terminal, a mixture of different feelings from all of us. It was the first time I was at the Budget Terminal (add that to my list of "firsts"). Some of us were early, some of us were just in time and some of us were late. Wait - one of us wasn't even present! Cai Ping was down with food-poisoning! The news came as a shock to everyone and we hoped then that she would get well soon and join us as soon as she could.

As time was quickly ticking away, we made our way into the departure area.

We sat around and waited to board the plane.

Our flight was delayed but we were finally on our way!

We arrived in Vietnam in the evening, were greeted by our many friendly Vietnamese volunteers who have since come to become our close friends. After short introductions, as we were already running late, we hopped onto our bus and were headed for our hotel. Along the way, Hang introduced us to a brief history of Vietnam and the various landmarks we passed by along the way.

Our hotel!

We unpacked in a rush and headed out again, first to dinner then to HCMCUT to prepare for our exhibition.

Dinner at our table with Kang Hua (me), Si Hui, Thuong and Thu (our dear friends).

Back at the hotel after we did what we could at the university, I remember it was already rather late but that's not the end of the day for us yet! There's still more to go!

The whole Ecoventure team gathered together in a room for the debrief.

My team's performers working hard for their performance. I know they'll do really well! ^^

Thus, with hasty last minute preparation by everyone, the night continued until all was done...

Yes we did - We Walked The Green Talk!

6:18 PM by Wan Ying

Hallo World!

Team Ecoventure is back!!

1 full day of ecoforum + exhibition
8 full days of reforestation + teaching
1 full day of Rest & Recreational Activities
(2 full days of on-the-road travelling)

Boy, it was sure blasting eventful!
We're still in the midst of collating our photographs/documenting stuff.
So, please be patient and give us some time yeah?
We'll be updating asap :D

Extra Training Session

4:05 PM by Kh

How many more days till our trip? (I realised that I am starting to get jittery and asking this question more and more as the date edges closer!)

Are you excited?

Are you nervous?

Or are you totally indifferent about this whole trip?

Well our last training took place at a very interesting location called "The Creek". It took me such a long time to find this place, even though I reached the correct building because I took the stairs and the first door I saw said "Utility Room" and the other was unlabelled. I thought I went to the wrong place! In the end, I had to call Shi Ting for help. (I called her twice just to get to this mysterious location.)

Finally, I found the lobby and took the lift up to the second storey. Surprising, the lift actually knew my name! "Miss Lee", it called out, as the doors opened. (That was rather creepy initially but I was later informed that it was simply announcing the name of the level and it was only a coincidence that it sounded like "Miss Lee".)

Well, even though it was called "The Creek", it was not a creek a all. (What a disappointment!)

Beside "The Creek" were other rooms with similarly interesting names such as "The Hive", "The Deep Blue" and "The Cove".

Well, it was already 9am so where is everyone? (Those who were late each owe me $3 okay? Except Cai Ping and Yuhau who came a while later and were so nice and bought me Milo! Thank you!) Poor me thought that I was either 1) was so blur as to venture into the wrong location despite clear instructions from Shi Ting, 2) remembered the wrong meeting time. If you saw my Tweets, you will know that I was in NTU since 7 plus am.

Slowly but surely, everyone else started arriving.

Ecoventure Booklet

We started off with some administrative matters - the distribution of our beautiful Ecoventure booklet! So else designed it but the very talented Shi Ting from the Reporters Team! =)

We went through some important pages in the booklet. Don't forget to bookmark those pages!

Eco-Exhibition Presentation

Following that was the presentation. "Again?", you might ask. Well, not everyone has presented yet! In addition, for us, this is an extremely important segment of our Vietnam trip this year as it involves a sharing of our knowledge with other like-minded, environmentally-conscious university students there. After all, this is Earthlink.

Later in the day, Cindy dropped by for a visit again to see how we were doing. Oh wait, who is that beside Cindy?

Malik

It seems that we'll be having a new friend on our trip with us! Let's all welcome him warmly to our group!

There's no need to be too formal with us. We're all a very friendly bunch of people! ^^

Cultural Performance

"Cultural performance" - the two words alone are sufficient to start a throbbing headache. No offence to Cai Ping and Kenneth though, I know that they both worked very hard on this. We can all tell by the very good show put together by them - highly entertaining and extremely amusing. The students in Vietnam will definitely enjoy it too!

Therefore, both the Programmers Team and the Reporters Team have to work hard too! (We ARE working very hard, aren't we all! It's just that our talents lie elsewhere, like writing lame blog entries for example. XD)

Here's the Programmers Team and their Bollywood dance. Or rather, their attempt at Bollywood dancing. Just try not to fall over!

Here's our team at our attempts. Please give us some support!

Weird host, Kenneth, terrorising our two Malay friends, Siti and Aminah. Give them a break and don't start scaring them away! Otherwise, we're not going to have any performance from them!

Left: Yan Xin practising her "Five Stones" skills. We'll be introducing the game to our Vietnamese friends. =)

Right: Jun Wei giving it a try as well. What huge hands! It probably gives him some advantage. Not a fair game this is, is it?

Miscellaneous

As it was the last time we would be meeting before the actual day of departure, everyone was busy tying up the loose ends.

Here's everyone busy at work and me, busy brainstorming for new ideas for our performance plus taking photos of course!

It is heartening to see everyone working so hard, right Wan Ying? Don't you feel glad to have all of us here! XD

Random

Till Saturday, when we meet again, here's some photos for you to enjoy that I took in NIE while I was on my way out. Please accept them as my apologies for leaving earlier as my dad was waiting already. ^^'

We may be heading off to another country but don't forget that Singapore is beautiful too. =)

Opps... Wrong photo! It's not what you think it is!

So anyway...

Take care and start packing! GO TEAM ECOVENTURE!

Apologies if I've missed out anyone in the photo!

Ecoventure 2010 -- walk the green talk

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Let's Celebrate!

What's next for Gia Bac?

08 July 2010 in 08 June 2010

07 July 2010 in 07 June 2010

Day 2 - 06 June 2010

Recalling Day 1 (05 June 2010)

Yes we did - We Walked The Green Talk!

Extra Training Session

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