Ecoventure 2010 -- walk the green talk

14 July 2010 in 14 June 2010 is Day 10 of Ecoventure 2010.

As usual, I was up early in the morning. Mornings in Gia Bac are so lovely I found it a waste to be inside my sleeping bag instead of being outside with the sights and the sounds. However, while it was usually quiet while we were out enjoying the sunrise, we were joined by a sudden commotion.

Wait, what was that I saw? Our friends were up early too and taking a jog around the village! The nice fresh air, the occasional cool breeze, mountains at the side, it must had been a wonderful experience jogging in such an environment. ^^

Back at the house, another surprise awaited us.

It seemed that we have visitors! These three beautiful animals were found just beside our house and I was so delighted to see them because I was just out that morning on a lookout for them and was feeling rather disappointed at not having found them.

What a great start to the day!

The morning project was slightly different on this day. We were off to the coffee plantation belonging to one of our students' family. Her father had kindly invited us to his plantation to experience what it would be like to work there.

A Try at Fertilising the Coffee Plantation 

We were showed how to clear the weeds in a circle around the bottom of the coffee trees and eager to try it out, we scrambled off in little groups to various parts of the plantation to claim our territories. It didn't take long before most of us were exhausted and it was barely after removing the weeds from below a single tree!

After a few feeble attempts to attack the hard ground with our tools, my arms and shoulders felt sore and disobeyed my demands that they continue moving. It was then that I felt several pairs of eyes staring at us, observing our every move. A group of children had suddenly appeared from seemingly out of nowhere while we were focused on getting rid of the stubborn weeds. They were the family's children. One of the older girls extended her hand towards us and offered to show us the proper way to use the tool. In a matter of seconds with a few swift powerful strokes, the job was done! I was very much impressed as I watch her work. She was no bigger than me in terms of size and yet there was so much strength coming inside her, definitely much more than there is within me. That left me wondering...

Through the disorganised manner in which we spread out to do the weeding, it wasn't long before we were told we had ventured off into the neighbour's plantation! We laughed at ourselves when we found out and hurried back before we could get into any trouble.

Back in the classroom, we taught the students about daily activities. They were quite tickled by the fact that I said "I like to sleep". When I asked them whether they like to read books, they all shook their heads. I do hope they enjoyed our lessons though!

13 July 2010 in 13 June 2010 is Day 9 of Ecoventure 2010

It was Sunday and what is Sunday? Sunday is a rest day! =) That meant that the day's schedule was going to be much more flexible and relaxing since there was no lesson for the children on Sundays and it's a day for us to take a break as well with no reforestation in the morning. What a treat!

The day started off with a visit to the needy households first. After breakfast, everyone gathered and headed for the students' houses together. We visited two households that morning and interacted with the families we met. As we chatted, we started to learn more about their circumstances, their health and various other aspects of their lives. It allowed us a closer look into their lives and helped us to understand more things we wouldn't have learnt from textbooks. These sessions, coupled with our group discussions afterwards, gave us insights into various issues from poverty to education and how such issues could be tackled and the obstacles that stood in the way. It would appear that we got nowhere with our talk but it certainly opened our eyes as to the reality of the situation.

Later, we were divided up into groups and began a tour of the village, each taking a path in a different direction. Our group's guide was Thang and we followed a familiar path towards the reforestation area.

Along the way, I was totally distracted by the colourful flutter of wings that passed us by. The butterflies came in all shades and sizes and each of them was so beautiful I was completely captivated and lured away from the group towards the shrubs and bushes amongst which the sirens of the sky flitted from flower to flower. With my camera in hand and only one single thought in mind and that is to capture the butterflies' graceful dance, I forgot about everything else. My group had to prompt me along before I reluctantly gave up my chase and followed them.

Thang introduced us to some of the things we saw along the way, including these tall trees that were characteristic of the highlands area of Gia Bac. When I looked at it, I saw something else instead though...

Did you see what I see? This photo completely missed the point though because I was supposed to capture the tree's majestic height that made it stand out amongst the rest. =X

A familiar sound caught our attention and made all of us excited - it was the ice-cream man! Happily, we went after him and nice Thang treated us all to ice-cream. It was a welcomed trip in the warm afternoon sun and we accepted it most gratefully.

Seeing the piglet cooling itself off in the water made us rather envious as it seemed to be enjoying itself. Well, we had ice-cream but it didn't! =P

Back in the house after our tour, the rest of the day was basically free and easy. Some of us watched a movie together. Some of us sat back and relaxed with a book in our lap. Some of us chatted with one another. Some of us wrote in our notebooks. Some of us folded origami. The atmosphere was stress-free and I personally enjoyed the time we had to unwind and catch up with friends like we would at a typical chalet gathering. Well, aren't you jealous? A chalet all the way in Vietnam up in the highlands! XD

Sunday is a rest day and a well enjoyed one at that too. =)

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

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?

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.

 

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.

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.

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

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...