Yoshiko’s trip to Vietnam in 2015

I spent for 14 days in Vietnam as a volunteer with the member of the organization SJ Vietnam. I stayed Hanoi city for 2 days for sightseen and other days at Ha Long, Mai Hoang. The center I worked was based in the city of Ha Long, Mai Hoang Center for people with disability has existed for several years.

All of the people residing at the center are disabled and do not have enough earnings to cover their basic needs. Their children, all of whom are badly malnourished and illiterate, have to live in poverty.

(Where I visited)

-Lake Hoang Kiem
-Museum
-Ho chi min grave
-Ethnology museum
-Prison

(Where I worked)

– Ha Long, Mai Hoang Center

(How I felt the Vietnam was)

-People are so kind even though I can’t speak Vietnamese
-Food is delicious and cheap
-There are many museums to learn their histories
-The nature is beautiful at the local area

The Hanoi city is located at the north of Vietnam. The city is energetic and there are many people who live at the central of the city. Also there are many motorcycles and cars, so the traffic is busy and it’s difficult to across the road alone. Always I needed to follow the local people when I passed the load. There are many places to know about the history of the independence of Vietnam. And there are huge markets in the central of the city. There are many shops sell local foods, clothes, shoes and traditional crafts etc. Especially the local foods are amazing because they are so tasty and inexpensive, for example, bain me, pho noodle, bun cha, fruits, flesh fruits juice, etc. Then the traditional Vietnamese foods are well balanced. For example, they are consisted with a soup, a rice, dish with fish, and dish with meet. And the tastes are similar to those of Japanese foods. After that the scenery is beautiful. When I went to Halon-Bay, I saw the huge bay and many unique rocks which were made by natural causes. And there are some activities like canoe adventure, pleasure cruise, expedition in the limestone cave, etc. The nature healed me and I enjoyed staying there. And local people are so friendly and they helped many things for the daily life. When we worked at the center, we had chances to share the culture with the local people. They taught me how to make the egg’s traditional decoration. Identically we taught the local children how the play and foods are like in Japanese. In conclusion, we can spend wonderful time at Vietnam to learn their culture, enjoy their delicious foods and amazing nature, and share sweet time with the local people.