Compass International School Doha - Northern Vietnam Field Trip from October 17th to 25th 2012 On Wednesday, 17th of October 2012, 17 students and 2 staff members set out from Doha, Qatar for their destination of Hanoi, Vietnam. The purpose was to take part in an adventure of a lifetime on a Community Service and Exploration Project facilitated by ETR tours. The trip was originally organized by Mrs. Monique Geraghty (P.E Teacher) and, as the student numbers taking part increased, Mr. Lee Banfield (Geography Teacher) and Ms. Mhairi McAinsh (Art Teacher) became involved in the project. The students who travelled to Vietnam were: Yr 11: Mads Borg, Gisbert De Jongh, Jonas Laursen, Natalie Watson Year 10: Nanna Beier, Jessica Butterworth, Amy Morris, Bart Roebers, Riccardo Sala, Andreas Soelvsteen Harrison (Hank) Small and Selina Wandrei Year 9: Hassan Al-Khayat, Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, Tom Roebers, Megan Strobel and Guillermo Van Der Beek Day 1 Wednesday, 17th October: Doha to Hanoi At 5.30am, at the Qatar Airways departure terminal at Doha International Airport, 17 bleary-eyed students were brought to the airport by their parents to meet Mr. Banfield and Ms. McAinsh for the flight to Hanoi via Bangkok. Once all community service materials, t-shirt donations and personal reflection journals were all distributed to students, everything was double-checked (e-tickets and passports) and we left on time for the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi. We arrived safe and sound at 10pm local time, and after clearing customs and immigration, were met by our ETR tour leaders Hong and Huang (who were going to be our two best friends over the next 8 days). We all then eagerly boarded our private coach for the 50-minute ride to the city centre and our destination - the Flower Hotel. Upon arrival we were organized into our rooms, and then had enough time to shower before heading to bed exhausted! Day 2 Thursday, 18th October: Hanoi We awoke to the bustling sounds of Hanoi and met to enjoy a late breakfast at the hotel before heading out to explore the capital. The weather was warm and many of the students and teachers were wearing their ‘Compass International School Doha Vietnam 2012' t-shirts that had been printed for the trip. Everyone was very excited to see what Hanoi was like, and we began our exploration of the city by visiting the Ho Chi Minh museum and mausoleum where the body of Ho Chi Minh lies in state. Here, Hong and Huang (the tour guides) explained to us about Vietnam's struggle for independence, the division of Vietnam into two separate states and the American / Vietnam War. After spending some time exploring the museum and mausoleum, we headed for the Hoan Kiem Lake District to get our first look at the Old Quarter of Hanoi. Here, we saw many examples of the cultural influences of Vietnam (in particular the Chinese) and the students had a chance to meet and enjoy conversations with some of the local, graduating students who were taking photographs in the beautiful grounds of the museum. (Image 1, 2, 3 and 4) After spending some time here, we were then taken to have lunch in town at a famous noodle house. Here, Yr 10 student Bart Roebers decided to enjoy some of the local ‘medium hot’ chili’s to accompany the noodles. (image 5) Once Bart had cooled down, we were then taken to Quan Su Temple and then onto the Womens’ Museum to learn of the role women played during the American / Vietnam War years and the role they play in society today. We also learned a great deal about Hoa Lo Prison, nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton" and it was incredible to see the conditions and hardships

experienced by many including John McCain who spent 5½ years in captivity as a POW in North Vietnam. Both staff and students really learnt a great deal here about the history of the country and Tom Roebers even experienced what it must have felt like to be shackled by the chains as the prisoners once were!(Image 6.7 and 8) We were then were given a short amount of time to enjoy the ‘street life’ of Hanoi where the students discovered the very cheap electronics and clothing boutiques and this is where the students and staff certainly invested some of their travelling money into the local economy! Then, it was off to see the fantastic performance of the famed water puppets of Hanoi, were the action-packed show kept us all on the edge of our seats. This was followed by dinner at ‘Little Hanoi’, one of the city’s traditional restaurants. We then took cyclos (electronic scooter-bikes) back to the hotel at the end of the day for a well-earned rest.(image 9 ,10, 11,12 and 13))

Day 3 Friday, 19th October: in and around Hanoi and then travelling to Mai Chau

After breakfast, we began our day with a visit to the truly fabulous Museum of Ethnology to understand the diversity of

Vietnam’s 54 distinct ethnic groups. The museum is divided into two parts. The exterior has magnificent, traditional tall

and long houses while the inside of the museum is filled with exhibits that represent the everyday life of the hill tribes of

Vietnam. (image 14, 15 and 16.) It was here that Mr. Banfield got interviewed by a Vietnamese TV and radio crew who,

from seeing our Compass International School Doha t-shirts, were very curious to know what we were doing in Hanoi,

what we thought about the museum and how life in Vietnam compared with Qatar.

At midday, we then began the 4-hour bus journey through stunning scenery heading toward Mai Chau, home of the

White Thai ethnic minority group near the Laotian border. We stopped half way for food, where the students enjoyed

being introduced to playing ‘Jianzi’ – a traditional Asian game in which players aim to keep a heavily

weighted shuttlecock in the air using their feet and other parts of the body(image 17). We then continued our journey,

and soon arrived at our destination - a small village of local White Thai stilted houses - and it was in one such building

(known as a home-stay) that we were to be stationed at for the next couple of nights. Our host family prepared a

delicious evening meal, introduced us to our new (and very beautiful) surroundings and we all retired to bed early ready

for the next day for the start of our community service house-build project.(images 18,19,20,21 and 22)

Day 4 & 5 Saturday, 20th and Sunday, 21st October: the Mai Chau House Build We woke early, had a good breakfast and were ready for the busy day ahead. Our main goal was to offer our services

and help out a local community in this region by helping to build a home for a family of that local village. However, we

were also there to become immersed in village life and culture, to become acquainted with the local White Thai

inhabitants and gain an understanding of their sense of community. We were also there to experience how the villagers

have adapted to live sustainably with their environment and in harmony with the beautiful surroundings. In return, we

were also hoping to share some of our diverse, international cultures from our group of international students. The

village itself, where we were to build the house, was a 30 minute walk along traditional paths through a stunning

backdrop of terraced paddy fields, irrigation systems and majestic tree-lined mountains circling our lowland position.

(images 23,24,25 and 26)

Once at the site of the house build, we were greeted by a huge collection of cheers from the local villagers particularly

the young children who were so glad to see us. Then, once we had met our new work colleagues, we were briefed on

the multitude of tasks at hand and were quickly dispersed into various activities that included fetching, carrying, nailing,

sawing and barrowing to name but a few! There was great camaraderie on the work site and a tremendous amount was

achieved during the day. We could all see the house literally coming together before our eyes and everyone was truly

inspired and motivated by the collective efforts of all the people there.(images 27,28,29,30 and 31)

We eventually finished our work for the day, laid down our tools and headed back to the home-stay for a shower. Even

though we were exhausted, we reflected on a great day’s work over dinner and then retired to bed in our mosquito nets

– exhausted.

The following day after breakfast , we all returned to the house-build and got busy straight away. The house was quickly

coming together and whilst we were all working we also discovered it was the birthday of one of the young girls who

had never had a birthday cake before. So, Ms. McAinsh quickly rallied the troops and before we knew it a large birthday

cake had been organised along with gifts for the birthday girl and the other young children. That night, we were to

attend (for a small amount of time) the birthday party where the birthday cake was to be delivered and the gifts

distributed – quite an experience! (images 32 and 33)

After breakfast we embarked on our usual walk to the house –build, meandering along small paths with rice padis on

each side. Our Qatari student Hassan decided he would be first to arrive to the village and chose to take one of the

home stay bicycles. On passing a few of the students, he greeted them with engine noises telling them he was in his

landcruiser and he would get to the house build first, before continuing on his way. As usual I fell behind slightly taking

more photos of the local people harvesting their crops and opening small irrigation channels to flood parts of the field

where the crops were not quite ready. As I looked ahead, where the small path came to a cross roads, there seemed to

be a small crowd of students gathered. (The day before, one of the students had seem a water snake making its way

through the irrigation channel so I rushed ahead not to miss a photo opportunity) As I approached the gathering the

sight was even more interesting than the water snake from the previous day. A very muddy looking creature, rising from

the depths of the corner of the rice Padi in the form of Hassan, who had driven his borrowed bicycle with such

enthusiasm that he has taken the corner too fast. When he had applied the brakes, they had not worked very well,

which led to an Evil Kanevil style stunt, which saw Hassan flying over the irrigation channel which had just been opened,

descending head first into the small corner of field now filled with muddy water. The guides were in the field helping

him get out and trying to straighten the now slightly mangled tyre of the bike and wash it in the stream. A very

embarrassed Hassan, who by this time was laughing as the other students were rolling around in convulsions of laughter

told me, that he thought it was perhaps best to head back to the home-stay and shower. The locals could only look on in

slight dismay to see that perhaps that particular area of their field may have reduced their rice harvest that month.

Tears still streaming down our faces, we arrived at the house build to start day two of cutting, hammering and splitting

of bamboo. A glistening, clean Hassan arrived at the site a couple of hours later and decided to take it easy.

Back to the house-build. The finishing touches were coming together now. The palm leaves for the roof were hoisted

onto the beams, the floors and walls were put into place and a Compass International School Doha sign was made out of

wood by Ms. McAinsh and the students and put onto the house by the family as a thank you for our work. That evening,

we were treated to a huge celebration that consisted of a combination of singing and music by the local villagers and all

of us were (at one point or another) involved in the traditional dancing with our hosts! We then left the house to return

back to our accommodation totally exhausted.(images 34,35,36)

Day 6 Monday, 22nd October: Mai Chau / Hanoi

We awoke very tired and aching from all our hard work. We had breakfast, and made our way back to the house-build

but this time for our final, official completion of the project and to celebrate reaching our goal. We had a short

ceremony inaugurating the home with the family and everyone expressed their thanks at what had been achieved. Gifts

were then exchanged with the family including items bought from the local market by Compass students (e.g. blankets,

tables, buckets and educational items) to help the family get settled into their new home. We thanked our hosts for

their hospitality and, after saying goodbye to our new-work colleagues and friends; we made our way back to our

accommodation to collect our bags and boarded the coach for our return journey to the capital, Hanoi.

(Images 37,38,39,41 and 42)

After a well-earned warm and refreshing shower, we then left to have dinner at KOTO Restaurant (KOTO – Know One Touch One), a local restaurant run as an NGO by former street kids. The food was great and the students took it upon themselves to purchase a brick for the wall for US$ 100 which was to have ‘Compass International School Doha’ and a ‘thank you’ message printed on it and added to the collection of bricks. We then returned to the hotel, packed a small rucksack and got ready for the next day’s excursion to Ha Long Bay. (Images 42,43,44 and 45) Day 7 Tuesday, 23rd October: Ha Long Bay After breakfast at our Hanoi hotel, we then boarded our private coach for Ha Long Bay. From Hanoi, we travelled east toward the Gulf of Tonkin, and stopped off at an arts and crafts centre showcasing items produced by disabled people. The quality of items here was truly exceptional and, after spending an hour or so here, we continued to make our way to the port at Ha Long Bay and board our private sleeper-boat to go cruising in the secluded bay. With its 3000 limestone peaks, topped with thick jungle vegetation, this World Heritage Site rises spectacularly from the ocean and is dotted with floating fishing villages. The karst mountain landscape was truly awe-inspiring with many with enormous caves, one of which (Suprise Cave) we were to explore during our time in the bay. We were all really impressed with the facilities of the private-sleeper boat (that even included Karaoke – to be utilised

later) and we were soon treated to a seafood buffet lunch of crab and prawns – much to the delight of the some of the

young ladies of the group! We spent the next few hours cruising around Ha Long Bay and then visited a huge cave

known as ‘Suprise Cave’ which was quite spectacular. After this, the group were then taken on a fantastic kayaking trip

by the tour leaders around the bay. We completed the physical activities by taking a refreshing swim in the beautiful

warm waters of Ha Long Bay.

Dinner was then served, and dessert was to be quite an illuminating Karaoke session which everyone really got enthused

by! Key performers were Jonas, Gijsbert and Hank performing a Britney Spears classic – all captured on video. After

much persuasion, Ms. McAinsh and Mr. Banfield took the microphones by storm to perform a classic rendition of ‘Oh

Carol’ by Neil Sedaka that proceeded to score 98/100 – the top score of the evening! (Images 46-56)

Day 8 Wednesday, 24th October After breakfast, we continued cruising around the amazing karst topography of Ha Long Bay before making our way back

to the port and subsequently back to Hanoi where we arrived during late afternoon. We then checked into our hotel,

made our way to the Old Quarter of town for some last minute shopping before heading to the Rainbow Restaurant for

a special last night dinner which was superb. Here, to show our appreciation for everything the tour guides Hong and

Huang had done for us, we presented signed Compass International School Doha t-shirts to each of them as a huge

thank you before heading back to the hotel to collect our bags and head for the airport.

After saying goodbye to Hong and Huang, we then boarded our flight to return to Doha, Qatar. The students and staff

used this time to reflect on the whole trip and the things they had learnt and experienced during this inspiring adventure

to Northern Vietnam.

We all arrived back in Doha bang on time and were greeted by a group of very happy parents who were delighted to see

their children arrive home safe and well after such an amazing trip. Back at school, the Vietnam trip has been celebrated

in a number of ways. Most recently with a whole-school assembly organised by Ms. McAinsh whereby students, staff

and parents shared in the achievements and experiences of the Vietnam trip. Further activities are to include

newsletter reports, producing a gallery of favourite photographs chosen by the students to chronicle the trip and

possibly sharing this experience with the Vietnamese Embassy here in Doha, as suggested by Robin Campbell, Head of

School. (Images 57,58, 59 and 60)

Finally, I would like to say a HUGE thank you to Mrs. Geraghty and Ms. McAinsh for helping to organise the trip, Arvin

Nairn for arranging cover for staff, Liam Geraghty for facilitating the financial aspects of the trip and most importantly

the students and parents for supporting this trip and making it such an inspiring and life-changing event for all those

involved.

Mr. Banfield, Ms. McAinsh and Mrs. Geraghty.

November 2012.

Image 1- Day two Staff and students outside Ho Ch Minh mausoleum in Hanoi

Image 2-Mads Borg and Tom Roebers at Quan Su temple conversing with local graduates who were taking part in their

own mini photo shoots.

Image 3-Detail of incense burner outside Quan Su temple

Image 4-Year 9 Qatari student Mohamed Al Khulaifi tries out a special good luck prayer inside the temple.

Image 5- Year 10 student Bart Roebers overindulges on the chilli flakes in PHO 24 restaurant in Hanoi old

quarter.

Image 6- Year 9 student Tom Roebers shackled in one of the small holding cells in “Hanoi Hilton”, the local name

for the prison built by the French.

Image 7-Metal plaque on the wall of Hanoi Prison which shows some of the ordeals that the prisoners went

through during their captivity.

Image 8- Part of John McCain’s plane in the museum part of the prison.

Image 9-One of the shopping streets in the Old Quarter of Hanoi where students tested out their “bartering”

skills.

Image 10- Water Puppet Theatre show telling stories of traditional life and culture in Vietnam.

Image 11-Students enjoy a traditional Vietnamese meal at “Little Hanoi” Restaurant

Image 12- Year 10 students Mads, Andreas and Selina enjoying their Tut Tut journey around the shopping

streets.

Image 13-Megan, Jessica and Nanna enjoy their Tut Tut experience around the lake.

Image 14-One of the traditional long houses at the Museum .

Image 15-Traditional carving in the long house interior showing the popular good luck motif: the turtle.

Image 16-Ceremonial Mask used in more remote parts of Vietnam.

Image 17-Students playing “Jianzi” as we stop for lunch on the way to Mai Chau.

Image 18- Our Homestay in Mai Chau

.

Image 19- The girls settling into their bedroom area on the upper floor in the home stay complete with mattresses and

mosquito nets!

Image 20- Mr Banfield and some of our students relaxing with the beautiful scenery of Mai Chau in the background.

Image 21 and 22- The Mai Chau valley where the rice harvesting was taking place. People live a modest existence living

off money gained from their rice Padi’s.

Image 23- The 30 minute walk to the house build

Image 24- Some very enthusiastic students bouncing along the path to the house build.

Image 25- Meeting and greeting local people on our way through the valley with “Sin Chau” which means Good

Morning in Vietnamese.

Image 27- arrival to the House Build site where the frame and foundations had been laid by local builders.

Image 28- Day One of the house Build-Students are briefed by our guide Huang as to the tasks available for them to take

part in.

Image 29-Students and staff set to work hoisting the main beam up into place on the upper level of the house.

Image 30- A brave Ms McAinsh climbs by bamboo ladder up to the apex of the roof to fix and hammer joists with Tom,

Gijs and Riccardo ( needless to say, she did last very long up at that height but view was fabulous!!)

Image 31- Natalie embarks on splitting bamboo into one centimetre strips to use for the flooring of the house.

Image 32- Mohamed and Andreas get to work lifting and carrying wood to create the skeleton of the house in

preparation for the floor and roof and sides to go on.

Image 33- One of the family members who will live in our completed house looks on. She is the grandmother of the

family, 78 years old and is extremely grateful for our help. This motivates the team further!

Image 34- The 3 tier Birthday cake for the 9 year old girl who had only seen a birthday cake on TV before.

Image 35-Hassan entertains some of the village children who were very inquisitive. The language barrier did not seem to

pose any problems as the children drew, sang and learned some English ....whilst trying to steal Hassan’s gangster hat!

Image 36- A young girl from the village receives a Compass school T shirt from Mr Banfield and the smile captures the

moment beautifully.

Image 37- Delighted children who come to watch us work on the house build. Lots of drawing with coloured pens and

paper ensued until the paper ran out and the children started using their legs and arms to draw on!

Image 38- Day 2-Hoisting of the bamboo leaves to cover the roof. Sides of the house now on and flooring made

yesterday now nailed in place to dry on the upper level.

Image 39- Ms McAinsh didn’t realise that making the sign for the front of the house involved carpentry skills last used to

make a wooden pencil case over 20 years ago.....oh well when in Vietnam!!!

Image 40- The completion of the house. Children, students and staff pose in front of the traditional Long house

structure, created in only two days for a very worthy cause. The family and villagers were absolutely delighted and told

us we were always welcome back to visit.

Image 42- Dinner at KOTO restaurant run by street kids.

Image 43- examples of some of the traditional meals we consumed during our visit.

Image 44- Our brick will be see on the wall of KOTO soon-The students raised $100 whilst eating their meal to have a

brick donated, put up on the wall of the restaurant and contribute to the ongoing fundraising to help the street children

of Hanoi.

Image 45- Ms McAinsh testing out her culinary skills in the kitchen with the chefs and staff of KOTO.

Image 46- detail of one of the large stone carvings seen at the Arts Centre made by disabled people during our lunch

stop on the way to Ha Long Bay.

Image 47- Taking to the water from the port of Ha Long bay in order reach our larger boat. Ray Ban purchases galore,

nearly matching the vibrant orange life vests.

Image 48- On board and getting organised for our Seafood banquet .

Image 49- Mads, Andreas and Bart topping up their tan on board.

Image 50- Course one of five..... giant prawns with soy sauce and rice. Next came the fish, clams and breaded crab much

to the girls delight.

Image 51- The limestone Karst landscape which make Ha Long Bay on of the 7 New Natural Wonders of the World and a

UNESCO World Heritage site.

Image 52- View inside the depths of Surprise Cave which has been used for film sets such as Avatar.

Image 53- Students and staff out Kayaking around the bay.

Image 54- Tom takes the plunge.

Image 55- mid swim session, our local floating supermarket rows alongside our boat to supply the boys with crab

flavoured crisps. An acquired taste it seemed!.

Image 56- Justin Beiber, errmm Banfield makes a surprise appearance for our Karaoke on board, a favourite pastime of

the Vietnamese people.

Image 57- Up on top deck after breakfast, enjoying the Karst scenery.

Image 58- Ha Long Bay known locally as “Descending Dragon Bay” due to the jagged angular limestone structures rising

out of the sea.

Image 59- Handing over signed t shirts to Huang, our guide, as a small token of our appreciation. Each student wrote a

personal message of how they had enjoyed their South East Asian adventure.

Image 60- Hassan, Mohammed and Tom adorn the traditional hats of Vietnam as we arrive at Hanoi airport ready for

our flight back to Doha. A trip of a lifetime with memories that will last forever.