I am very happy and satisfied with my volunteer experience at the work camp through Volunteers for Peace Vietnam (VPV). I sought the volunteer experience to dive more deeply into Vietnamese culture, to meet new friends, and to find a meaningful way to contribute to a worthy cause in Vietnam. I found that all of these goals were achieved.
The volunteer work described on the VFP website was to help make traditional cakes/food for the Tet New Year, and also to help decorate the center and work with the children at this center. This first task, to help make the traditional Chung cakes that are the most important food in the New Year holiday, was immensely rewarding. Before arriving at the work camp I’ll admit that I was skeptical that there would be enough work to do for 10 volunteers in making these cakes. But there was so much to do! We worked alongside the cooking staff at the Thuy An Center, who helped demonstrate and show us how to prepare and fold the leaves, and layer the ingredients and the most time-consuming part was wrapping/binding these cakes with bamboo twine. Periodically during the 2 or 3 days we worked on making the cakes, I would realize I was getting to glimpse a unique part of the Vietnamese culinary traditions, and I felt so lucky to have this opportunity.
Another rewarding feeling was spending time with the children. The children were so happy to see us, and it was so evident that the attention and love that the volunteers gave them really made their day. On the 5th day of the work camp, 75% of the children left the center to return to their hometown to celebrate the Tet holiday with their families. This day before they left was a particularly special day. We organized games and activities with the children, and the children were in really high spirits. All of the children went home with their very own Chung cake, which also felt really rewarding.
Probably the most rewarding aspect of the work camp was the cultural exchange between the volunteers. We grew extremely close over the 12 days, and learned so much about each other’s cultures. We learned many expressions in Vietnamese, and learned to cook Vietnamese spring rolls. We also learned to cook Korean food and learned a lot about Korean history and politics. At the beginning, I worried that we didn’t really have a distinct “American culture” that we could share with our friends - but quickly this worry dissolved as we found no end to topics and dove deep into exploring differences and similarities in our respective relationships with family and friends, spirituality, music, film - we even taught our new friends some American popular slang.
I want to end by saying that overall my experience was great. I really appreciate the opportunity to volunteer through Volunteers for Peace, and hope that I will be able to do another work camp in the future.
Another rewarding feeling was spending time with the children. The children were so happy to see us, and it was so evident that the attention and love that the volunteers gave them really made their day. On the 5th day of the work camp, 75% of the children left the center to return to their hometown to celebrate the Tet holiday with their families. This day before they left was a particularly special day. We organized games and activities with the children, and the children were in really high spirits. All of the children went home with their very own Chung cake, which also felt really rewarding.
Probably the most rewarding aspect of the work camp was the cultural exchange between the volunteers. We grew extremely close over the 12 days, and learned so much about each other’s cultures. We learned many expressions in Vietnamese, and learned to cook Vietnamese spring rolls. We also learned to cook Korean food and learned a lot about Korean history and politics. At the beginning, I worried that we didn’t really have a distinct “American culture” that we could share with our friends - but quickly this worry dissolved as we found no end to topics and dove deep into exploring differences and similarities in our respective relationships with family and friends, spirituality, music, film - we even taught our new friends some American popular slang.
I want to end by saying that overall my experience was great. I really appreciate the opportunity to volunteer through Volunteers for Peace, and hope that I will be able to do another work camp in the future.
Allison Keller, Vietnam
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