This post features student writing by Colleen P.

Following the amazing weekend in Hoi An, on Monday we returned to the village for our final week. The houses are progressing at different paces, which means some worksites have more for us to do than others. The jobs ranged from plastering, priming, and painting to teaching and playing with the kids. Thus, some groups had the opportunity to spend more time at the school with the locals.

Not only did we paint the schools, we also continued to teach the children who came for extra English lessons. Since beginning the lessons last week we have bonded more and more with the locals, students and youth union every day. Some say they can’t wait to visit us in the future. A definite high from our time here is playing games with the children who never seem to tire. The children are smart and excelling quickly. They knew much more than we expected, so every day is a challenge trying to come up with a lesson that is beneficial and engaging.

On top of working in the village, we also have been doing little excursions and activities during the week after working in the morning. Following work on Tuesday we looked at salt mines and went on a beautiful hike. Although it was a rough, uphill battle, the view was worth it. We even saw the Sa Huynh Museum which depicts the ancient culture pre-dating Vietnam. We then played soccer with some local teenagers. On another day, we picked up trash at the nearby beach which we’ve enjoyed for swimming on many afternoons during our stay.

Sadly our time here is coming to an end and after building strong relationships with the locals, workers and youth it will be very difficult to say goodbye. I can safely say this was an incredible experience we will never forget.