Taking Success in the Small Things

Before I left the US for this adventure in Vietnam, I asked those in my life who I greatly respect and who have had international work experience, what I could expect during my time overseas. I received a lot of great advice, but the message I kept hearing repeatedly was: "take success in the small things".

While I understood this saying to mean that work would be very challenging and different in comparison to work at home in the states and that I should be appreciative of the small strides that I make along the way, I can honestly say that I didn't fully comprehend this phrase until recently.

Reflecting on my time working aboard thus far, there have been many, many times that have been incredibly frustrating and discouraging as I faced a number of seemingly relentless mountains including lack of resources, people unwilling to change and an entirely foreign business context.

However, there have also been times in which case I have reveled in the small successes along the way -- discovering that those who seemed completely unwilling to change are sometimes the most enthusiastic about learning and change once they truly understand and appreciate the importance of it, landing a sizable international order that has allowed us to begin to rebuild the handicraft portion of our business (see photos below of the recycled telephone wire jewelry we sold to a Canadian wholesaler), teaching others about business and marketing and watching as they understand and eagerly apply what they have learned to their jobs.

I know that there will be more challenges around the corner, but I think the challenges I have already experienced as well as those I will experience in the future will only make the successes that much sweeter when they do occur.

So, I will keep enduring the challenges and taking success in the small things as they come.

An Indulgent Weekend

I enjoy living in the slower-paced, beautiful and provincial city of Hue, but sometimes it is nice to get away for a bit to the ever-bustling and vibrant city of Hanoi and its plethora of modern niceties that I miss from home -- especially as it pertains to the many varieties of food that I miss. I know, I know...it is sad, but true that I really do enjoy my food.

Let me first say that I do like a wide variety of Vietnamese food, especially that found in Hue city, including fresh pork grilled spring rolls dipped in sweet and spicy peanut sauce, marinated pork barbeque with fresh rice noodles and chili, spicy and savory fish noodle soup, sweet yogurt drink with fresh cut strawberries, the best iced green tea I have ever had and ever-so-sweet Vietnamese coffee.

However, that being said, I do sometimes crave Haribo gummy bears, sharp cheddar cheese, spicy crackers, decadent chocolate desserts, garlic mashed potatos, grilled chicken breast marinated in red wine sause, yummy Indian food, sausage/egg/cheese breakfast burrito, a heaping salad of fresh greens with chicken strips and creamy balsamic dressing, American coffee....etc, etc, etc. I really could keep going on and on when it comes to food! Anyway, I am happy to say that I was able to have all of the above mentioned items and more during my last visit to Hanoi.

While the purpose of my visit was to act as a volunteer rep for the VSO advisory council and to meet with my partner organization (which I did responsibly), I must say that one of the key highlights of the trip was getting to indulge in some of the fabulous food I miss from home. I also got to spend time with some volunteer friends in Hanoi that I have not seen in quite some time as well as become acquainted with new volunteers that have recently arrived in country. Additionally, I was able to see some of the tourist sites that I had not had the opportunity to experience previously including a famous temple in downtown Hanoi and the water puppet theatre.

All in all, it was a nice, relaxing and indulgent trip. Now, I am content to be back in Hue enjoying my fresh spring rolls, fish noodle soup and pork barbeque for the time being.

A Busy, Busy But Good Week

This past week, my dear VSO friend from Hanoi, Pat, was in Hue to conduct some disability mainstreaming courses both with the Hope Center staff and with representatives from the Hue government and NGO communities. The training was focused upon providing participants with a better understanding of disability challenges in Vietnam as well as working together to develop solutions and best practices concerning working effectively with people with disabilities.

In addition to the busy work week, we also made sure we had some time for fun too, including a motorbike ride into the countryside, lots of opportunities for good food and a weekend trip to Hoi An this past weekend.

It was so nice to have Pat here and it was a good week. Although, it was also really, really busy and I am now happy for a few quieter days on my own in Hue working at the Hope Center before I head back up to Hanoi Thursday through Sunday for more work and play.

Work Trip in the Northern Provinces

This past week, I traveled with representatives from my partner organization, VVAF, to some of the provinces north of Hanoi, Nam Dinh and Thai Binh. The main purpose of the trip was to assess proposed business ventures of some of the disabled associations in these provinces in terms of feasibility and long-term sustainability. The goal is for these organizations to be capable of generating their own funding long-term rather than relying heavily upon external donors, such as VVAF.

I was asked to tag along on the trip to provide advice to VVAF on the proposed plans based on my business background. I was excited to participate and to have an opportunity to travel outside of the city to see rural Vietnamese life, but I was a little unsure as to what to expect.

The first day we traveled by car to Nam Binh to meet with one of the provincial disabled association and hear more about some of their proposed business ventures which included expanding the capacity of an existing operation -- raising chickens, ducks, fish and fruit trees -- as well as starting some new projects -- raising bonsai trees and constructing handicrafts. The association was incredibly gracious of our time and appreciative of our advice. In addition to discussing their proposals at the office, we also traveled offsite to some of the locations in which the ventures would be carried out as well as ate Vietnamese food at a local restaurant.

That same night we headed to Thai Binh and had a little time to relax after a busy day in Nam Binh including getting an AMAZING head massage and facial, shopping for shoes and eating yummy roasted chicken and noodles.

The following morning we resumed our business assessment with the Thai Binh disabled people club. During this particular meeting, I became slightly overwhelmed as they presented many, many proposals within a short timeframe. I was trying hard to put all of the pieces together and ask probbing questions about these plans, all while piecing together information through one of the staff members, who graciously served as my interpreter during the meetings, as well as looking at the plans -- of course, all in Vietnamese. However, despite this fact, I think we still had a good visit and, fortunately, I will get an opportunity to look at the plans later on in English and provide additional feedback.

Overall, the trip was very enjoyable. It was nice having the opportunity to travel outside of Hue for a few days to conduct some field work with other organizations in which case VVAF currently works.

I think it is always exciting to be a part of projects that are designed to help people help themselves. I truly hope these disabled organizations will learn to be self-sufficient and sustainable in time -- which is my same desire for the Hope Center.

Hope Center Trip to the Beach

About four times a year the Hope Center employees take a break from sowing garments and constructing handicrafts to participate in a company wide fun day of some kind. Recently, our fun outing consisted of a trip to the beach about an hour's drive from Hue.

The children were so excited to have a day of fun, food and time in the water. And the beach we visited was just beautiful and uncrowded.

Below are a few pictures from the trip:

Resortmania

I had heard Phuket described as Resortmania before my visit and I have to say that I agree with this assessment completely. It was the ultimate place for someone to go who is looking for lots of beautiful beaches, a plethora of restaurants and tourist attractions, very hospitable Thai people and handicraft shopping galore.

Despite the many touristy elements though, I did enjoy my visit to Phuket. We took a boat excursion to the Phi Phi islands for a day, lounged on the beach, experienced a Thai massage, ate some delicious food, bought a few Thai handicraft souvenirs and just relaxed for a few days.

However, I think I am starting to suffer from over exposure to beautiful beaches. Sounds strange, but beaches that look like they came straight from a postcard and would have normally made my jaw drop are starting to become very familiar. For example, I watched as the other tourists on our day trip to the Phi Phi islands continually exclaimed how beautiful each beach was while I was thinking, this is very pretty but I've seen similar landscape in Vietnam that is less populated by tourists.

I know, I know -- I have a really hard time living in Vietnam as a volunteer getting to experience all of these amazing beaches. In a little while, I will post another blog of the beautiful beach the Hope Center visited a few weeks ago as a part of our quarterly field trip -- not to rub it in, or anything :)

All Things Thai

Last week I traveled with one of my Vietnamese friends to Thailand, a country I have wanted to visit for quite some time. This was spurred by my love for Thai food, the many cultural facets that this land holds and the fact that Thailand has a strong reputation for people who are warm and hospitable.

We first arrived in Bangkok to spend a few days exploring the capital city. I have to say that I was a little uneasy about visiting here given the recent political unrest. However, we felt very safe the whole time and we really enjoyed our visit. It was a little strange though walking right by the complex where the bombing took place and seeing the new construction already taking place with signage about peace in Thailand. We also visited the art center which included a reflection display concerning the recent actions in Bangkok. I truly do hope that lasting peace will find its way with this country.

The Thai food was amazing, the Thai massages were a unique, sometimes painful, but overall relaxing experience and the temples were truly larger than life. We visited the Emerald Buddha and Reclining Buddha temple complexes and it really was unlike anything I have ever experienced before -- incredibly ornate and elegant gold and emerald buildings. The people were also very friendly and welcoming everywhere we went.

There was a whole section of downtown Bangkok devoted to large shopping complexes. My friend was keen to check out the shopping aspect of Bangkok so this was one area that we visited. There were signs for "sales" everywhere. The funny thing was that even with discounts as high as 90 percent, the prices still seemed very high. It certainly made me appreciate the shopping experience in the US.

We traveled around town by the SkyTran, similar to a monorail, and by boat, both of which offered us unique and beautiful views of the city. We also visited the tallest tower in the center of Bangkok and got another spectacular view of the entire city.

All in all, I left with a very favorable impression of Bangkok.

Next stop -- Phuket for some beach time.