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By Don Dao

Nearing the end of our 2011 Sunflower Mission Work Camp, I think back and realize all the fun I've had throughout this trip through hard work and newfound friendships with not only the other members of our trip, but also with the local children. My favorite of the kids was Khanh, who everyone called Jose because he looked like a cute little latino boy. I miss his coming up to me and squeezing my cheeks and making a pouty face; I miss him coming up behind me and pulling me down by the hand and chanting "Cong Em Di" or "Give me a piggyback ride!" His two-front-teethless grin symbolized to me all the fun and joy of the kids as we played ball with them and their glee when they hung on to the rope swing that me and another workcamp member, Tim, constructed for them. To me, the swing represented our lasting presence at the school, so that each time any of them played on it, they would remember us. I had a wonderful time at the school, and even though I was extremely disappointed and sad that a change of plan in our schedule caused us to not have an official goodbye with the children, I was almost glad that we didn't because saying goodbye to those joyful, innocent faces would be too depressing. Following the finishing of the school, returning work campers Dan, Nanhi, Frenchie, and I, along with new members had the chance to visit the school we completed last year. Unfortunately, many of the kids did not remember who I was or when I had been there, but Sy (Football Boy) and Hao (Chuck Norris), two of the kids that I along with the other returning work campers had developed a close bond with, remembered us and hung out with us from the moment we arrived until we left. I still remember the feeling of sadness as I from the back of the bus watched Sy, who I still remember from both trips with his army hat and school shirt, pedaling as fast as he could behind our bus as we left for what seemed like miles and miles until he was finally just a small waving figure in the distance.

Today, we visited "Heaven and Hell", a series of caves in Da Nang. Later in the day we visited Ba Na Resort and took the 5 km cable car, the longest in the world, up the mountain where we walked to the top. As we neared the summit, I walked by a gathering of people who appeared to be observing a tree until I came closer and saw four monkeys lounging in it. At first, they were aggressive and protective of their tree until we handed out peanut butter crackers. They reached out and grabbed the crackers from our hands and each collected four or five in their mouths before scampering back up their tree. When we returned from dinner all of the kids packed into taxis and headed off to get facial massages at a local barber shop. Thirty minutes later, everyone returned to the taxis rejuvenated and amazed at how smooth their cheeks were and how silky their hair was. I just checked the clock and it is 1 AM here and I need to sleep because tomorrow we fly back to Saigon. Toodles.

Playlist of my Life in Vietnam

By Nanhi Tran

"Today i don't feel like doing anything..." (Lazy Song- Bruno Mars) defined my feeling when i woke up this morning. "I just wanted to lay in my bed!" The Lazy Song was the feeling of everyday in the past few mornings. The Lazy Song was soon ended and replaced by the song, "Heal the World" by Michael Jackson. In 5 minutes, i got the sense of drive to get up and do something! This morning our agenda said we were going to visit an orphanage and then some tourist spots in Phu Yen. The orphanage was surprisingly not as sad as last year's trip to an orphanage in Da Lat. None the less, it was still sad because this group of kids' main form of communication is through sign language. they had 12 year olds in 2nd grade. The main thing that pulled at my heart was that the teachers started out pass out the clothes that my mom and I donated from my little brothers. Seeing another child's eyes light up while receiving a set of clothes that Noah was wearing only a few months ago made me want to cry.

The whole group at the Cham Temple

After the orphanage, we went to a temple that was built on a mountain 1000 years ago and crystalized rocks alongside the shore of a BEAUTIFUL beach. After the trip to the sites, we went to eat lunch and check into our new location at the Sao-Viet Resort.

Monica and i checked into our room... our mouths both went "OH MY GOODNESS!" when the lady showed that it was keyless entry. All you had to do was to wave the card in front of the sensor and the door opens! The room defined RESORT. The bathroom had a nice bubble bath kind of bathtub with an over head shower in the other corner. The song "Shoo Fly" popped in my head as the mosquitoes started to show up. The beach was next and everyone running on the oddly squeaky yet soft sand reminded me of the Baywatch show... Of course there were some of us who realized this and actually pretended to do that famous slow run but failing at being sexy like Pamela Anderson.

Dinner was fun. It truly was dinner with a view! Sitting outside wit Cojet and Nhan (The Hue girls)i was speaking to Cojet in English. She speaks VERY well. I can have a full short conversation with her now!

Now I am in the room. awake because i am too excited that i will be seeing the kids form last year once again tomorrow! Oh how Ive missed them! But I am homesick. i do miss my family and friends back home. I miss my Noah, Andre, my mom and dad, My entire family... that includes my best friends Jasmin and Don. Dan is with me so i cant miss him! I cannot wait to see them all again in a week! It is time to sleep... at least try to anyways... Goodnight world. "Hello Vietnam" (that song plays EVERYWHERE we go... haha)

on the cyclical nature of things

By Ai Vuong

As I brush off the cobwebs of my Sunflower Mission Workcamp Adventure Book and carefully etch “2011” on another page, I can’t help but feel a mélange of emotions. At once, this gushing sense of familiarity that both warms and comforts the soul rushes in, as this is my 3^rd consecutive workcamp.

Then, a grand sense of anticipation takes over because…of course, each year is different. However, this year, it’s not about my own experience with the workcamp, but it’s about the workcamp through the eyes of my kids.

This year wraps up my 2^nd year volunteering/working for a children’s shelter in Hue, Vietnam. I had utilized last year’s SM workcamp as an experimental service learning trip for four of my children, all of whom had metamorphosed beautifully right in front of my eyes throughout the duration of the workcamp, so this year I thought…why not do it again? As an integral piece to my Service-Learning program within the shelter to identify kids with leadership potential and instill in them a sense of community service and turn them into active agents in their communities, the SM workcamp serves as their “hands-on training.” The idea is for these kids to engage themselves in an entirely new experience and see the value of giving, then return to the shelter and lead a volunteer club with the other kids at the shelter. What could happen when these kids, who previously have been provided so many opportunities, are the ones to give back to their community?

As the fourth day winds down, under a breezy shady tree, on the pile of sand dunes in front of the newly built school, I took a seat and watched as my kids were stepping out of their comfort zones to mold their own experiences within the workcamp. One, whom I had taken last year, is the most comfortable, so he dived right in, being the charismatic boy that he is. Another, while naturally reticent, has put himself out there and made so much effort that the older sister in me is choking back the pride. My two girls have had more difficulty, as they’re both working through their personal timidity, but today they were playing and laughing right along with everyone. I love witnessing their experiences, as their eyes widen with new sights, new friends, and new ideas. Their curiosity is peaked, and each day brings more things to explore and understand.

Tomorrow is the opening ceremony of the school, and I hope they understand the value of their hard work, why they volunteered their time and energy to lend a helping hand in building this school. I hope the value of the past 4 days of hard work isn’t lost on my kids, as they become part of the hands who will pave a path, carve an opportunity for others.

I took a hands-off (observational) approach to this year’s workcamp because I truly just enjoy watching the other workcamp-ers’ first experiences. Their joy in working under a hot Vietnam summer sun and their energy in entertaining local village kids put a smile on my face, as it reminded me of my summer in 2008, which ultimately lead me to return to Vietnam in 2009 and volunteer in Hue…so that I can now watch my kids experiencing the same workcamp. This Vietnam adventure book of mine has gone full circle…and the pages keep multiplying.

Gotta Get Down on Friday!

By Nikky Phi

Today was the third day at the work camp! We arrived at the school around 9 in the morning and broke up into two different teams: painting windows/doors and painting the walls. When we arrived, we didn't expect the kids to be up so early and waiting outside the school for us. However, they were up and more excited than ever!

Kids playing games

We immediately started painting, but the kids were so distracting! Each one is so cute and they kept asking us to play. We couldn't resist! My entire team decided to take a break after about 45 minutes of working to play with the kids. Don brought three balls; the first kids to get them wanted to keep them for the entire day, so they buried them under the sand before they went to eat lunch! But when they came back, no one could find the balls! We spent 20 minutes digging through the sand to find them. The kids played catch, frisbee, soccer, and made up games with everything they could find.

After lunch, we had to go back to working and finish painting the window frames before the day ended. Luckily, that didn't take too long, and when we were done, we went back to playing with the kids. We taught them a bunch of different games, but the thing that they loved the most was taking pictures with our cameras and posing for the pictures.
Around five, we all said our goodbyes for the day as our group headed towards the beach. Then we walked back to the hotel and ate dinner there. I can't wait to go back tomorrow and finish the school!