First of Day of Volunteering - Language and Communication

We finally arrived at Sao Mai after hopping on the bus and walking on the streets infested with syringes. Luckily when we arrived, Chi Phuong was coming back from lunch. Chi Phuong introduced us to a young lady who runs the coffee shop as an additional source of income for Sao Mai. We also met another woman who is in charge of the kitchen. After meeting the other staff at the organization, Chi Phuong took us up to the classroom. Since my name was first on the list, Chi Phuong stationed me at the first room which was a nursery for two-year-old toddlers. I was scared and skeptical at first because I am not used to dealing with kids on a daily or weekly basis so I wanted to switch rooms and work with kids who were a little bit older and can understand what I try to say or need to teach them. I love kids but I am hopeless when it comes to them crying or misbehaving. I reminded myself that I need to keep an open mind, have patiences and be willing to learn.

Surprisingly, I felt welcomed as I enter the classroom. A baby named Thành walked toward me, and wanted to be picked up (I later learned that he just wanted to get out of the pen because he saw that I had access into and out of the classroom). In the classroom that I was assigned to, there were four teachers: Cô Vinh, Chị Hoa, Chị Thủy and another young lady. They were all really nice and welcoming. I decided to tag along and help Cô Vinh with the toddlers because she seems like she was the most experienced and she had the most kids to take care of. They asked my questions about me and my background but of course there were still terms that I did not fully know or statements that I did not understand. Overall, I was able to make out most of the things that they say. In one instance, I asked Cô Vinh if one of the children was mixed and she said no and additionally, she told me that he was born with a heart condition but I did not know what she was saying at first but after asking her to explain it, I was able to understand. There is a language barrier that keeps me from asking all the questions or understanding what people say, but I think that the best way to learn is to utilize your mouth, ask questions and seek help. (As an elderly woman I met at the airport on my way to vietnam said: Your mouth is the answer to everything).

Another barrier that I faced during my first day volunteering was customs and ways of dealing with kids. I recall that one of the UC students saw a teacher discipline a child with a ruler. It is hard to hear that but luckily I did have any of that at my organization. My point is that different country and different culture have different ways of dealing with children and there was many laws that are upheld in the States that are not in Vietnam. A behavior that I saw was again Thành. He was crying because he wanted to be picked up, but I felt that if I picked him up I would be “rewarding his behavior” (positive reinforcement…psychology). In my head at that time and still now even, I don’t know if I should have done that, continue to give in to their wants or ignore them. I feel like if I didn’t pick him up and cradle him, the teachers would think I am neglegent, but when I did pick him up, I might have reverse all the work that the teachers were trying to do to teach him that crying doesn’t get you anywhere.

My communication with các cô is great and we get alone fine, but I am not sure how I could help other than making the kids stop cry, catch them when they try to run away because they want to play or don’t want to eat. I think that maybe I can help them while they teach the children more or help them find a way that was more effìcient in teaching because last time Thành was troublesome and that ruined the “20 minutes of learning” for himself and the other children.

Overall, it was a great way to see how the organization was ran. (Note: kids all pottied in a bucket and all ate from the same bowl). I think the experience in itself was culture barrier.