First Days in Hanoi

Talk about a whirlwind first few days! 

From our smiling faces, you would think that we are having the time of life, taking in the sights, sounds and experiences of life in Hanoi…. and you would be right! 

Everyone is adjusting well and we've been maximizing our time in the city with numerous activities, meetings, and meals. Our first day was filled with sightseeing, as we cruised around Hoan Kiem lake and enjoyed a delicious meal of bun bo (noodles with beef, herbs and salad). With many photo opportunities along the way, we made sure to make our mark on this chaotic and energetic city. 

At the end of the first night, the team met up with our HOU counterparts, Ms. Que, Ms. Ly, and past student volunteer Trung, for an amazing meal at the Sen Tay Ho buffet. We were also fortunate to have a member of Vietnam's Ministry of Tourism join us for a toast. As some of the newer team members realized, Capilano University's Cross Cultural Tourism class definitely is important to our understanding of these meetings!

Tomorrow we're off to Sapa and we're spending the day gathering supplies, wrapping up some prep work and getting ready for the night train. We'll be checking in regularly over the next few weeks so please make sure to follow us along on this blog and our various social media channels.

We now have Instagram, the highly addictive photo sharing site! 

As you can see from our feed, we LOVE sharing almost every moment of our adventure :)

Follow us at http://instagram.com/cbtvietnam!

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Into the schools of Lao Chai

Nic and Ms. Huyen heading to teach at the Lao Chai Elementary School

After some great relationship building with the Lao Chai Elementary and Secondary Schools we were invited to come into their class rooms to teach the children. Nic Alder (CapilanoU) and Ms.Huyen (HOU) went to the elementary school where they taught English to two classes. The language in Lao Chai is H'mong. The children are learning to speak Vietnamese, and have only just began learning the basics of English.


Hard at work!

Rachael (CapilanoU) and Trung (HOU) went into the secondary school to teach the grade seven class. The children were eager to learn and excited to work on the team activity Rachael and Trung had planned. It took a lot of team work and communication, and the students performed above and beyond their expectations.


Trung and a student hanging the class drawings

Rachael, Trung and the English teacher, Mr. C.

The staff at both schools were excited to have us there and can't wait for the next CBT team and HOU team to come back. We are very much looking forward to our next opportunity!

Practicing their new English words with Rachael

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Let the preparations begin

To get ready for our time in the villages we have had lots of preparation to do, both in Hanoi and in Sapa. We were joined by Trung, one of the student volunteers from Hanoi Open University (HOU), to assist us with our errands in Hanoi and smooth the language barrier. Trung and Rachael purchased supplies, and got CBT business cards printed at a local print shop. 



We got our business cards printed. Can you find Kyle Sandilands card?

We met Ms. Ngoc Anh, the project lead at HOU, to refine our itinerary and finalize our plans. We also took some time to deliver invitations to a number of tour operators for the private sector workshop that the CBT team is facilitating next weekend. 

Ms. Ngoc Anh, Jen and Nic discussing logistics

We arrived in Sapa early this morning and we're off to a great start. We went for lunch with Peter Gilbert, from Sapa O'Chau, to discuss the private sector workshop. Sapa O'Chau will be hosting the workshop next weekend in their new facility. We are currently in the process of connecting with local tour operators to follow up with them about the private sector workshop.

On the training side of things, we have been out in the community connecting with people from Ta Phin and Lao Chai to let them know we are here and that we will be delivering training and working with people in the villages this week.

 

Jen connecting with women from Lao Chai

The HOU team, Ms. Ngoc Anh, Ms. Huyen and Trang, will be taking the night train to Sapa tonight to join forces with us. From there we will be making the game plan for the next week.

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Anyone up for a train ride?

Have you ever been on an overnight train through beautiful, exotic countryside?

Have you ever wanted to travel this way?

Well I most definitely have.

This is one of those things I've dreamed of my whole life, like many people, and in just a few short weeks it's finally going to happen. If you’ve read Nic’s recent blog post you’ll know that we will be travelling from Hanoi to Lao Cai by overnight train and then on to Sapa for the Capilano U / PATA Foundation tourism training project.

We'll be buying our tickets from Footprint Vietnam Travel, an amazing company who was started in 1999, by two entrepreneurial students from Hanoi Open University.  Footprint has become known for taking you “off the beaten path” to truly experience the culture and what Vietnam is all about. They have also been touted as a leader in responsible tourism What ever type of trip you're looking for they offer; cruise tours, trekking tours, cycling tours, community based tours, volunteer tours and so much more! 

Maybe Footprint Vietnam Travel can make your travelling dreams come true too?

Thanks Footprint for your continued support of the project and in the villages! 

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Home sweet home!

Its 2:00pm in Vancouver but 3:30 am in Hanoi. I should be asleep right now, that is what my body is telling me. The race to catch up on not only sleep but all of my assignments has begun however,  I can't seem to focus; all I can think about is the previous 12 days. For a third year university student I consider myself impressively lucky to have been a part of the CBT VietNam project not just once but twice over the past year and a half. It has been an honour to participate in this project and I wish to take this time to express my deepest thanks to all the amazing organizations involved:

• Capilano University
• Hanoi Open University
• PATA Foundation
• Sofitel Metropole Hanoi
• Buffalo Tours
• Footprint Vietnam
• RTC Vietnam
• and Handspan

Thank you all for your contributions. This has been the most significant career building exercise of my life and with out all the above noted it never would have happened. Also I would wish to thank Stephanie Wells, Chris Carnovale, Jen Reilly and Chris Bottrill for their dedication to this project and the to students of Capilano University.

Lastly there are the villagers to thank. The Red Dao and H'Mong communities invited us into their homes and dedicated their time to learning and participating in our project. These people have touched the hearts of all involved and I can only hope to see them all again.

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Project to continue!

Great news has been handed down to the CBT VN team recently. The Dean of Global and Community Studies at Capilano University (Dr. Chris Bottrill) has announced that an agreement has been reached with the PATA Foundation to continue the project in order to add to the recent surge of successes and momentum in the region of Ta Phin. Included in the extension of the project is funding for the village of Lao Chai.

The next two years will be exciting in the villages as the CBT team will look to further polish the host of products in Ta Phin and hand the project over to local ownership. The project in Lao Chai is in its infant stages, there is much work to do. Surely valuable experiences are just around the corner for Capilano University faculty and students, and likewise for our Hanoi Open University counterparts.

The CBT team would like to express our deepest gratitude to the PATA Foundation, and the hard work of all involved over the duration. We are all looking forward to what the future has in store!

Huge Thanks to the PATA Foundation!

To all you readers: help us out! Like our Facebook page here or follow us on twitter @CBTvietnam . There will be lots of updates to come! Stay tuned for more!


Also, check out our website at:
www.cbtvietnam.com

www.capilanou.ca

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