8 weeks in Ho Chi Minh city

Coming from Ireland, arriving in Vietnam allowed me to experience a completely different culture. Our orientation week provided an interesting insight into this beautiful country and it's history. The program fee included all admission fees to these activities which included a varied range from museums to cooking classes. It also gave us new volunteers a chance to get to know each other. Our evenings were spent getting to know the social scene in the city.

I signed up for the Special Needs/Childcare program and was quite apprehensive to begin as I have limited experience and no qualifications in this area. My coordinator was so helpful and was able to answer all my questions to put me at ease. We were helping out in a daycare centre for children with special needs which we attended from about 9am before heading back to the accommodation at 11:30am for lunch. We returned again after lunch at about 1:30pm until 3:30pm. The children in the centre had varying disabilities which were explained to us when we started. We'd play with the children and they loved the attention they received from the volunteers.

At weekends, the volunteers would explore the rest of the country. There was a tourist office at the accommodation which assisted in booking trips. Bus routes were good and cheap which made it an ideal mode of transport.

I thoroughly enjoyed my 8 weeks in Ho Chi Minh city and simply cannot recommend it enough! I've made so many memories that I cherish and met such incredible people from all over the world.