My Post-Sabbatical Year(s) in Asia (or wherever): April 29th -May1st: Ho Chi Minh City

4/29: Ho Chi Minh City Start of Day 2

The students today will start their first SLIP (Student led Itinerary Program) Day. This element of the Global Studies program started during the 2011-12 school year in preparation for Istanbul, Turkey. We were there for 6 days on the 2012 trip to Turkey, which is still too short of a time period to see all that Istanbul has to offer. In preparation for this city, students were divided into small groups while in Seattle and researched Istanbul. They then created daily itineraries, which included modes of transportation and a budget. When we arrived in Istanbul, students led the show, with an adult tagging along each SLIP group. Each evening at our class meeting, students would share the highlights of their day, what they learned, and the mistakes they made. This gave students the opportunity to change their next day's itinerary. It was such a successful experience (many students stating it was their favorite part of the trip), that we continued this part of the program for Vietnam. For two days in Ho Chi Minh City and three days in Hanoi, students have prepared their own plan.

The bigger picture is that the SLIP program is part of a larger agenda item, a theme all year long in the 8th grade about the relationship between responsibility and privilege. When we give these young adults the opportunity to make decisions, they always "step up." This is not to say that mistakes are not made, but this is part of the growing process (and there always adults in the wings to make sure the mistakes are minor and a learning experience).

Today I join a of group of students who will visit the post office, Notre Dame Cathedral, Binh Tay market, and the War Remnants museum. I am very excited to participate in this exploration with my small group of students, and to watch their growth as leaders and decision makers.

April 29th:

We like to start the trip slowly due to jet lag and lack of sleep. There was not much of an agenda in the morning: sleep late, eat breakfast, explore the neighborhood. In the afternoon of our first day in Ho Chi Minh City, we visited a factory. This was part of a three-part program. First, we researched the global nature of many of the products we use daily. Second, we visited an outlet and factory in Seattle of some of these objects. And third, this visit to a factory in Vietnam.

at the factory entrance

April 30th: 1st SLIP day:
Over the next two days students create their own agenda, but they have a few requirements to fulfill: visit the War Remnants Museum and visit a pagoda.

street food seller

three levels of development

The War Remnants Museum is an intense place, especially for Americans. It contains documentation of the atrocities of war committed by the US, from aerial bombings to torture to the consequences of Agent Orange. We intentionally put this museum on the itinerary at the beginning of the trip to remind the students that this is not a vacation. We play a part in the healing that is needed for both of our countries by bearing witness and hopefully learning from the mistakes of our past.

May 1st: End of our SLIP Days:

We just completed our two Ho Chi Minh City SLIP days, and they were an amazing success. I went out with a different group each day and had a great time. Each day ended with a class meeting. The theme after day 1 was connection and appreciation. Every group was required on day one to go to the War Remnants Museum at some point during the day. This is an intensely sad experience that required a debrief. The students participated in a guided meditation on connection and appreciation: the strong feelings we all felt were because the images pulled at our heart, and remind us of the connection we have to other people and other places and other times. And it is possible to turn those strong emotions into something positive through appreciation and being grateful. Afterwards the students shared what they appreciated or were grateful for. Many students talked about how gracious the Vietnamese have been, how hard it must be to open their hearts to Americans, and how grateful they are for forgiveness. It was an honor to be present for their wise words and compassionate feelings.

The focus on the class meeting after day two was an appreciation of each other and the attempts they have each made to stretch their comfort zone. It was great to hear the students’ “shout outs” for their peers. The bonds they are growing strengthen our community and our support network, which is so necessary while on this trip.

So I want to share my appreciation for group 5, for the joy in which they interacted with the Vietnamese, for their exploratory spirit (I challenged them to find their way home without using a map and only asking people on the street for directions) and for their flexibility (when it starting pouring rain, this was no problem, we just bought ponchos and continued).

And I want to share my appreciation for Group 7 for their pace (they loved moving slow, sitting in coffee shops and just hanging out) and how much they enjoyed interacting with each other and just having fun.

May 1st agenda: zoo, coffee shop, pagoda, market