Being with a group of acquaintances in a foreign land for 3 weeks was sure an eye-opening experience. Three months ago, all of us were mere strangers; we probably wouldn’t even have known each other if not for the project. I would believe that most joined the project with their friends, well for me, I signed up on a whim by myself. But honestly, Vietnam was really a destination I wanted to travel to.

In the first of our few debriefings, we discussed about our personal objectives and project goals. My personal agenda was to experience the sights and sounds of the Vietnamese countryside as well as an opportunity to get out of my comfort zone. Truth be told, I spent a great deal of effort trying to convince my parents to give me the green light. Thankfully, I can say that I have achieved what I set out to do.

If you ask for my truthful opinion on how the project went, I would say we completed our mission successfully. As for team dynamics, satisfactory but definitely not ideal. With a diverse array of characters and personalities, there’s bound to be friction, and friction there was. And for sustainability, well, it’s hard to ascertain at this point of time. But that time will come.

Humans work in wondrous ways and it’s impossible to fathom every individual. Sometimes, I wonder if I’m a good judge of character myself and this trip left me thinking twice. But with a little bit of time spent observing, I guess I could still pick out nuances and produce reasonable psychoanalysis of people. I may not be right all the time, but being right most of the time works too.
+ Lesson learnt: First impressions can be misleading. Look deeper.

As an individual, I’m one who avoids conflicts. I don’t like to be caught in dilemmas where you have to take sides, but I hate being labeled a fence-sitter as well. Resolving conflicts involve considering the viewpoints and feelings of the concerned parties. Unfortunately, conflict management is not my forte. We almost witness explosive action on a couple occasions during the trip but thankfully, it didn’t go kaboom.
+ Lesson learnt: Tempers flare. Caution, compromise, concede.

Living like a local for a dozen days was good enough to judge how living conditions were like in Vietnam. Singaporeans really have it easy, whether it’s transportation, electricity or even water. We hiked over 5km from the main road to a school in the depths of a village. We had to contend with the lack of lighting in and about town. On occasions, we even had to worry about water outages when we accidentally destroyed some of the water pipes.
+ Lesson learnt: Burst that comfort bubble. Get out there and experience.

Interacting with Vietnamese schoolchildren brought new insights on how differently our students react to education. Generally, they are much more receptive and enthusiastic about learning something new as compared to our Singaporean students. I reckon this is due to the few and limited interaction opportunities they have with English-speakers and through this trip, I hope we have urged them to be proactive in learning.
+ Lesson learnt: Appreciate school. Education is not a given.

The children at the orphanage spoke a different story altogether. Instead of learning, they craved fun and attention. Without parental nurturing from young, they sought after human touch and physical interactions. Besides empathizing with them, it dawned upon us how fortunate we are. While we wouldn’t hesitate to spend a couple dollars on each meal, the orphans live on less than a dollar each day.
+ Lesson learnt: Treasure life and love your parents everyday.

This trip has indeed been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I did things that I probably wouldn’t try again. Some of the (mostly) reckless stuff attempted:

• Draining a mid-size pond – Checked.
• Catching fishes and crustaceans in knee-deep mud – Checked.
• Jaywalking across busy road intersections – Checked.
• Eating rat meat (taste surprisingly like chicken!) – Checked.
• Scaling a barbed-wire fence barefooted – Checked.
• Descending a floor without using the stairs – Checked.
• Boarding a mini bus through the window – Checked.
• Bargaining for the equivalent of cents – Checked

Who would have thought I would be in for such ‘adventure’? Spur of the moment; definitely unplanned for. Looking back, some of these antics were beyond risk contemplation of the ordinary and I apologize if any of them had caused undue worries among the team.

I’ve certainly grown quite a bit from this journey of learning and self-discovery. It is inevitable that there would be conflicting personalities in a group, but learning how to manage them is absolutely crucial in maintaining harmony. Sometimes, swallowing your pride and admitting that you’re wrong would create a more favourable outcome for everyone. Handling sticky situations require tact and perception – put yourself in the shoes of others and walk a mile in it.

There is a pressing need for us to be more appreciative of life, things and the people around us. Don’t take them for granted ‘cos nothing gonna last forever. By the time it’s gone, it’ll be too late for regrets. Mull over whathaves, not whatifs. Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away – appreciate those moments.

Maybe this trip didn’t went perfect, but then there are many things in life that aren’t perfect either. Essentially, what’s more important is that we learn from our mistakes. They say that no success comes without failures. Undeniably, failures are always part and parcel of the learning experience. It’s with building on these past experiences that we go on to accomplish greater things in life.