Day 1

Pupils assembled in school at 6:30am. Look at their sleepy faces!

Everyone doing their part to help load their own luggage. Responsibility starts from this moment as they will have to ensure that they take good care of their belongings (and themselves!).

Excited people at Changi Airport!

All set to leave! Goodbye Singapore and Hello Saigon!

Of course, we cannot leave with empty stomachs! Makes us all warm and fuzzy to see how much our pupils care for each other :)

After 2 hours, HELLO SAIGON!!! We were received by the VP, teachers and pupils of our hosting school. Love the Vietnamese and their hospitality!

Lunch time at Red House. Our VP1, Mr How went around to ensure that everyone ate some veggies.

Next up, the cyclo city tour. Here's Joven acting "like a boss" :P Pupils took a tour around the city center of Ho Chi Minh city, seeing for themselves how the city functions. This serves to give them a perspective of the world out there other than Singapore.

The Post Office that is a landmark in HCMC. According to our local guide, Mr Chin, the architect of this post office is the same person (Gustave Eiffel) behind the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Fancy that!

Shopaholic Regine in action! This sweet girl spent her first Vietnam Dong on a present for her grandmother. Awwww :)

Everybody, altogether outside the Post Office.

Dinner time! Dinner was at D'Nyonya Restaurant. The pupils were all rubbing their expanded tummies after the meal ;)

After dinner, we caught the Water Puppet Show. 

Finally, we checked into the hotel and after reflection & debrief time, pupils were sent back to their rooms to wash up and rest for the night.

Reminder

Dear pupils,

• Please SMS/call your teacher in-charge by 5:30am on Sunday
• Please report in school by 6:30am on Sunday
• Please report in your orange t-shirt

See you all on Sunday! Please rest well, eat well and take care of yourself before the trip. The last thing you would want is to fall sick during the trip.

Preview of the Water Puppet show that we will be watching on Sunday! It even has a live music performance! Exciting, or what? :D

(Images taken from http://vietnamairlinestickets.com/webroot/img/posts/images/hanoi%20cyclo%20and%20water%20puppetry%201.jpg and http://www.mangovine.net/images/uploads/water-puppet-musicians.jpg)

Vietnamese 101 with Mrs Ong.

 everyone had a good time learning some basic Vietnamese today!

 big shout out to Mrs Ong for taking time to teach the pupils!! <3 cam on!

Countdown - 10 days

Today, we distributed the files to the students. On top of that, they will get these fancy luggage tags for easy identification. Red ones for the students, and blue ones for the teachers. 

If you are wondering about the progress of the performance, here's a little preview ;) Students, if you are watching this, think about how you can improve!

Can't wait for the real deal ;)

Today's Fact of the Day -

The national sport in Vietnam is called da cau.

 

Looks pretty interesting, right? Actually, it reminds me of the traditional game that we have here as well. Doesn't it?

(Images taken from http://vietbao.vn/The-thao/Ngay-vang-cua-Da-cau-Viet-Nam/65180917/134/

Meeting + Pre-trip survey + Performance rehearsal

Faris obviously likes the camera :p

 Yes, you have a question for us?

 These three are the epitomes of enthusiasm!

 

The students spent a fruitful afternoon with the teachers preparing for the trip. We would like to thank all the students who attended this afternoon's preparations for their diligence and of course, enthusiasm. 

Be it doing a simple survey or putting together a performance, the students displayed excellence as they refuse to settle for nothing short of their personal best!

Before we sign off, here's a little trivial about Ho Chi Minh City -

The Vietnamese language has borrowings from the Chinese language and once upon a time, Vietnam was using a modified set of Chinese characters called the Chữ nôm.

Bet you didn't know that! ;)

Pre-trip Briefing for Parents

We had a really fruitful pre-trip briefing with parents today. The turn out was really heartening and it was great to be able to mingle with all the parents who attended. 

Dear parents, we hope that we managed to clear all your doubts and you can trust us with your child for 10 days in Vietnam. We will do everything possible to ensure that they are safe and that the trip will be enjoyable and meaningful.

Thank you for attending and should you have any questions from now till then, please do not hesitate to contact any of the teachers.

Dear students, if you think about it, you will be in Vietnam in just about 16 days time! Wooohoooo!!! For those who are interested in doing some research on your own, check out the Ben Thanh market!

(Picture credit - http://www.vietnamtourasia.com/english/vietnam-travel-news/Top_5_wellknown_markets_feature_three_regions_of_Vietnam-688.travel)

10 October - First meeting after the End-of-Year Examination.

With another 16 more days to go, we waste no time and got started with the preparations right after the big EoY examinations. Students shared their presentations and ideas for the performance. It was a great meet-up especially after the long hiatus.

This is getting really exciting as the date draws closer :)