My time at the Smile Food Shop thus far have been nothing short of amazing! As stated in my previous post, overcoming adversity and challenges is one of the crucial attributes of a successful leader, and I’ve attempted to push past these initial barriers throughout my time here hitherto.
Upon arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, I was welcomed by the Programme Coordinators of Green Lion, the organisation I would be conducting my volunteering with. The Green Lion have been an instrumental part in making Vietnam feel like home to me, and I will mentioning them a lot more in next post. Nonetheless, I was initially further greeted by my fellow volunteers, some newly arriving and others who had been here for weeks, and from people across the world. These volunteers were all part of different programmes, a nice feature of what Green Lion offers, and I therefore got to know both those I would be working with directly as well as many additional volunteers I would have otherwise not known.
Walking into the Food Shop for the first time was an incredibly eye opening experience. Attached to this post is one of my first pictures of the shop. There was a calming feel about the place; the core workers were already there, preparing and cooking the meals from earlier in the morning.
There were many elements that we had to prepare each day to get everything ready for service. Before service, inter alia, we had to sort clothes into bags ready for collection (they receive a lot of clothes for donation), cleaning all of the meal tickets, cleaning the floors, preparing the vegetables for cooking, and carrying large 50kg and 25kg bags of rice to storage. These are only some of tasks we had to do before service. During service, there are also many stations that us volunteers would do: collecting and cleaning the dishes outside, putting the rice on the trays, pouring the soup, handing out extra rice, and many more. All of these stations have their own challenges, especially since the seating area seats 40 and on average we serve 400 people each day, not including those also getting takeaway. The first few weeks have certainly been a lot of work, with early wake ups and plenty of prep work to do everyday, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. So far up until the midway point, we have already had two noodle days which were both so hectic yet exciting. The ultimate gratification is found in the gratitude expressed by the local Vietnamese who we serve food to. Their smile and thank you from new and familiar faces is something that is ineffable to express its meaning to me. It is this especially where I can see the difference I and my fellow volunteers are making; it is not a remote or detached impact, but rather one that can be directly seen.
Despite the language barrier with the staff, we managed to communicate well and I got on really well with all of them. I must say a huge thank you to my programme coordinator, MJ, who was able to translate between us, especially invaluable in an environment like this. He has not only been a fantastic programme coordinator but an exceptional friend who has made my work thus far at the Food Shop incredibly comforting.
Outside of volunteering, the city of Ho Chi Minh has been incredible. Having travelled around Vietnam before my volunteering, Ho Chi Minh City certainly had a very different character to the other cities I had previously travelled to. Ho Chi Minh City is a bustling and beautiful city full of character and life. The museums are rich with history and culture, and even walking around the streets at day and night demonstrate the character of the country; the busy coffee shops throughout the day and night, friends and families eating at local restaurants on the archetypical red chairs, and the motorbikes wizzing around the city. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have many friends, both fellow volunteers and Vietnamese locals, who I’ve been able to share many experiences and who have made this city even more special hitherto. I could seldom think of any better way to have started my volunteering experience. One incredibly example of this was the ability to be in Vietnam during its National Day celebrations. In Ho Chi Minh City, these celebrations spanned across the city, with a major event in the city centre along Nuygen Hue Street. To witness this along my newly found friends is a core memory that I will keep with me.