A Month Volunteering in Vietnam

So you’re thinking of doing some volunteer traveling?

Well, I’ve got two things to say: DO. IT.

Hi!! My name is Cora Bassett, and I’m on the team here at Sam Travels! When I got invited by my undergraduate school (GO HOOSIERS) to travel to southern Vietnam, the Mekong Delta, for a month to teach kids how to play sports, I thought I was crazy to even consider accepting it. You see, as a recent graduate, I had traveled to exactly one new country in my 23 years of living, and it was a resort in Mexico, so you wouldn’t exactly consider me “cultured.” But my best friend in college, shout out Aaliyah, really wanted to go and didn’t want to go alone. So I put on my big girl pants and hopped on that 30-hour flight to Vietnam.

And wow, am I so happy I went. I’ll link the pictures below, but it truly was such a blessing. Those kids I met at the school I taught at will stay in my heart forever. I was in charge of teaching soccer and science. As a softball player at IU and a business major, I’m not sure who thought that was a good idea. But I realized quickly that it wasn’t really about what the kids were learning, it was about the relationships we formed. They were all so curious to learn about my life in America, just as I was curious about their lives in Vietnam.

I can still remember talking to a little girl who promised me she would become a flight attendant one day so she could travel the world. There was a boy who was an incredible athlete, determined to become the best badminton player in the school. And the girls who were obsessed with touching my hair every day because they had never seen curly hair before. I could go on and on about the memories I made with those kids. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about them and that small village in the Mekong Delta where I stayed. I also received notes from the kids that they had translated into English for me, and honestly, that was probably the most appreciated I have ever felt in my life. Those kids were truly special, and I cannot emphasize enough how much they changed me.

I also became extremely close with our translators and the students from across the US who traveled to teach and coach. Our translators were Vietnamese college students, mostly from Hanoi, and it was so amazing learning from them. They were all so happy and had a sense of wonder for life that I do not always see in the US. They truly valued our connection. When we left, we all cried, and I do not cry often. You could just feel how special the experience was and how meaningful the relationships had become.

I think this is what traveling is all about. Yes, a trip to a resort in Mexico is great, and sometimes very needed, but I would encourage everyone, at least once in their life, to experience something completely new. Something so different that your brain can barely comprehend it. There are so many cultures to experience and appreciate, so why not go for it? Staying curious about life is what keeps us going. If we are not constantly evolving and seeking truth, then what is the point? And you can apply that mindset to anything in life: religion, politics, your job, your relationships.

If you look at traveling as just a vacation, you are going to miss out on the adventure.

That is why I love to travel, and that is how in just two and a half years, I will have gone from visiting 2 countries to 20.

So what are you waiting for? Let us help you find that adventure so you can go be curious about the world and discover something new. Talk to people, experience the culture, taste the food, learn the dances, go on the hikes, see the history. GO. DO. IT.

And that is all she wrote, folks.

Cora Bassett