Jam-Packed Week One In Laos for Notre Dame Nursing Students

COUNTRY: Laos
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Nursing
WRITTEN BY: Maeve Hawkes, Notre Dame University

After a long lead up of planning meetings, fundraising events and much excitement, we were almost surprised to find ourselves actually in Laos. Arriving in Luang Prabang airport on Sunday the 10th of May, our group of 10 students and two teachers agreed that it felt surreal to finally begin the experience that we had so long talked about. Our first night we relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful My Lao Home hotel and prepared ourselves for the long journey ahead of us.

On Monday morning we heaved our packs into the trucks and piled in, headed for the Army Hospital in Luang Prabang. We were greeted by the Director of the hospital, who gave us a warm welcome and provided us with information about the hospital and some of the most common health complaints of its patients (in particular respiratory conditions and diarrheal disease), and what he perceived to be the hospital's greatest needs for the future. We then had a tour of the hospital and were interested to identify significant differences between this health care setting and our hospitals at home. In particular we were struck by the high density of patients within each room and the fact that the family is expected to provide basic care for patients such as washing and feeding. It was humbling to see how privileged we are to have the medical resources that we take for granted at home.

Then it was back to the trucks for the two-hour drive to our first home-stay village on the mountainous dirt roads. Although the road was bumpy and dusty, the spectacular views of lush green mountains above us, the smiling faces that waved to us as we drove past and the rushing river below us all took our minds off these discomforts. When we arrived, the children of the village presented us with armfuls of handpicked flowers and welcomed us warmly. We felt overwhelmed by the kindness that we were shown both on our arrival and throughout our stay in the village.

After being officially welcomed to the village by the chief, we were shown to our new homes for the week! The style of housing and living conditions were definitely a big change from our lives in Perth and it took a few days for us to really settle in. It certainly helped to all have each other and to be focused on the goal that we had come here to achieve. The copious amounts of fresh cooked food that we were served at each meal definitely didn't hurt either.

We were also welcomed by government officials including the governor of the Pak Xeng district where we would be working for the next two weeks. The district has a population of approximately 23,000 people and throughout the next four days we visited the villages of Ban Nongfadat, Ban Hadsam, Ban Hadphaod, and Ban Vannguen to set up health clinics for the people living in these areas, where they are largely unable to afford to make the journey to hospital and don't have access to much needed regular health care. Each clinic was set up within school classrooms or meeting halls with only the medical equipment that we had brought with us, supported by our fundraising events and the donations we had collected. Our first clinic was by far the most challenging, as we were unsure of the most effective way to organise ourselves as a team and were unfamiliar with managing such a large patient load and working in collaboration with the translators and Laos health care workers. The lack of health care resources that we were accustomed to also presented challenges at times but we learned to adapt to our environment with the help of our supervisors.

As the week progressed, we refined our technique, became more familiar with the process and worked more efficiently as a team. At times it was overwhelming to be seeing such a large number of patients, in the sweltering heat, with such limited resources, but for every down moment there was an equally uplifting one, such as running health education sessions with the kids on how to wash their hands, or helping even temporarily relieve a patient of a health condition that they'd been living with for many years. We slowly adapted to the heat and the squat toilets and settled in to the rhythm of life in a Laos village. We relaxed after clinics with glorious swims in the river, set to the backdrop of the stunningly green mountains surrounding us on all sides. At the end of the first week we were exhausted and ready for a proper shower in Luang Prabang, but we were also proud of our accomplishments and how much progress we had made.

What a journey for Notre Dame in Vietnam

COUNTRY: Vietnam
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Nursing
WRITTEN BY: Storm Rossman, Notre Dame University

Where to begin?! Looking back on the trip now that we’ve returned, I’m so amazed by how much we experienced, learnt and were able to do in such a short period of time.

Vietnam was a complete whirlwind. The 14 days were almost completely full every day from morning to night with only a few short breaks in between. There were so many emotions experienced by everyone. So many experiences shared. And so many laughs along the way.

We left Australia as a group; some of us knew each other as uni friends and others met at the beginning of this journey when we began the fundraising drive, but we returned home as a team. A team who were there for each other the whole way, who were confronted and delighted together, who supported each other, and who came to know each other so well (sometimes too well…). But overall- and most importantly- I think we grew together. We each took something from this experience, something that will continue to influence our lives in some form or another indefinitely. This experience is one that I do not think any of us will forget shortly.

As amazing as the trip was, it would not have been possible without the support from our two lecturers Kylie and Phil keeping us in line along the way and offering us their wisdom throughout. To the support team at Antipodeans who made everything possible and helped the trip run so smoothly, especially Fiona- thank you! As well as the support staff that cooked, drove and did everything to keep us on track in country, they were great and always eager to help. And of course, the in-country tour guides Thanh, Chieu, Thuy and Hoa who were amazing, so helpful and didn’t complain at all after we asked the same question to a patient for the hundredth time for the day.

We got to know each of the patients personally and they definitely made the tour interesting and provided lots of laughs along the way. Thank you to all these people, you are so wonderful and this trip happened because of you.

Also, to all the people who helped us with our fundraising efforts, the companies and friends who donated gifts, you have all helped us to have this utterly amazing experience and helped us to provide some care to the people who we were fortunate to encounter along the way. Thank you to everyone involved, I wouldn’t have changed anything or anyone; you are all amazing people, and this incredible experience is one that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.

The beautiful landscapes, people and experience of Vietnam

COUNTRY: Vietnam
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Nursing
WRITTEN BY: Storm Rossman, Notre Dame University

We began our next stage of the trip with an insight into the beauty of the Vietnamese landscape during our five hour drive to Mai Chau. The mountainous terrain was absolutely spectacular and we all spent a decent portion of our trip trying to capture it on camera.

Mai Chau itself was just as amazing. We stayed in the home stay section of the town which was surrounded by mountains on every side. On the whole, our home stay was gorgeous and the family were lovely. Each day we would walk through the rice fields with farm animals and dogs accompanying us part of the trip to the hospital.

We spent most our time in Mai Chau working in the hospital. Both mornings we were there we observed the way the hospital was run and partook in patient assessments, when we weren’t being taken in to watch emergency c-sections. We were able to meet and talk with staff members, practice our skills and get a feel for the hospital and the differences from here to home. Our afternoons were spent sock-clad in the theatres. We observed a number of procedures including tumour removals, orthopaedic surgeries and hysterectomies and were lucky to be able to assist the nurse and surgeon somewhat. The hospital staff were great and really welcoming to us all and gave us an amazing opportunity to experience all we did.

Our next stop was freezing Hang Kia. We felt the temperature go down the closer we got, but it didn’t take away from the amazing scenery we saw both on the way, and within the village itself. We spent our first afternoon at the local elementary school teaching the kids how to brush their teeth and wash their hands. I for one thought that this would be just a refresher course for them, but was completely proven wrong for the most part and came to realise just how isolated they were out here. All the kids were so happy to receive their toothbrush, toothpaste and soap in their mug and were reluctant to let them go so we could get them to wash their hands with us. On our way back to our lovely home stay, we had little hands waving at us the whole time.

The next two days were spent in the clinics where we divided into three teams and were put to the test. Over the clinic days we saw 233 patients complaining of a variety of ailments (mostly colds) which we treated to the best of our ability with the resources we had. The days were long and sometimes repetitive but we were able to not only improve our knowledge, clinical skills and questioning ability. We were also able to help 233 people hopefully live even somewhat more comfortable lives.

Our next day was the trek (for the 6 students who went, or a stopover back at Mai Chau for those who didn’t). 18km, mostly downhill, approximately 6 hours. It turned out to be a nicely sunny and relatively warm day. Perfect hiking weather. The trek allowed up to get up close to the stunning scenery and see things we would have otherwise missed. It was absolutely gorgeous. Although there were a few slips along the way we all made it in one piece thanks to the guidance of our super tour guides – one of which was doing it in thongs…
Then we arrived at our last village; Van.

Van was amazing right from the beginning, the home stay family were incredibly welcoming, along with all the locals we passed while exploring or in transit. Our walk to the clinic took us past the rice fields and vege patches, which offered an awesome view along with all the farm animals strolling by. Our two full days in Van were spent in the clinic as well, where we saw 230 patients with similar complaints to Hang Kia although it was interesting to compare the two nonetheless and improve our skills even more. The clinic staff were incredibly welcoming and helpful and even held a farewell function on our last night where we were able to see some traditional Vietnamese dancing, sing some Australian songs for them plus were roped into doing some dancing with the bamboo poles, which was hilarious for everyone involved and a great send off and end to our village experience before we drove back to Hanoi the next morning.

Notre Dame students set foot in Vietnam

COUNTRY: Vietnam
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Nursing
WRITTEN BY: Storm Rossman, Notre Dame University

Approximately 35924 steps, 2 smooth flights, 1 cyclo tour and many bus rides later, we have left Hanoi. After meeting with our main tour guide Thánh, we were enthused about exploring this exciting country. On our drive back to the hotel we had our first exposure to the Vietnamese landscape, architecture, people and apparent lack of road rules.

We were given the afternoon to settle into our hotel before heading out to a local restaurant where we had our first meal in Vietnam. It comprised of a delicious meat and vege combo which we cooked on little hot plates and ate in fresh baguettes. Delicious.

Our next few days involved a combination of touristy and clinical experiences where we delved into the Vietnamese culture and history, to understand more about the country we have been immersed in.

Our Hanoi adventure began at the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum where we observed the embalmed and perfectly preserved body of the first Vietnamese president to break the French’s political rule over the country. We then had a tour past the presidential palace where Ho Chi Minh was invited to stay upon elevation to parliament, but refused, electing to stay in more modest accommodation on the same property (which we also were able to see). After that, we journeyed to one of the oldest universities in Vietnam, where we delved into the principles that Confucius held desirable and the significance of school in Vietnamese culture.

Post lunch, we resumed our journey by attending the museum of Ethnology where we were thoroughly briefed on the people we are to spend the next week with. Along with this, we were introduced to around 50 other ethnic minority groups in Vietnam and some of the unique traditions and customs within them.

In the evening we fended for ourselves for dinner before attending the amazing and deliciously gorgeous Fanny’s ice cream parlour before setting out to do some shopping in the night markets.

The next morning we resumed our journey with a tour on the infamous cyclos around Hanoi. We were able to have a better look into the city before heading to the Hoa Loi prison, ironically called the 'Hanoi Hilton' by prisoners. We learnt more about the prison’s conditions, history and Vietnamese political prisoners along with American prisoners of war, including air force pilot John McCain. Then we were on to our first clinical experience in Bach Mai hospital, one of the biggest hospitals in Vietnam. We were kindly greeted and shown around the emergency, emergency ICU and poisons centre by the local doctors and given a taster into what to expect in the way of health care compared to Australia. The doctors and nurses we were fortunate enough to meet gave an amazing impression of their perseverance to do all they can for their patients with the resources they have. I for one am excited to see more people like them and work alongside them for the remainder of the trip.

We rounded off our final night in Hanoi before heading to Mai Chau by having a group dinner in a local restaurant before an early night for the 6 hour bus ride in the morning!

A once-in-a-lifetime experience

COUNTRY: Cambodia
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Exercise Physiology
WRITTEN BY: Brent Luckman, Notre Dame University

Our final week in Cambodia began with two village outreach clinics on Monday and Tuesday. Dinner for the next few nights saw us become regulars at a newly discovered Italian restaurant named Little Italy (or Sicily for short), where we got stuck in to some delicious lasagna and steak. One more school visit on Wednesday afternoon and our final shifts at our placements on Wednesday and Thursday meant we had completed our month of work in Cambodia.

Having finished our practicum for the month, we started to look back and reflect on the once-in-a-lifetime experience we had just been a part of. We have helped stroke patients, people with diabetes, polio sufferers, amputee victims- the majority of which were from landmines- and cerebral palsy sufferers. We helped run outreach clinics in villages often 1-2 hours out of Siem Reap (where some people have never seen Westerners before) and provided exercise and fun activities to hundreds of over-energized primary school children. We have seen the result of a truly horrible government regime that still affects the country nearly 40 years on, and we've visited killing fields and prisons where Cambodians tortured and killed their fellow countrymen and women. But most of all, we have realised and seen first hand the difference that we’ve made to the lives of people less fortunate that us, whether it be as little as showing someone how to stretch muscles that are stiff and tight, or teaching people with new prosthetic limbs how to walk properly.

We have also made so many new friends on this journey. Over the course of our time here we became close with our translators, the employees of the various clinics and organisations we worked at, the teachers that supervised our trip, the many patients we worked with, and our amazing in-country organisers Billy and Vichay. As a student group we are closer than ever before. We have even witnessed the emergence of a new celebrity couple in the group that now rivals Kimye and Brangelina, known only as Jafiq…

We have enjoyed a month with some of the best- and cheapest- food and drinks in the world (massive call, but I dare you to prove me wrong), and experienced parts of a country completely different to our own that no common tourist would ever see. Joel managed to go through over 100 water bottles on the trip, Jarvey polished off 3L of hand sanitzer (and still managed to get sick), Matt made an Aussie hiphop video, Chris has a table tennis record of 1 win and 47 losses, and everyone danced on a table at some point at Angkor What bar. Unfortunately, it had to come to an end at some point, so with no American dollars left we departed Siem Reap to return to the cold and wet conditions in Perth (yay…)

Before I sign off I need to say a massive thank you on behalf of the group to Tanya, Fiona and the Antipodeans team for making this trip truly unforgettable. I also need to thank Chris and the translators for all the help they gave us. Finally, I urge anyone who has the opportunity to travel/volunteer abroad; I promise you won't regret it and you certainly won't forget it.

Johm riab li and saamnang la-aw (thank you and good luck)

Notre Dame University students spend weekend in Phnom Penh

COUNTRY: Cambodia
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Exercise Physiology
WRITTEN BY: Brent Luckman, Notre Dame University

The start of our third week in Cambodia saw us making the most of our weekends off with the decision made to go to the capital, Phnom Penh for 2 nights (except Matthias, he stayed in Siem Reap for a “French club” gathering).

Phnom Penh is a completely different city to Siem Reap. It is a massive city with high-rise buildings and apartment blocks stretching in every direction. It is also the site of the most well known “Killing Fields” and S21 prison in Cambodia. We spent Saturday morning visiting both of these sites and I know I can speak for everyone in the group when I say both of these places really opened our eyes. We might have thought we knew a bit about Cambodia’s recent history with the Khmer Rouge but none of us were prepared for what we were exposed to at the Killing Fields and S21. It’s hard to describe to someone who hasn’t been there, but it’s definitely a place that people should put on their bucket list, because it was like nothing I've ever done.

On the bus ride back home every person was silent after what we had just experienced. We eventually perked back up, and went to have sunset drinks on a rooftop bar overlooking the Tonle Sap River, before heading out to a couple of Phnom Penh’s nightclubs. The bus ride back the next day was a nightmare. Hangovers, gravel roads, traffic jams and 7 hours trapped on a bus is not a fun mix, especially when the guy next to you (Jacob) drools on you every time he falls asleep.

The start of the working week was no different to the others, as we continued at our second placement in the rotation. On Wednesday we returned to the school to exercise the morning group of students. While the kids might have been different from the week before, the result was the same. Absolute mayhem, but fun from the first minute until the last. The highlight was probably the accidental formation of 2 soccer gangs that was produced from the kids being split into either team Moi (1) or Be (2), and the continuous chanting that followed.

Friday turned out to be a public holiday in Cambodia, so we made the most of a rare opportunity to sleep in, before once again hitting up Pub Street at night.

Another week has flown by in our trip, with our departure next Friday after our final week of work. Its hard to believe that we have been here for 3 weeks already!

Notre Dame Exercise Physiology Students in Siem Reap

COUNTRY: Cambodia
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Exercise Physiology
WRITTEN BY: Notre Dame University

The first week of our exercise physiology practicum placements in Siem Reap, Cambodia, was an eventful one. It involved introductions to our placement centres, a day course on child protection training, outreach clinics in the villages surrounding Siem Reap and a number of adventures in the heart of the city.

The three placements we are working at are the Angkor Association for the Disabled, Cambodia Diabetes Association and the Siem Reap Physical Rehabilitation Centre. In our allocated groups of 4 we will spend 4 days at each placement completing health assessments on patients and prescribing appropriate exercise programs where necessary. The difference between clients we will see here as opposed to those in Perth is that almost all of the Cambodians have Type 2 diabetes due to a variety of reasons but mainly because of their diet. Many of the clients also complete low or no amounts of physical activity due to their busy working lifestyle and lack of facilities.

During the first week we also spent 2 days at outreach clinics in villages about an hour out of Siem Reap. These clinics are run by CDA and involve villagers coming in to get their blood glucose levels checked during a quick health assessment and then collecting medication from the CDA doctor. It was our job to take anthropometric measures as well as blood glucose and then prescribe 3 exercises that patients could complete at home.

Both villages, but especially the village we visited on the second day that is usually flooded at this time of year, provided an amazing experience in an unfamiliar environment. We will complete another 2 outreach clinics in the remaining 3 weeks.

The other side of our trip here involves exploring Siem Reap and taking advantage of their dirt-cheap and extremely delicious food and drink found around the appropriately named “Pub Street”. Restaurants of all cuisines provide quality food and drinks usually for less than $10 a meal. So far Chris has managed to stick to his rule of 1 beer per day, and on Friday night the group ended up on a pub-crawl through some of the bars and pubs in the heart of Siem Reap along with 75 other tourists from various countries around the world.

All in all it has been a great start to the trip (other than Matt and Jess being sick for a few days) with everyone settling in to our accommodation and starting to know our way through the bumpy streets of Siem Reap.

Week Two!

Our first weekend in Siem Reap saw the majority of the group (including Tanya and Chris) nursing hangovers for the best part of Saturday, after a late finish on Fridays pub crawl. Our recovery method eventually turned into a game of soccer at a local pitch, where we played with 6 Cambodian boys who had way too much energy. Once we had sweated out the previous night’s alcohol we watched Fremantle play the Eagles on a big screen and had a greasy lunch.

The next morning we woke at 4am and went off to see Cambodia’s most well known tourist attraction, the temples of Angkor Wat. Even though the sunrise was hidden in a cloudy sky, the experience was incredible and we ended up seeing close to 10 different temples in the area. After such an early rise and close to 8 hours of walking up and down stairs we were wrecked and slightly delirious. At one point we caught Mathias yelling at 2 ants to stop fighting each other…

The start of the working week commenced as per usual, with Wednesday the last day of our first of the 3 placements. On Thursday afternoon we went to a primary school and in pairs, ran different games and activities for the students. The next 2 hours were a blur, with close to 250 kids rotating through the 6 groups. If I had to describe it in 1 word, I would either use hectic, or mayhem. I have never seen kids having so much fun before in my life, and I don’t think any of us could wipe the smiles off our faces either.

On Friday we had a half day at our placements before catching a bus for 7 hours to the capital, Phnom Penh.

What I learnt by volunteering in Vietnam - Notre Dame University Group 2013

COUNTRY: Vietnam
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Notre Dame Nursing Placement
WRITTEN BY: Isabel Cullen, Notre Dame University

We’ve been back in Australia for a week now and it almost seems like it was all a dream! Life has returned to normal, well as normal as anyone’s life can be, mine for one does not fit into most people’s definition of normal, but it has continued on in its own unique way with the next adventure. Today is the first day of our next prac, but we are all in different places, our group separated and we’re all now on our own preparing to face what today will bring.

This time I am in Kalgoorlie, warming myself up to my new home away from home. I am once again away from the city and although it is different to Perth, it is still Australia and, therefore, hugely different to Vietnam. Our experience in Vietnam was very unique and a rare opportunity for anybody. To see the side of Vietnam away from the prying eyes of tourists and to be welcomed by the locals with such joy and gratitude really is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

We’ve witnessed the way the Vietnamese people actually live and now better understand how their lives flow and how their country functions, rather than simply what they put on show for the tourists. It’s hard to know everything we’ve learnt as the information is still processing and often you don’t realise what you’ve learnt until you apply it again. The most important aspect of our trip was not the assistance we provided to the local people. Yes, that was a big part of it, but the main point of our trip was the learning experience for us. That’s what makes the biggest difference and that’s what this next prac is all about.

Getting back and applying the skills and knowledge we have gained from such an exceptional opportunity. We have had the chance to provide health care to people in remote areas of a developing country. Through this we developed our health assessment skills intensely and, therefore, also grew in confidence. But we didn’t only learn physical skills. We also learnt how to work through one, and sometimes two, interpreters. We learnt patience and we developed further our empathy and ability to care. We learnt how to problem solve and critically assess a situation to provide the best care we had available as we came to terms with our lack of resources.

We learnt to accept people’s own healthcare decisions, despite our better judgement; and we learnt to let go when we realised there was nothing more we could do and all we could really provide was some tiger balm and a smile. Showing you care goes a long way, sometimes all people need is someone to listen to them and acknowledge that they are a person living and struggling in this world. Doing this can make someone’s day a little bit better and you never know the impact that could have on their life.

That and reinforcing basic health education is what I feel made the biggest difference to the local people. The challenge for us as nursing students now is to take all we have learnt and apply it to everything we do back home because in the long run it is going to make us better nurses. We were thrown into a situation where we were forced to apply our skills and now have stronger skills sets as a result of it. We must strive to not forget them and to constantly apply it to our nursing. Everybody is worth our time and our care and we must remember this as we return to the hustle and bustle of our busy hospitals. And I’m sure we all will ☺

How this trip will affect our careers, well I don’t know exactly, but it can only be positive. This is something that sets us apart from the others and with the competitiveness of getting a grad program or a job these days we need every edge we can get. But we have not only grown as nurses, and regardless of where our careers may take us, we have all grown as people and this is probably the biggest difference to us personally. We are all individuals and all had a unique experience, but we all grew within ourselves in our own way and to a different degree.

We all came back with a slightly different perspective and learning from this is what makes the whole trip worthwhile. For those who hadn’t travelled before, there’s the understanding that the world is much bigger than Perth and that we are very lucky to be born into the lives we have. For myself, this trip reinforced that the world is full of beautiful people and that we aren’t that different at the end of the day. As our lives progress and we continue on our own journeys we can all look back on this experience and smile ☺

The journey continues for Notre Dame nursing students

COUNTRY: Vietnam
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Notre Dame Nursing Placement
WRITTEN BY: Isabel Cullen, Notre Dame University

So the journey continues on...

Step one: leaving the city! First Stop: Mai Chau! We had a 4 hour bus ride to get there and I think we were all very excited to get out and see the countryside. Stopping at a scenic view of the surrounding mountains I took it upon myself to buy one of every type of food being sold at the side of the road. So I ended up thoroughly enjoying a corn on the cob, sticky rice cooked in bamboo and my new favourite snack food- sugar cane, all for just $2 or $3!! The sugar cane was lots of fun as it is literally lumps of sugar cane you chew on and out comes juicy sugary goodness and then you spit out the cane part! Lots of fun! Arriving in Mai Chau I found it really
peaceful and it was a nice change from the chaos of Hanoi! We were staying in this amazing homestay which was a bamboo house on stilts and we all slept upstairs on the floor under a big communal mozzie net, the fun was just starting! Arriving there we had some time to get sorted and then we headed to Mai Chau Hospital to meet the director.

He was very friendly and welcoming and we were all looking forward to the next day. Walking to the hospital we got a great view of the local surroundings. Mai Chau is this lovely little town surrounded by farmland and all these adorable bamboo stilt houses, and lots of
markets selling traditional items, I finally felt like I was in Vietnam!
 
The next day we got up bright and early and headed to the hospitalagain. The day was mostly about starting to get used to working with our interpreters as well as practicing our health assessment skills.Splitting up into a few groups we visited different wards and began toput our skills into practice. My favourite thing about the day was beginning to chat with the people. I really enjoy getting to know people and beginning to understand their culture. I also learnt a few sentences from our amazing interpreters. Let me introduce them.firstly we have Thung: our head guide and the mechanics of the trip.Then we have Lan, Tang and Tuan. They taught me how to say "Ten toi laIsabel" (My name is Isabel. *Obviously spelt wrong, I have no idea how to spell in Vietnamese!) and "Ban ten la zii?" (What is your name?)And so I just started practicing it on all the Vietnamese people I met, so about 20 poor people had me come up to them and attempt to introduce myself.

But everyone was very friendly and smiled and laughed :) We also all got the amazing honour of observing the director perform surgery. Having never seen surgery at all I was in absolute awe. A few students had done their surgical rotations already and they had this great opportunity to compare the two systems. We finished off the day with the notorious 1200 steps! This is a rickety stone staircase in the side of the mountain with 1200 steps leading to a cave at the top. So we all attempted it (except our teachers... and Adam...) singing along to The Sound of Music as we climbed! Oh it was tiring, but the view made it so worth it! Stunning mountains and looking down into the valley of Mai Chau. The next day was pretty similar and we were all attempting to use ISOBAR under Kylie's instruction, we definitely got better as the day progressed. To finish off we had a farewell chat with the director and passed on some gifts we had purchased in Australia. And again to finish the day a few brave souls did the stairs, this time more for the exercise, and a few crazy members of our group decided to do situps at each level!

And onto the next place! Hang Kia here we come! An hour and a half later we arrived in a tiny remote village surrounded by misty
mountains! It was just breathtaking. First thing we did was go to the Primary School for our first education session on handwashing and teethbrushing! We were all really excited about seeing the kids and it was so much fun! Setting up bowls in the courtyard we split up into 4 groups, each having about 15 kids to teach. We explained how important it was and then gave a demonstration and then the kids had a turn. All these little grubby kids jumping for joy to wash their hands and show us they could do it was just amazing! And they were so happy to get their free soap, brush, paste and cup it was wonderful.

I really felt that maybe we had begun to make a difference. After all, every year a Notre Dame group comes and teaches the kids the same thing, it's got to stick eventually! the people of Hang Kia are very poor and belong to the H'mong minority in Vietnam and speak H'mong, no Vietnamese.The H'mong people all wear their traditional skirts and it really brings a little bit of extra colour to what is a very cold little village. We spent the next 2 days doing free health clinics for these beautiful people with the assistance of our interpreters and H'mong translators as well! Working with 2 interpreters is like playing a game of Chinese Whispers, where you don't really know if the full message has gotten
through, but we persevered all the same. The clinic days were where everything really started. This was the main purpose of our trip and all the medications we had with us were thanks to all the fundraising we did back in Perth! All together I think we saw about 200 patients over the two days, which was very pleasing. It was definately a learning experience to do health assessments in such a different environment. It's a balancing act between not having the equipment to be as thorough as we would at home and that understanding that even if we can diagnose them, we may not be able to help with everything, but we can help with the little things. As Kylie said before we left: "We're not going to save the world, but we can make someone's day a little bit better." And at the end of the that's what counts. The message I really took away from our Hang Kia experience was
'From little things; big things grow" :) Hang Kia is so tranquil, there's pretty much nothing to do except enjoy nature and each other's company! Whilst in Hang Kia we got the news of the typhoon that had hit the Phillipines and was heading to Vietnam. Although, we knew we were out of harm's way, we were concerned for the family's of our guides back in Hanoi and we also received the backlash of some of the weather. Thankfully everyone's family's were ok as the typhoon downgraded to a tropical storm as it went through Hanoi, however we were to expect a week of heavy rain. With the weather forecast we had to cancel our trek to Van! Oh no! We all understood that safety came first, but I was still so disappointed!! And onto our final destination: Van!

We had to drive back through Mai Chau to get there as we couldn't do the trek and so it was another day of traveling. Arriving in Van I really liked it. It was very farmy and reminded me of a farm back home with lots of pigs and chickens oh and buffalos too.. We were back in another stilt house and it was finally warm enough to shower! Oh I
forgot to mention that nobody showered for 3 days in Hang Kia as it was freezing cold and there was no hot water!

We did 3 days of clinics in Van and they were soo busy! People came from here, there and everywhere to receive health care and medication from us! It was really astounding and people knew who we were as a group as Notre Dame visits every year and everyone gets so excited! The health assessments got more complex in Van and we were pushed to
the next level of problem solving and critical thinking as we had to figure out our diagnoses. It was the kind of challenge that really pushes you to learn and I really feel we've all come out of this as better students and one day soon we will be better nurses because of it. This is not the kind of challenge and experience you can get at home, you need to get out there and push yourself to the limits, as we all did time and time again! In Van the days got quite draining, but that's part of the challenge, of course the rooster and dogs waking us up at 2am didn't help with energy levels, but at least we were all thoroughly well fed by our wonderful cooks (we often got pancakes for breakfast!). The thing I really noticed in Van, and hang Kia as well, was the amount of lifestyle related injuries/health conditions. Nearly everyone we've seen has been a farmer and always will be a farmer. But the amount of nerve injuries and back pain that we've seen really brings that into reality. At home we have the luxury of being able to
change professions, but for most people here they don't have that luxury. It really makes you realise how lucky we are and being in that place of priviledge we can hopefully help others. My favourie part of Van and probably the trip was going to visit a young girl at home to bring her a year's supple of a nutrition/protein supplement. She had some form of muscle degeneration and her and her family were so appreciative of our support, it really made me feel like we had made a
difference to someone's life!

After our 3 days of clinics we prepared for our farewell festivities. Firstly we enjoyed a dinner with the homestay family where people (not me, I'm vegetarian) tried crickets and pig on a spit as well as intestines and blood and bone. And Thung organised a suprise birthday cake for Darren (Happy 39th!) which we all greedily dug into. Kylie had told us a few days earlier that we had to prepare a performance for the local people! Ahhh! So we put our heads together and came up with jumbled versions of "We are Australian" "Happy Little Vegemites" "I still call Australia home" and for the grand finale "Give me a home among the gumtrees" all with actions included!!! A few members of our group could sing, but most of us could sqwawk and tried to make up for it with our kangaroo imitations! But everyone had a jolly old time and had a great laugh! We also had the honour of watching some local traditional dances and songs before singing together "Vietnam, Hoh Chi Minh!" After that we joined in with the locals in what I'm going to call the "Bamboo Dance." A dangerous dance where you jump over bamboo poles and try to dodge getting hit in the ankles! Lots of fun!

And then back to Hanoi. We got back last night and enjoyed a farewell dinner with our tour guides. After that a few of us thought we'd have one last Fanny's Icecream and got lost again!!! After another hour long search we finally found it and indulged! Mmmmm :) Today was a beautiful way to finish off the trip. We went to Halong
Bay! It is amazing, absolutely stunning and one of the modern 7 natural wonders of the world. We spent the day well driving for most
of it (4hours each way!) and then lying on the top deck of a Junk Boat enjoying the view! What a way to spend the day!

Tomorrow morning we fly home. I think most people are ready to go home and we've really got the most out of this trip. I'd just like to thank all the people who made this
possible, but especially our Vietnam team including Phuong, Thung, Lan, Tang, Tuan and our cooks. Without them we could not have provided the health care that we did and they had such amazing patience with us they deserve a round of applause. Of course there's everyone at home including Fiona and Antipodeans as well as Kylie, Darren and the Notre Dame crew. But for now we're concentrating on getting home safely and
then I'll update you all on the end of our journey!

Notre Dame nursing students arrive in Vietnam

COUNTRY: Vietnam
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Notre Dame Nursing Placement
WRITTEN BY: Isabel Cullen, Notre Dame University

We've finally made it!

After 6 months of preparation we've finally started what will probably be the most amazing clinical placement we do as students!
Firstly, I'll introduce us; there's Rachel, Rhiannon, Jacinta, Adam, Manuja, Georgia, Hannah, Tenyka, Renee, me (Isabel) and our supervisors/lecturers Kylie and Darren.
We left Perth 3 days ago, catching our flight at 2.30am we all attempted to get some sleep on the flights, with limited success (except maybe for kylie who managed to get 3 seats to herself!) and some of the worst plane food I have eaten (my lunch looked like vomit), but that's all in the fun of the journey isn't it!

We arrived in Hanoi all in one piece excited for the adventure we were about to embark on and to get out of the airport, but that didn't quite happen... We were missing 13 bags of our luggage! Well done Malaysian Airlines! 12 of those were the soaps, toothpastes, etc all the donations and the other was Renee's backpack, oh no! So we waited, and we spoke to lost & found, and we waited some more, but they didn't even know where the bags were, the assumption was that they were probably in KL.. So we left it to them and headed out into Vietnam, we'd finally arrived! Met our guide Thaung at the airport and headed to our hotel and wow is it fancy! Very flash with a bathtub and everything! Not quite what we were expecting, but the roughing-it starts tomorrow!

My first impression of Vietnam is that you're definitely in South-East Asia, it's got that same vibe and atmosphere as Thailand and Bali, but with a Vietnamese twist! There's that beautiful all-surrounding chaos, that for some reason seems functional and you know that most-likely the scooter wont hit you as you're crossing the road so you stop worrying about it as everything moves around you. I've found it cleaner than I expected and not as smelly as it could be, mostly fumes, but nothing too nasty, but it is nearly winter so you never know what it's like in summer! Also the weather has been perfect! Can't always see the sun through the pollution, but it's definitely there! I also love the fact that the Vietnamese actually wear those straw hats!

Our first evening we all went out to dinner together, had some delicious food for less than $5 each, and I have discovered that juices/smoothies here are heavenly!!! After dinner we decided to go for dessert at Fanny's, the famous ice-cream shop! Off we went, excited, with Kylie leading the way. An hour later we still hadn't found it and it really started to seem we were walking around in circles, but we were determined now and all had a thirst for ice-cream! Eventually we stumbled upon it and delved into it's deliciousness. I thought I'd try something different so ordered 1 scoop of 'soursop' flavour (apparently it's a fruit...), 1 of 'young rice' and 1 banana... Interesting combination, but very yummy!

Our next day Jacinta and I got up early (6am) to do Tai Chi at the lake. Realistically we got up at 6.30 and missed it, but had a great walk around the lake and saw some really interesting things. One of our favourites was a spiral of people massaging the person in front of them! We wanted to join in, but they were just finishing up so we joined in what was a group of women dancing/doing aerobics. We did two dances which included a lot of hitting different parts of your body and then turned to head off, buuuuut then I heard the familiar tune of the Macarena and we just had to stay for one more dance! I can now say I have done the Macarena, in a public square in Hanoi, Vietnam style (which includes a whole lot of shaking legs and spinning as well!) it was great!

Our day then went on to include the Museum of Ethnology and a Lam Anh Traser which is like a cycle rickshaw with but they cycle from the back. Lunch was at KOTO (Know One Teach One) which is an organisation that employs and trains street kids. We had the afternoon off and everyone chilled out and wandered around, a few of us getting a massage with some pretty intense neck cracking!!

This morning we visited the Prison and then after lunch Bach Mai Hospital. Now things are really starting, after all it is a nursing prac, not a holiday... Bach Mai Hospital was very interesting and a definite eye opener. It really made us realise the amazing quality of health care we have in Australia and those basic principles that make up nursing. Sometimes it takes seeing a situation where the basics are not there to really realise how important they are. But it's also important for us to remember that this is their culture and it is not our job to tell them they are doing it wrong. All we can do is lead by example and maybe show them another way of doing things, just because something is different does not make it bad and we can all learn from each other.

We've been in Hanoi now for 3 days and tomorrow we head to Mai Chau (I can't remember how to spell it) tomorrow. I can't wait to get out there and start doing things and really learning. We're constantly learning anyway, as you do being in a new culture, though I'm not sure how well my Vietnamese is going... So far I can only say hello (sin chau- obviously i've spelt that wrong...) and thank you which is kind of like 'come on!' But all you can do is try!

We've really only just started, and barely at that. The next 2 weeks will really be what this trip is all about and I can't wait!!
Oh P.S. Renee got her luggage back and all the other bags, yay!