ABroaderView staff and volunteers Matthew and Luz Sharp enjoyed a party celebrating “Day for the Disabled” in Hanoi. This is a new program recently added to Hanoi and the night was full of singing and dancing, happiness and love. Matthew and Luz produced the “Salsa” dance for the crowd and ABV Director Terry entertained with his painful version of “Let it Be”. The real stars were the trainees at the center who could actually sing beautifully. Needless to say a great time was had by all; the only sad part was that it had to end. From Luz, currently in Vietnam with ABroaderView project.

Matt and I are doing great and are very much enjoying our time in Hanoi. The centers we’re volunteering with are all very diverse and there are things we enjoy about each, as well as things we find challenging. Above all, we love volunteering at the humanitarian center, and have gotten in to a groove with “Frosty the Snowman” at the primary school, and have discovered that the older boys at the center for kids with disabilities love to jam out to techno! Communicating with the Vietnamese language is a challenge, but we’ve enrolled in a language course and are currently struggling through pronunciation. The first week we made due with Hanh’s translation sheet which was incredibly helpful.

Also, we like the neighborhood we’re housed in. We’ve had an opportunity to visit some different neighborhoods in Hanoi since Matt rented a motorbike, and have decided we like ours the best.

The ABroaderView staff, Terry and Hanh have been great. Very supportive and accommodating– we couldn’t ask for better hosts