Program Overview
Experience UD’s first service learning and photography expedition to Vietnam in Summer 2006!
This program begins in Vietnam’s bustling capital, Han Noi. From ancient pagodas and temples to the “Han Noi Hilton” – a prison camp used to detain American soldiers during “The Vietnam War” – Han Noi is a modern city alive with the old Vietnamese way of life. From Han Noi, you’ll board a sleeper train overnight to Sapa, where the focus lies on the ethnic minorities living and farming in the mountains as they have for centuries. Spend the night in a traditional Sapa stick house where hill people will teach you rice farming techniques and traditional cuisine. A 3-day trek reaching the highest point in Vietnam, 3,143m Fansipan, offers unparalleled views of the rouged mountain region.
The next stop is Halong Bay, a world heritage site featuring rocky cliffs towering above the water. Local legend claims the footprints of gigantic dragons living in the mountains filled in from the sea to form the bay. In Ha Long Bay, you’ll stay on a wooden ship, kayak into one of the many grottoes dotting the bay, and explore one of the 1000+ caves. The ship drops you on Cat Ba National Park Island, where you’ll trek into the lush rainforest and costal mangroves, experiencing local fishing and farming villages.
Fly from Han Noi to Hue, a city rich in culture with many tombs, pagodas, temples and art galleries. Take a multi-day trip to Dong Ha, located along the 17th parallel – the center of the harshest fighting during the American War – to pursue your service-learning project with the students in the Kids First Village. During the next two days in Dalat, Vietnamese veterans known as the “Easy Riders” will escort you on the back of a motorbike for a truly unique view of mountain culture. You’ll chose one particular aspect of mountain life and volunteer your services in one of the many agriculture areas. Weaving baskets for silk worms, picking coffee beans, planting rice and helping in rice wine production are just a few of the options.
Some meals are included in the program fee (breakfast in hotels and all meals while on Trek excursions).
Please Note: Students must be in good physical condition to participate on this program, as the group will be hiking in elevations just over 10,000 feet. The CDC suggests the following immunizations at an approximate cost of $300. These immunizations are not required to enter or exit the country and should be discussed with your doctor.
- Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG)
- Hepatitis B
- Japanese encephalitis
- Rabies
- Typhoid
- Tetanus-diphtheria and measles
Please Note: this program requires three pre-departure sessions during Spring 2006 to learn camera basics and introduce the group to Vietnam and Service Learning in the community.
UD students pay all program fee deposits by direct bank transfer via this website: http://www.udel.edu/studyabroadpayments. Non-UD students should send a check, payable to the University of Delaware, to CFIS, Elliott Hall, 26 East Main Street, Newark, DE 19716. Credit card payments are not accepted.
