Happy Days

So I've only been in Sapa for six days and it already feels a bit like home. I've had a great first week at Sapa O'Chau. On my first day at the 'office' some students were visiting the school so I got to tag along on their afternoon activities with the kids where we walked to a nearby village called Cat Cat to play some games. The scenery was stunning, the sun was shining, the kids had fun and I could not stop smiling. The rest of the week has seen me start work on a funding proposal, fundraising strategy and learning the Lion Sleeps Tonight in the classroom with the kids. Brilliant.

Some other volunteers from the UK who had been here for a few weeks left yesterday it was lovely to see the impact they had made on the organisation and the people in the time they've been here. We also had a brilliant night out on Wednesday to say goodbye, starting with a beer keg at cafe and ending with bargainous cocktails at bar in town. Needless to say everyone was feeling it the next day.

Yesterday saw some success and failure on the haggling front. Firstly the fruit lady who possibly didn't understand that her role is try and get more money out of the tourist and quoted a lower price than us. Result. Then later in the day I was trying to find a guesthouse to move to for the next few weeks and negotiate a good rate. I didn't have much luck in that I seemed to pick the only ones where little or no English was spoken and lets just say my Vietnamese doesn't go very far. Anyway the price in one place went up the longer the conversation went on, starting at $10 a night and then $12 finishing at $13. Needless to say I left. Better luck today I hope.