The first takes place in ‘The Temple of Literature’ in Hanoi in Vietnam. This is the site of Vietnam's first university (established 1076) and is dedicated to Confucius. The beautiful setting would make any teacher jealous of this learning space. Open buildings, incredible gardens…. if only our modern day schools could harness such peaceful and reflective learning environments.
My daughters brought presents with them to hand out to children we met along the way. At the Cambodian Landmine Museum and School for the Orphaned we had the privilege of meeting two young boys. My daughter Penny gave the youngest boy a Mr Men book and the eldest some textas and notepads. The eldest just held his, not wanting to unwrap it and hopefully got the biggest surprise when he finally did. The youngest opened his present, saw the book, squealed and kissed it and then walked around with it safely tucked under his t-shirt and a big smile on his face until we left. Books and pens are something we take for granted, but for these children it was like they had won the lottery.