Name: Kate Votta
Year: 2015
Hometown: Philly
Studying: Pre-Med and English
How did you first hear about Coach for College and what made you want to get involved?
I’m a coxswain on the varsity rowing team, and a girl on my team told me about it over our winter break training trip. It’s a program only for student athletes in the ACC, so it was an awesome way to meet other athletes from around the country. We coached and taught at a summer camp in rural Vietnam. I came back and applied on the off chance that I would get selected, and it ended up happening! As for what made me want to do it, I went to a Mercy high school where community service was a huge part of our experience, so getting involved in something like this has been a dream of mine for a long time. I love to travel, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have such a large impact on these kids’ lives.
What was a typical day like in Vietnam?
Most days we would wake up around 5:30 am to go for an early morning run before camp started (remember, all athletes on this trip haha). We’d be running along these half-paved, half-dirt roads while the townspeople were setting up stalls in the marketplace selling their fresh fish, vegetables, fruit, and meat. Little kids would be riding bikes everywhere, and it was usually cooler since the sun had barely risen. Next, we’d come back to the “hotel” to shower and eat breakfast. We got on our air-conditioned bus to travel the 2 miles to school. There, in the overgrown courtyard and open-air buildings, all of the 6th graders would be waiting for us. We spent the morning teaching two classes (I taught biology) and two practices (I coached soccer), with an extra hour spent on team bonding and life skills with our specific class. At this point it’s close to 100 degrees, so we pack up and head back to the hotel for lunch and a two-hour break. Then, we come back and repeat the whole process with our 7th grade teams. So much fun, but definitely exhausting. When we went back at the end of the day, we usually ate dinner and then would walk over to a local families house to play volleyball with them in their converted front yard that they had made into a mud volleyball court. All I can say is, everyone there can kill me in volleyball!
Best moment?
Best moment was probably the last day of camp. We had done a huge competition day where all of the kids play all of the sports, and scored points with their academic tests. We then had a separate awards day where we had to say goodbye to all of our campers we’d grown to love over the last three weeks. Naturally, everyone was crying. The reason it struck me so much was because I couldn’t help but compare this kids to the middle schoolers here in America. Here, no 7th grade boy would sob into a camp counselors arms because he thought he wouldn’t see her again. The little girls wouldn’t make these amazing handmade gifts out of pieces of glass and ribbon and leaves. On the last day, I realized how much they cared about me, how much I cared about them, and how I really had an impact on these kids lives.
Worst moment?
I am arachnophobic. There is no doubt in my mind. So I had made it through about two weeks of the trip without seeing any of the foretold “NAM-creatures” that were said to be lurking around. After I came in from an early run, I took off my shoes and sat down on the couch next to the water jug to fill up my water. And then I saw it. Creeping out from under the couch about a foot away from my bare foot was a spider at least six inches across. I kid you not. It started to move towards me. I started to scream bloody murder. I have never run that fast away from anything before or since, and I refused to go anywhere near that couch for the rest of the trip.
Any tips for anyone looking to travel to Vietnam or nearby countries?
As for traveling in Nam, be prepared with your basic stuff: clean water, toilet paper, Cliff Bars, hand sanitizer. Be prepared to never quite feel clean after showering while gazing up at the lizards on the walls. Bugs? Eh, just ignore those. Try everything and anything they have to offer. I ate part of a scorpion, tried saki with poisonous snakes soaked in it, drove on a motorbike where traffic laws don’t exist, and crossed some rope bridges that I’m pretty sure fall down every few days. It’s a true sense of adventure while you’re there, and is so amazing. Just be prepared to go without some of the creature comforts!