Scottish bagpiper hits Vietnam on world’s journey
Ross O’Connell Jennings, a 26-year-old bagpiper from Scotland, will hit Vietnam as the 55th country on his world tour on October 24.
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Jennings’ performance and related activities will take place at the Saigon Star International School in HCMC’s District 2.
A bagpiper since the age of 13 and an Edinburgh University graduate, Jennings shared with the Telegraph on March 8, 2015 that he decided to travel to 190 countries or so with the instrument, aiming to be the first man to play it in every country.
Brendan Hearne, deputy headteacher of the Saigon Star International School, told the Daily in an email, “For Ross, playing the bagpipes in schools is a way of covering his travel and accommodation expenses, whereas for us, it is a fantastic way to broaden our students' international mindedness which is a big focus of our curriculum.
“Since it's highly likely that the children we are educating today will one day live and work in other countries around the world, it is really important for us to help them understand and celebrate the similarities and differences between their own lives and those of others around the world and so we saw this as fantastic opportunity to do just that.”
Hearne emphasized a vital element of a modern day curriculum since people that live and work in their home countries for their entire lives are likely to live and work alongside people from other cultures in today's world.
The schedule of Jennings in Vietnam on October 24 includes an opening assembly at 8:30 a.m. with the presence of all teachers and students and probably parents. During the assembly, students will showcase a song and dance of their own, with some of the older students also playing along on ukuleles.
There will be an hour-long window for any interviews and photographs before Jennings runs some smaller seminars for different age groups up until lunchtime.
During these sessions, he will be sharing a brief history of Scotland and the kilt, as well as some of the best stories from his travels so far.
People can watch a trailer of Ross O’Connell Jennings’ world tour at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd2vc6YG4So.
