NOTES FROM VIETNAM - Feb. 24 - April 2, 2010

Life back in America.....

2010-04-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

Well, it's now April 24th and I didn't think I would make another post but I am. It's been quite an adjustment back to reality. I didn't have any idea it would be this way. One would think that being back home would be just the best thing in the whole world. In some ways it is - to see and touch my family and friends is the best feeling in the world. That is the best part of being home - being surrounded with your loved ones. Adjusting to a totally different way of life - not so much.

We can't live here like we lived in Vietnam and we can't live there like we live here. But, it would sure be nice if the two could come togther and share some of their positive attractions.

We have so much in America that we don't need. And there are many of us who continue to think we need more and more. And, there are alot of people in this nation who think they are entitled to take anything they want at anyone's expense. We don't love unconditionally - we judge people both inside and out. We hold grudges. We are free - we are surrounded by beauty - and we take alot of it for granted.

People have asked me why I chose to volunteer in another country and it has taken a while to find that answer but I think I have it. The underpriveleged adults and children in America have opportunity. There is the welfare system, there are non profits everywhere that are constantly helping those in need, there is schooling that is open to anyone who is willing to take the step into the front door of a classroom. The government takes care of their people here. Where I was in Tam Ky Vietnam - there are not those opportunities. Their government does not take care of them. There are not food banks or Goodwills in their town. All they have is each other and most of them are in the same boat - they rely on each other to support their needs. They do rely on volunteers coming to their country to help them. But there are not enough available to be able to help them create the kinds of lives we have in America, or the opportunities that every single person in America has.

But they are happy people, they are kind, if they are able to take care of their children they do a wonderful job, they live off the land, they work hard, they live with so little but yet have so much in my eyes.

I will be returning in September 2011. I need to follow the children and see how they grow. I want to be able to sponsor a child to get an education and have the opportunity to better him or her self. It only takes a small amount of money to sponsor a student for university for a year - less than we spend for a couple of months worth of groceries in America.

I don't expect anyone to have my passion for the people of Vietnam. I just expect everyone to have a passion of some sort in which you help others, whether it be here at home or afar, or both! It puts a whole new twist on your life and how you view the world. I like to think it made me a better person - you'll have to ask those around me to answer that question cuz I only know what's in my heart.

And I miss the food sooooo much - truly the best food I have ever eaten in my life - and the healthiest and the freshest and.......it's been a bit hard to get back into eating here - taste is good but it just seems so heavy to me. Wierd!!

So I think this will be my last posting. I am still adjusting to life at home with so many wonderful memories in my mind and heart. Thank you to all of you who followed this blog and thank you to all of you that have asked so many questions and expressed an interest in what I did. Thank you for allowing me to show you my pictures and re-live my many moments in Tam Ky Vietnam. I hope you all have the opportunity to do something like this in your lives - you'll want to do it over and over and over. The time is right now - you can make it happen if you want to.

I will be forever grateful to my husband for helping to make this happen - I couldn't have done it without him and his support and financial help. Thank you Dickster - I love you - you do have a kind heart! And I know you'll go with me someday on one of my adventures and I'm proud of you for that!!!

2010-04-01T03:44:00.000-07:00

It is Thursday night, April 1st. I have flown from Danang to Ho Chi Minh City. I have treated myself to a beautiful hotel - with great air conditioning, a little wine, a little more Vietnamese food, and a comfy bed to stay in for a few hours - I will arrive at the airport at 4 am for the long leg of my flight home.

The emotions are mixed. There is excitement at seeing all the people I love and have missed so much. There are tears as I look at the pictures of the children that have touched my heart. There are both tears and laughter as I look at pictures of and think about all the fun times with the other volunteers - sharing time with the children, creating lesson plans, enjoying our free time, eating Mrs. Hanh's wonderful food, and sharing somethig so new for all of us. Now we go our seperate ways but still remain connected in a way.

I have so many things that I would love to share but I do understand that you have not been there with me. As with every situation, it's often that 'you just have to be there' to get the full effect. Please don't be afraid to tell me to put a sock in it - I could babble, I could get sappy, I could......who knows what's going to happen. Bare with me - be patient with me - and know how much I love you all and how happy I am to see you, touch you, and be back home.

MEMORIES.......

It’s the end of the road and the time left is ticking away on the clock.
I pack up my bags and hide away the memories and trinkets that are coming with me.
How do I tell you about the last month of life in another’s world?
How do I walk back into my world with so much to share and remember?

The children – we laugh, we play, we love. I come into their lives for just a moment and take with me a lifetime of laughs, smiles and hugs. I give them experiences they have never had and I see the world through their eyes – I laugh, and I sometimes cry.

The mothers – selfless women who give their lives to children other than their own. They give hugs, kisses, reprimands, food, shelter and security – the only security they have – the only people who are with them always.

The people – genuine, curious, hard working, friendly. Beautiful dark eyes and beautiful smiles. They want to speak English – they want to learn. But not all have that opportunity – they are poor, they are sheltered, they don’t know the world.

The villages – full of women selling their produce, fruit, and fish. Calling for you to come to them and buy their fresh foods. From early morning until late at night – receiving either nothing or a mere pittance for a days work.

The fields of rice – they go on forever. They are forever green. They are forever full of hardworking men and women providing food for their country – leading their water buffalo down the paths of the fields so as to make their walk easier, their fields more beautiful.

The traditions – never wavering from their values, their beliefs, their love and respect of family. Holding tight while the world around them constantly changes – always being true to themselves and their family before them who are counting on them to live right.

The food – made with love and care by women who are proud and who should be proud. Always fresh, always pure, always beautifully presented with a smile and a little prodding to eat just a little bit more, just a little bit more.

The opportunity to imbed myself in their world for a month of my life – a gift from God, a gift from my family, the gift of a lifetime. Thank you Vietnam for letting me live in your world and love your people. I am forever in love with you. I will return because you are in my heart and in my soul.

Saying Good Byes..........

2010-03-31T08:41:00.000-07:00

Monday, March 29th – my son Tyler’s 28th birthday! Happy Birthday Tyler – I miss you!

We spent the morning at the orphanage – it was music day and that was the loudest 15 minutes I had spent in a long time! They love the instruments but will not be able to take their act out on the road for a while! It will simply be the orphanage band that will stay at the orphanage!

The afternoon was free so I began the packing process. It seems like I was just unpacking to get all settled in and now it’s almost over. I did shed a few tears during the process. Put together packages of goodies to give to the HOA children and organized my gifts for the folks I am leaving behind who have done so much to make this a month I will never forget.

Taught my last class to the 9 to 12 year olds at HOA. We did lots of review and then just played – they loved their gift bags. They have been a fun bunch of kids who I’m going to also miss. I know they have volunteers come and go so they know the routine about people coming and going so I think it’s harder on me leaving than it is on them!!!

Tonight was karaoke night! We went to a place called One Dream. It is in a hotel and it’s a private room with one wall a big leather seating area with a big table in front of it, just for our group – I guess that’s how they do karaoke in some Asian areas. We had quite a group as the Economic Zone folks joined us, Tin was there as well as the GVN group along with Randall and Lorraine’s son, Stewart. It was very fun!! Lots of laughs and singing – not always good but happy! Mrs. Hanh’s son, Chum, had a great time! We were home by a little after 9 pm so was not a hugely long night!!

Tuesday – March 30th: Today is the first of 2 very difficult days for me. Saying good bye is going to be very hard. Went to Disabled Hospital this a.m. and got to spend my last morning there with my little favorites. I hope their world is OK as time goes on.

Mrs. Hanh and I had a special time together when I came back to the house. She gave me a beautiful green marble bracelet like the ones that so many ladies wear in Tam Ky – perhaps throughout Vietnam. It is meant to bring good luck to your life always and it is supposed to stay on at all times. I have been searching for one but could never find one big enough and Mrs. Hanh made a special trip to Danang last Saturday to get it there at a place she knew would have it. That means so much!!! It was good luck to have met her and to have her in my life so so far it’s working! She also gave me some stuff to use when making Vietnamese food so that’s awesome! I gave her a really cute new helmet for motorbike riding and some money to go towards her son’s trip to Ho Chi Minh City to a special hospital he goes to for his disabilities. He is 8 years old and does not speak. He makes noises and now can say a few more words than he’s ever been able to say. He also didn’t walk for a very long time and is a little unsteady on his feet. He goes to Ho Chi Minh City for a week at a time a couple of times a year for medical help. It’s very expensive, relatively speaking, so between all of us and our donations to her I think we have a week of care and therapy covered for her. In US dollars – it’s about $500.00. They are a wonderful family and take very good care of us here at the house so if we can help we would really like to. Grandma and I exchanged gifts also. It was a time of tears for all of us.

I got to thinking a lot about leaving this morning when I was in my room. I know I will come back sometime. I believe the reason it’s so hard to leave the children is because we are walking away not knowing what will become of most of them we have spent the month with. They have so many strikes against them and they have done nothing to deserve it. I feel good knowing that there are a lot of volunteers and even some of the local business people who do go to the orphanage and take things for the children. It’s not a ‘family’ like we are familiar with, but it’s the ‘family’ that they know. I truly believe that the mothers at the orphanage really love those children and take very good care of them. You can tell that the children love them back. It is a very good feeling to have that knowledge. I hope to get updates periodically on some of the children. Amber will be here another 3 months so I will hear from her. I am not looking forward to tomorrow morning when it will be my last day at the orphanage. There will be lots of tears and lots of hugging!!! I do miss everyone at home a lot and am looking forward to being back home (closer to my Cottonelle Toilet Paper and cold milk) – good byes are just hard!!

I had my last class with the 8 to 11 year olds at HOA tonight. It was fun – did review then played a couple of games. Handed out all my gifts to the children at HOA and hugged a lot. My favorite there is Truc and when I sat down and he was told it was my last night we both shed a few tears. He is such a kind heart – and he doesn’t even realize how very special he is. And he never will.

I have been walking to HOA the last two nights with Bea, our interpreter. She’s a 23 year old girl who is volunteering with us for 2 months as our translator. She is very quiet and had a slow start but has turned out well and is doing a great job. She’s gotten to practice her English a lot on our walks and I understand her lots better. I’m so glad it’s them trying to learn English and not us trying to learn Vietnamese!!! That would be a disaster!!

Tin came by tonight and we went for a cup of coffee. We said our good byes and he gave me a gift that he said to open inside. It is a beautiful maroon silk scarf. I will cherish it. I hope he stays involved with GVN so he can practice his English. He has a real desire to come to an English Speaking Country and live. He is very poor but certainly has the drive and determination to make it work.

All for Tuesday – close to the final posting and the trip home. Stay tuned for the report of the last day! It will have tears all over it.

Wednesday evening – March 31st: It’s here, my last night in Tam Ky. It’s been quite a day. We started at the orphanage which we all knew was going to be the hardest to leave. I did my morning massage, walk and visit with Son and we had our good byes. I know Son will not be here when I come back and know that what is being done for him is to keep him happy in the time that he has. I have pictures that I will keep close to my heart. He has two mothers that work with him and their love and care is fantastic.

Tuan and I spent the rest of the morning together. We played and laughed. Then he got in his usual cuddly position with his head laying on my cool towel around my neck! Off to sleep he went. I held him for about 15 minutes then put him in his bed. That gave me time to play with other children and say my good byes to them. I went to Tuan’s bed and rocked him a little and he woke up slowly. He saw my face as he woke up and his hands reached up to me. We cuddled for a little while longer – I shed my tears and his mother showed up with a bowl of food. He was ready for that. I was glad that I didn’t leave him crying – that would have broken my heart. The mothers were very nice and gave hugs to we volunteers who were leaving today. I know they appreciate all the love and playtime we give to the children. They are not always open to changes regarding the care of the babies. They aren’t as flexible as we might be back home because they are not confronted with changes on a daily basis like we are at home.

It appears to me that what is needed most with all these children are projects to be completed – like clean up and painting at the orphanage. A play area should be built outdoors at the orphanage. A group of physicians should come through and spend a couple of weeks doing checkups, blood tests, etc., for all the children. Dentists should do the same thing. Ophthalmologists could do the same thing. When we come in and try to change the day to day way they have of doing things it causes problems – they have a system and they rightfully should – watching them take care of 45 children every day all day is amazing. The older children are pretty self sufficient. It takes a lot of time and a lot of patience to do what these mothers do at the Home of Affection and at the Baby Orphanage. And they do it for very little pay. I feel good leaving knowing that the children are loved in the situation they are in. I do want to come back someday and see how these children are. They won’t be forgotten.

Back to the good bye – it was hard – tears for 3 of us on the way home. Lots of thoughts going through our heads. There’s only one thing in the world that could make us feel better for a moment – a lunch made by Mrs. Hanh and Grandma. It was wonderful – banana flower salad with greens and shrimp. Fried rice bread – the equivalent of a tortilla chip – was served along with it. This was followed by mango and watermelon. Splendid!!!!!

I did a little more packing and took a little nap – I like that system here!! We left for Tam Tanh Fishing Village at 2 pm and all went well. I had a room of 25 boys which was a little scary at first but ended up being just fine. We did lots of vocabulary and word games so they got to be active and loud. I treated them with cakes of different flavors. It wasn’t really hard to walk away from this placement as the children come and go voluntarily so we didn’t even know names or who would or wouldn’t show up. They were always wonderful children eager to learn more English. They were all very clean and very well dressed. If you were to see this village you would be surprised at that – it is a very poor area.

We came home to an early dinner of noodles with shrimp and squid – fabulous – and lots of MANGOS!! Randall, Lorraine and family headed out to continue their vacation through Vietnam. It was very sad to see them go – they are a wonderful couple and family that I feel honored to have met and gotten to know. I plan on seeing them again in Australia some day in the next couple of years!! We would be so welcome and well taken care of if we were to visit there – put that on the travel calendar Dickster!!! They want us to bring the Bogans too because they want to know if anyone named Bogan will actually get through security at the airport! (FYI – Bogan is a word for a not so nice person, riff raff, etc. in Australia) They actually suggested that they should go by an assumed name while in the country of Australia – we’ll have to come up with a new one for them!!!

Saying good bye to Ms. Hanh – wow – there are no words to explain how hard that was. I can only hope that everyone has a Ms. Hanh in their lives. She is kind, caring, funny, genuine, giving, a fabulous cook, a hard worker, selfless, spunky, energetic, wonderful mother and wife, and the absolute definition of a friend. She can barter prices better than anyone I have ever met. It’s her mission to get everything for the best price for us! She takes us into her heart and soul and makes a big footprint on our hearts that will last forever.

I will publish this blog and do the last installment on my way home with the many hours I will have on the plane to reflect on this last 5 weeks of my life. Hold on – it might be a long one or it could be a short one – you’ll just have to tune in and see!!! And there will be new pictures!!!

Stay blessed – be happy – help others whenever you can in whatever way you can – and always know you are loved!!!

The Last Weekend In Vietnam.........

2010-03-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

Pictures - The Old Lady and her boat; Threading my legs; Vietnamese Ferry Boat; The fabulous dinner for Randall's Birthday; A major load for a motorbike..

Greetings on this fine Saturday morning – March 27th!! I’m writing from Hoi An in my room at the Grasslands Hotel. It is a nice little place with 4 stories – we’re on the 3rd floor with a little balcony overlooking the noisy street below. There are no quiet streets in Vietnam due to the many motorbikes and trucks that have horns that are used on a continual basis!! Our coffee was brought to us this a.m. which was a nice touch.

The drive to Hoi An yesterday was uneventful. Julie and I shared a car with Randall and Lorraine who were heading to Danang to meet their family at the airport. We were dropped off in Hoi An and they continued on to Danang. Both of us had a few odds and ends to buy so we went out and finished shopping – now I’m done!! We had a wonderful dinner at a place called the Cargo Club where we sat on an outdoor terrace overlooking the river that runs through Hoi An. It was a beautiful setting as all the buildings surrounding the lake have many hanging lanterns of all colors lighting up the night. We were in a business where the lanterns were actually being made – some were cutting, some were gluing, some were assembling – quite a process. They are made from fabric and really quite beautiful.

Well, here I am on Saturday evening after quite an interesting day in Hoi An. Julie and I awoke and headed downstairs for a breakfast buffet. It is quite a bit different from buffets back home but I had an egg, some noodles and vegetables and plenty of coffee. It was a beautiful setting for breakfast in back of the hotel among the trees and birds in their cages. Following breakfast we hopped into the hotel shuttle bus which took us to Old Town Hoi An.

We walked around a little and headed to the Hoi An Café to get ready for our cooking school. We were sat down and offered a drink – the chosen was ginger tea. Did not settle well with me. So now we’re cooking. We head out to buy some fresh herbs. A gentleman, Mr. D, takes us through the produce/fruit section of the old market. It is quite interesting – so many people, all ladies, selling all the same thing for next to nothing. I don’t know how they make it. He pointed out many herbs and what they are mostly used for in cooking Vietnamese food. From here we got on a boat and headed down the river, or up the river, I have no idea. The boat was a brightly painted old wooden boat. There were lots of things to see along the river banks along the way – lots of beautiful palm trees and pretty flowers. We arrived at the Red Bridge Restaurant – the sight of our cooking school. Mr. D took us through their herb garden – it was very large and full of beautiful herbs. We headed to an thatch roofed open building next to the river which was set up with individual gas burners, cooking utensils and chairs for us to sit in while getting instructions. We created a Vietnamese salad, fresh shrimp and veggie spring rolls, eggplant in a clay pot, and attempted to make a rose with tomato skin and a peacock with a cucumber. I am sticking to the actual cooking idea and staying away from the whole decorating with food thing – I did horrible!!! We learned to make rice paper for the fresh spring rolls – pretty cool. I now have a bamboo stick for lifting them off the cloth they cook on! We ate everything we made and I must say, the chef was pretty good!! Julie and I sat across the table from a delightful couple from Dublin Ireland. They were in Vietnam for the first time and had led quite an interesting life.

The boat then took us back to Hoi An and our class was complete – I have the recipes we cooked and the knowledge to make it all work – now we’ll just see if it does! Stock up on the Tums Dickster – I’m coming home to cook!!!! Same goes for all my wonderful friends who might benefit from this new knowledge I have!!!

We wandered again through the open market when, out of nowhere, a lady came up to me with a string wrapped around her fingers and proceeded to use it on my face – and she removed some of that peach fuzz stuff that has popped out! Well, how can you not wonder about that talent that she possesses? So we followed her back to her little shop just outside the market. The next thing I know she has put talcum powder on my lower legs and she’s removing the hair from my legs. Amazing – all with a piece of cotton thread that is used for sewing. She wraps it around her fingers a certain way then moves her hands a certain way. Did it hurt you ask? YES! The leg hair was coming out by the roots!!! Now, her sister comes behind the curtain and she proceeds to start in on my face. Did it hurt you ask? YES! Is all the peach fuzz gone you ask? YES!! Now, this may be more information than you want – but next she lifted up my arms and took off the armpit stubbles. It didn’t hurt so I let her do it! Now it’s a head massage to try to keep my attention of the pain of my legs having the hair taken out of them by the roots. Julie was also drug in and ran through the whole process also. Is there more to this story? YES. Is it publishable? NO. Did it hurt you ask? YES YES YES YES YES!!!!! That’s all I’m saying about that!

Now, I needed a WC, which is what they are called here. The lady, Cuc that did my legs, said to follow her. We went through the market and walked for quite a ways. By this time, it was getting dark. She removed a table that was standing in front of a door and she opened the door. She got a bucket of water and threw it in what appeared to be a shower stall. There were two raised areas for one to stand on and that was it!!! It was dark which I think was most likely a good thing. Upon completion an old lady showed up and Cuc paid her some money for using the facility!! They should use the money to install some actual toilets but it would so take away from the atmosphere!!!! Now I’m always hesitant to ask to use the WC!

Next stop – a place for a drink to just take in all that just happened! Lots of laughs!! We began to head on foot in the direction we thought might be towards out hotel. Julie fell and sprained her ankle. So we got as far as a restaurant and headed inside. We had bought a bottle of red wine for our room but brought it out here cuz Julie was in pain and needed it! Had bowl of noodles, the wine, and Julie iced her ankle. We had to walk just a short way to the corner to get a taxi back to the hotel. Julie was out for the night. I called the Dickster to try to explain what happened during the afternoon and I think you just had to be there – hard to explain!!!

It was quite a day in Hoi An – learned two new skills that are both pretty big in my book!!

Sunday morning we awoke to rain. The weather has been overcast and cooler the last few days and I have loved it. Didn’t expect the rain. Our motorbike drivers showed up at 9 am to pick us up - it was Mr. Hanh and his father! We all put on ponchos and helmets and off we went. They started by taking us to the old Japanese Bridge which we had been to before – there happened to be a tour guide there giving a tour so we heard a little more about it. It was built in the 17th century.

We then went to a place called the Assembly Halls. They consisted of several pagoda like buildings which held many shrines that folks used to honor Buddha. Lots of incense and lots of worshiping going on. It was beautiful with all the gold, marble, jade, flowers, incense and color – mostly red. In the old days it was used for the assembly of people for worship or meetings. The grounds are beautiful with lots of flowers and large urns. I don’t have photos because I failed to charge my battery so I’m going to rely on Julie for pictures for the rest of today’s adventure! We then boarded a Vietnamese Ferry boat. Very old, wood, not too big – on board were about 25 people, 10 motorbikes and 9 bicycles. We stood on top so we could see the world going by. The Ferry took us across the river to the other side of Hoi An. Made a couple of stops upon exiting the ferry. There were wooden boats being made that we stopped and watched. The frame of the boat had been made and two men were putting into the openings between the wood pieces what looked like wood shavings. They hammered them into the cracks with a hammer hitting an awl.? I don’t know if that’s the word but it’s a tool that’s flat and thin and pokes stuff into places – how’s that for an explanation! Anyway, this stuff keeps out the water and you’d never believe it to see it. Another gentleman does paint something over it that probably seals it even more but it’s still pretty interesting to imagine that it’s not going to leak. What a slow process.

Across the street was a man making carvings and things out of wood. He was very talented also and had some beautiful things for sale. We then came upon another boat making yard – this was for bigger boats and it looked like they were doing a lot of repair. Again, slow and tedious work.

Now we are off to the hills and back roads of Hoi An. We passed through many little villages – they all have their own stores, church, etc. but are right next to each other. White folks don’t usually come through these areas so they were full of greetings and smiles as we went through! Did I mention that having this notoriety is a pretty fun thing which is coming to a screeching halt pretty soon? I’m not too happy about that!!!!

We drove through miles and miles of rice fields. Grandpa led us to a large shrine that was closed up. He dropped us off and headed down the road and came back with an old man in his pj’s with a sport coat over the top. He unlocked the doors and let us in. We lit some incense and gave a blessing at the shrine. I gave incense for my Mom, Dad and Art. I guess it still works even if you’re in a Buddhist shrine. They’ll be surprised when Buddha visits them with my blessings!!! It was a special treat to have this man open this for us. We left him waving and smiling at the gate. We continued through more villages before hitting the highway for Tam Ky. We have had quite a bit of time with no rain but it’s now coming down with a vengeance. We stop for some lunch then got back on the bike. Again I had to ask for the WC – this time down an alley, across another alley and into a wide open cement stall with a seat on the floor. Another standing up experience. I’d like to say that 3.5 hours on a motorbike with a heavy back pack on is quite a while not to mention the tenderness of my back end following the ride. But it was a good way to see the sights and I can now say I’ve lived through traveling on a highway on a motorbike!!

We unpacked and rested a little at home. Tonight is Randall’s 70th birthday party and Mrs. Hanh and Grandma have been working all day on dinner – it’s going to be MAGNIFICENT!!! We were all instructed by Mrs. H to be in a dress and have a shower so that’s my next project! She’s short but she’s mighty and I, for one, do what she tells me!!! Will end this blog with the birthday party happenings!! Coming right up –

Birthday party over and we were all kept very happy with a wonderful evening of food, friends, family and laughter! Randall enjoyed his 70th and we all enjoyed meeting the rest of his family. Mrs. Hanh did a fabulous job preparing this special day! The array of food was incredible – shrimp, rice, tofu, meat marinated and BBQ’d on sugar cane sticks, filled biscuits, cucumbers and tomatoes, spring rolls, and a wonderful cake that she made and decorated. Oh yes, and plates of mango!!!

That’s it for now! Has been a great last weekend in Tam Ky and Hoi An.

The End of Indpendence Day Week - 3/25, 26

2010-03-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

Well we survived Independence Day and life is pretty much back to normal here! We actually worked all day today – kind of a shock to the system.

The orphanage was eventful this morning – it was immunization day!! The Dr. showed up with an assistant and all 13 babies were immunized. Now, we’re not sure what they were immunized for but we were glad to see that each baby had their own needle which were promptly destroyed after the injection. Some cried – some didn’t. For the most part it went well. We followed that up with dress up day – my last one. They were darling as usual. And Buddha Tuan – I think I have created a monster just before I leave – he has grown pretty attached and loves to be toted around and have all my attention. He is very good when I do my Son massage – he seems to understand that is part of my job – but after that he wants nothing to do with anyone else. Even the older kids pick him up and bring him to me!! I do manage to hold babies and play with other children at the same time – he’s just attached to my knees or hip. Only 4 more mornings at the orphanage – my mornings won’t be the same – it will be lonely having my cup of coffee after Dickster has gone off to work. I guess Luke will just need to spend more time with Nanny as she goes through children withdrawals!! (ARE YOU READING THIS ADAM AND AMY?!?!?!?!?)

The afternoon was spent at the Disabled Children’s Hospital – only one more day left there. We had 5 children today and they all loved their massage. Tin, who had the same haircut as I have, has now been buzzed so we don’t share the same hairstyle anymore. He looks so grown up. We had some good smile and picture time today. Lots of coughs and sneezes going on today so the bug must be going around. Guess I need to start wearing my mask!!

It rained here this afternoon really hard!!! People must carry rain ponchos in their motorbike seats because they sure appeared in a hurry. Do I need to tell you how good it feels to have some major wind and rain?!?!?!? I am now the happiest person in Tam Ky! Everybody else is cold. I’m going to write that it’s the hottest place on the planet more often because it seems to rain after I write that comment.

49 days ago today, an elderly lady who lived next door to our house died. Tradition of the Buddhist religion is that on specific days after a death (3rd day, 7th day, etc. up to the 365th day) , the family gathers for a memorial to the deceased family member. She was the grandmother in the home. Their storefront business is selling phones and minutes. Right out on the sidewalk they set up a round table full of food and candles. 2 monks were present along with family members who traveled from Ho Chi Minh City to be here for the memorial. There were bells rung, drums played, songs sung, family members bowed to the candles and makeshift alter on the table. Then they started a fire in a round metal container and burned some of her clothes and some flowers – that signifies something for her in the afterlife. They also burn fake money at these memorials so that their deceased family member has a plentiful life in the afterlife. (Sidebar to my children – I’d like the real thing sent up to me please!!!) Following this ceremony and meal, the whole family goes to the cemetery in a big bus they have rented.

The folks here are not wealthy by any means but they spare nothing to honor their family members upon death, marriages, births, etc. There are always celebrations and festivities going on for all the important times within the family and extended family – which usually all live together.

An interesting fact – pregnant women ride the motorbikes side saddle. I’m OK with geckos now – every morning I see one or two scurry across the rooms downstairs when I head down to make my coffee. They hide out well and move fast!! A few new Aussie words – sick/crook; sharks/noah’s arks; picture/fleas and itch; shave/dig in the grave. They never seem to end.
We had our weekly meeting this afternoon – my last one. Had a few suggestions for future volunteers – we have an evaluation that we have to fill out and e-mail back. Will do that when I get home.

Class was good at Home of Affection tonight. The 8 to 11 year olds are a little squirrely but very cute. They love writing on the board so our lesson centered around that and they loved it. They also love those word search puzzles so I created one around the vowels we learned and they were so quiet for 20 minutes – also fed them Ritz Crackers so that kept them busy! Only one more class with each of my classes at HOA. Will do fun stuff next week!!

Tin came by and we went to get a bite to eat around 8 pm – Bun Sao –it’s rice paper wrapped around greens, bean sprouts, cucumber and a pancake type of round thing. It comes with a very spicy sauce that you dip your roll into. A new taste treat – was awesome. We have yet to have the same lunch or dinner meal this month at the GVN house! I am sooooo spoiled! If I can’t bring a baby home Dickster, can I at least bring Ms. Hanh and her family home so we can eat great food?!?!?

This morning (Friday) at the orphanage we arrived to a room full of students and adults visiting the children. They brought lots of candy to the children – just what they need!!! We let them play with the children about a half hour then we took over with OUR kids! A gentleman was actually holding Tuan Buddha and wouldn’t give him to me when he held his arms out. I just disappeared so they could have their moment but I don’t think Tuan was as happy with him as with me!!! Today was spa day also so I painted a lot of toes and fingernails. I talked to them about the colors they should wear with their chosen colors and they just smiled and nodded – don’t think it got through. I just know they are not going to stick to their color palette for the next two weeks until they are mani’ed and ped’ed again!! Buddha and two of his friends had to have an extra bath this a.m. cuz they got into some major water and drenched themselves – the mothers were none to happy! And Bubbha was not happy to be taken away from his water playground!!!

A wonderful lunch of chicken rice soup – will be a recipe I make! Of course that was followed by MANGO and grapefruit which I also love here!!!

So now it’s the weekend! I am off to Hoi An – will take a cooking class, a motorbike tour, and a tour of the ancient city of Hoi An. I’m going to fit another pedicure in there too cuz they are looking bad!! Will include pictures in the next blog! Have a fabulous weekend and never be afraid to say I love you or show someone that you care!

2010-03-24T06:58:00.000-07:00

Dried fish for sale on the beach - I passed! Vietamese Crabs - male and fenale. Feeding the toddlers at the orphanage. The ocean. BBQ'ing in front of our house - Grandma and Mrs. Hanh. Guard at the orphanage making a basket out of sugar cane. Truc with his craft at HOA. Vicki with Buddha and his ice cream cone!! We both wore alot of it!

Happy Wednesday night from Tam Ky – it’s actually Independence Day here – so happy that too!

I think I left off on Monday. Tuesday was the big celebration day for the New Year. I went to the Disabled Hospital in the morning and did my baby massage on 6 children. Put 2 of them to sleep!! When you can’t communicate you might as well sleep! They are just too cute – most have cerebral palsy – so therapy mostly involved their joints and working on strengthening their necks. Some of them are getting pretty good at lifting up and turning their head. It’s gratifying to see the changes made in just a month.

Following the Disabled Hospital we headed out to the orphanage. Mrs. Hanh made lunch for the children which she does once a month. It was a wonderful south – fish balls cut up, quail eggs, chicken, pasta, and a wonderful broth. I got to feed a couple of the toddlers, including my little man, Tuan (Buddha)! Was quite an experience – feeding two children, one spoon and one big bowl of soup. I just about burned their poor little mouths cuz it was hot!! They weren’t too hungry anyway because someone had been by the orphanage just before we got there and dropped off ice cream cones so the children were pretty much covered in ice cream when we arrived – was tooooo cute!! They loved their lunch and we all enjoyed being on the feeding and helping end of doing lunch for the children. They too love Mrs. Hanh’s cooking. Picture of Buddha with his ice cream!

Home for the afternoon. Tuesday is my day for a free afternoon so I stayed behind and took a little snooze. When I awoke, Mrs. Hanh was out on the front sidewalk barbequing meat for dinner that night. It was very thinly sliced pork which had been marinating since the day before. You will see a picture of the BBQ and you won’t be surprised to know that she BBQ’d from 2 to 5 pm. This is the one night a month when she cooks a feast for the children at the Home of Affection – 33 kids, plus a few adults, and we volunteers. There was a lot of pork. I helped her BBQ a little – as did Grandma. The meat was served with noodles, greens, and a wonderful sauce. The children scarfed it up as did all of us! It was FABULOUS!!

Now, prior to the dinner there was a minor accident. I was participating in a game with some of the children and landed on the ground. I pulled that muscle from the center of my right butt cheek down my leg a little (the hammy) and majorly stretched out the back of my knee and calf muscle on my left leg. Now I have a knee brace on my left leg and it helps a lot – puts pressure on my calf muscle.

To the fireworks. We were planning on biking down to the park for the occasion. After seeing hundreds and hundreds of motorbikes on the road heading to the park, and me being unable to ride a bike at the moment, we quickly re-thought that decision!! Come to find out the view from in front of the house was perfect – noise from the fireworks was even heard here. The chairs came outside and we joined many people to watch about 20 minutes of pretty darn good fireworks. There was no break between the fireworks and they were just like what we have at home.

3 volunteers from DaNang came to Tam Ky to spend the night, so I moved to another room downstairs for sleeping last night – as long as there are 2 or 3 fans in a room, I’ll sleep in it.

Arose this a.m. to banana pancakes again – love when visitors come cuz we always get banana pancakes – and MANGO!!!!! Off to the orphanage. The children got extra care due to the 3 extra volunteers this morning. My little Tuan was glad to see me and I think I’ve created a monster – he doesn’t like to be put down much and fell asleep in my arms. Actually I don’t think it’s my charm and personality – I think it’s the cold damp towel around my neck. He always cuddles right into that!!

We had a fabulous lunch of veggie rolls, rolled in rice paper with greens and again, a wonderful sesame peanut sauce. Everyone else had ice cream and chocolate for dessert – I had MANGO!!!! I hope you all like the new orange tint to my skin when I get home – might have to change my wardrobe to match my new skin tone!! I hope there’s a support group to help me through my mango withdrawals.

Had a nice nap today after taking a pain pill for my leg – there’s another support group I’ll need! Now, off to the beach. We went to the tourist beach at Tam Tanh and it was beautiful. There were ladies wanting us to sit in their chairs or sit on their tarps on the beach because you pay about $.10 US to use their spot. We chose chairs with a tarp umbrella right in front of the ocean. We were firstly directed to a parking spot – that was another $.50 US.

There were some ladies going up and down the beach offering their food – dried fish, warmed up over a portable bbq and served with a tortilla like shell. The dried fish is dried by hanging it from the cloths line. A flat dried squid didn’t look to appetizing and I passed on that. We ordered crab, clams and squid which were all cooked. The squid is a little rubbery but very good as it’s wrapped in rice paper with sauce and greens. The crabs here are itty bitty – you almost feel like you’re eating some poor little crab baby. The clams looked wonderful – very large. They are not served with garlic butter – just a dried mixture of salt and pepper. I have not seen butter since I’ve been here. We did not go into the water but it was delightful on the beach. Again, people really noticed us and smiled and wanted us to take their pictures. One couple brought their baby up to me and put her hand out so that I would touch her and talk to her. Back home we go to the beach in the morning and home in the late afternoon or early evening – here, the beach was filling up a lot when we were leaving – around 5:30 pm. That’s when everyone gets into the water. However, some of the younger folks were in the water earlier in the day. Total coast for clams, squid, crabs, pop, beer - $8.00 US!!

That ends Independence Day in Tam Ky – it’s the 35 year of independence for this little town and it was fun to watch. Some very interesting, well lit up, floats went down the street last night on the way to the park. They are sponsored by different businesses and organizations in the area. They are built with wood around a car then driven down the road.

Back to reality tomorrow and working a whole day! Will try to muster up enough energy to submit another blog after that!!

Sundy and Monday- March 21 & 22, 2010

2010-03-22T06:52:00.001-07:00

What's in the pictures - 2 pictures of the lake we spent Sunday at; Ho Chi Minh's picture and/or statue is absolutely everywhere; Yes, it is a paper mache helicopter set up at the celebration sight at the park for independence day; this is the conical hat light fixture - with red light bulbs nonetheless!!!

Hey – as you are all sleeping away it’s time here to catch up on the last couple of days.

Sunday we all went to Phu Nunh Lake. There were 8 of us and we were sure to get a larger taxi this time! It is a beautiful lake about 30 minutes by cab from the GVN House. As we were heading to the lake we came to some railroad tracks and there was a train going through. There is a person who has the job of pulling out the chain link fence that keeps people from going across the tracks during a train passing. When the train was through, he pushed open each fence – one to the right and one to the left. No automation around here!! Upon first seeing the lake it reminded me a lot of Shasta – very large – red dirt around the edges. I could just imagine it with houseboats on it.

We walked down into the lake after paying to enter – less than $2.00 US for all of us. We had a table made of stone and made ourselves at home! The lake felt WONDERFUL! The water was clean and crisp – not cold all over, just in spots. I stayed in there for about an hour. It felt soooooo good. No sweating – just refreshment!

Ms. Hanh and Grandma had packed us a nice lunch so we sat in the shade and ate that. There was quite a boisterous group down below us and Ms. Hahn and Grandpa knew a couple of the men. Later on in the day they invited us to come sit with them. There’s no saying no when they offer you something – this time it was a WARM beer. Well, that was just the best??? Gave me a whole new appreciation for refrigeration!! One gentleman in particular was pretty animated and sang a lot – he just busted out in song every once in a while! Pretty funny. They were all eating this little tiny shells that have a small hole in them – they get a pointed needle off a tree branch and poke it into the hole and pull out the tiniest little fish. Still not sure what they are but I finally tasted one – really salty – a bit like a snail – but raw of course. I’m passing next time both on that and the warm beer!!

We came home all relaxed and cooled off. A few of us went to the Home of Affection and did eye tests on the 33 children there. Out of all of them, only 4 need a vision check and 3 of those 4 already have glasses so their eyes are in pretty good shape. Now where they go to the eye checker or when is another story! I’ll keep you posted – things don’t happen here in the blink of an eye – takes a lot of communication time to go through necessary processes.

After dinner Amber, Julie and I went down to the large city park. It was the opening night of Independence Day celebrations. The park is full of ‘buildings’ built of cane branches and straw with lots of Christmas Lights on them, bridges, seating areas, the flag of Vietnam, and on top of everything, always is a picture of Ho Chi Minh. He is absolutely everyone’s idol!! He’s dead, and the country has a new president, but he is still and always will be the hero to everyone. There was of course music and dancing on the stage that had been built. There were speakers. The evening was a tribute to the youth of Quong Nam Province and each little commune was represented by students all standing in individual lines with a sign at the front of the line telling which province they were from. There were a couple of tables and chairs for dignitaries. We just meandered through the crowd. It was the first time I’ve been in one place, with perhaps 3 thousand people, and everyone had the same color of hair except me! All black and almost all of the women’s was long. And, people stared at us, smiled and spoke to us a lot. We were the only white folks there. It was a bit of a strange feeling even though the staring was done in the nicest way and for a nice reason. As I’ve said before, it’s going to be strange to look like everyone else when I get home!! The questions that are always asked of us are our name, where we are from and our age. And they usually say we look younger than our age so it’s OK by me!! We hung out there for about 1.5 hours then headed back to the house.

Randall has been so sick since Friday. Thinking it’s a parasite now as he drank some water that he shouldn’t have drank. Again, I’m still the healthy one!!! Randall went to the Dr. – ultrasound, examination, drugs, and a diagnosis - $6.00 US! He said it was really clean and professional and the Dr. spoke a little bit of English.

Taught at HOA tonight and then just a quiet evening to get ready for some celebrations tomorrow! Have a wonderful day – love all those special people in your lives and be so grateful for the life that you have!!!

More later!! Tam Biet from Vietnam!!

2010-03-20T23:48:00.000-07:00

Pictures - At the Hanh's for dinner; again at the Hanh's; market where we ate lunch - all the 'booths'; cows and water buffalo crossing the bridge of course - the guy walking them is behind them with a pretty small stick to keep them in order; Cham Towers - built in 11th century; the type of sewing machines all tailors use; 3 beauties on dress up day at the orphanage - once a week and the kids love it; the herbal pharmacy at the hospital/disabled hospital - pretty amazing to see and smell; a family of 3 going to work and school on the scooter!!!!

Tidbits from Tam Ky – today was a pretty average, normal day! Life at the orphanage was fabulous – massage with Son, lots of playtime with Tuan, there was a visitor from the United States – finally someone not from Australia!!! And the babies were perfect!!!

I’m sorry that the last blog posting was so long – will keep them shorter for easier reading. Just get started and can’t stop – kind of like when I’m talking!!!!

We had our afternoon meeting and they are letting us stay for another week.

Went to the disabled hospital and worked with 4 children – 4 regulars so it was fun and they are doing very well. Prior to attending to the children I went to another building at the hospital to take pictures that I thought might be interesting. First of all, there is a regular pharmacy/dispensary in the hospital – it’s not like one of ours but they have regular synthetic drugs. Down the hallway is the natural drugs pharmacy. There are natural herbs everywhere – in drawers, large jars on the counters and floors, large bags on the floor. The herbs are spread out on a piece of paper. When all is there the paper is folded into a square and tied with a straw ribbon. They are then delivered to the patients – how they ingest them I’m not sure – with hot water, food, ??? I know nothing. But it’s pretty darn interesting!!

A lady I met last night at the Economic Zone came by for a visit today. Her name is Yen (Ian) and she speaks very good English. She used to work for GVN. She’s quite a character and chatted a lot with Ms. Hanh since they used to work together. Will most likely see her this weekend also as we tour around the Tam Ky area.

Taught at the Home of Affection tonight. The little angels were squirrely! They had a special event last night with University students so they were tired and a little on the hyper side. I saw the backs of their heads more than their faces as they were pretty chatty with the neighbors behind them! Anyway, we did get through the lesson and I’m willing to bet that not much of the information will be there next week for review!!! They are still pretty good kids though – they’re just kids!!!

That’s it for a Thursday! More tomorrow as we sail into the weekend. Time is going so fast. Good night until next blurb!!!

Happy Friday – March 19th – spent the morning with the angels at the orphanage. It was dress up day again and they loved it. Back home and the weekend off. Julie and I went fabric shopping with Ms. Hanh followed by a trip to the tailor – Julie got lots of pants made. OK, I got a few things also!!! But they are for other people so they don’t count!

Just unwinding and watching a movie this afternoon – has been a busy week.

Just a few interesting facts – Children at the orphanage are wormed every 6 months! Also from the orphanage, when children turn 12 years old they are transferred to an orphanage in Hoi An. From what I understand it is not a good orphanage and that makes me sooooo sad to know that their future is not really looking up. At the Home of Affection when the children turn 18 and finish 12th grade, they are basically on their own and must leave the HOA. Most have no money, perhaps a family but not a family with a lot. What the answers are to these two problems I don’t know but it’s disturbing.

A couple of Aussie words: savory/appetizers; plonk/cheap wine.

Saturday morning started with sunshine and humidity – some things never change!!! The motorbike taxi came for pick up at 9:30 am. Off we went to the street markets on the way to the orphanage. They were very enamored with white ladies – there were 2 of us. Got 2 pairs of flip flops for 4.00 US. One of the pairs is like the ones they have here for only wearing inside the house. We’ll see if I can keep up that habit when I get home. Then continued on out the highway to the Cham Towers. They were built in the 11th century out of brick and no mortars. The grounds were a sight of war. The intricate pieces of the inside and outside of the towers were taken down in a 1989 re-do and placed in a museum on the grounds. Pretty amazing what they accomplished with nothing but bricks and stone and some random simple carving tools! OSHA would not approve of any of it!!!

Then the motorbike drivers took us out in the country – encountered a gentleman taking several of his water buffalo and cows for a walk across the bridge. One home had a cow tethered out in the street in front of the house – hay and all spread on the road. There are such a mixture of homes – the haves and the have nots – right next door to each other. As you will see by a picture or two, Douglas County is no longer the only home to blue plastic tarps!

Then spent 2 hours in the open markets in downtown Tam Ky. In the back of the market was all the ‘restaurants’ together in one big area. There was everything from noodles and rice to fish heads – that’s the part of the fish to eat – just the head!! Julie and I sat down at one of the stations and had some pho – noodle soup. It was good and spicy and delicious!!! I think I have this chopstick thing down much better than before – probably not the right way but my way! At the markets, bought some little gifts to give to the HOA children on my last night, another small suitcase so that I’m sure to have plenty of room when I pack to come home, a large amount of mangos, and a motorbike helmet for Randall because he continues to hit his bald head on the lift on the back of the GVN car.

Speaking of the volunteers – I am the only one that has not been sick this month. Ms. Hanh was sick one weekend; Julie was sick the first week we were here, as was Lorraine. Amber was sick last weekend and Randall became sick this last Friday. So, knock on wood, I’m just fine – I think it’s all the mangos I’ve eaten!

Saturday night took us to dinner at Mrs. Hanh’s home. Grandma came and got us a taxi and 6 of us rode in the littlest car ever to dinner! Was pretty funny how we were all piled in! Reminded me of the old days when we used to have contests as high schoolers to see who could get the most people in a Volkswagen!!! Anyway, we entered the front and there on the living room floor was a spread you can’t believe – greens, squid, shrimp spring rolls, several different sauces, rice paper to roll veggies in, a large bowl of noodles with shrimp for each of us. There was beer or pop to drink – I had beer! Every time someone takes a drink everyone holds up their beer and shouts ‘mott, hai, bai, yo! That means 1, 2, 3, cheers!!! We ate and sat on the floor all night. There was a nice couch but was just comfortable on the floor – we don’t need no stinkin’ furniture!!! Those present were Mrs. Hanh, her husband and son, Mr. Hanh’s twin brother and his wife and daughter, Mr. Hanh’s Mother and Father (our Grandma), and the 5 of us volunteers. Throughout the evening several friends of the Hanh’s stopped by with their children. Very friendly and nice. There was singing. Mr. Hanh sang a song, as did Grandma, Mrs. Hanh and me! Two of the children entertained us with some traditional children’s songs and dances. Was sooooo cute!! Mrs. Hanh then brought out her wedding photos – they were so interesting! 5 dresses – don’t get any ideas Sarah – 5 dresses aren’t in the budget!! All in all it was a wonderful evening and we felt so special to be included in their family meal!!

It’s been a good weekend around Tam Ky – Sunday will take us to the local lake! Miss you and love you all – take good care of each other – see you soon!!!

Weather change again - it's POURING rain tonight - March 17th

2010-03-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

The pictures are of craft day at the orphanage and Son in his sit up chair!! Big Boy!
Xin Chao! Most of you are most likely snoozing as I write this on a Tuesday afternoon. In my room with the double doors open, wind blowing through, and yes, my signature wet towel around my neck!! If I had to be fashionably correct here, I would have to go to the store and buy towels to match my outfits! But alas, fashion doesn’t matter as we crawl all around with the munchkins!

This morning took me to the Disabled Hospital to work with 8 children. Amber and I were kept busy massaging babies and helping with their physical therapy – remember they all get treated pretty much the same so it doesn’t take rocket science to figure it out. I could open my own practice back home if this was all there was!! A new young lady is there from the orphanage – Dyeun. She has pretty much been kept in a crib for most of her almost 3 years. She has been at the disabled hospital for 3 days now. She has a mother who cares for her and she comes back to the orphanage on the weekends. Dyeun has not had physical therapy to speak of so she cried a whole lot and really loud this a.m. as her arms and legs were manipulated. The last treatment of the day for her was a massage and she just turned into a dishrag with a smile on her face. It was very rewarding!!

Made a little shopping trip to the Co.op Mart which is their grocery store and a few shops. Still working on this filing system for all the worksheets so got more stuff for that. And then, I just had to look at a few cute, cheap t-shirts to go with my new genie pants and sure enough, there they were!!!! OK, now I’m done with shopping! If only I could smuggle a ginormous amount of mangos back home, my life would be fulfilled!!!

I have a Vietnamese cookbook so get ready for some yummy food coming out of the Mitchell’s house! After eating this way for 5 weeks it’s going to be really hard to get a hamburger or big steak dinner down. Meals are so light here, but very filling. I am looking forward to a HUGE glass of ice cold milk and Cottonelle toilet paper – there’s a combo for you!

Tuesday night – no one in Tam Ky wears tennis shoes. There are no dairy products here. Milk comes warm and you can put it in the refrig if you like or drink it warm – it’s called forever milk because it doesn’t spoil. No, I have not tried it. Bare feet are big here as you most likely know! They don’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day here – but the Aussies, the Canadian and I have reminded everyone to wear green tomorrow just to get in the spirit a little bit. We gave Ms. Hanh some green food coloring to put into the food if she wishes!!!

Had a small class of 8 to 11 year olds tonight at HOA. We have new translators that don’t speak really good English so it’s a bit hard to get stuff across but we’re making it! The secret is to have a snack ready for them, and have a word search puzzle at the end of the class, make them laugh a few times, give them a sticker and they are the happiest munchkins in the world – so simple!!! Are they getting any English from me – I’ll never know!! They do get it in regular school but from a Vietnamese teacher so the pronunciation is not usually correct.

Tin came by tonight – he’s the young man I communicated with prior to coming here. He has expressed an interest in doing a little volunteering for GVN plus I think he is pretty fond of Amber who’s going to be here for 5 months - they seem to get along really well. He is going with her to Tam Tanh, the fishing village on Thursday and they are going to visit the orphanage on Friday evening.

I didn’t go to the orphanage today as it was my optional day to be there. I chose to finish my project at the house so that’s out of the way and I’m happy to say IT’S DONE!!!!! But the good news is, the gang came back and said that my Bubbha Boy was looking for me and looked a little bewildered when everyone else showed up but me!! That made me feel SOOOO good!!!!!! Anxious to see him tomorrow!!!

Will add another day onto this blog. Did not take pictures today to go with it and tomorrow could be more eventful than today! Good night to everyone – just as you are starting your Tuesday! I love you all – I miss you!!!

Wednesday night – March 17th: The end to St. Patrick’s Day which means nothing here. However, we did get Ms. Hanh to cook green food for every meal today. So, we did a little celebrating – had a beer tonight but was regular color!!

Back to the orphanage this a.m. and yes, Buddha was glad to see me! We had tons of fun. Son, who I massage each morning, has some real skin issues going on – horribly dry skin. Don’t know what causes it – with his illness could be any number of things but I lotioned and oiled him up good and will do so again tomorrow. Today was craft day so they made paper bag puppets which were pretty cute. Will attach pictures.

Went to Tam Tanh, the fishing village this afternoon. I had 37 children and Julie had 42. All were really eager to learn. When it gets wild is when it’s time to give out a sticker – you would think they were being handed thousands of dollars. It’s exactly the same way when we hand out the fruit at the end of class -don’t know if they are really that hungry and are afraid they might miss some food or if it’s just their nature. The drive to Tam Tanh is very enjoyable, except our car is short on shocks that actually work – it’s a bouncy ride. We drive along the coast as we go through the small, poor neighborhood. People have very little as the fishing is no longer profitable. Randall and Lorraine are donating $1500 to sponsor a class during the summer for the 15¬-17 year old boys at Tam Tanh. They are working with a contractor and the boys will be taught wood work and construction skills 3 mornings a week for 4 hours while they are on summer break. It will give them a vocation that can possible get them to somewhere better and earn more money. There was a similar program last year for the older girls – they were taught sewing and were able to secure jobs in the tailoring field, which is huge in Vietnam.

The classes at Home of Affection were canceled tonight as the University students provide an evening of entertainment for those children once a month and tonight was the night. I chose to go to the Economic Zone with Randall and Julie. This is where people who have good jobs come to have a couple of our volunteers help them with English – comprehension and pronunciation in particular. It was very interesting. The professions represented were – a lady who worked in the office for a paper company; a lady who is an environmental scientist; a man who works in the mortgage/lending department of a bank; a lady who works in the PR department of a bank; and a lady who is an accountant for an insurance company. All fairly young. They were asked by Randall last week to bring a prepared paragraph with them tonight to read to the group then we would critique it and correct their pronunciation. It was fascinating to hear the subjects they chose to speak on.

The first lady spoke on the mental illness issues with the children in Vietnam. They were issues related to stress – parents are putting too much emphasis on education and having their children attend school for long hours 6 days per week. They are adamant that their children will go somewhere better than they did – in the meantime the suicide and illness rate is up among the children who are pushed so hard by their children. When asked what a solution might be the general consensus was that parents should listen to their children when they say they can’t do anymore at the moment.

The next lady spoke about customs. Every custom of Vietnam shows that people lead a simple life. Each custom stresses the importance of family in their social structure. The patriarchal joint families include four generations. The external matters are controlled by the men while the women take care of the household. (however it’s mainly women in the rice paddies) Children are supposed to live with their parents until they get married. It is their responsibility to look after their parents and they respect their ancestors. Custom in Vietnam reveals the modesty of the people. Loud body movements during interaction with women are considered to be impolite. They are quite serious about their promises. They use their hands keeping their fingers down. Although marriage and funerals have been their chief ritual, they now celebrate birthdays. Drinking or smoking by women are publically restricted. They smile modestly on being appreciated for something.

Weddings – the date is chosen by a fortune teller. The groom, bride and the groom’s parents go to the fortune teller and he/she tells them the best date and time to get married. If it works out that all the family can be there that day, it’s a go. The exact time is very important so nothing can be late. This practice is part of the betrothal ceremony. Some days before the wedding, the groom’s family will visit the bride and her family with round lacquered boxes known as betrothal presents. It consists of areca nuts and betel leaves, tea, cake, fruits, wines and other delicacies which is covered with red cloth and carried by unmarried girls or boys. There is the actual wedding ceremony. On the wedding day the groom’s family and relatives go to the bride’s house bringing a lot of gifts wrapped in red papers. These gifts are similar to those of the engagement. The persons holding these trays are carefully chosen and usually are happily married couples. Everyone is very dressed up in their finest. The troop is usually led by a couple that is most wealthy and successful among the relatives – this means to wish the-to-be wed couples a blessed life together in the future. The groom’s family will stop in front of the bride’s house. The leading couple should enter the house first with a tray of wine. They would invite the bride’s parents to take a sip. By accepting the toast, the bride’s family agrees for the groom’s family to enter their house. The firework is immediately fired to greet the groom’s family. The groom’s family would introduce themselves and ask permission for their son to marry his bride. The bride’s parents present their daughter. The bride follows her parents out. She wears a red traditional wedding ao dai, followed by her bridesmaids. The couple prays before the alter asking their ancestors for permission for their marriage, then express their gratitude to both groom’s and bride’s parents for raising and protecting them. The couple bows their head to each other to show gratitude and respect. They receive advice on starting a new family. The parents share their experience and give a blessing. The rings are exchanged and they receive gifts from their parents such as golden bracelets, ear rings, necklace…the ceremony ends with applause. The party takes place at the groom’s house – sometimes in these days at a restaurant. Guests sing songs on the stage to give luck to the bride and groom. There is a band. In the middle of the party the couple goes to each table to get good wishes, as well as money. Even if they have chosen to get married in a church or temple the traditions still stay the same prior to the actual wedding ceremony!

After learning all of this we went to the home of a lady who was in this Economic Zone group last year. She gave birth to a baby boy on February 15th of this year – the 2nd day of Tet celebration so a very lucky birth and baby. The baby is not named for a month. During the first month, the mother and baby do not leave the bedroom. For the first 3 months and 10 days, the mother goes to no social functions. Only family can see the baby the first month. There is no day care to speak of – family takes care of the child if both parents work. In this case, they do – she is a high school math teacher and her husband is a banker for an investment bank. They do very well and have a beautiful home – totally unlike anything I’ve seen since I’ve been here! We were served green tea which has more caffeine than coffee – therefore I’m wide awake for awhile!!!
That’s it for this installment! I hope you enjoy all the information – it just never ceases to be interesting here!!!

Just Pictures

2010-03-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

What the pictures are of:
Laundry day the orphanage - the front row is all nappies (diapers)
The pics would not be complete without one of Tuan (my little buddha baby!)
Lop on the keyboard during music time at the orphanage
Lop when he had to share the keyboard
Guitar Man
Truc and I - his story is in the previous post
Someone's home along the road to the Hoi An Beach
A new modern building on the road to the Hoi An Beach - right across the street from the riverfront property picture of a couple of days ago
A picture of Luke watching a movie at home - he's going to be a big brother!!

Vicki writing volumes from Vietnam.....................

2010-03-15T07:23:00.000-07:00

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Greetings from Tam Ky! Arose this morning in Hoi An – had a little breakfast – and did a walk-about! Ended up in the old part of Hoi An where the open market is. Was quite interesting to see all the food – garden goods and meat and fish! That part was a little gross but lots of different kinds. We have bigger crabs at home!!! We ended up taking a cab back to Tam Ky and it was nice to have the air conditioning – that hot humid weather is back with a vengeance!!! The towel is back around the neck!

Was nice to get back to the house – it just feels like home!! And the best part – FRESH MANGO!!!! I missed it so much – Mrs. Hanh cut one up for me as soon as she got here!!!

Got settled back in – did my laundry – hung it out to dry which I’m kind of enjoying. I don’t think dryer exist here - clothes are hung everywhere – big or little house, old or new!! Had a wonderful dinner again – the food is much better here than it is in any restaurant!!

Right at the end of dinner the electricity went out up and down the street! Was out for a couple of hours so we sat outside in the fresh air! The only lights were the motorbike lights going up and down the road!

One of the items that I bought in Hoi An was a collection of DVD’s – a little under a dollar a piece US!!! Hopefully they will all work. One store put them in the DVD player for me so I’m pretty sure they work. The other store didn’t. Now, just to get them through the airport!! Anyway, one of the new ones is ‘Life Is Complicated’ so we are watching it and it’s pretty darn good!!

Monday – March 15, 2010: Woke to sunshine and heat!! I do love my bedroom – it’s the best in the house – I have big double doors to the deck and three fans in my room – one on either side of my bed and one on the ceiling! I stay pretty darn cool considering the actual temperature!!

Spent the morning at the orphanage. Son had a good massage however he’s got a really bad rash on his face and upper torso. Hopefully just from heat. Played with the babies. The toddlers and elementary schoolers had music day. Went pretty well except there were not enough instruments for everyone and sharing does not go over well. So in between all the smiles and fun were plenty of tears. Julie will be purchasing more musical instruments and we’ll be making some with containers and rice – nice little shakers!! You’ll see pics of both happy and sad!! Pretty funny!

Took a nap this afternoon – didn’t intend to but it just happened. Then Ms. Hanh, Amber and I went to the fabric store – one of my personal favorite hangouts. I am having 2 pair of genie type pants made – just below the knee and 2 pair of long ones. The fabric is really light weight so they will be great in the heat with a little t-shirt!! I’d like to say I’m done having clothes made – so I will say it – I’m done having clothes made – but don’t hold me to it!!

The sight on the way to the orphanage that made me laugh today was a little boy with his cow on a leash leading him down the road. The cow and water buffalo are more revered here than the dog – there are those who actually eat dog but we’re not talking about that anymore!!! First of all cuz it’s just a bad idea and second of all because we have a little puppy that hangs out at our house – he lives next door – and the thought of him disappearing is so sad. His name is Bean. Perhaps there is a reason they named him that but I hope not – he’s tooooo cute!!!

Finished up my lesson plans for the week so that’s a good feeling. All ready for the little munchkins!

Had a great class with the 9 to 12 year olds. We learned all about opposites tonight and they did really well. They LOVE LOVE LOVE word searches and I had one with opposites – they were totally silent the last 15 minutes of class and wouldn’t leave when time was up – they wanted to finish it! We are still working on body parts too – there’s just a few that have a hard time with some of those. I scored with senses – they got it! And we’re pretty good on days of the week and months of the year. A couple of them have really good English. They all write down all the words they learn in a special book. Whether or not they ever go back and look at it I don’t know – but we review the previous lesson each time I’m with them. Lorraine made cookies with some of the kids tonight so the class had a treat during the word search.

I learned a sad story tonight about one of the little boys at HOA. His name is Truc. I never knew his age but thought it was around 11 or so. I found out tonight he is 16. Until he was taken from his home approximately 8 years ago, he was beaten and locked in a small closet all the time. The neighbors finally discovered what was going on and turned the parents in. Truc, of course, was taken from them. I’m not sure if he went to the orphanage first or straight to Home of Affection. Upon his arrival he wanted to be in dark corners all the time. He has blossomed. He goes to kindergarten classes as he is not developed at all – he is the most lovable young man there – always runs to greet the volunteers with a huge hug. His English is pretty good, what little he speaks. He always has a huge smile and is very happy. We took some clothes tonight for the children at HOA and Truc had on a red polo shirt and was showing it to everyone very proudly!!!

Home for the evening getting caught up on blog, pictures, etc. Early morning tomorrow at the disabled hospital as all the children usually get there around 7:30 am so we’ve moved up the time we arrive. Will probably have a houseful needing physical therapy and massages.

Life is still good here. Each day brings something new to my heart and to my eyes. These children are amazing in so many ways – the life they live, the love they get, yet lack a real family, the caring nature of all of them, and the love they give to each of us. As I have said before, we volunteers are coming out of here with so much more than we are leaving behind. Always know how blessed and lucky we are in our world and never miss an opportunity to see the world from a different viewpoint. And love each other always – never miss an opportunity to say I love you – and make a point to bring some happiness and love to someone – you never know where their journey called life has taken them.

I am not able to download pics at this time so I'm going to go ahead and publish this without pictures. Will do a blog of pictures only when the computer will let me do it - wierd connection sometimes!

2010-03-13T04:26:00.000-08:00

Xin Chao!!! Greetings from Hoi An. It’s Saturday night and life is good!!

Friday morning was spent at the orphanage doing our daily routine with the little angels! This Friday was special though – it was spa day! The children all got foot and hand baths. They were dried, their nails were clipped and then they were painted in the color of their choice! Bright blue and bright orange were the personal favorites for the day! The children love it and they like having the special attention paid to them. The mothers also got into the act by wanting to have their finger nails painted. The children also had head lice checks which came out clean!!! I’m happy about that!!!

We headed home for pho for lunch – most excellent, packed the backpack and headed to the bus for the ride to Hoi An. The bus is bright yellow and not very big. It stops a lot along the way. We didn’t have the pleasure of experiencing any live animals on board – the only thing besides humans was a fairly large compressor that was carried on board. An hour later we got off the bus in Vin Dien. Here we secured 2 motorbike taxi’s for the final 20 minute ride to Hoi An. Arrived at our hotel safe and sound. However, for some reason our room was at another hotel down in the center of Hoi An. The driver for the original hotel took us there – it isn’t as nice as the original hotel was but it was in a much better location. So, the total cost for the 1.5 hour trip was $1.50 US for the bus and $2.00 US for the motorbike ride. The hotel is $30.00 per night US – balcony, bath with shower and bathtub, 2 double beds, little refrigerator on the 3rd floor overlooking the interesting shops and restaurants on the street! Hoi An is very commercialized compared to Tam Ky. Lots of tourists – mostly Australians – I don’t think anyone is left in that country!!

Another Aussie word or two: bad person or troublemaker – ratbag; sweater – jumper; pharmacy – chemist.

We walked around the town a little and found a happy hour – 4 drinks band an order of spring rolls - $6.00 US. We had a restaurant recommended to us by a former volunteer. It’s called the Secret Garden. And it was really hard to find. Off a side street down a very narrow, dark alley. It opened up to a beautiful park like setting with tables amongst the trees and a large water feature. Beautiful bar and wonderful people serving us. And of course, next to us – folks from New Zealand – close enough to Australia to count as more Australian tourists!!! We had wine!!! It was a red wine from Victoria Australia and very dry and good. Julie had fish in a clay pot and I had shrimp with tamarind. Both very good dishes!!! Total cost for full dinner and bottle of wine - $15.00 each US. Not bad!!!

Slept until 8 am. Had breakfast downstairs then took off across the street for our 10 am massage and pedicure! The massages were wonderful – 1.5 hours. The pedicure was an hour and my toes look fine! Total cost for 2.5 hours of pleasure - $33.00 each US!!! Not bad again!!

We then headed for the beach – about a 6 mile walk from our hotel! Stopped along the way at shops and sights. Lots of touristy shops to buy things in and they don’t dicker with you very much. Actually some pretty good prices without bartering! Stopped at the first restaurant we saw across the bridge – it sat on a river and we watched fishing boats and fisherman in their conical hats going up and down the river!! Had a wonderful lunch of steamed rice with beef and vegetables. 2 beers, an order of fresh veggie spring rolls and our lunches was $2.50 US each!!!

Took a motorbike back to the hotel and just hung out for the rest of the night. We were both still so relaxed from the massage!!

Pictures - Silk worms working to make that beautiful silk fabric that's all over here; Alleyway to the Secret Garden -we were beig led there by a tour cart driver; Vietnamese lady carrying pots down the street they are everywhere carrying things to sell; Garbage day; Street cleaning day; Moving day; Someone's house; traditional Vietnamese boat on the river in Hoi An; riverfront property; riverview from the bridge; Beach at Hoi An - mats are rented to use for 1.00 US; Yes, we were that close to the bus while riding the motorbike back to hotel; fishermen on the river!

2010-03-11T07:27:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Tam Ky! What a great day this was. Not too hot – slept like a rock last night – finally!!!

When we were heading out the door to start our day this a.m. we heard a loud siren and looked up to see a policeman going by with lights and siren blaring – behind him was lots of motorbikes and some motorcycles. There is a motorcycle race that goes from the far south of Vietnam to the far north every year and this was the racers going through Tam Ky. They had a lot of support vehicles beside them as they went down the road. It was pretty cool to see.

Another wonderful day sat the orphanage – worked with Son and had him sitting up – he looked like such a big boy. It was dress up day at the orphanage. We bought the children new dress up clothes so when we brought those out they were SO excited!!! The old stuff had seen better days for sure!! You’ll love the pictures that I hope to get attached to this message. Had our weekly meeting and I guess I’m doing OK cuz I get to stay another week!! I rode on the back of a motorbike to the orphanage today – about 15 minutes. It’s weird – I won’t get on a motorcycle at home but love the motorbikes here. They don’t go more than about 30 miles an hour and they are the primary source of transportation. Now, if I had to drive one – that would be a whole other story – I’d ruin myself for sure!!!

Went to the disabled hospital and worked with 2 babies today – lots of massage and therapy. I am surprised at myself – I am so enjoying the baby massage – it’s so gratifying to see them become so relaxed during the massage. They are so happy! Both of these babies have their birth mothers with them at the disabled hospital. I believe they stay there all week and go to their home on weekends. Where those homes are, I don’t know.

Another wonderful day of good meals from Ms. Hanh. Lots and lots of fruit – vegetables and chicken and shrimp wrapped in rice paper for lunch and fried rice, cucumbers, tomatoes for dinner. Went to the Home of Affection to teach the 8 to 11 year olds tonight. Had 7 children in class and all went well. I didn’t have a translator tonight but did manage to get the lesson across to the children! We are losing our translators tomorrow and we’ll be lost! The Vietnamese teacher, Mrs. Hoa, that sits in my class, understands English better than she speaks it so that helps!!

At 7:30 pm tonight, Amber, Julie and I went to coffee with Tin and 3 students from Quong Nam University here in Tam Ky. The students are going to start volunteering with us on Tuesday of next week. We hope to have them be interpreters but their English isn’t quite as good as the last two interns. They are very shy but hopefully they will come out of their shell cuz we really need them!!! So, here’s what happened at coffee – first of all, they were big people wooden tables and chairs. There were 9 of us there. I had coffee and everyone else had either juice of the Vietnam type of energy drink in a bottle. The bill?????? $2.75 USD. The lady that waited on us was the owner – she thought I looked 42 so she immediately became my good friend even though we don’t understand what each other is saying. She sold me a bag of Vietnamese coffee and the little pot setup they have here to make their coffee. I’m going to give it a try at home – probably won’t taste the same. I hope to learn how to make a lot of this food cuz it’s awesome. But will not have the fruit – I’m SOOOOOOOO sad!!!

Let’s see – what did I learn about this culture today? Homosexuality is kept very well under wraps – if it exists, one would never know it. Mrs. Hanh barters with everyone for everything. Randall and Lorraine were going to pay 120,000 dong for a motel room when their family comes to visit at the end of the month – Mrs. H got it for 70,000 dong (about $7 USD). I got my new clothes from the tailor today – 2 shorts and 5 tops all made for 455,000 dong (about $25 USD). It is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that couples only have 2 children. If you are in the service and have more than 2 children, you are moved down a ranking. Whatever job you might have, you are taken down a notch if you have more than 2 children – not a law mind you, just strongly recommended, and obviously punished a little!!

Well, another day comes to an end. I’m doing wonderful and love what I’m doing!! Love you and miss you all!!

Pictures - Part of class at Tam Tanh; Me on the beach; Fishing boat on the beach - made of cane for ocean fishing; Motorbike race through Tam Ky; Son sitting in his chair; Dressup day at the orphanage; Do you just love Tuan's glasses - those are headbands that are pretend glasses also - the kids LOVED them; This is the street that the house is on- lots of businesses and folks live behind or above them!!!

2010-03-10T05:05:00.000-08:00

More tidbits from Tam Ky! I am pleased, excited, beside myself, thrilled and in awe of the weather today – it’s actually a little chilly!!! I’m in HEAVEN!!! The natives are all in heavy coats. I am not wearing my trademark wet towel neck wrap and no fans are on in the house so papers aren’t flying everywhere!! I don’t know what the exact temperature is but it’s perfect!!

Tuesday afternoon went to the Baby Orphanage to work with the physiotherapist regarding the needs of the 3 disabled children. I was instructed on how to take care of Son – the little angel that went to Saigon. I start each morning at the orphanage by massaging and exercising Son. He just loves it!! Then its baby playing time. There was a rollicking soccer game with the male adults in our group and the older children this afternoon. Was so fun to watch – the little people got a kick out of it also. Everyone was lined up at the entrance to the orphanage watching the fun! My little Buddha Boy Tuan was fabulous today all dressed in yellow!!! Pictures will follow!

The evening was spent at HOA. I taught the 8 to 11 year olds tonight. We re-visited body parts, spelling words, and I read them a story while they had a snack I brought. They did a My Favorite Things worksheet and I took each of their pictures to put on it so I can save that and remember all of them. Will do that with all my classes this week!!

Amber and I went to coffee with Tin, the young man that I kept in touch with via e-mail before coming here. Walked to a nice coffee place down the road and had a good visit. His English is pretty darn good – generally the people here don’t think that their English is as good as it really is. We talked about a lot of culture stuff regarding Vietnam. At the Beach, Vietnamese women stay dressed from head to toe. If tourists go to the beach it is deemed rude to just wear a bathing suit. A shirt and shorts should be over it. However, if one is in a tourist town and by a swimming pool, a swimsuit is OK. But, if you walk to the beach and there are a lot of natives there, it is rude not to stay dressed in more than a bathing suit. Tin is a teacher at Quong Nam University here in Tam Ky. He was born in Tam Ky. Therefore, if he teaches 5 years at the college which is in his home town, he will be given a piece of land for free upon the completion of his 5th year of teaching. He chooses the property of his choice. He comes from a very poor family. One of 5 children and the one who is responsible for helping to care for his parents. His younger sister is a student at the university here. Home to work on lesson plans with Julie and have a girl chit chat! Was actually chilly during the night – a nice feeling!!!

Woke up to the same kind of weather – cooler, overcast and a nice breeze. Fun at the orphanage this a.m. I spent an hour massing little Son, the sick baby. He was so relaxed and happy – we walked around the orphanage and outside which he doesn’t get to do so it was nice to spend time with just him. Then played with children and had fun! It’s very difficult trying to get the mothers to change their ways regarding feeding the children while they lay flat and continuing to feed them when they are fighting the food and full and ready to be done. They have been doing the same thing for hundreds of years so hard to change now!!!

Went to the fishing village of Tam Tanh today to teach classes. There were 2 classes with 37 kids in each of them. Was not expecting that many but it turned out fine. These are kids that just come to us for an extra English class but they love to come and they are great kids – really smart!! Stopped on the way out to see the beach and the boats they use to go out in the ocean. They are cane boats that don’t look like anything I would want to go out in the ocean in! They are pretty good size – the oar is hand carved from wood and very rustic. Looks a little scary!

Had a fun class at HOA tonight – we studied sports! It’s hard to talk about things like snow skiing, ice skating, and cross country skiing to children who have no idea what snow is or looks like!!! It’s hard to study the seasons too!!

Well, it’s been another day in Tam Ky. The time goes so fast – we see so many children – and continue to be kept going by hugs and love from so many people – including everyone back home that’s thinking about, praying for and loving all of us here!!! The children appreciate it too!!!

More later!!! Will do pictures on next blog – need to get this published while it’s still the middle of the night back home!!! Tam Biet!!!

2010-03-08T22:56:00.000-08:00

Greetings once again! March 8th is a big day in Vietnam, and other places around the world. It’s International Women’s Day! Celebrations started on Sunday night and continued through Monday night. We spent Monday morning at the orphanage cuddling and playing. We then had the afternoon off. Amber and I rode our bikes to the Co Op Mart which is the large grocery store. I needed some stationary supplies for my house project and for my lessons for the week. Got everything I needed and headed back to the house. We have visitors for the next couple of days from DaNang. They are working with some of the handicapped children here, and having meetings about several different projects. I’ve been hanging in my room cuz I don’t know anything about that stuff!!! I have big doors on one side of my room and they open up to a balcony and the wind comes through and it feels terrific. I actually don’t sweat when they are open! Still keep my wet towel necklace on though!!!

We dressed up and headed to the Home of Affection celebration for International Women’s Day. It was very nice – 2 hours long. There were two long tables across from each other. Some of us sat on one side, some on the other. The dignitaries were also sitting at the tables. Sitting on the tables were bottles of water – bottles that had been used and refilled with glasses to pour the water into cuz it’s not cool to drink it out of the bottle; plates of dried watermelon seeds; some very small green apples that you dip into a mixture of salt and chili peppers; a litchi type fruit; and a fruit that looks a lot like a pear and an onion combined – kind of pinkish white. You crack it open to seeds and a fruit that is just the same consistency as Styrofoam. I’ve found a use for all of ours that doesn’t get recycled – turn it into a fruit!!! Needless to say, I didn’t get chockers eating there!!!

There was an emcee that spoke all in Vietnamese. She called many people up to speak and they all spoke then sang a song. The ‘DJ’ was sitting in front of a keyboard with an old fashioned speaker sitting on a table next to him. He played some recorded music then he added to it on the keyboard. Oh yea, he had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth the whole time. Some of the children had a little fashion show – they are true runway material – did such a cute job. Then a couple of the children sang and did a darn good job. What did they sing about you ask???? Not a clue!!! But, some of the kids sounded better than some of the adults!! They take this singing thing soooooo serious here – tons of karaoke places and everybody sings whether they can or not. It was pretty entertaining and a little funny!!

Then we had prepared answers to questions that we knew we were going to be asked. Amber talked about what her impression was of Tam Ky. Julie talked about Australia and then the Aussies sand Waltzing Matilda. Lorraine talked about women – past, present, future; Randall talked about what he knew of Quong Nam Province and Tam Ky; and I sang a song about my country – God Bless America. The funny thing was, when we sang our songs – the DJ just started playing random notes so we would have some music. It made it hard to stay on key and I’m sure he thought he was doing a damn fine job accompanying us!!!

Throughout all this the children were exceptionally well behaved. There were adults spread amongst them and we’re all sure they were threatened within an inch of their lives if they acted up. They were all there to greet us when we arrived as usual. So cute and loving!!!
Following the program, a group of us walked about 10 minutes and saddled up to a low red plastic table with red plastic stools and had a little beer and peanuts. Warm beer poured into a glass with ice. Every 1 minute the lady came by and poured beer into your glass and made sure there was fresh ice in it. We all shared the gifts we were given after we made our presentations at the celebration. The classic was Lorraine who got a pair of pink underwear stuffed in a used cigarette package and wrapped up. I got a hair clip and a mask like the ones people wear on their motorbikes here. Julie got a hair clip. I don’t know what the rest of the folks got but the underwear in the cigarette box was the hit of the night!!!!!

Home about 10pm with lots of chatter about the day and night. Had a roomie last night – Jen from DaNang who is the manager of GVN house in DaNang and oversees all the placements along with Mr. Viet.

Tuesday took Amber and me to the Disabled Children’s Hospital to work with 3 children. A physiotherapist is here this week to assess the disabled children we work with and instruct us as to how to treat them when we are at the hospital. Lots of massage and exercise. They have very limited equipment but what we do does help – you can see change for the better over time. Before I headed into where we work, I went into another building because my curiosity took me there – and it was a building that housed patients. I would say there were at least 10 beds in each room and just a plain metal bed. Some patients had masks on and some didn’t. There were nurses and Doctors mingling about – no equipment of any kind present like heart monitors or IV stands. Would have been interesting to stay and watch but had to get to work. Will try to get pictures!!!!

Had another great meal for lunch – Mrs. Hanh’s pho and it was fantastic – a few different types of meat, shrimp, veggies and great noodles. Then comes the fruit – more and more mango and grapefruit!!!!!

Aussie words for the day: Rudgy didgh or fair dinkum – true as in a promise; rubber – eraser; redundant or retrenched – fired from a job.

I’m going to go ahead and publish this blog while I can get online! Will cover Tuesday afternoon and evening in the next blog to go along with Wednesday!!!!

What are all these picturs - Tau in her walker at the orphanage - she's our Down's baby; Son in his new chair - a happy boy; Baby Nguyen with dimples and a smile; Trock & I at Celebration; the table of food at celebration; lady singing in traditional Vietnamese oai dye (sp?); Me and God Bless America; GVN group - some from DaNang and some from Tam Ky; my new mask; Lorraine, her cigarette box and new underwear!!!!!
Love from Tam Ky!!!

2010-03-08T00:24:00.000-08:00

Gidday Mates! The weekend began with lessons on Australian words – they are a lot easier than the Vietnamese and a lot more fun to say: stomach full – chockers; candy store – lolly shop; beer or metal boat – tinnie; outhouse – dunny; tired – buggered or jiggered (that sounds more like what Joel is some of the time!!); morning tea – smokeo; contractors – chippies; food is always nice, lovely or beautiful; low life of Australia – bogan (my personal favorite); when someone screws up an order for food or photos or… - hey stuffed it up; baby – little poppet That’s it for now – there should be more with 3 Aussies in the house!!!!

Update on Son who went to Saigon for medical reasons – there is nothing that can be done. The Dr’s. said just to keep him comfortable and give him love. There is a Canadian Dr. who is looking at all his tests just for another set of eyes to see them but there isn’t a lot of hope. As you know, there is always good that comes out of everything – the mother who came along to care for him had never been out of Tam Ky, so of course never on an airplane, never in a motel. Needless to say she was astounded. Tiffany, the volunteer from here who majorly funded his medical visit, stayed with her in the room and helped her to feel comfortable. She was amazed at room service, maid service and air conditioning, and just being in such a big city.

Back to the weekend – Saturday was mainly a shopping day for everyone. We ladies cabbed it down to the open market which was an adventure. I was looking for a pair of shoes and a size 7.5 is pretty darn big in this country. Finally found a pair – a little cozy – but of course they’ll stretch?!?!?!?? They may not make it back home - $3 US and uncomfortable isn’t worth packing! Then off to the fabric shop! You might ask if I’m getting something else made – why of course! A couple pair of shorts, couple of tops and a nice outfit for dress. Almost free! Off to the tailors – went to a few cuz they all have a specialty. Looked through some magazines, picked out what I liked and – va voom – they’re done within 2 days at the most. Got back a dress I ordered and it’s beautiful! My expensive shoes will match well. Back to the house for a great dinner – squid cooked like I’ve never had it! Helped Tiffany wrap gifts she had for the Mothers at the orphanage then she and I stayed up til 2 am gabbing. I’m going to miss my roomie. For only being 30 she has led quite a life. Lots of travel, giving of herself to others, she has a great job, etc. She is heading south to Nha Trang (1 hour south by plane) to volunteer for 4 months in a Monk orphanage. My plan is to be there the last weekend before I leave for home.

Sunday brought the sunshine and humidity again – we can always count on that. Spent the day at the house, never leaving, doing some skyping and completing lesson plans for the week. My project for the house is to organize the mounds of paper worksheets that are in no order whatsoever and getting them into files.

The skyping reminds me of the one and only downside of this journey – I miss my family and friends!! However skype and e-mail make it a little easier to deal with!!

Around 6 pm Randall was asking for some walking partners. Julie and I volunteered, and off we went with cameras in hand. We got a short way down the road and before we knew it we were surrounded by 12 high school students on bikes and motor bikes.

Randall, who has never met a stranger in his 60+ years of existence, was telling them all about us, where we were from and why we were in Tam Ky. They asked us to meet them down the road at a park so they could interview us. They then took off and headed towards said park. We chose to go to the next intersection and turn around – not fully knowing about any park.
Now we’re heading back toward the house. We come across Karaoke night at a local restaurant – they are celebrating Woman’s Day with an evening of beer, food, friends and music. Red plastic tables and chairs filled the sidewalk.

The next thing we know we are being swept through the crowd and seated right in front of the singers. The singing is ove3r and Randall is given a microphone and pulled up on the stage/into the restaurant opening. He introduces himself then us, and now Julie and I are handed a cut flower and taken up on stage – the crowd stands up and claps. As you can well imagine, I am laughing hysterically, along with Randall and Julie!

They want a song! Well the 2 Aussies and 1 American open up with our own rendition of Tie Me Kangaroo down Sport! No one sings along but they clap profusely. We go to sit back down to a table full of food and beer (warm beer) and people crowding around to say Hello – lots of toasting, laughing and pictures. We stayed just a while longer – too full to eat and drink. As we got up to leave about 5 or 6 men lined up to shake our hands and take our picture. The whole thing was one of those ‘you had to be there’ moments. A young lady from the celebration followed us out and began walking with us, talking to Randall the whole time. She came all the way home and wanted to stay to speak English. Randall told her to come back another day.

Come to find out while we were gone 10 students came to the door together asking to speak with all of us here to practice their English. They know we’re here!

Well, karaoke night is over now back at the house for blogging. I wrote this all once and lost it so this is the second try. Tiffany is packing all her stuff to leave tomorrow morning. We only stayed up til midnight this time!

Would I do this again – in a heartbeat. Would I want someone to join me – in a heartbeat. I don’t think Dickster is ready to do this – maybe I’m wrong. But, I think the seat next to me on the plane here is empty for the next journey.. Think about it!!

More pictures - My bedroom; the livin/dining room; a view of the kitchen; me in front of the house; the fabric shop; pet chicken out in front of house,used for cock fighting - short a few feathers but still living to tell about it; Julie and I at our front row table at karaoke; our karaoke crowd (it's going to be hard to come home and look just like everyone else - now I know how the movie stars feel; this man takes his cart all over town to sell things and it plays Happy Birthday continuously!!

The Pictures Tell The Story.......

2010-03-06T05:39:00.000-08:00

2010-03-05T07:24:00.000-08:00

We made it through the first week!!!! Orphanage this morning for a few hours! The babies were lively as were the toddlers and older children. Today was cleaning day – all the laundry was being done, mats cleaned, cribs aired out, floors cleaned, etc. So, since the beds were mostly outside, there were lots of babies to cuddle! We took 2 new walkers for the babies so they got used. The babies love them. Also took some out for sunshine again. My favorite, Tuan (Baby Buddha) fell asleep in my arms with my cool towel on his neck and back. So cuddly!!

A great lunch back at the house – fish burgers – FABULOUS!!! Then she brings out Vietnamese Ice Cream – it’s the same consistency of a gelato/sherbert. It is a berry flavor and wonderful!!

Now – for my first motorbike ride!!! Had some shopping to do for the orphanage so Ms. Hahn took me out – she is the best barterer around!!!! The children needed some clothes for their Thursday dress up day, I needed some craft items for some of my classes, we needed massage oil for the disabled children, and I got some fabric to take to Ms. Hahn’s friend and a dress will be ready tomorrow!! Now – I purchased 4 outfits for dress up, approx. 5 yards of fabric for capes, some supplies to have at the house and also to put into my gifts to the children upon my departure, 8 hats for dress up, 2 pairs of long socks for dress up, a small bottle of baby oil – and I spent a total of $55.00 US. The motorbike ride was not bad at all – she can scoot through all the organized chaos very well!! It’s not a quiet ride – horns everywhere – but no road rage at all!! Everybody knows their place and where everyone else is most likely going!!!

A wonderful dinner of chicken rice and vegetables – followed by more fresh mango!!!

Over the last few months I have been communicating via e-mail with a young man from Tam Ky. He is 24 years old and is a teacher at the University here in Tam Ky. His name is Vantin Doan (Tin) and he came by the house tonight and we went next door and had coffee. He is one of so many people here who want to practice their English. He has a pretty good grasp of the language and didn’t slip up on too many words. Will practice with him again along with Amber who’s going to be here for 4 months with GVN and she’s closer to his age! His job teaching tourism to approximately 150 students – several classes per day – pays him $90 US per month. He is not only responsible for himself but also for his younger sister and his parents. His parents live in the mountains outside of Tam Ky and do grow some rice but it doesn’t bring in enough money for the family. All this is very common here.

Went on a bike ride tonight through Tam Ky. Amber was the leader and kept us from getting lost. It was very refreshing and enjoyable to see a little more of the town!!! There are not pictures with this blog as the computer seems to be acting up ad not letting me get to them!!!

Have a great weekend and always be grateful for all you have – you have soooooo much.

2010-03-04T06:17:00.000-08:00

Greetings from the hottest place on the planet! I have not ever sweat this much! I never go anywhere without a damp towel and at least 2 bottles of water. The only place that has air conditioning is the ATM machine across the street from the GVN house! Great place to hang out….did have to go get money today and I couldn’t wait to get there. Only 3 showers today and 3 changes of clothes.

We do have a washing machine in the house but the clothes are hung to dry. They dry instantly. Ironing isn’t an option so I’m a little wrinkled but it works here and in all the places we go, since there’s always children there!!

Big day today – took off on my own on the bicycle – to and from a placement. Navigated pretty well in the organized chaos of motor scooters and a few cars and bicycles. The bikes have no gears and a basket in front. The seats are a little low – cuz they are little here – so I feel like the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz when I’m riding! No Toto in the basket but he would fit!

The day began with breakfast and the orphanage. Today was the day to take the babies out in the sun for some Vitamin D. They don’t get to go outside at all so they loved it. Lorraine and I had that duty and loved every minute of it. I changed my first ‘nappie’ today and did a darn good job if I say so myself! All body parts were safe and secure! Huggies are more of a sure thing but non-existent here. Today was dress up day for the toddlers. They have a big basket of stuff to wear and have fun with that. The babies that are old enough for the walkers have fun in those. Julie and I each bought a new one for the orphanage today - $11 US each.

Back to the house for lunch and a meeting. Today’s smoothie for lunch was banana and mango. I watched Ms. Hahn make them – nothing but fresh fruit, a little water and ice. They are splendid!!!! We had the regular Thursday meeting and went over all the placements and how everyone was doing. I am the captain of the disabled hospital so it’s my job to report on those visits and make sure the toys and milk get in the Toto basket and arrive safely for the children! Mind you, the milk is not cold – it’s in cartons like little juice cartons. Can be refrigerated but usually isn’t – have not had milk since I’ve been gone so will certainly need that when I get back – Dickster, please have that in the refrigerator. Also, no wine here – so have that available also!!

My 2nd placement today was at the Disabled Hospital. Today we had 4 children. An 11 month old little boy with Cerebral Palsy, a little boy a little over 1 with CP, a 5 year old girl with CP, and a little boy about 6 or 7 I would say who is deaf and cannot speak. The three babies were in the physical therapy room and the little boy was riding a Donald Duck bike in the hallway. I did some baby massage and talked to the little ones then the deaf boy and I caught each other’s eye. We waved back and forth and smiled. So, I got up and went out in the hall with him. I ran, he rode. We played hide and seek. I got on a little girls bike with training wheels and we both rode in the hallway. His beautiful smile and laugh was priceless. He looked so happy!!!! We became best buds and look forward to playing again next week!

Dinner was served and fabulous as always. Off to the Home of Affection! My job was to take care of the children’s free time from 5:45 to 7 pm. It was a disaster!!! All I had planned was games outdoors which I thought would be fun. The children were 15 in number, varying ages, and wound up and raring to go!!! One of the other volunteers came and helped because he let his class out early because they weren’t participating too well. I have a very large group of kids who have a large range of likes and dislikes. So, from now on it will be a more organized craft type activity and we’ll see how that goes! They did me in tonight!!!

That’s about it for the day. It was another day of making children smile and happy during the time that I had. Friday is Baby Orphanage only then free until Monday morning. Will be doing some lesson planning this weekend and touring around Tam Ky a little bit. Sunday afternoon we take a rack of clothing to the Home of Affection so that the children can pick out some new clothes! Should be fun!!!

Surviving well. Got an audio play of Luke singing today so that was also a highlight! Loving my Skype time with Dickster and family and friends. And loving being here – sweaty and all!!!!!

2010-03-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

Xin Chau (Hello!) This blog will begin with activities beginning on Tuesday afternoon as we head to our first placement.
My first job was at HOA doing games – which includes crafts. We made fishes decorated with paper pieces, color crayons, markers and stickers. They loved the craft and even made other things with the colored construction paper. One young man made a picture for me – my first treasure. We then played Head Shoulders Knees and Toes a few times and our time was done. Was very fun.

Had a wonderful dinner again of shrimp, mackerel fish in a wonderful sauce, rice, and veggies which was more like a cole slaw heated. Was excellent. The fruit here is incredible!!! Fresh mango, pineapple, bananas, apples, leechi (sp), and watermelon. I have drank more water and eaten more fruit in my week here than I have in a long time!!!

This morning was 2 hours at the baby orphanage. I began the day with massage for a child with hydrocephalitis (sp) – the disease where their head/brain continues to grow. I don’t know if that is an accurate description or not but he is having a big day. GVN was told by one Dr. that this is nothing that can be done. Tiffany, one of the volunteers, fundraised for his cause and is flying with him today to Saigon Hospital for a second opinion. She feels strongly that something can be done. It was so cute at the orphanage – the mothers that work there gave Son a haircut and he had a brand new outfit on, new socks and a baseball cap. That is one of the pictures I will download. Anyway, he’s in for a big adventure today – if there is a surgery that can be done then there will be another fundraising effort to make that happen.

Then it was time to play with babies and toddlers – the older children were in school most of the time we were there. They just recently acquired 3 walkers which has been great for the babies before they walk. They just speed around among the toddlers and love the freedom. There is a downs syndrome little girl that I spent time with getting her to sit up and hold her head up and use her hands and feet. She’s pretty darn cute!!!

Julie, our volunteer who is a nurse by trade, is working with the nurse at the orphanage to help with sterilization, feeding, etc., to help them to work hard at stopping the transmition of illness a little better.

Now we are on break until our afternoon placement – mine is at a fishing village a ways away.

I have some notes that I haven’t taken the time to read so I’m just going to write some random stuff now as I go through the notes.

The only countries that adopt babies from Vietnam now are Canada and Italy. The United States has pulled out of adopting from Vietnam. The females here are covered head to toe to keep their skin white. This country – or at least this area – is like being back in the 1960’s. One of the items that GVN is in desperate need of is vitamins for the children so that is a little mission I think I would like to take up when I get home. Diapers are called nappies – they are large thin cotton handkerchiefs that are folded in a triangle – a washcloth size piece of heavier fabric is folded and placed in the center of the triangle. The two sides are tied together over the folded fabric. The other end of the triangle is brought up through the legs and tied to the original bow. Quite interesting!!

On Monday, March 8th it’s Women’s Day. The lone man in our house will be our cook! It’s a special day for women. On Sunday, March 7th, we volunteers are meeting with the President of Tam Ky. Guess we’re kind of special!!!!! Roses and Daisies are for funerals only – if you give those to someone it is bad!!!!

That’s it for now – next entry will be about the fishing village placement and teaching! They are just coming back to school from Tet (Vietnam New Year celebration) so they might be a little rowdy – will do something simple and fun!

What wonderful children at Tam Tanh. A very poor fishing village on the ocean – the children are beautiful, clean and so eager to learn. I had so much fun teaching them. They loved writing on the board, shouting out words and playing word games. They have a very good grasp of the English language!!!
The pictures are me with Ti and Son who is going to Saigon. Son in his finest for his trip to the Dr., my beautiful birthday cake, Mrs. Hahn who is our spunky fun cook and Lorraine!!

That will end this blog. Will start up again tomorrow! Dinner is cooking and it smells wonderful. I’m still loving this whole having a cook thing – and all healthy! Thank you for the many birthday wishes. What a place to turn 57!!!!

March 1st and 2nd, 2010

2010-03-02T01:22:00.000-08:00

Greetings once again! I am sitting in the living room of my new home in Tam Ky. We began the day with breakfast and some of the fantastic Vietnamese coffee – probably can’t replicate it but it’s the best!!! Orientation went well and we learned a lot about the program, how it came to be, and the lives of some of the people involved – they spent time in their lives in the orphanage.

We headed to Tam Ky with half the luggage on the top of the car. 1 ½ hours later we were in Tam Ky. As we were driving the most interesting thing was going on in the fields on either side of the road – there are many, many rice fields. The purveyor of the fields owns cows. They are out in the field with the farmers – and their job is to eat the grass down the paths between the rice paddies. Some were on a leash and some were just being led by hand! Cows here are not used for meat – just as pets. You can see them hanging out quite a bit.

The trip down the roads was just like in town – horns honking, cars and motorbikes all over the place, busses, trucks and a fair amount of road construction thrown in – you don’t fall asleep in a car around here!!!

The town of Tam Ky is nothing like I expected. The GVN house is on a main, busy road. Lots of activity around the house. Not quiet at all. But, very interesting and a great coffee place right next door. My room is upstairs and I’m sharing a room for the first week with a young lady from Australia who has been here for a couple of months. My mosquito net is hot pink!!! Mrs. Hahn, the cook, is just the spunkiest little thing and a fabulous cook. The first dinner was awesome – rice, tofu, cooked pumpkin chunks, Vietnamese spinach, a thin egg omelet – you have a small bowl and chopsticks and it all gets mixed together. It was very, very good!!! Following dinner was fresh watermelon and pineapple. The fruit here is awesome!!

We toured the house – everyone caught up on computer stuff and passed out for the night. It’s been a busy day – Vietnamese language lessons, instructions for teaching and dealing with the disabled children, and getting us ready to do our part for the month. It seems overwhelming just being told things without seeing what they are talking about but folks say not to worry – 1200 people before you have done this job, so can you!!! That puts it in a better perspective!!

The volunteers here include Amber – a student from Canada who is here for 6 months, Lorraine and Randall a retired couple who were here at this time last year and have returned, Julie a nurse from Australia, and for the rest of this week, Tiffany from Australia who is leaving this weekend after being here 2 months.

Heading off to bed so will download this and pictures tomorrow after a good night’s sleep!

Missing everyone but continuing daily to have my eyes opened, my mind challenged, and my heart full of stories of disadvantaged youth and pictures of darling children that will become a part of my life for the month of March.

Now it’s Tuesday morning – March 2nd. Just got the last blog updated and pictures added. I’ll tell you what the pictures are of – the little open market is in Hoi An and was across the street from the restaurant we ate at. The building is the guest house/hotel/hourly rentals place I stayed in DaNang. The bathroom is just that – but the whole idea that the toilet and shower are right there together is really interesting – it’s that way in every house!!! Eating noodles on the streets of DaNang – low tables and low chairs. The last picture is of the organized chaos on the roads of DaNang. I have now walked across the street a few times and lived to tell about it! The word is commit – you get started and just keep going – they’ll swerve!!! At first I thought I’d have to wear my bike helmet to just walk.

Well, heading to shower and ready for a day of some training and visiting!! More later!!!! Tam Biet!!!

It is now 1:30 pm on Tuesday afternoon. That is siesta time here – I don’t think they call it that but it’s what I know!!

We visited all our placements today. The first was Home of Affection. It is a school for kids – now they are aged 3 to 18. It is rather like a vocational/boarding school. Children live there but they do have families and go home to them when they choose – then come back to the school. It appears to be really well organized and well run. Will be heading back there tonight as one of my placements on Monday evenings is Game at HOA from 5:45 to 7 pm. We play indoor and outdoor games, do crafts, etc., just some fun down time for the students.

Next we went to the hospital where GVN finances the care of 2 disabled children. That was very hard for me and I broke down – the babies are just darling and so helpless. It was very hard for me to see. I do have 2 placements there a week so I will get used to it and enjoy doing massage and physical therapy with the babies.

We next went to the orphanage. About 20 bright and smiley faces were cheering and greeting us as we drove in. What beautiful children. They range in age from newborn to 10. The orphanage is large – well organized – full of ‘mothers’ that take care of the children and babies – not enough to cover all 45 of the children but the funds are not there to provide anymore help. The children are happy – this is what they know – they play, laugh, and love us volunteers. They immediately want to be carried, held, played with, etc. It will be a joy to play with them at least 3 times a week for 3 hours.

We then came back to the GVN house for a wonderful lunch of banana smoothies, and a wonderful chicken and shrimp broth with rice and vegetables – the cook here is fabulous. Just the idea of having someone cook 3 meals a day for us is wonderful. We do take turns doing the dishes and doing some chores around the house but we’re taken care of well in the food department.

Sweating a lot – this humidity is wild – it’s like a 24 hour hot flash!!! Hopefully this will get them all out of my system!!!

Closing now – will download another blog in a couple of days. Will also add some more pictures of these beautiful children.

2010-03-01T16:32:00.000-08:00

February 28, 2010
Sunday morning begins with sleeping in a little – sleep is rather interrupted – up a few times during the night just to hang out!! Got to the GVN house a little after 9 am – folks were wondering if I was going to show up for the day!

Had breakfast at a small place down the road – hungry for my first pho!! It is noodles in broth with vegs and meat. I loved it – so far my favorite food here!

Back at the GVN house and everyone was planning their day. Lots of folks going lots of places. 4 of us ladies – Riva, Michelle, Jenny and myself took a cab to Hoi An. It is the shopping mecca little town about 45 minutes away. The cab ride there and back was $7 US. We began at one of the local tailor shops and ordered clothes to be made. I ordered 2 pair of shorts, 2 tops, and a shirt for Dick. We then went out to check out the town. Had lunch at a nice restaurant – good food – Thai inspired. Found a shop that made shoes – oh yes, I jumped on that – 3 pair. Bought some souvenirs to bring back to the states and just wandered. Again, it reminds me so much of Mexico and their little shops. They call you in to their shops and they will dicker with you. They work so hard for so little!!

Now’s the time to get the stuff – the shoes turned out well. A cute pair of suede short boots, a navy pair of mary janes (with a flower on them), and a pair of slip ons that were made of tennis shoe material. Very cute – total cost - $54 US. Now for the clothes – this didn’t go so well. They weren’t ready on time – all the clothes are sent out to private homes to be made. Motorcycles continually drive up to the door to drop of items one at a time. Michelle’s were perfect. Riva’s were perfect. Mine, not so much – one pair of shorts perfect, one top perfect, one pair of shorts to large, one top to small, and Dick’s shirt just plane did not get made – still not quite sure why that happened but guess it was something to do with material. So, the shorts got fixed, the top is not perfect so didn’t want to buy it. Ended up paying half price for it to cover the tailor cost – not quite sure the tailor will ever see the money – but it’s water under the bridge. Cost - $60 US.

Headed back to GVN and went to dinner at local café with a big group of folks. Everyone is here now that is going to be volunteering in all the placements for the month of March. I met Amber, from Canada, who is in charge of our house in Tam Ky, Randall and Lorraine – a couple from Australia who were here last year, Julie – a nurse from Australia, and myself. It’s so interesting to hear everyone’s stories and what brought them to do this adventure. The younger kids are so taking advantage of all the travel opportunities – their stories are incredible as to what they have seen in their time here.

Long day in the hot sun and high humidity so back to the house. About the guest house – it’s the place that GVN uses to put up volunteers when there is not room for folks at the GVN house during transition of volunteers. There are quite a few of us staying here. Word has it that it’s also a place that is rented out by the hour to folks in need of a place like that! Haven’t seen anything kinky or weird and will be checking out today!!!

Next posting from Tam Ky and will try to include some pictures!!! So far so good!! Monday, March 1 is orientation all day then a trip south.

Life in DaNang......

2010-02-27T05:30:00.000-08:00

This blog entry will cover February 23 through February 28, 2010.
We spend Tuesday evening having dinner with our family. We had a wonderful Italian dinner in Portland, with great food, great visiting, and lots of love! We did a little celebrating of my birthday also which will occur in Vietnam.
Wednesday morning Dick and I said our good bye’s at the airport. It was really hard to think of being away from each other for so long. As I have said before his love and support have been incredible. I’m really going to owe him after this!!!!! My flight went from Portland (departure 6 am) to San Francisco for 2 hours – 16 hours to Hong Kong – 3 hours to Ho Chi Minh City – a sleep over on the hard plastic chairs at the outdoor terminal of the airport – then a jaunt of an hour to DaNang Vietnam. Arrival time: 7:15 am Friday, February 26th. Somewhere in there I left behind Thursday which I hope to get back on the way home!
I was met at the airport by Chau, a darling young lady working for Global Volunteer Network (GVN). She drove me to the guest house (sort of like a hotel) I’m staying in while in DaNang. IT HAS AIR CONDITIONING!!! Following the climbing of 3 flights of stairs with some heavy bags, we walked to the GVN house a block away. Had breakfast and a cup of coffee. At this point I thought I’d just go back to my room and go to bed. But the opportunity came to go to a placement where volunteers would be working with children and adults. I changed my clothes and what came after that showed me why I was here.
We went to a place called Social Protection Agency. It is a fenced in compound like area consisting of many small buildings. Within these buildings live people that are homeless, have been taken off the street, are disabled, or just have nowhere or nobody. The government pays a small amount of money for them to live there. They range in age from 12 days old to extremely elderly. The 12 day old little girl was abandoned in a graveyard. Her right hand is not fully developed – and it appears that she has down’s syndrome. She was brought in to be taken care of, and most likely live her life out here.
I helped with some of the disabled children who are probably around 11 or so, maybe a little older or a little younger. I was given watermelon to give out to the children. Following that, I took a young lady to help her brush her teeth. The water for all the children was taken out of a bucket and put into a bowl – the bowls were used by more than one child. Each child drank from the bowl, brushed alone or with help, rinsed and the bowls were used for the next person. One of the young ladies needed to go to the bathroom. One of the helpers took her pants down then and there and she relieved herself on the cement – not to far from the tooth brushing area. There were a couple of the disabled children who were tied to a fence while sitting in a chair because they didn’t stay where they were supposed to.
The children were so friendly and happy. They just wanted someone to walk with them, talk to them, and let them show you their little sleep area. The baby room was lively with about 10 babies, some just abandoned and some disabled. There were ‘mothers’ who take care of them on a daily basis along with several volunteers that were in our group. They had very few toys. The room was lined with metal cribs with only a blanket on the bottom.
Then it was exercise time for the elderly folks. We did a few neck rolls, arms up in the air, toe touch, hip swivel – just about 5 minutes worth. Then I led the group on a walk around the area – a little jog too. There was a pretty old little lady that jogged like a pro – she and I were neck to neck all the way. Upon completion, the ones who smoked got 3 cigarettes and one piece of watermelon. The ones who didn’t smoke got 2 pieces of watermelon. Houng, the GVN employee who was in charge said when there was no incentive to exercise no one showed up but this plan seems to be working!!! (sidebar – the little jogging lady didn’t smoke!)
We spent about 2 hours here. In the baby room, I fell in love with Phihong – a 1 ½ year old little boy. We played, went for a walk outside, he experienced the grass under his feet, watched the people and loved my necklace. He and I bonded very well!! I was attached to him immediately – what’s it going to be like when I’ve been with them a month?!?!?
We returned to the GVN house for lunch and rest. The neighborhood children then showed up to entertain us and play at the house. Several children belong to a lady who lives across the street and they spend quite a bit of time at the house enjoying all the toys that are there. They were lots of fun. Went to dinner down the street with 3 other volunteers – all who work in the DaNang placement and who are all from the USA. We had a very traditional dinner of noodles, meat and veggies – was very good. Dinner was about $5.00 US which included for me 2 coca colas and for the other 3 a beer or two.
Saturday morning began with a breakfast sandwich made by the lady across the street. GVN provided her with a cart so that she could sell her sandwiches outside her very meager home and make a little money. They were on FABULOUS bread about 8 inches long – inside was a fried egg and veggies. She then spooned on a sauce. They were wonderful. And the cost – about .50 US.
Four of us volunteers then ventured off to Marble Mountain. It is a mountain that is full of very uneven stairs, caves, pagodas built into the mountain, lots of buddhas carved from the rock and marble, shrines and lots of trees. We climbed through a cave with an opening at the top which led us up a rock path to the top one of the mountains. It was beautiful with the town of Danang on one side and the ocean on the other.
Our taxi was waiting for us and took us to downtown Danang. We went to lunch at one of the small street businesses. Another form of noodles, meat and veggies were served. We sat on very low chairs at very low tables and ate. A large bowl of these noodles sold for less than $1.00 US.
Downtown Danang reminds me a lot of the old part of Mexican towns. Families have their own storefront – it’s very dirty, crowded, and they work very hard for their money. They will barter with you, as do the cab drivers. There are millions of scooters and very few cars. It is absolutely organized chaos on the roads. I have never seen anything like it. It’s a wonder people live to tell about it.
The Vietnamese women are covered head to toe as they walk or drive their scooters around town. They wear hats, cover all their skin, wear gloves and a lot of folks period wear masks to protect themselves from the bad air and fumes. The women are adamant about keeping their skin white. They do not want it dark at all.
We then did some necessity shopping at a very modern 4 story shopping building. It is a big building with lots of shops on each floor, groceries on one floor, a movie theatre on one floor, and parking on the bottom of it all. I got a phone to use here if needed and to be able to call home. It cost me $30 US to get a phone and the sim card with minutes on it – still haven’t figured out exactly how many minutes I have but it should last me because I hope to use Skype most of the time.
Back to my room for some rest and clean up. It’s very hot and humid here – I have drunk more water on this trip already then I drink in a normal week! So far, so healthy. The mountain climb was good today – the food is light and there is nothing between meals. Have met lots of very nice people who are involved with GVN. Will be a whole new group when we get to Tam Ky.

Friday, February 19, 2010

2010-02-19T12:17:00.000-08:00

Well, have not left yet. So many things to do. Shots - check. Medication just in case - check. Clothing for LOTS OF HUMIDITY - check. Clean underwear - check. A heavy box of educational and fun stuff for the orphanage - check. Books to read, pictures of my loved ones, crossword puzzles to do, my Bible, my ipod, and........could the extra luggage cost more than the actual plane ticket?

I have heard from some of my fellow volunteers. There is a husband and wife coming from Australia who are in their 60's. They have volunteered in this placement before and have nothing but wonderful things to say about their experience - after all they are coming back for round 2. There is another lady coming from Australia who is just 3 years younger than me and this is the first time she has done anything like this also. The other volunteer is a lady from Canada who is already at the orphanage and I have not heard from her. So far, so good!

Dick is taking Tuesday afternoon off work to go to Portland with me. We are spending Tuesday night having dinner with our children, their families, and my brother and sister-in-law. My last meal in Oregon for 5 weeks is going to be Italian!! Perfect!

I have so many emotions going on in my head - I think I'll take a nap! So much excitement, some nervousness, and so many thoughts about the unknown that's going to be presenting itself to me!

Stay tuned - next post will be from somewhere in Vietnam! Leaving on a jet plane Wednesay morning - I think for these long flights the food is even free - there's something else to be really excited about - free airplane food!!!! I hope we still get those little tiny bags of pretzels!!!

Bye for now! Thanks for checking in on me!!!

Preparation for trip to Vietnam

2010-01-10T14:21:00.000-08:00

One of my dreams has always been to volunteer in an orphanage. Those of you that know me well know that I adore little people - they bring so much light to my life and always put a smile on my face. Children are what life is all about!

I searched the computer and found an organization - Global Volunteer Network - that had a placement that interested me. I am going to Tam Ky Vietnam to volunteer in an orphanage and a school for street children.

Tam Ky is located about 1 1/2 hours south of Danang. I will fly out of Portland on February 24th, 2010 arriving in Danang on February 26th. Somewhere in there I lose a day!! I will be arriving back into Portland on April 2nd, 2010 and getting that lost day back!!!

It has been an interesting process getting to the point of departure. I feel very safe and comfortable with the folks at GVN. I think they are going to take pretty good care of me! I don't know any of the other volunteers that will be there. We are being introduced by e-mail the end of January so will get to know each other a little bit.

I know that this adventure will change my life and open up my heart. I feel blessed to be going to Tam Ky and helping people who are not as fortunate as I am. I ask for your prayers for the people I am helping and for me. It always feels better to know that there are prayers being said!!

This would not be possible without the support and love of my husband and family and friends. I know it was a little nerve-wracking for me when Dickster (my husband) went to Mexico for 2 weeks with a friend. I can't imagine what it must be like for those left behind as I go to Vietnam for 5 weeks. Thanks to modern technology we can see each other via computer, as long as I learn to use Skype. For some reason I keep putting that lesson off!!!

So, this is the first and last blog until I am heading to Vietnam. More to follow as the trip begins on February 24th.