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!!!