Tuesday, March 10, 2015

I did NOT sleep well last night – tossing and turn and WIDE awake from 3-5am!  Not cool!  I think tonight I will take some sleeping stuff tonight, which will (hopefully) help.

After some cereal (Special K, just like home, wahoo) we were on our way!  We decided to take one stroller and one bag worth of stuff we bought yesterday so it was manageable to maneuver.  Sidewalks aren’t sidewalks..they are usually full of parked motorbikes or people selling items/food or (this is the best) MOVING motorbikes.  They could be coming at you, coming from behind you, coming out of a building.  Anyway, my point being that it’s not a place you want to be bogged down with things.  We stopped at the bank first to exchange more money after shopping yesterday and Mom has a money belt for when we are carrying larger amounts of cash (pick pocketing..usually via motorbike..is big here so you need to be careful).  She had washed her money belt last night but it was obviously not dry enough because the two hundred dollar bills she wanted to exchange were a bit damp and the bank lady was NOT impressed.  Luckily her supervisor said ok and we were able to exchange.  They are VERY particular about the quality of bills you exchange, especially hundreds (which gets you a better exchange rate).  We have to go to the bank when we are home and specifically ask for the newest $100s they have.

After a quick stop at the coffee shop (yay caffeine) we were on the #3 bus with a stroller and a bag of goodies.

I did not miss the stop today and this bus ride was more enjoyable so we were ready to rock and roll.  The ladies were very thankful for the medicine we brought and Thoung was SO excited about his new kicks (which weren’t new for long, we think the workers end up taking the crocs for themselves/their families).  I think tomorrow after our walk we will put Thoung’s crocs back in our bags so he can at least have them while we are here!

Oh AND Thoung was feeling MUCH better which was awesome!  Cap LOVED his watch and we took Thoung, Cap and Katrina out for a walk.  

We gave Bob the digital camera and he went to TOWN.  He had no interest in coming out so I will be interested to see what pictures he took while we were gone!

On our way out I was interviewed by some people doing a story.  The guys English was pretty good, they had a microphone and a camera and he just basically asked how I felt about the kids! #celebrity

So apparently someone took a lot of time to teach everyone Gangnam Style.  Cap LOVED listening to it and shaking it and wanted nothing to do with any of the other songs, so it was on repeat.  

Thoung liked playing with the iPad and Katrina just always wants to walk, so at one point Mom, Cap and Katrina went off for a walk and Thoung and I played with the iPad.  

Then we realized we were late for lunch (ooops) so we brought everyone back in.

There were some other volunteers feeding the kids I knew, so I kinda hung around the head lady (I will learn her name) looking confused (ha) in the hopes she would give me someone to feed.  And oh she did.  It was some green puréed nonsense (yuck).  

Here is a picture courtesy of Thoung (I gave him my iPhone to play with). 

Puréed food = tough kid to feed, so the head lady showed me that I had to hold her head back a bit.  I HATE doing that, but 85% of the kids would probably choose NOT to eat (I don’t blame them it does not look appetizing) so it’s a hard balance of not wanting to torture them and wanting to make sure they eat.

Picture of meal time courtesy of Thoung 

We were slow and steady (more slow than steady) and it was a HUGE bowl of green stuff.  Everyone else was done and had already started cleaning up when we were about half way done.  I figured at some point a worker would either come over and say we were finished or tell the kid to eat, but neither of that happened because she threw up.

Ugh I felt so awful!!!!  Here I was trying to make the poor girl eat!  The workers didn’t seem fazed by it (my guess is it happens often and probably to her) but ugh it broke my heart.  Since I was already sweaty and dirty some green puréed throw up didn’t really bother me (and she got the worst of it) so the workers helped clean her up and change her.  Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get someone with real food – Im 0-2 on feeding, George didn’t eat well yesterday and I had to be replaced!  #volunteeringfail

The kids then go down for resting time so we headed out, back on the bus and back to the apartment.  My shower felt GREAT, and my PB&J was delicious AND I took a little nap.  I felt like I could have slept for days but I only took about 20 minutes so I wouldn’t get into a deep sleep.

Our plan was to head out to the touristy area (our old stomping grounds) and all was going according to plan until Mom realized she had NO CLEAN CLOTHES!  What the heck woman!

So as I said I love doing laundry and did laundry today (especially needed after my feeding fail) and apparently since Mom was wearing her bathrobe post shower she didn’t realize she gave me ALL HER CLOTHES to wash.  Silly Mom! 

It honestly wasn’t a big deal as I was able to do a little blogging and the wash was almost done. After a quick dry we headed out to our first stop – Dairy Queen!  This is the first year we have seen a Dairy Queen so had to check it out!  They didn’t have chocolate ice-cream (#fail) but the cold ice-cream was SO good!

We spent some time walking around to see the Post Office they recently repainted (a pretty ugly yellow color) and then ended up in our old stomping grounds, which we pretty much decided we were glad we left!  Too many people, too much noise, too many bad, uneven sidewalks.  We did, however, stop at Café Paris to get some bolognese (they have the BEST bolognese, I know, I know #comfortfood) and then we explored the new metro area.  We have heard mixed messages on when the metro line is supposed to be finished (we were last here in Jan 2014 and they hadn’t started) but it looks like they have been busy!  The metro line won’t really have any impact on us for a long time because according to the master plans it’ll be 2035? or something crazy before they build the line that gets us to the orphanage!  But anyway it was really cool to see how much construction has been done and how everything has already changed!

As we were looking, Mom had to awesome idea to go to the top of The Rex (the hotel where the press conference took place announcing the reunification of Vietnam in 1976.) which has an awesome rooftop bar!  We often would visit with Jemma (we miss you!) and it was a perfect location as it overlooked the entire construction area.

On the way up in the elevator we met a woman, Nancy, from Toronto and briefly chatted and then after we sat down Mom & I couldn’t tell if she said she was meeting a friend or her friend told her to visit The Rex so we asked if she was meeting anyone/wanted to join us and she did and it was fabulous!

She’s finishing up a 3-week tour in Vietnam and decided to venture out on her own (away from her group).  She’s traveled a fair amount so we had a lot of fun trading travel stories AND she seems like a person Mom & I could totally travel with!  It was a beautiful night so we had a great time.  While I don’t really miss staying in the tourist area (and especially the backpackers area) I do miss meeting people (Mom you’re fab don’t get me wrong) so it was so fun to meet someone new!

We walked back to the apartment (10 minutes maybe) and I have to say I was tired and a bit sore!  You don’t realize how much the kids drag you, jump on you (Bob) etc.  Tomorrow Long is going to come with us to the orphanage so we are both super excited about that!

Monday, March 9, 2015

I passed out last night – although according to my fitbit only spent 4 hr 38 min sleeping and 4 hr30 min being restless – ugh.  The joys of a 12-hour time difference.

We enjoyed our cereal for breakfast and got ourselves ready for the day.  Our first stop was the bank to exchange some money as we were running pretty low.  We didn’t have to wait too long for the bus and this time I was ready with 12,000 VND for our tickets!  The bus was really hot (you never know if you’ll get one with some AC) and Im pretty sure the driver had his hand on the horn the entire time.  Needless to say my stomach wasn’t feeling too hot when we got off (we also missed our stop but mom was all over it and the ticket taker was very sweet and the bus still pulled over just a little late..oh AND I almost got run over crossing the street).  Needless to say I was good for nothing.  Anyway, the walk helped a bit and today we were in the Big Room as it was a Monday and they were back on schedule.  It changed a bit (just some stuff moved around) but nothing major.  The usual suspects were pretty much all there (we didn’t see a few faces but they could have spent the day in their rooms…we will have to wait and see). 

The best part was the head lady (terrible we don’t even know her name) came out and said, “Hello!” and gave us hugs, like real American hugs (NOT common in Vietnam) which was SO sweet.  It honestly is comforting knowing she is there and will help us out when we have no clue what’s going on.

The worst part was that Thoung was sick, or has a toothache or gum ache and you could tell he was crying and kept pointing to and holding the side of his face.  It killed us.  We showed the head lady who went to the medicine cabinet and made him what looked like alka-seltzer (fizziness in water) but not sure how much (if any) it helped.  Ugh it was bad. 

We took him, Bob and a few others (Katrina) out for a walk in the hopes that Thoung may be distracted and he played on the iPad for a bit, which I think he liked.  Bob and I listened to some music and sang a bit.  Mom & Katrina went for a walk and hit up the snack room (this is new to us).

Then we had to head back inside to eat, which is a crazy time!  A few of the kids can feed themselves, but most have to be fed.  In the group that needs to be fed, a few have puréed food (the workers always feed them) and then others have rice/meat in one bowl and broth in another and you usually feed them a mixture of both.  VERY few like to eat/eat everything and today I had George.  George cracks me up and last year he loved to go out in the stroller and dance! 

We started off strong with some selfies and Twinkle Twinkle.  We made it about half way through when he had had ENOUGH of the food.  I knew this wasn’t going to fly but hate forcing the kids to eat, so brought it over to a worker who was less than impressed and went back to George to tell him he better eat.  I felt like I didn’t help at all, but she able to get him to laugh and eat, so all is well.

During this time Bob was also hanging out (he did not want to listen to me tell him he should eat).  He LOVES to snuggle and I also got some kisses on the check.  My favorite, however, was the backrub (while quick) I got!  Nice work Bob, I could get use to this!  Bob also liked climbing all around as I was trying to feed George.

Mom spent lunchtime trying to keep Thoung happy with a cool washcloth and rubbing his back and rubbing his check.  Ugh it just kills me to see him like that, especially when there isn’t much you can do.

We helped to clean up a bit (the kids all have bibs that go in the kitchen to be washed, their bowls and spoons, etc.) and then the kids go down for a nap so we headed out to grab the bus back. 

We took well-needed showers and made PB&J (so good) for our lunch and then got ready to head out with the birthday boy!  For those of you who don’t know, I met Long my first year here when I took a city tour.  He’s the man and has become a wonderful friend over the years.  Today is his birthday and we are lucky enough to celebrate with him!

In accordance with Vietnamese tradition, HE took US out for a meal!  I could get use to this tradition!  We had a lovely meal and it was so nice to catch up!  

He then was kind enough to take us to the market so we could shop for the kids.  We are so lucky to have him so we can go to a local market (think wholesale).  We bought washcloths, clothes and crocs for the kids.  Crocs are really easy for them to put on since there is no tying, they don’t have to worry about keeping a flip flop on, etc. 

We also bought some special clothes that button in the front (rather than go overhead) for the children who have hydrocephalus, so we were pretty excited about that as the chances of that type of clothing being donated is probably pretty slim.  Finally, we went to the pharmacy to get some medicine for the kids and it was SO super helpful to have Long as we would have had NO idea what we were doing!

We got a lot of good stuff and are SO excited to bring it all to the kids!  And we really couldn’t have done it without Long!  Thank you Long!

Sunday, March 8, 2015

I woke up to a text saying I had already racked up $50 in fees for using my data.  Not cool.  So we spent the morning on “chat” with Verizon…apparently they don’t usually add TWO data plans to one account (uhhh yeah cuz most don’t have a mom as cool as me who goes to Vietnam) so the representative guessed the person was confused and didn’t add what we wanted to add (which allows us to use data, maps, etc when not on wifi).  Alls well that ends well (well, they WILL take it off eventually, Momma Wilson will make sure of that) and now I don’t have to panic due to my data usage!

I think we both slept well – I was SO tired that it was nice to be able to sleep in a bed! 

After we took care of the Verizon issue we got ourselves ready to head out!  It was maybe a 5 minute walk to the bus stop (same bus we have always taken, just a different stop now) and luckily it came right away!  The price has increased (as I learned when the lady looked at me and obviously wanted more $$) from 5,000 VND (or $.23) to 6,000 VND (or $.28).  It was nice that the bus ride to the orphanage felt a bit shorter (well, it was) and Thoung was right where he was waiting for us last year, on the benches near the front!  He looks the same, just taller! But he greeted us with a smile!  We spent some time looking at old pictures (with books we made from Shutterfly) and this year we also brought an old digital camera that still works since he loves to take pictures!  He thought that was pretty cool.  I think his favorite, though, was Mom’s iPad.  He absolutely LOVES trying to figure out the different games, which is SO fun to see.  Its obvious he’s smart and curious (ok, Im bragging) but that his mind doesn’t get challenged often so he really enjoys using motor skills to figure out the games.

Then Bob came over (Mom gives them English names if we don’t know/cant pronounce their Vietnamese names, poor kids are probably having identity crisis’ after we leave).  Bob has down syndrome.  He REALLY liked the music (we bring a little iPod shuffle and speakers). 

He was so funny because he was singing along with some of the songs (we have found Twinkle Twinkle to be a popular one) but then something amazing happened.  1. Why is gangnam style on our iPod shuffle and 2. WHO TAUGHT BOB?

Amazing!  Enjoy!

There are a group of boys who are orphans but don’t have any disabilities that are a handful, mostly because they are aggressive and don’t listen!  Thoung gets really mad when they try and play his iPad games and then I feel bad because Im like swatting them away so Thoung can play.  ANYWAY it got to be too much so Thoung and I went for a walk and Mom and Bob went to take pictures.  The orphanage is in the back of a Pagoda so Thoung and I walked around the Pagoda and then he likes to go underneath where there is a little pond and usually some fish in it.  We then met back up with Mom and Bob as it was time for the boys to eat and for us to get going. 

We got back on the bus to take it to the Big C where we have done some shopping for the kids before – but this time it was grocery shopping for us!  I will say, as my mother wont let me live it down – that my leg did get “stuck” in the door of the bus when it was trying to open up #embarrassing.  Alls well that ends well, as I still have two feet and two sandals.

We stopped for a quick snack at KFC before heading into The Big C to get some breakfast food (cereal) lunch (PB&J) and dinner (pasta).  We were actually pretty successful (as we have been many times we had a pretty good idea where everything was.).

We decided, if possible, to take a taxi back as it would be easier than getting back on the bus with all our bags and walking from the bus stop back to the hotel.  Luckily a taxi passed by pretty quickly so we hopped in and were off!

One of the main reasons we take the bus every day (verses a taxi) is the cost!  It costs about $.60 for both of us to get to the orphanage and the taxi ride (more or less from the orphanage) was $7!  Yikes!  So we spend about $1.20 a day and if we took a taxi it would cost around $15.  But, the taxi made sense for our groceries.

One of the best things about having a kitchen is being able to be “in” for the night (especially because going out is still work – not to get run over by motorbikes, not to have your purse stolen, etc).

I put on a load of laundry (love it), we took showers (love it) and made pasta for dinner (SO good).  There really is something nice about having “comfort” food (especially since both of us have weak stomachs). 

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.  One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.  As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean. He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?" The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean." "I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man. To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die." Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!" At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one.” 

Another year :)  I can’t believe it!  I have to say I actually had a hard time this past Christmas NOT being in Vietnam as that has become the "norm".  But here we are in March and we are ready to rock and roll!

I always debate whether or not to blog, as my fear is that I'm missing out on being in the moment.  I'm in Vietnam, do I really want to be on my computer?  The answer is yes :) I am no Saigon expert, but I feel less pressure to be out "seeing the sights" because I've been lucky enough to see a lot in and around the city.  I also realize how beneficial blogging is!  Not only for you, my reader :) but also for myself, as a way to decompress after a day at the orphanage.  It's also fun to look back at older blogs as most of it I honestly forget.  Well, not everything, like last year when mom fell off her chair and Cap could NOT stop laughing :)  But the little things.

But, alas, here we are again!

We decided to fly out of JFK this year – as it was significantly cheaper.  Well, it was until we decided to head down a day early!  We drove down to NYC Wednesday night after work and spent Thursday at the 9-11 Memorial Museum (a blog for another day) but I would HIGHLY recommend it.

Our flight out of JFK left @ 1pm so we basically just woke up and headed to the airport.  Mom worked her magic and while we didn’t get upgraded to business class, we DID get an empty seat between us.  I like the window and she always likes the aisle and so we usually fly with someone in-between us but this time we had the whole row!  Wahoo!  It really was very nice to have some extra space to spread out and not feel like youre gonna whack the person next to you.  I normally try to sleep on the long haul (if nothing else to pass the time) but I really wasn’t that tired so I watched “Boyhood” “The Good Lie” and “Paddington” all good flicks if you’re looking for something!  I did sleep a bit, but it was still a looooong flight.

Our layover was in Seoul (I don’t think I have ever flown thru there) as evident when I made us walk in the completely wrong direction.  Oooops.  So I am the direction lady when we travel, and our boarding pass said gate 39 but when we looked at the massive departure board it said 22.  Apparently knowing your departure time and flight number is important.  We were NOT leaving @ 715 so NOT leaving out of gate 22.  Ooops.  Luckily we had plenty of time so made it to our gate with plenty of time to spare. 

Our flight to HCMC was delayed, maybe about an hour? after we were already on since “there were so many flights leaving at the same time” said our Captain.  One the one hand, what’s another hour when you’re traveling for 24, but in actuality, its another hour.  Ugh.  LUCKILY we again had an empty seat between us so we could spread out.  I stayed awake for the meal (obvi) and then passed out.  Literally could not keep my eyes open type of sleep.

We tried to book it off the plane, as we needed to get our visa on arrival.  You can send in your paperwork to the consulate beforehand but its significantly more expensive and we have done it on arrival the past few years so have it down pat.

Luckily we were third in line and turned in our paperwork, pictures, passports and money and only had to wait about 10 minutes (may be record time) to receive our visa.  After passing thru passport control we headed down the escalators and I gasped in excitement as I saw our strollers on the carousel.

So the strollers.  As many of you know, the majority of the kids at the orphanage cannot walk in their own.  The first year I was here (with the help of another volunteer who spoke Vietnamese) I bought strollers and brought them to the orphanage. It was awesome, as now you can take one of the few who can walk and a kid in a stroller and go outside (they LOVE IT).  However, strollers are a luxury item in Vietnam, meaning you have to go to a special store and it can cost a few hundred dollars for a simple umbrella stroller (which in the states should cost less than $100).  Two years ago I bought strollers here (so now there’s about 4 at the orphanage) however since you are going over uneven ground they get really beat up.  Long story long, I really felt it on my heart to bring strollers this year.  After some research, Mom & I each had two checked bags with our ticket, so decided we would each “check” a stroller.  I ordered two umbrella strollers off amazon (my roommates had a good laugh when the UPS guy dropped them off at our apartment) but then we had to figure out how best to transport them.  At first gate checking them seemed like a good idea, although I wondered if we would be questioned “Uhhh where are your two kids?” and since we could check them for free that seemed like the way to go.  I did order two bags for them just so they would be covered, but was honestly a bit nervous when we arrived at the airport (getting there was interesting as well, as we each had a checked bag, a stroller, a carry on and a backpack) but we made it!  Luckily it wasn’t a problem at all and they put them in a bigger plastic bag and off they went!

SO, we got the strollers (and our other bags arrived too, success) and headed out.  Getting a taxi from the airport can be a hassle.  You have to be very careful to use one of two companies (even locals don’t use the others) so you don’t get scammed and it can be a hassle to get the good ones!  So we booked an airport pick up from our hotel, which was SO worth the extra money.  After traveling for over 24 hours it was really nice to come out and have someone waiting to whisk you away (safely).

Another big change this year is that we switched hotels!  We really liked the hotel we had been using, but this year mom upgraded us to an apartment.  BEST.MOVE.EVER.  The place is awesome.  The idea was that we would each have our own bedroom (I am a SUPER light sleeper) and have a kitchen area so we wouldn’t have to eat out every meal (it gets old).  AND its about 10 minutes closer to the orphanage so we shave off a few bus stops.  While it’s really bigger than we need, its perfect.  It has a kitchen (so we can eat cereal, make PB&Js and have pasta for dinner) a living room and a dining room (open floor plan, only the best for us).  One bedroom has a king and the other has two full beds.  One bathroom has a tub and the other a shower stall and, wait for it, A WASHER/DRYER!  True story I absolutely LOVE doing laundry and there’s no place I would rather do it than in Vietnam (our clothes are disgusting at the end of the day).  So I am super excited about that!  It’s like we live here now!