We made it home Wed 5 pm. All our flights were on time and the luggage was where is should be. It didn't even take long to get our luggage. We left Vietnam 11:30 PM, arrived in Seoul, South Korea at 5:30 am. That flight was a tough one. For some reason I could not sleep well. I was expecting to fall asleep quickly and wake up when we got there. I was in the middle seat of three so It was difficult to get comfortable. We took as nice comfy nap on the chairs in Seoul. Not too many people around that time of the morning. The bathrooms were so clean. They even had soap and paper towels in teh bathrooms. The little things that make a differance.
Our 13 1/2 hr flight from Seoul to Washington D.C. was much more comfortable. First of all it may have been because we were not expecting to sleep, but the turn down the lights and close the windows so it is easier to watch movies. We were in the last row of the middle section, and there were only 2 seats...freedom to move at our wish made a differance. We had drinks and snack one hr into the flight, followed by lunch. It was chicken, mashed potatoes, salad and chocolate chip cake. We had a snack at 5 pm and then drinks and dinner around 7 pm. Our last meal was cold noodles with lettuce, cabbage, mystery and spicey hot sauce to put on top....our last meal was truely Asian!! It was wild seeing the sun set about 3 pm, Vietnam time. We missed the sun rise when we were over the Rockies. Our last flight from Washington to Newark was my least favorite flight. There were only 35 people on this little plane, it was warm in the cabin and my air jet was stuck in a position that did not give me much air. We experienced a fair amount of air turbulance. We did get the see the Statue of Liberty as we were coming in. Actually Randy, Claire and Kallie only had to circle the parking area once before we were ready to be picked up at the curb. ...Pretty good!!!! We talked most of the way home and fussed over Kallie. I was anxious to see the 3 week old puppies.
We completed our 27 day journey in Vietnam....However, we did have some activities still on our "to do " list. We did not see the Cycle Cafe, we did not get a second motorbike ride, Allison did not get to see Sappa or Hoi An (city in middle of Vietnam) which resembles Europe. I should have picked up a few more souvenirs. It is hard to decide how many to bring back. We also did not get a traffic picture to our liking...maybe only the people experience it can get the full effect. Lastly, I am waiting till now to mention this becasue I did not our friends to worry. I noticed many fire extinguishers. Initially it made me feel comfortable in a place where safety standards are not similar to the US. The next day I realized there was no sprinkler system in our 6 sory hotel, only hand opperated fire extinguishers.
Thursday, I started cleaning the house the way I like it done. I also went to the grocery store. Poor Claire and Randy had bearly any food. I should cut them abreak. They were busy building a fence for the puppies and taking cared of them. They are really cut now!!! Give us a call if you would like to come and see than. Call any time!!
More to come.
7.22.2010
7.20.2010
Last Day
We enjoyed one final, lovely day in the bustling city of Hanoi. After lunch, mom and I took a motorbike to the Vietcom Tower. It was an even better mall than the one that we have close to the lake! There were 6 stories - whoa! We went up to the Movieplex Cinema on the 6th floor. Knight and Day, The Karate Kid, and Eclipse were playing. We ended up seeing Knight and Day for 70,000 dong ($3.50!). The price sure beats prices in the states! I really don't know how long it's been since I've actually seen a movie in the U.S. just because they're so darn expensive. The movie theater itself was similar to ours...there were two popcorn stands (one for sweet, one for salty) and a little coffee cafe. I was surprised that our seats were assigned in the theater; however, other than that, everything was normal. The movie was in English and there were Vietnamese subtitles at the bottom. All in all, it was a nice little cultural experience! We grabbed a bite to eat afterwards and then wandered back to the Old Quarter.
I'm hoping to get some pictures of the lake all lit up before we leave for the airport at 8:30. I also need to pick up some Hello Panda's to bring home. They're biscuits with chocolate inside and they are AMAZING. I can't imagine my life without them, so I'm hoping to find some at the Asian mart back in good old Exton, PA. Ok - that's a wrap! We'll do another post once we get home with a bunch of random pictures that haven't quite made it up on the blog. Thanks for following our adventures! :)
Goodbye, Vietnam.
7.19.2010
Allison and I have different plans today
Allison went to the Perfume Pagoda on a tour today. She will write about it, but i will tell you how it got its name....I have been very curious...Years ago lots of insence was burned there all the time.
So I just relaxed this morning...even took a morning nap. This traveling and heat makes a person tired. At lunch time I went back to the Best Burger in South East Asia place. It is owned by a man from New Mexico. I had a wonderful burger and salad. The tomatoes and cucumbers and special dressing were wonderful.
Next I had control of the map so I set off for our first Guest house. I found it without getting lost. They were so happy to see me. They really were very hospitable. She offered me water and then tea. She was not busy so we talked. I asked her about her perceptions of USA. She has no hard feelings. I asked her what her parents thought and she said they said the 60's and 70's were a difficult time. She is only 23 years old. I was in highschool when the war finally ended, and as a teen I did not pay much attention to it, but I know other American were very upset about what was happening.
Next I got my map out again and headed out for Hai Lo prison, where many American pilots and John McCain were held hostage. The streets are not symetrical here and all the street names sound similar and change every 4 blocks or so. I found it!! without getting lost!!! I felt nervous to go in. It cost $0.50. Not many other people were going in. Naturally there was not much to see, it was a prison....I felt odd the whole time I was in there. I was thinking of American being there for years. They did have a picture of John McCain visiting it in 2000. There was also a picture of Clinton and Bush visting Vietnam leaders. The one room that really moved me was one specific to the American Air Pilots that were shot down. They had lots of pictures of their final release in Feb 1973 or 1974. I just could not imagine. Apparently John McCain was here for 5 1/2 years. Hard to imagine.
I also passed the local hospital. I am sure glad I did not need to visit it. I saw open windows and white lab coats drying on a clothes line. There was a big sign by the street with about 32 gorey pictures of limbs that needed surgical repair. It was advertising that they do a good job there. It was not a sign we would see in the USA. The outside of the building was yellow, the color used for important buildings in Vietnam. Glad they have one, but it did not look inviting to me.
I found my way back to the hotel after finding my way back to Hoan Kiem Lake. We need to put up some pics of the lake. It is quite pretty in the middle of all this traffic. DID YOU SEE THE PIC of me at Mai Chao standing in the street with a mountain behind me AND I was carrying a 1500ml and 500 ml water bottle. I was happy to see bottled water is easily available, even though it cost $0.50 for a large (1.5L) water bottle. We have also eaten lots of local food, even though we were advised not to. Not sure why we went to the travel clinic, the typhoid shot was the only advice I am following. I got sick on the anti malaria med, and Mai Chau was just on the border of affected areas. Allison is taking it becasue she wanted to go to remote Sapa.
Al will post about Perfume Pagoda. Tomorrow we leave at 11:30 pm...that is 12:30 pm on Tues for USA. I am starting my personal fairwell to Vietnam. It has been a good adventure.
So I just relaxed this morning...even took a morning nap. This traveling and heat makes a person tired. At lunch time I went back to the Best Burger in South East Asia place. It is owned by a man from New Mexico. I had a wonderful burger and salad. The tomatoes and cucumbers and special dressing were wonderful.
Next I had control of the map so I set off for our first Guest house. I found it without getting lost. They were so happy to see me. They really were very hospitable. She offered me water and then tea. She was not busy so we talked. I asked her about her perceptions of USA. She has no hard feelings. I asked her what her parents thought and she said they said the 60's and 70's were a difficult time. She is only 23 years old. I was in highschool when the war finally ended, and as a teen I did not pay much attention to it, but I know other American were very upset about what was happening.
Next I got my map out again and headed out for Hai Lo prison, where many American pilots and John McCain were held hostage. The streets are not symetrical here and all the street names sound similar and change every 4 blocks or so. I found it!! without getting lost!!! I felt nervous to go in. It cost $0.50. Not many other people were going in. Naturally there was not much to see, it was a prison....I felt odd the whole time I was in there. I was thinking of American being there for years. They did have a picture of John McCain visiting it in 2000. There was also a picture of Clinton and Bush visting Vietnam leaders. The one room that really moved me was one specific to the American Air Pilots that were shot down. They had lots of pictures of their final release in Feb 1973 or 1974. I just could not imagine. Apparently John McCain was here for 5 1/2 years. Hard to imagine.
I also passed the local hospital. I am sure glad I did not need to visit it. I saw open windows and white lab coats drying on a clothes line. There was a big sign by the street with about 32 gorey pictures of limbs that needed surgical repair. It was advertising that they do a good job there. It was not a sign we would see in the USA. The outside of the building was yellow, the color used for important buildings in Vietnam. Glad they have one, but it did not look inviting to me.
I found my way back to the hotel after finding my way back to Hoan Kiem Lake. We need to put up some pics of the lake. It is quite pretty in the middle of all this traffic. DID YOU SEE THE PIC of me at Mai Chao standing in the street with a mountain behind me AND I was carrying a 1500ml and 500 ml water bottle. I was happy to see bottled water is easily available, even though it cost $0.50 for a large (1.5L) water bottle. We have also eaten lots of local food, even though we were advised not to. Not sure why we went to the travel clinic, the typhoid shot was the only advice I am following. I got sick on the anti malaria med, and Mai Chau was just on the border of affected areas. Allison is taking it becasue she wanted to go to remote Sapa.
Al will post about Perfume Pagoda. Tomorrow we leave at 11:30 pm...that is 12:30 pm on Tues for USA. I am starting my personal fairwell to Vietnam. It has been a good adventure.
7.18.2010
Updates
We finally had the chance to upload pics to old posts (Mai Chau and more)…scroll back through to check them out! Only 2 more days to check everything off our Vietnam to-do list…
FYI - There’s a small section about volunteering in the Southeast Asia Lonely Planet…and guess what one of the recommendations is?! You got it, Friendship Village. It’s a bigger deal than we realized! If you want to find out more info, check out their link: http://www.vietnamfriendship.org/ (seems a little outdated…)
FYI - There’s a small section about volunteering in the Southeast Asia Lonely Planet…and guess what one of the recommendations is?! You got it, Friendship Village. It’s a bigger deal than we realized! If you want to find out more info, check out their link: http://www.vietnamfriendship.org/ (seems a little outdated…)
Sunday-day after the tropical storm
You will be happy to know the storm was a bust here in Hanoi. It did hit the coast really really hard. All of the Ha Long Bay trips were cancelled this weekend. We only got winds and a little rain. Apparently we still have chance of thunderstorms for the next few days.
We got up this morning and I chatted with Randy, Claire and Gma on gmail. We also saw more videos of the pups. Randy has now built a 8ft x 8ft wodden playpen in the basement for them. They are climbing out of the whelping box regularly. They were born June 25 so I think that makes them 2 1/2 weeks old now. Their eyes did not open until day 10 0r 11. They are really cute. Claire has some nice pictures on Facebook. We wish we could be there. We will be there in a few days. We leave here Tues July 20 and fly into Newark July 21 about 3:30pm
Today Allison and I ventured out to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. We had seen it on the second day with a mini bus supplied city tour; however, we did not get to see his body. It was closed to visitiation on Mondays and Fridays. We walked about 45 minutes with our map and newly found Vietnam street crossing skills. We successfully crossed many intersections on foot!!! It is still humid, so we were tired till we got there. We had to go through security and they took my water bottle, flashlight from my purse, and Allison's camera. The line actually went very quickly. We walked along the outside and up into the mausoleum. We were not sure what to expect. We passed many guards with some sort of long weapon. I did not want to look too close. One must be properly dressed to enter the musoleum. We both had on skirts to our knees and I had a jacket to cover my shoulders. Allison had a sleeved T-shirt. The guards pulled an 8 year old boy and his mom out of line in front of us. I am not exactly sure why, but it may be becasue his shorts were not quite to his knees or his sandals were floppy and unsecured in the back. We walked in and around a corner and up more stairs, wondering what to expect. We entered the room where the preserved body is in a glass case so one can see him, like at a funeral viewing. The room was darkened, but a light was on inside the case on his face. We walked three sides around his body and exited, no stopping; the line was continuous. The whole process is very efficient...we were a little worried when we saw the long line outside the mausoleum as we approched. It did not take more than 10 minutes in the line outside and inside. Apparently he wanted to be creamated, so it is interesting his body continues to be on display. We did walk throgh the remainder of the palace grounds 2 weeks ago, so we did not do it again. They were pretty but not elaborate.
Next we set out for Smile Cafe. We found it in the Southeast Asia Lonely Planet book. It is a cafe that is run by disadvantaged children. Isn't that a cool idea??? It was small, like most cafes, only 4 tables. We had very good friendly service starting with a cool mint washcloth. Allison thought she was getting chocolate cheesecake, but it looked like cheesecake but was only bi colored cake. It was good. I got pumpkin and shrimp soup. They must have cooked the raw pumpkin after I ordered because it took 20 min to come, but it was very tasty. I could tell it had natural flavorings.
Next we set out for Bookworm bookstore that was also described in the lonely planet. I must compliment Allison on her map skills. We did not get lost and these streets and not all symetrical. The bookstore was disappointing, since it was only used books and not very big.
Now we are whimpy. We took a cab back to the hotel for 30,000dong-1.50$ We took a little nap and then went back to the Best Burger in Asia restaurant. Al got smoked chicken salad and I got nachos with black beans and salsa....I have been missing cheese in my meals here. I think the nachos were home made. The salsa was a bit hot for me, but it was good. Now we are back at the hotel for a mid afternoon longer siesta. Hopefully Al can get some pictures on our blog today.
We will be home soon....pupppies are missing us, and I think Randy wants some help too!! Ben is almost finished with his internship at Long Beach Island. He says it was good.
We got up this morning and I chatted with Randy, Claire and Gma on gmail. We also saw more videos of the pups. Randy has now built a 8ft x 8ft wodden playpen in the basement for them. They are climbing out of the whelping box regularly. They were born June 25 so I think that makes them 2 1/2 weeks old now. Their eyes did not open until day 10 0r 11. They are really cute. Claire has some nice pictures on Facebook. We wish we could be there. We will be there in a few days. We leave here Tues July 20 and fly into Newark July 21 about 3:30pm
Today Allison and I ventured out to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. We had seen it on the second day with a mini bus supplied city tour; however, we did not get to see his body. It was closed to visitiation on Mondays and Fridays. We walked about 45 minutes with our map and newly found Vietnam street crossing skills. We successfully crossed many intersections on foot!!! It is still humid, so we were tired till we got there. We had to go through security and they took my water bottle, flashlight from my purse, and Allison's camera. The line actually went very quickly. We walked along the outside and up into the mausoleum. We were not sure what to expect. We passed many guards with some sort of long weapon. I did not want to look too close. One must be properly dressed to enter the musoleum. We both had on skirts to our knees and I had a jacket to cover my shoulders. Allison had a sleeved T-shirt. The guards pulled an 8 year old boy and his mom out of line in front of us. I am not exactly sure why, but it may be becasue his shorts were not quite to his knees or his sandals were floppy and unsecured in the back. We walked in and around a corner and up more stairs, wondering what to expect. We entered the room where the preserved body is in a glass case so one can see him, like at a funeral viewing. The room was darkened, but a light was on inside the case on his face. We walked three sides around his body and exited, no stopping; the line was continuous. The whole process is very efficient...we were a little worried when we saw the long line outside the mausoleum as we approched. It did not take more than 10 minutes in the line outside and inside. Apparently he wanted to be creamated, so it is interesting his body continues to be on display. We did walk throgh the remainder of the palace grounds 2 weeks ago, so we did not do it again. They were pretty but not elaborate.
Next we set out for Smile Cafe. We found it in the Southeast Asia Lonely Planet book. It is a cafe that is run by disadvantaged children. Isn't that a cool idea??? It was small, like most cafes, only 4 tables. We had very good friendly service starting with a cool mint washcloth. Allison thought she was getting chocolate cheesecake, but it looked like cheesecake but was only bi colored cake. It was good. I got pumpkin and shrimp soup. They must have cooked the raw pumpkin after I ordered because it took 20 min to come, but it was very tasty. I could tell it had natural flavorings.
Next we set out for Bookworm bookstore that was also described in the lonely planet. I must compliment Allison on her map skills. We did not get lost and these streets and not all symetrical. The bookstore was disappointing, since it was only used books and not very big.
Now we are whimpy. We took a cab back to the hotel for 30,000dong-1.50$ We took a little nap and then went back to the Best Burger in Asia restaurant. Al got smoked chicken salad and I got nachos with black beans and salsa....I have been missing cheese in my meals here. I think the nachos were home made. The salsa was a bit hot for me, but it was good. Now we are back at the hotel for a mid afternoon longer siesta. Hopefully Al can get some pictures on our blog today.
We will be home soon....pupppies are missing us, and I think Randy wants some help too!! Ben is almost finished with his internship at Long Beach Island. He says it was good.
7.17.2010
Living in Luxury
Mom and I FINALLY got massages. I swear there's a gazillion massage places in Hanoi. You easily pass 10 in a 2-3 block radius. I think I got the better deal out of the two of us...Mom spent $6 for a 45 minute foot massage at a place down the street. I wandered into a place across the lake and paid $6 for an hour. The place had a much better ambiance than mom's. I actually went into another massage parlor a few doors down but there were no customers and there were only men working so I opted to try another place...There's lots of warnings in tour books and such about massages. Sometimes you get a little too much bang for your buck. Anyways, the place I went to had nice low lighting, relaxing music, and comfy leather chairs with matching ottoman and stool for the masseuse. My guy treated me well...First, I soaked my feet in one of those electric foot spa things. In the meantime, he gave me an arm/hand massage. Then, he moved on to the lower legs and feet. I was afraid I'd be too ticklish, but it was ok. I feel bad for the guy because he had to rub my hairy legs. Anyways, after that he massaged my legs a little more and then gave me a back rub, followed by a neck and head massage. I walked in expecting to simply get a foot massage, but it basically turned into a full body massage by the end! I think I'll be giving them some more business before we leave. Certainly can't beat that price/service. It was raining quite steadily when I finished up with the massage. Wearing a white t-shirt was a poor choice...Walking back to the hotel was interesting because instead of waving junky souveniors in my face, the locals were trying their best to get me to buy a poncho. They're always looking to close a deal...
On a different note, we enjoyed a laid back day. As always, there was a lot of walking. It's nice to be able to walk everywhere instead of relying on a car to get around like at home. We little shopping in the morning...mom napped in the afternoon while I got my massage...I watched two of the pirated movies we've picked up and then we headed out for dinner. Sidenote: I made friends with a woman I bought doughnuts on a stick from and another one I bought some pashminas from. They seem to get a good kick out of my attempts at speaking Vietnamese while bargaining. "Dat qua" (too expensive!) and "Zam za" (discount!) are two of my favorites. I'm also pretty good with numbers now, which comes in handy. Anyways, we ate at a place that had a set menu for dinner - BBQ chicken, spring rolls, veg, and rice for 50,000 dong ($2.50). To my surprise, they brought out a chicken wing instead of meat off the bone. I couldn't eat it...just couldn't stomach it after walking through the markets earlier and seeing all the raw meat. Gross. Mom was a cheap drunk - she started hiccuping after drinking 3/4 of a beer. All in all, the meal wasn't great...probably because I didn't have any chili sauce for the rice and veggies. I asked for it, but the guy brought out salt. The language barrier is a constant struggle...I really should have invested in a mini English-Vietnamese dictionary! We have to remember that it's our responsibility to use their language considering we're the visitors.
In other news, the storm is approaching! It was definitely a blustery day - what a relief! Although it was breezy, it was still humid. We had light rain periodically throughout the day. I think the heavy rains are close. The winds are picking up...mom and I took a lap around the lake after dinner and were surprised to see some branches down already. We're supposedly supposed to get the heaviest rain between 10pm - 1am. I'm interested to walk around tomorrow and survey the damage. Sounds like tomorrow will be a pretty rainy day...Mom and I might have to go to the movies. We can still consider it a cultural experience since we never go to the movies at home. I'm pretty sure the movies aren't dubbed, they just have subtitles for the Vietnamese people's viewing pleasure (thank goodness!).
Stay tuned for the tropical storm report...
On a different note, we enjoyed a laid back day. As always, there was a lot of walking. It's nice to be able to walk everywhere instead of relying on a car to get around like at home. We little shopping in the morning...mom napped in the afternoon while I got my massage...I watched two of the pirated movies we've picked up and then we headed out for dinner. Sidenote: I made friends with a woman I bought doughnuts on a stick from and another one I bought some pashminas from. They seem to get a good kick out of my attempts at speaking Vietnamese while bargaining. "Dat qua" (too expensive!) and "Zam za" (discount!) are two of my favorites. I'm also pretty good with numbers now, which comes in handy. Anyways, we ate at a place that had a set menu for dinner - BBQ chicken, spring rolls, veg, and rice for 50,000 dong ($2.50). To my surprise, they brought out a chicken wing instead of meat off the bone. I couldn't eat it...just couldn't stomach it after walking through the markets earlier and seeing all the raw meat. Gross. Mom was a cheap drunk - she started hiccuping after drinking 3/4 of a beer. All in all, the meal wasn't great...probably because I didn't have any chili sauce for the rice and veggies. I asked for it, but the guy brought out salt. The language barrier is a constant struggle...I really should have invested in a mini English-Vietnamese dictionary! We have to remember that it's our responsibility to use their language considering we're the visitors.
In other news, the storm is approaching! It was definitely a blustery day - what a relief! Although it was breezy, it was still humid. We had light rain periodically throughout the day. I think the heavy rains are close. The winds are picking up...mom and I took a lap around the lake after dinner and were surprised to see some branches down already. We're supposedly supposed to get the heaviest rain between 10pm - 1am. I'm interested to walk around tomorrow and survey the damage. Sounds like tomorrow will be a pretty rainy day...Mom and I might have to go to the movies. We can still consider it a cultural experience since we never go to the movies at home. I'm pretty sure the movies aren't dubbed, they just have subtitles for the Vietnamese people's viewing pleasure (thank goodness!).
Stay tuned for the tropical storm report...
Fri-Sat in Hanoi
We are finally in a hotel with air conditioning. Ally and Hannah went walking around and I stayed closer to the hotel. We met the American family here at the hotel late afternoon. They said newspeople were at Frienship Village again today. I forgot to tell you that Wed we did so much work in the organic garden, the gardener was able to take Thursday off. Friday the volunteers were putting dung on the soil and tilling it....did not smell too bad. I felt like the experienced tour guide when the American family from Chicago got here. We walked around the lake and showed them the Water Puppet Theater, Fanny's ice cream, air conditioned mall and the shoe street. I am still amazed all these little shops can stay in buisness when they sell similar things. We finally ate dinner at the Green Gecko. It was nice to exchange stories. They actually treated us. How very kind of them.
Sat we woke up after another nice night sleep. Oh, \i for got to tell you we moved our room from 502 on the 6th floor to 302. Let me give you a brief lesson on Vietnam architecture. All the buildings are very thin. Our hotel has only 3 rooms per floor and the 1st floor is the 2nd floor. The point is when we were in room 502, we had to walk up 6 flights of stairs with outside humid air into our airconditioned room. We got the room switched Friday to the third floor, thank goodness. I have survived the adventure so far, I do not want anything silly to happen now.
Sat morning I came down to the lobby and heard the news that a typhoon was going to hit Northern Vietnam this evening. Allison had an overnight sleepertrain scheduled to take her to a special ethnic village in nothern Vietnam. The train ride is 12 hrs. The typhoon was down graded to a tropical storm. She does not want to loose her money for the trip, but it seems kinda silly to travel to a remote area of Vietnam with tropical storm winds and rains. What if land erosion causes problems with the train track. Reluctantly, she just left to canel her trip and get 50% back. I also bribed her with a special purchae here too. Actually she was waiting to see if they would cancel so she could get all her money back....tough decisions for some......now she has to go back at 7 pm when the manager is there....some things just are not easy.
Today we walked around and did some souvenir shopping. We went to the supermarket in the mall and bought some snacks to tide us through the storm, if we may need them. The weather is actually pretty nice with the breeze...I just wonder how bad it will be..... We bought Ritz crackers, peanutbutter, raisin bread, hot sauce to bring home,and something else for 100,000dong- 5 $ Another saying in Vietnam is everyone is a millionaire. 1,000,000dong is 50$. I have to be careful with my money. Al is also getting annoyed with being a tourist and being charged more. I can not let it upset me.
Allison will add more. We are just relaxing a bit now....I think we earned it. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers for our safe return after the tropical storm. I am not sure how to interpert weather forecast....if we read it on weather.com in Vietnam, is it American time or Vietnam time.?
Sat we woke up after another nice night sleep. Oh, \i for got to tell you we moved our room from 502 on the 6th floor to 302. Let me give you a brief lesson on Vietnam architecture. All the buildings are very thin. Our hotel has only 3 rooms per floor and the 1st floor is the 2nd floor. The point is when we were in room 502, we had to walk up 6 flights of stairs with outside humid air into our airconditioned room. We got the room switched Friday to the third floor, thank goodness. I have survived the adventure so far, I do not want anything silly to happen now.
Sat morning I came down to the lobby and heard the news that a typhoon was going to hit Northern Vietnam this evening. Allison had an overnight sleepertrain scheduled to take her to a special ethnic village in nothern Vietnam. The train ride is 12 hrs. The typhoon was down graded to a tropical storm. She does not want to loose her money for the trip, but it seems kinda silly to travel to a remote area of Vietnam with tropical storm winds and rains. What if land erosion causes problems with the train track. Reluctantly, she just left to canel her trip and get 50% back. I also bribed her with a special purchae here too. Actually she was waiting to see if they would cancel so she could get all her money back....tough decisions for some......now she has to go back at 7 pm when the manager is there....some things just are not easy.
Today we walked around and did some souvenir shopping. We went to the supermarket in the mall and bought some snacks to tide us through the storm, if we may need them. The weather is actually pretty nice with the breeze...I just wonder how bad it will be..... We bought Ritz crackers, peanutbutter, raisin bread, hot sauce to bring home,and something else for 100,000dong- 5 $ Another saying in Vietnam is everyone is a millionaire. 1,000,000dong is 50$. I have to be careful with my money. Al is also getting annoyed with being a tourist and being charged more. I can not let it upset me.
Allison will add more. We are just relaxing a bit now....I think we earned it. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers for our safe return after the tropical storm. I am not sure how to interpert weather forecast....if we read it on weather.com in Vietnam, is it American time or Vietnam time.?
7.15.2010
Time to Retire the Facemask
We're officially finished with our volunteer efforts at Friendship Village. No navigating between potsholes on dusty streets alongside cars, trucks, motorbikes, and animals on the way to work. No more playing with the kids. No more therapy in the clinic. No more gardening.
As always, we had a fun day at Friendship Village. I started a mini-spa day for the girls yesterday and it seemed to catch on fast - almost all of them have pink or blue fingernails and toenails now! While mom spent most of her time in classroom 1 (lowest-level functioning kids), I split my time between that class and the third class (highest functioning kids) while not in the clinic. I was really starting to enjoy helping them with handwriting and arithmatic. I almost have numbers 1-10 down in Vietnamese! 7, 8, and 9 are still tough, though...Instead of copying handouts, the teacher simply writes problems or assignments for the kids in notebooks. The kids seemed to respond well to positive encouragement and having someone watch over them as they did their work. The teacher in the third class seemed to be the most hands-on with the kids. They definitely get a lot of instructional time, even in the summer. She sits at a table with all of them and barks out orders/hits the table with a ruler to keep them in line. It's kind of entertaining. It seemed like she appreciated having an extra hand...All in all, volunteering has been a wonderful experience. We felt a little lost/not needed at first, but got more comfortable as time went on. I think we're leaving at the right time - if we stayed any longer, I know I'd start to get too attached to the kids!
We had a delicious final meal before leaving Peace House this afternoon. There was rice (obviously), pork balls (not meatballs), fried battered prawn, sitr-fried morning glory, carrots/onions/beef, and watermelon. As always, I mixed everything together and covered it in chili sauce! Mmm! Although the home-cooked meals were wonderful, I'm looking forward to switching it up a bit.
Mom, Hannah, and I arrived at the Rising Dragon Hotel around 2PM. We have a tub...and a shower curtain!!! That's a first! It's a lovely hotel and about the same price as the others ($22/night for a double including buffet breakfast). We spent some time walking around the city this afternoon and made a pit stop at a new, trendy ice cream shop. Then, we proceeded to sample some dough balls from a woman on the street. I've been eyeing them up since we got here, so it was time. She gave each of us one to try and it was yummy! I've been craving baked goods...I already put in my request for chocolate cheesecake upon return home. Claire better pull through for me...
As always, we had a fun day at Friendship Village. I started a mini-spa day for the girls yesterday and it seemed to catch on fast - almost all of them have pink or blue fingernails and toenails now! While mom spent most of her time in classroom 1 (lowest-level functioning kids), I split my time between that class and the third class (highest functioning kids) while not in the clinic. I was really starting to enjoy helping them with handwriting and arithmatic. I almost have numbers 1-10 down in Vietnamese! 7, 8, and 9 are still tough, though...Instead of copying handouts, the teacher simply writes problems or assignments for the kids in notebooks. The kids seemed to respond well to positive encouragement and having someone watch over them as they did their work. The teacher in the third class seemed to be the most hands-on with the kids. They definitely get a lot of instructional time, even in the summer. She sits at a table with all of them and barks out orders/hits the table with a ruler to keep them in line. It's kind of entertaining. It seemed like she appreciated having an extra hand...All in all, volunteering has been a wonderful experience. We felt a little lost/not needed at first, but got more comfortable as time went on. I think we're leaving at the right time - if we stayed any longer, I know I'd start to get too attached to the kids!
We had a delicious final meal before leaving Peace House this afternoon. There was rice (obviously), pork balls (not meatballs), fried battered prawn, sitr-fried morning glory, carrots/onions/beef, and watermelon. As always, I mixed everything together and covered it in chili sauce! Mmm! Although the home-cooked meals were wonderful, I'm looking forward to switching it up a bit.
Mom, Hannah, and I arrived at the Rising Dragon Hotel around 2PM. We have a tub...and a shower curtain!!! That's a first! It's a lovely hotel and about the same price as the others ($22/night for a double including buffet breakfast). We spent some time walking around the city this afternoon and made a pit stop at a new, trendy ice cream shop. Then, we proceeded to sample some dough balls from a woman on the street. I've been eyeing them up since we got here, so it was time. She gave each of us one to try and it was yummy! I've been craving baked goods...I already put in my request for chocolate cheesecake upon return home. Claire better pull through for me...
New Volunteers Arriving
Hi everyone,
Tomorrow is our official last day. Today new volunteers started arriving. I thought we would have to rearrange our room to accomodate them, but apparently we are in the work camp room. In our room it is only Ally, Hannah from Australia, and I with 5 bunk beds. It is better than 5 in a room. The new volunteers look like deer in the headlight. I wonder if we were that quiet. Most of these volunteers are from England and France and one from Japan. The one from Japan is finishing her degree in child developement from Univ of Texas..go figure.
I finally got the laminated pictures of many of the children at Friendship Village from the local print shop. It cost 90,000dong for about 20 laminated pics...that is almost 5$. This money exchange is crazy. My plan is to put the pics on construction paper with their name, age, and activity likes. Actually the teacher helped me this afternoon. She wrote the activity likes in Vietnamese and English...I think because we worked on it together she liked it. I do not know what she did with the poster I made with colored paper with the colors written in English and Vietnamese. The children in classroom 1 can talk, but they do not talk very often.
Did I tell you we met a family from Chicago at Friendship Village. They saw a documentary on it and the parents wanted to bring their 16 and 18 year old children. The mother is actually Chinese, but grew up in Malaysia. I really enjoyed talking to other adults. They will stay at the same hotel as me so I can be their "experienced tour guide of the Old Quarter, Hanoi".
I can't believe I am actually feeling comfortable riding my bike to and from Friendship Village twice a day with all the construction trucks, taxis, motor bikes and local bikes...and the many pot holes and beeping vehicles. I will miss this place but I also think it is time for us to move on. Ally received and email from her Dean, at Ithaca, asking if anyone was interested in volunteering in Vietnam or the Philipinnes. I guess he would like to set up an official internship....well, she responded and said she was here!! How cool would that be if he could set up something official with Friendship Village..they do have air conditioned housing on the premise.
We had our evalutaion today and received a nice certificate of participation and "effectively contributing" to Friendship Village. I really want to check this place out on line. One of the war veterans wanted a copy of a picture I took of him and his buddies. I guess I will try to mail more pics to them...what a humaitarian place this is.
Tomorrow is our official last day. Today new volunteers started arriving. I thought we would have to rearrange our room to accomodate them, but apparently we are in the work camp room. In our room it is only Ally, Hannah from Australia, and I with 5 bunk beds. It is better than 5 in a room. The new volunteers look like deer in the headlight. I wonder if we were that quiet. Most of these volunteers are from England and France and one from Japan. The one from Japan is finishing her degree in child developement from Univ of Texas..go figure.
I finally got the laminated pictures of many of the children at Friendship Village from the local print shop. It cost 90,000dong for about 20 laminated pics...that is almost 5$. This money exchange is crazy. My plan is to put the pics on construction paper with their name, age, and activity likes. Actually the teacher helped me this afternoon. She wrote the activity likes in Vietnamese and English...I think because we worked on it together she liked it. I do not know what she did with the poster I made with colored paper with the colors written in English and Vietnamese. The children in classroom 1 can talk, but they do not talk very often.
Did I tell you we met a family from Chicago at Friendship Village. They saw a documentary on it and the parents wanted to bring their 16 and 18 year old children. The mother is actually Chinese, but grew up in Malaysia. I really enjoyed talking to other adults. They will stay at the same hotel as me so I can be their "experienced tour guide of the Old Quarter, Hanoi".
I can't believe I am actually feeling comfortable riding my bike to and from Friendship Village twice a day with all the construction trucks, taxis, motor bikes and local bikes...and the many pot holes and beeping vehicles. I will miss this place but I also think it is time for us to move on. Ally received and email from her Dean, at Ithaca, asking if anyone was interested in volunteering in Vietnam or the Philipinnes. I guess he would like to set up an official internship....well, she responded and said she was here!! How cool would that be if he could set up something official with Friendship Village..they do have air conditioned housing on the premise.
We had our evalutaion today and received a nice certificate of participation and "effectively contributing" to Friendship Village. I really want to check this place out on line. One of the war veterans wanted a copy of a picture I took of him and his buddies. I guess I will try to mail more pics to them...what a humaitarian place this is.
7.12.2010
Tuesday - Rain Day!
Hi,
We slept much better last night because it cooled to 87 degrees. We woke to pouring rain and thunder 7-9 am. I guess this is the rainy season. Who needs snow days when you can have rain days? Apparently it pours like this every 2-3 days in the peak of rainy season. There is no way we could ride our bicycles to Friendship Village. Someone else left early on a motor bike and said the houses were flooded with 2 feet of water. The classrooms were o.k. because they are higher, but only a few kids there. I guess we will try to ride this afternoon, we will see how full the potholes are with water.
It is hard having so much time and not doing something specific. I need to just enjoy the moments.
We met a family from Chicago at the Village yesterday. They saw a documentary on it and came to visit. The mom is from Malaysia. I will have to look for the documentary when we get home. It was nice to talk to another adult in English.
We attempted to go to work this afternoon; however, the kids were housebound due to the flooding! Some were playing a bit in the water, but others were just cooped up in their houses.
We slept much better last night because it cooled to 87 degrees. We woke to pouring rain and thunder 7-9 am. I guess this is the rainy season. Who needs snow days when you can have rain days? Apparently it pours like this every 2-3 days in the peak of rainy season. There is no way we could ride our bicycles to Friendship Village. Someone else left early on a motor bike and said the houses were flooded with 2 feet of water. The classrooms were o.k. because they are higher, but only a few kids there. I guess we will try to ride this afternoon, we will see how full the potholes are with water.
It is hard having so much time and not doing something specific. I need to just enjoy the moments.
We met a family from Chicago at the Village yesterday. They saw a documentary on it and came to visit. The mom is from Malaysia. I will have to look for the documentary when we get home. It was nice to talk to another adult in English.
We attempted to go to work this afternoon; however, the kids were housebound due to the flooding! Some were playing a bit in the water, but others were just cooped up in their houses.
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