I met her baby boy!!!

This morning I received a sweet message.  The message was in French (which I don't speak) and was titled "Go Vap".....I was so curious! I googled free translations from french to engish and was able to translate this wonderful message that I posted below!  I was so touched to find out that I met this womans 6 month old baby at Go Vaps newborn ward! She along with hubby are in the adoption process and hope to bring home this beautiful baby boy! My photos are linked to Vietnam Volunteer Networks page and she saw that I had photographed him.

I thought I would share her message to me:

"Bonjour,
les réseaux sont extraordinaires ! je viens de recevoir une photo de mon fils qui est actuellement à l'orphelinat de Go vap et il semblerait que ce soit vous qui ayez pris cette photo !!!! Il est dans son lit, il a 6 mois, il sourie et une photo de mon mari et moi est scotchée au lit."

 

Translation to English:

"Hello, the networks are extraordinary! I have just received a photo of my son that is currently to the orphanage of Go vap and it would seem that it is you that took this photo!!!!  It is in his bed, it has 6 months, it smiles and a photo of my husband and me is scotchée to the bed." 

Happy Valentine's Day

A moment of happiness

you and I sitting on the veranhah,

apparently two, but one in soul, you and I.

We feel the flowing water of life here,
you and I, with the garden's beauty
and the birds singing.

The stars will be watching us,
and we will show them
what it is to be a thin crescent moon.

You and I unselfed, will be together,
indifferent to idle speculation, you and I.

The parrots of heaven will be cracking sugar
as we laugh together, you and I.

In one form upon this earth,
and in another form in a timeless sweet land.

From:
Kulliyat-e Shams, 2114

Love is the irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.
~ Mark Twain

Love from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith~

Love from a pure heart and a good conscience
and a sincere faith.

Thank goodness, I'm finally getting over my jet lag! It's been almost two weeks since we left Ho Chi Minh.  I've been tired a lot and even take naps some days. One morning I woke up at 330am. By noon I felt like I already had a full day.  I never accomplished so much in one day!

The first few days seemed surreal with the jet lag and going through withdrawals from the children.  I thought a lot about the little ones at Go Vap.  They stole a piece of my heart . <3

I can't wait to go again someday.  I went hiking with Liza today and she told me that she might go again in September.  Such good news!

While in Vietnam we stayed at a wonderful guesthouse, Hotel Xuan Mai.  The staff speaks English and they took such good care of us.  I can't say enough about Nang our Vietnam mom.  She works at the reception desk and every morning she arranged our transportation for us. We paid $23 for a single room and $27 for double room.  That's with breakfast included.  The guesthouse is clean, hot water and airconditioning.  They also have wireless internet. I highly recommend them if you decide to visit Ho Chi Minh.
xuan_mai_hotel@yahoo.com
These are some of their reviews

Kim Nguyen Browne is the founder of Vietnam Volunteer Network.  Kim helped to put us together with Go Vap. Without Kim we would not have had this amazing experience. Thank you so much Kim! xoxo
http://www.vietnamvolunteernetwork.com/
VVN also has a facebook page filled with information and lot's of photos.

This is my most precious photo! Thank you so so much Beth for capturing sweet Nhut giving me a kiss!

Crossing the street was a challenge that we tackled after a couple of days in HCMC.

Beth with little Oanh. She suffers from Hydrocephalus (water accumulating in the brain) as many of the children in the terminal ward do. Hopefully it is not too late to correct her. For many of the children in the terminal ward it was not caught early enough. Their heads get so big and heavy that they cannot move and get bed sores. They still have a strong will to live despite their pain.

My one regret is that I did not photograph any of them. At the time I felt that I was exploiting them if I took their picture and showed it to my friends and family. But I should have because it is the reality of so many of the children in the terminal ward. By posting only these photos that I have taken I feel that I'm only showing a small part of what the terminal ward is about. There are so many other children there that truly suffer everyday. We spent as much time as we could just being there to show what love is and to give them a little comfort.

The nurses at Go Vap are spectacular and really do a wonderful job. They keep the children and ward clean. During our time there they made us feel welcome and let us do only what we felt comfortable doing.

Liza and nurse Thanh with Nurse Thanh's fave baby boy that she showers with kisses.



Tam Biet Vietnam

http://www.vietnamvolunteernetwork.com/

Thursday Jan 27, 2011

I can't believe it's already Thursday, our last day! This is the first morning that I didn't get up before my alarm clock chime.  

A taxi came to get us as usual at 745am. We've been pretty lucky with our taxi drivers. Only one had gotten us a little lost. This morning though our taxi driver was very lost.  We couldn't communicate with him so we thought we better call Nang from the guesthouse when the meter was going beyond our normal fare. Nang told him that we will only pay him what we normally pay to get there.  We finally got there after an hour and 10 minutes. And the meter was almost double, at 219,000 dong. We usually pay around 130,000 dong which is about $6. Nang even called back a few minutes later to make sure we were okay.  When i told her that we were paying she said "you only pay 130,000 dong you don't pay more!" "Yes, Nang we only pay 130,000 dong"...but actually he was slipped a few dongs more. Liza felt bad for him because he really was lost but not intentionally taking us on a long route like some taxis might.  Nang waited on the phone while we paid to make sure we didn't have a problem with the driver. She's the best!  

Huy is so proud of his artwork.

Beth with a little one during outdoor playtime.



This lucky baby in the newborn ward is being adopted.
See the photo of new mommy and daddy in the crib :)





11 year old Van



Oh so hard to go in for our last day : (. Diana, VVN's Art Director was there to meet us. She was going to teach her once a week art class. It was a treat to meet her because I had heard about her through  Kim, VVN's CEO and Founder. Diana is Vietnamese from Melbourne Australia. She's fluent in the Vietnamese language. Interesting tidbit of Diana is that she was born in Australia and  has moved to Vietnam indefinitely to get back to her roots and teach English.  So brave. I was so happy to have her to translate because our only form of communication during the week has been sign and body language. On my first day at Go Vap I met a special little boy that stole my heart. He lives in the special needs ward and seemed to me, about 7 or 8  years old.  I met him during his physical therapy session. They share the VVN room with our English class. He was practicing walking with these cloth shoes with flat soles, I think he wears them to help him with his balance. He was stumbling around the room, doing his laps, so I thought I would walk with him. He was so shy that whenever I approached him he would pretend he had an itch on his leg so that he wouldn't have to look at me. I even tried holding his hands. Finally he gave in and let me. Oh my gosh after that I was his new best friend! After his PT that day he walked me to the boys dorm to show me his bed and teddy bear. From then on, every time we saw each other we held hands and at 1015 I would walk him downstairs to lunch. I called him "my little Forrest" because he reminds me of a mini asian Forrest Gump. Thanks to Diana I finally got to know that his name is Van and he's eleven years old. I also found out that he just moved in three weeks ago. He came from another facility. Art class was special because Diana let the kids make pictures with the cut-outs and stickers that we brought. At 1015 Van took me the long way, via his dorm to his lunch area where we said our good byes...sniff sniff. 

Here I am with my special boy Van.  He made this for me to take home. xoxo.

Lovely Diana, VVN's Art Director

The girls and I stayed a couple more hours. Liza and Annette stopped over for a little while at the newborn ward. 

Beth and I went back to the terminal ward even though most of the kids were napping.  I felt that I really wanted to capture my time there so i spent most of it taking pictures and videos. I want to think that to have life, to live and breathe is precious but spending time in that ward makes me wonder what living really means to these kids. Don't get me wrong because the nurses and helpers are spectacular. To be an orphan and to be in the medical condition they are in, I would actually consider them the lucky ones. They are in an environment with care and love. I've seen the nurses speak to them, kiss and stroke them. It still makes me wonder about that question. Some have been there for over 10 years. 

It was sad to leave Go Vap.  I will always cherish this opportunity I had. I hope that someday I will go back again. I'm also glad that my friends were so willing to come with me and give up their own vacation time. Its good to have others to share these precious memories with. Thank you so much Beth, Liza & Annette!!!!!

In the afternoon we went to check out the flower mart. Vendors of all varieties of flowers and plants brought their things to the local park to sell. It is part of their Tet celebration. 

Our last dinner was mellow. We went across the street to a local restaurant. We shared a couple of appetizers. Liza was happy she got her fried fish entree one last time. Annette had curry, Beth had fried rice and I had chinese cabbage with mushroom. I think I over did it on the rich flavorful seafood. I'm craving some plain steamed veggies and white rice. We laughed a lot about Beth and her "come over and look." It's our inside joke. 

My attempt at swaddling a fussy baby.  Hien is being supportive by laying next to the baby.

It's snack time...who wants strawberry wafers? Open up....

Overall I couldn't have asked for a better time. We had a couple of adventures but we are all leaving Saigon in one piece. Ooh I'm going to miss those kids so much!

It's off to bed. I'm getting up at 300am for our 600am flight to Hong Kong then San Francisco. 

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Nurse Thanh showers this little guy with kisses all day long. Too many kisses..look at his expression!

A United plane in Hong Kong.





Our Last Couple of Days in Vietnam

Tuesday Jan 25, 2011 & Wednesday Jan 26, 2011



Now this is real street food. Dining on the sidewalk.

Colette's enjoying her last meal in Saigon

On Tuesday I had a nice leisure day with Liza. We walked around the city then we hung out at an outdoor cafe at the Saigon River. The river is nothing to look at but it was so peaceful that we hung out for a couple of hours. On the way back we ran into Colette. It was her last day in Vietnam so we wanted to make sure we met her for dinner. Colette wanted us to try street food that she had the night before. So the two of us went with her.  Street food really is street food, cars and mopeds whizz right by your dining table.   The sidewalk is set up with plastic stools and low tables. You pick out your fresh seafood or whatever you want to eat and they grill it right there for you. I had enough of seafood and had a veggie egg fried rice plate and a beer. Colette and Liza picked out a bunch of shelled seafood.  Food was delicious and fast. Thanks Colette for the recommendation. I hope she's having a good flight home now and her new art pieces made it home safely too. 

Liza's chilling along the Saigon River.

Water Puppet Show

Resting on a "vietnamese" bench.

Medicine Herbs in Cholon

Sweets for the Tet celebration

Today we went to Cholon which is the Chinatown here. It's incredible how big new years is for the Vietnamese.  The Tet is February 3rd. There are lots of festivals and activities surrounding the 3rd. We're planning to go to the flower festival tomorrow afternoon. Cholon has lots of stores selling red and gold hanging decorations for the new years. We visited a few temples and the herbal medicine street. At one of the herb shops we found a man that spoke English. We got a few things that he recommended. We bought these bags of herbs that's used for tea. It's suppose to be an all around good health tea that cleanses your blood, helps with cholesterol, high blood pressure etc. The man told Beth that it tastes just like regular tea. He also sold Beth and Liza some medicine for back and joint pains. 

Paddington & George visiting temples in Cholon.

In the afternoon I went for a two and a half hour body scrub/massage and facial package. Beth had already experienced it on Saturday night with the other girls so today she just got the 90 minute body massage. It was sooooooo relaxing! I napped for most of the two and a half hours. My bill was only 17.50 plus tip!

Tomorrow is already our last day here.  I'm really not looking forward to saying goodbye to the little ones at Go Vap :(. We already decided we would stay an extra hour tomorrow. The time here has gone by too fast. 

Between peace and happiness

It's Becoming Routine

Breakfast at the rooftop of our guesthouse.

Monday Jan 24, 2011

It's my fifth morning (Monday) in Ho Chi Minh and i seem to have a morning  routine now.  I wake up without an alarm at 630am, jump in the shower and get to the rooftop to meet the girls for breakfast at 7am-ish.  Usually I'm the last one to show up. Colette and Annette are still away in the Mekong so I expected to see Beth and Liza.    They both came up a bit later, Beth had some tummy nausea problem and Liza just had tummy problem. They both decided to skip breakfast but showed up anyway and kept me company. It was a Vietnamese breakfast day which was a bowl of pho. At 745am our taxi comes to get us as usual. The guesthouse staff is excellent, especially Nang. She's been our Vietnam mom. She takes care of our questions and makes sure everything goes smoothly. We even think that when we leave the guesthouse she worries for our safety.  Every morning she calls the taxi company to make sure we get picked up. When the taxi comes she will walk us out, put us safely in the car, then make sure the driver knows exactly where Go Vap Orphanage is located. She will then jot down his car # and ask him for his cell number.  She will also tell him what time to pick us up when we are finished.  When we are done she will even call the drivers cell or mine to make sure we have been picked up for our ride back to the guesthouse. If we have any complaints she will call the taxi company to report it (one driver got us lost). She has truly been a blessing 



Artists hard at work

 This time Liza had another helper in class...French Emily who lives in Brazil but is in Vietnam for three months. Beth and i wet to the terminal ward. On Mondays the little ones have outside play time. They put out these colorful foam mats for some of the kids to lay on. Others are placed on these green rolling chairs. Then they scatter toys around the mats or hang them on strings for the kids. Outside play time is nice because it's a change of environment and gives them some fresh air. I think this is the time that their crib bedding's are changed. I also noticed that the nurses are constantly wiping the floors to keep them clean. We always take our shoes off before entering any room/ward.  I started bringing a pair of the disposable United house slippers after the second day when I stepped on some saliva bare feet in the VVN classroom. I can handle a lot of dirty things but that was too much for me. After outside playtime everyone goes back inside for two hour naps. We usually will leave then. Our afternoons have been free.

Beth and I decided to go back to Ben Thanh Market to do some shopping. Liza decided to stay in and rest. 

Every ones been warning us to be careful of the motorbike riders that will grab your handbag as they speed by. Well....guess what? We were crossing the street and a motorbike rider that was turning left rode by in front of us and grabbed hold of the shoulder strap of Beth's pouch! Thank goodness it was a thin strap that was attached to the pouch by hooks that gave way easily.  The pouch fell and the rider ended up with just the shoulder strap. What a relief that she has her pouch and didn't get hurt. Even though we've all been so careful it still happened to one of us!  Beth said that it should have scared the crap out of her but she's still constipated :). Sorry Beth that was too good not to share. But it was definitely a wake up call that you can never be too careful or cautious. 

We all decided it's best not to tell Nang (Vietnam mom) about this. She will just worry more for us. 

Dinner was leftover seafood splurge from the night before. 

Tuesday and Wednesday are our free days from the orphanage. Tuesday Beth and Annette are touring pagodas and the cu chi tunnels. Colette's going shopping for artwork for her beautiful home. And Liza and I have been to Vietnam before so we're skipping the tours and will walk around the city and visit the Saigon River.  I'm looking forward to a leisure day. 

Miss Liza and a couple of her happy students.

The kids can't get enough of Beth. They are in love with her attention.

http://www.vietnamvolunteernetwork.com/

She made me pho soup...yum!





Liza and I enjoying the nice weather. On our way to Ben Thanh.



It's All About The Food

Sunday Jan 23, 2011



Pho soup with prawns. 30,000 Dongs =$1.50



Between all the delicious seafood, pho soup and coconut shakes I think I've gained at least five pounds.   Food is so cheap here.  The average bowl of pho is about 30 dongs equivalent to a $1.50.



5 minutes later...all gone!







Sunday morning at the orphanage was quiet.   It was just three of us, Beth, Liza and me. Annette and Colette left for an overnight tour of the Mekong. 



VVN's classroom.
http://www.vietnamvolunteernetwork.com/

Liza and I told Beth that we should trade duties for the day and that she should teach : ).  We found out later that there's no class on Sundays. I'm pretty sure Beth was relieved because Liza and I told her about our Saturday experience. It was nice because we were all able to dedicate our time to the children in the terminal ward. 



The majority of the little ones there cannot move and you can see in their eyes that they appreciate any time you  spend with them. Most of the time is spent massaging and touching them. I'm so grateful that my niece and nephews are healthy. The nurses and helpers do such an amazing job of feeding and keeping them clean. They work so hard and make it seem like a breeze. After spending time at the orphanage I can't help but appreciate the wonderful life I live. I have nothing to complain about. 



In the afternoon we went to browse at the Ben Thanh Market. It was built in 1914  It's like an indoor flea market. You can get anything and everything there....clothing, appliances, food, souvenirs etc. The guide book said the saying "If we don't have it, you don't need it" applies to Ben Thanh Market. 

We went crazy at dinner. We went to Marina Seafood restaurant (can't remember the Vietnamese name). The menu looked looked great! We ordered   drunken prawns, crab/shrimp spring rolls, steamed clams, butterfish (the whole fish), chinese spinach and crab fried rice.   It was just the three of us but we could have fed six easily. Dinner tab was about 1,200,000 dong! Equivalent to $60.  If we averaged what we've been spending per day on meals...that meal cost was equal to at least a weeks worth. But so worth it!!! We came back with a bag full of left overs too. 

Time for bed. Bye for now. 



Saturday's class.  The calm before the storm. 
We lost control of this class shortly after this
photo was taken : )

Good Day & Challenging Day

Friday Jan 21, 2011 & Saturday Jan 22, 2011

Yesterday, Friday was our second day here. Another nice breakfast at the rooftop of our guesthouse. Breakfast for me starts with a cup of strong Vietnamese coffee with sweet condensed milk. At home I love my coffee strong too but not sweet. I think Vietnamese coffee just isn't "Vietnamese" if you don't have it with sweet condensed milk. Then they serve you a plate of watermelon, papaya and banana. I also had the western breakfast which is egg and a baguette. Tomorrow I'm trying the Vietnamese breakfast.

At 745am our taxi picks us up for our 35 minute ride to the orphanage. We teamed up the same as we did on Thursday, Beth and Annette with the kids in the terminal ward, Liza and I teaching English with the special needs kids. Interestingly no "real" assessment has been done on the kids so we didn't really know their skill levels. They have been taught by many different volunteers. We've learned now that they can count and recognize up to about number twelve and recite ABC's. Kids ages range in our class from about eight to seventeen and all have either mental or physical disabilities. Liza is so incredible with the things that she comes up with to keep them entertained. We noticed that they love love love to sing. The highlight for me was hearing them sing...amazing even with their limited English, by the end of the day they were all singing Old MacDonald and Head, Shoulder, Knees & Toes! So proud of you Miss Liza!

After "work" Beth and I treated ourselves to $3 manicures and pedicures. When we got back to the guesthouse I was so ecstatic to see that my missing bags had arrived!

quananngon@hcm.vnn.vn

For dinner we went to Quan an Ngon a seafood restaurant. It was recommended by my friend Pat, our new friend Bongshu that we met on the plane and our guesthouse reception. Must be really good! When we arrived I just fell in love with the restaurants decor and elegance. The wood tables were so beautiful and umbrellas with string lighting everywhere. We ordered lot's of seafood dishes. My favorite was the grilled squid that my friend Pat recommended. But everything was delicious. Dessert was at a famous ice cream shop that had things like taro and durian ice cream. Ahhh...good day and I slept well.

Today, Saturday was REALLY challenging. The kids that go to school during the week were off. So they came to our class. Our usual class of about ten turned into about twenty five students. Our sweet group turned into a crazy mob. At one point we decided the needed a break so we brought out hula hoops and balls for them to play with. The room got so out of control that one of the dudes-in-charge came in to yell at them. I think he also threatened them because the room settled really quickly. I was so RELIEVED when 1015 came and we got to release them for lunch. I headed straight to the terminal ward for some baby soothing time. I think it was more soothing for Liza and I.

Tomorrows a new day : )

Bye for now.

It's my first day...come on please eat!
With Joanne of Vietnam Volunteer
Network.

With Liza, Annette and Beth in VVN's new classroom.
http://www.vietnamvolunteernetwork.com/

Annette..love at first sight.

Beth feeding big boy Son
a big bowl of lunch.

Miss Liza you're a natural.











Volunteering At Go Vap Orphanage in Vietnam

Front entryway for Go Vap Orphanage
http://www.vietnamvolunteernetwork.com/

First Class HK to Saigon

Thursday Jan 20, 2011

What a relief to step off the plane in Ho Chi Minh after 16 hours. Unfortunately both of my check in bags didn't make it.  Sadly, its not the first time a bag didn't show up at baggage claim for me. Seems that I'm jinxed every time I travel via Hong Kong.  I called today and United says it will arrive tonight and be delivered to my guesthouse tomorrow morning. I sure hope so, one bag is filled with supplies for the orphanage.  I would be so sad if that bag got lost. Would be nice to get my personal things too :).Luckily my girlfriends have been kind enough to lend me some clothing. Crossing my fingers. 

My room is really comfortable. I decided to splurge and get my own room. I figured I was worth the $23 a night ; ) And I even get air conditioning and unlimited hot water with that. They are so nice here at our guesthouse. They always seem to have an answer for every question. 

Today, Thursday was our first full day here. Started with a nice breakfast at our guesthouse rooftop. Shortly after we went to Go Vap Orphanage for our induction. We met with the director Mrs Loan and Joanne, who is with Vietnam Volunteer network. VVN is the organization that helped to put us together with Go Vap . We toured the facility and the different wards. The newborn ward, special needs ward and terminal ward. We also received our assignments for the week. We were told to spend as much time in the terminal ward and special needs ward as possible. Especially the terminal ward as they get the least love but need it the most. Touch  them, give them love, and help with feeding. For the older special needs kids we would have English classes.   Many have physical and mental disabilities. In the terminal ward most common is enlargement of the head due to water retaining around the brain. The kids on the special needs ward are especially fun to spend time with. They are so loving and funny.   So today Beth and Annette spent time in the terminal ward and Liza and I were told to host an impromptu English class. Liza would be the teacher and I would be her t.a. : )  You can only imagine the scene of two flight attendants teaching English to a group of Vietnamese speaking special needs kids. Thank goodness for the flashcards with animal pictures.   It was chaos filled with lots of ruff ruff, moo's and quack quacks. We were told that in their culture they will pinch you to show love. I was so happy to get my first pinch today. Hopefully one of many. 

Tonight we walked over to the night market at Ben Thanh. We wanted to have dinner at Hai Lua, an outdoor night market restaurant that Beth's seat partner (flight from SF to HKG) recommended. We were told it opens at 7 pm. We were there a little early around 635pm and could not pin point it's exact location. Amazing that in the time that we arrived at 635 to 7pm the empty street was now a bustling night market with Hai Lua in the middle of it. Seafood dinner was good. We had boiled clams with lemongrass and grilled red snapper...yum. 

Looking forward to tomorrow.
Reviews for Hotel Xuan Mai
To contact the wonderful guesthouse we stayed at.



View of the Terminal Ward









Special Needs Ward Dorms

Click here to volunteer in Vietnam