Leaving tomorrow for Cambodia

Last night we spoke to the agency person here in Vietnam--there's no real news. The paperwork for four other families and myself is still working itself through the byzantine maze of bureaucracy at the DIA in Hanoi and that's all he knew. As I lay in bed last night, beneath my mosquito net with the wall fan humming above my head, I felt like I was back in Cu Chi with the tunnel closing in on me and no moving forward or backward. I'm not sure what the issue is. Locals tell me that people don't always do their job, that paperwork lays on desks for days or weeks without being processed (not just in adoption but in anything related to the government), and that perhaps they are waiting for an "expedite" fee to urge them into action.

So to take my mind off of things I cannot control we are leaving for Cambodia tomorrow. Every travel agent I have spoken to has told me it is a cinch to get a re-entry visa to Vietnam. We will be getting up bright and early and leaving the monastary at 6 AM to return to HCMC, pick up my mother's passport and then catch the 9 AM tourist bus for Phnom Penh.

Meanwhile I have a few more photos of the monastary. The nuns here are incredibly generous and solicitous. We have been showered with far more food than I could ever eat, and it is very delicious.

Here is another photo from the ceremony on Saturday, as the nuns taking their final vows lay face down on the floor in recognition of their submission to Christ.
The five nuns, the superior Sister Agnes in the center, flanked by the numerous priests and the bishop who were part of the ceremony.

Sister Benedicta and her family.
The prioress of the monastary.
Various flowers around the grounds. Note the lizard in the first photo.

A meditation garden has this statue (I suppose it is Joseph and Jesus) and is surrounded by an outdoor Stations at the Cross.

Three of the Stations at the Cross. Usually these are inside the chapel.

The cemetery where the nuns are buried. Like other cemeteries in Vietnam it is left looking somewhat untended by US standards.

We made a sojourn out into the neighborhood looking for an ATM machine. My mother is on the right wearing her native hat.

A large department store. I went in and bought several children's books, including one first grade English book and one first grade Vietnamese book. The rest were story books--local stories and also the Pied Piper.

We returned late to lunch and the nuns had set us up a meal in the gazebo next to the chapel where the priests eat after mass. They were having some kind of party that was a wrapping up of the Saturday celebration.

These two nuns, Sister Tweet and Sister Elisabeth, have been very helpful to us. They are always bringing us something to eat or drink and asking us if we are doing well.

This is the city bus. It is a mere 3000 dong fare out here--about twenty cents as opposed to a twenty five dollar taxi fare. It really isn't that bad once you know which bus to get on and which direction to go and it helps to know where to get off. At least going back will be easy--we just get off at the downtown bus terminal. I just hope traffic isn't so heavy that it is difficult to handle our bags.
I will post from Cambodia, and will certainly be able to come back quickly if anything develops. A friend has offered to telephone the DIA and see if he can get anything out of them as far as a timeline goes.