Rounding up the Usual Suspects

As I was dozing yesterday afternoon I heard some commotion outside. I looked out of the window and saw one person after another being herded from a building into what looked like a "paddy wagon". Men in dark green outfits held long white poles to direct the people--men and women who all appeared to be quite young, some looked to be onlye 14 or 15. I could have gotten a better photo but I wasn't sure how the authorities would feel so I took one from the window rather than from the balcony.

An Australian woman whose balcony adjoins mine was also watching, and I asked her if she knew what was happening. She said people in Vietnam have to live in the places they are officially assigned to live, and these people are "undocumented" or their documents indicate they should be living elsewhere. Most are probably from rural areas who came to HCMC to find work.

I wondered what that building was. I could see on the floor directly across from my third floor room--long narrow tables lined up with chairs like a classroom, and a large white bust of Ho Chi Minh at the front. I thought it was some kind of party headquarters but it is a police station.

Life is more or less carefree for me here--I am leaving soon for a three day trip to the Mekong Delta that I'm only paying forty dollars for, and that includes ten dollars extra for two meals and a "home stay" in a bungalow as well as two dollars extra because this is a holiday. One can forget that the locals are living a much different life.

And on a brighter note, another PAP (prospective adoptive parent for those outside the adoption realm) heard from the agency. Our documents were indeed certified today, will be sent to the DIA next week and then to the PDJ. The G&R will likely be the end of September or the beginning of October.

Maybe when I get back from the Mekong Delta I will have updated photos of Henry to post. I can't believe I am saying it--the last two times I got updates I thought they would be my last and that I would have already had my G&R.

Visit to the Nguyen Dinh Chieu School for the Blind

On Thursday we visited the Nguyen Dinh Chieu School for the Blind. It is named after a 19th century Vietnamese poet who was blind. The school offers education and training to children from age 6 months to 22 years of age. It is a boarding school though children who live nearby do live at home. My mother had met the lady pictured here with some of the students when she was staying at the monastery. She has worked at the school for 24 years. The man pictured is the director of the school.

The school is in District 4, very different from District 1 which is filled with tourists. We were the only non-locals within sight. The taxi let us off at a bank two blocks away from the school and we had a difficult time finding it. Then when we left we had a hard time hailing a taxi to bring us back.

The children were very friendly and talkative. They spoke English very well and seemed happy to practice their skill with a native speaker. Many of the children are not completely blind but have very low vision, and it was common to see one leading another around.

The older children (young adults really) learn body and foot massage and locals can pay a nominal fee for a massage. We were obliged to have a massage at the end of our tour. It was a bargain at 40,000 VND, around $2.50 for an hour.

I hadn’t brought any gifts specifically for this school since I hadn’t planned on visiting there, but I took them the 22 pair of children’s sunglasses and the Play-Doh that I brought. I kept back the markers, crayons, and coloring books for the Binh Duong orphanage, which we will visit soon accompanied by one of the nuns from the monastery.

We may not get to travel to Danang. We were planning on leaving today, but it is some kind of holiday (I suppose it’s related to Labor Day) and the planes and train are all booked. We might could still go by bus but that would not be very comfortable and would be a 14 hour trip.

Today my paperwork is scheduled to be certified which means the G&R will be between 7 and 37 days from now, if I understand the system properly. I hope to hear news about it from the agency early next week.

Visit to the monastery

Yesterday we went out (via the city bus) to the monastery to deliver the laptop that I brought to give them. My mother stayed out there for several days prior to my arrival. When she first went there she was sick and the nuns there were very kind to her. It is in a peaceful location, much quieter than the District 1 hotel neighborhood. The nuns are a Benedictine order started in the 50s by a woman from France. A few of them speak English and most of the speak French.

My mother has gone out now to see an accupuncturist recommeneded to her by one of the nuns. She has slipped right into the life here in HCMC.

We are leaving for Danang tomorrow, though I think we are actually staying in Hoi An. My mother wants to attend the baptism (Catholic) of a young woman she met while she was in that city. We will come back to HCMC on the 4th of September.

It is difficult to work the blog page because the instructions and links are in Vietnamese. I studied the language a long time ago in college but I am far from fluent. I am working more from memory on what button to push.

First day walking around the neighborhood

We walked around the area for an hour or so this morning. My mother knew the twisting and narrow passageways that honeycomb the area. The photos I posted are from my balcony looking up the street in one direction and then the other and directly across the street. My room is directly above the front door on the third floor and my mother's is on the second floor just below mine.

Everyone seems really nice at the hotel. A lady is going with us on the bus to the monastery this afternoon. My mother was staying there for the past week but came back here yesterday due to my arrival. I need to get rid of stash of gifts soon because we are going to Danang next week and I want my luggage to be as compact as possible. One of the nuns from the monastery may go out to the Binh Duong orphanage so that I can drop the gifts off now.

I'm in Vietnam

I made it to the hotel. My mother met me at the airport and she negotiated a taxi back to District 1. The hotel is okay, but there is no elevator. Anyway it's only ten dollars a day so it will do until I get Henry.

Made it to Hong Kong

I am in the Hong Kong airport now. The flight from San Francisco was over 14 hours--long and tedious. I feel like all they did was feed us the whole way and show one movie after another. I was in Extended Economy so I had five inches extra leg room. Not that it really mattered because my legs are not long. But I was trying to picture sitting in that seat with a baby in my lap. Maybe it would be better with a bulkhead seat.

I get onto the same plane to continue to HCMC/Saigon, but had to take my carry on luggage off and come upstairs to the boarding area. I inadvertantly passsed out of security so I had to go through again, but it was much easier than the DFW airport.

Ready to fly out tomorrow

I left home today, made my way to Lewisville (near DFW airport) where I will stay tonight and fly out in the morning, change planes in San Francisco, and then a direct flight to HCMC with a stop in Hong Kong for a couple of hours. I emptied the refrigerator, turned it and the hot water heater off, poured out a whole bag of food in the barn loft for the feral cats, and got the mail held at the post office--I am ready for the long haul.

I took a photo this morning of the sunrise out behind my house. The next time I see that sight I will have Henry home with me. And the next time I post something I will be in Vietnam.

Happy Birthday

Today is my grandmother's 92nd birthday. We had a party for her this past Sunday with 42 in attendance. She is anxiously waiting to meet Henry, and has kindly offered to take care of my white cat Sugar while I am away in Vietnam.

Happy Birthday Grandmother!

More wisdom from a fortune cookie

I guess the local Chinese restaurant's fortune cookies are trying to tell me something. I went out to eat and got this in my cookie.

And yesterday I got my visa! That was worrying me since I bought the ticket last week online and requested the visa through a travel agent. The mail is scheduled to start being held next Monday and I worried about them getting mixed up and holding the visa up. Now that I have it all that is left to do is pack, which I started to do last night. I've had the bag with all the gifts packed for some time but now I've got to pack my clothes as well as whatever baby supplies and clothing I decide to take.

Praying for a G&R soon!

I got updated photos of Henry today from the agency. In my mind he's praying along with me for our G&R ceremony to be scheduled very soon!

Flight to HCMC 27 August

Still no word about the scheduling of the G&R, but I've gone ahead and booked a flight. I will arrive in HCMC on Tuesday 28 August. Maybe I'll have time to do some sight seeing with my mother as well as make myself known to the appropriate officials in Vietnam. I am very anxious to move on through the process and bring Henry home.

Unrelenting wait

As I want and then wait some more, I think back to this fortune I got a few months ago at the local Chinese restaurant. I keep it on my desk next to a photo of Henry.

Plans to leave soon

I don't have a firm date yet for my G&R, just a tentative idea that it should be toward the end of the month. I've wanted to leave early to allow myself some time to see the country before I get Henry and am totally preoccupied, so I've started looking for travel arrangements the week of August 20th.

My mother has been gone since June 11th--a month in China and now almost a month in Vietnam. She has traveled from Hanoi to Danang and Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh City. Yesterday she left for a three day trip to the Mekong Delta. This photo is her on a motor bike taxi. Hopefully I will leave in time to have a week or two to see the sites with her (we especially would like to go to Angkor Wat in Cambodia) and I'm hoping there are no more delays and I will have my G&R by the end of August.

It's still raining, but the bridge is repaired

It still rains more than usual for this time of the year, but they were able to at least repair the bridge. Of course they haven't replaced the guard rail yet so in my opinion it is a hazard, especially since all the rain widened the bank quite a bit. I can still get to the library without taking a detour, but last night it was raining so hard when I went home the battery light came on twice when I went through rising water on the road that came up into the engine of the car.

Meanwhile I am still waiting to hear news from Vietnam, but I am making plans to leave at the last part of August.