Home Sweet Home

Monday, June 21, 2004

Well, as you know, I made it home safely.  I've had today to rest, unpack and review my pictures - proof that this wasn't a dream.  I had the most amazing time and am so very grateful to have had the experience. 

While I'm more than glad to be home, I miss Vietnam.  What a wonderful place, so full of new and exciting things - the bustling streets of Saigon, the sandy beaches of Nha Trang, the cool breezes of Dalat and everything beautiful in between.  I miss the girls from the Little Rose Warm Shelter and the sweet babies from the Tam Binh orphanage.  I miss dragon fruit and little bananas and eating scrambled eggs and french fries with chop sticks.  I miss the kind people and my new friends.

Would I do it again?  In a heart beat!  It’s already on my calendar for 2006. 

I’m still trying to let it all sink in.  I saw things from a tourist view and saw things that even locals don’t know exist.  It’s mind boggling that most of the people don’t know there are children in shelters and orphanages.  I’m sure that’s kept quiet by the government.  I saw some things from the viewpoint of the Viet Kieu (Vietnamese born people who left Vietnam) in our group, some returning to Vietnam for the first time.  I heard some of the stories of how their families escaped in 1975 just prior to the fall of Saigon.  I feel like I saw Vietnam through many different eyes and I can’t believe how blessed I am for that.

There were some humorous moments that I’d like to share:  One of the children at camp told Caroline that all the Catalyst people looked alike.  That doubled me over!!  There were 220 kids, all with dark hair and dark eyes, dressed exactly alike, so we all had the same feeling!  My little friend from Little Rose, Minh, asked me something over and over in Vietnamese, so we tracked down a translator and her question to me was “do you speak Vietnamese?”.  It took me 10 minutes to know what she was saying – so that was funny to me.  The night we did our dance, our costume was our red t-shirt worn inside out and bath towels wrapped around our waist.  We were all standing in the lobby waiting to walk over to the auditorium and a very nice European lady told my roommate, Barb, that her tag was sticking out of her shirt.  No mention of the ridiculous towels we were wearing!!  And after a particularly long day we were singing and dancing with the kids and I was about to drop over from exhaustion.  I said to Caroline and Amy, “please tell me we’re not going to sing 99 bottles of beer on the wall”.  We all cracked up!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my journals and I hope they all made sense – most were written late at night after some very long days.

Thank you for taking this journey with me.  I’ve loved having you along. 

Kathy/Kathleen

Home with Jet Lag

Sunday, June 20, 2004

Just wanted to let you all know that I made it home safely.  Thank you all for kind words and support.  K

2004 Vietnam Aid Expedition - Day 13

Saturday, June 19, 2004

Subject: Day 13

Today was my last day in Saigon - I leave tomorrow morning.  I'm a little sad to leave here but also anxious to get home to my own bed.

Another early day; I met Eileen and Amelia/Amy in the lobby at 5:30.  We took a taxi to meet Catherine and Emily at their hotel and then waited a few minutes for their adoption facilitator, Madame Chau.  She took us to Tay Ninh Orphanage, a two hour drive from Saigon.  Emily and Eileen's son, Joshua, were adopted from Tay Ninh.  It was such a privilege to be able to accompany them on the trip as most orphanages aren't open to visitors.

Quiet Saigon street at 5:30am

When we arrived, we were greeted by the orphanage director who took us on a tour.  It was a pretty sad place.  Very old and run-down and with an outdoor kitchen where they used a fire to cook the food.  There weren't many children there and only one small baby - a girl about a year old.  She was so sweet and in excellent condition - very clean and soft and not a mark on her (Many of the children we've seen have scabies and other skin conditions.).  I wonder if maybe she was one of the nannies children and did not live in the orphanage?  There were 4 small boys about 18 months old and several older children.  There was also a small boy - about a year old - who has hydrocephalus - a disease easily treated in the States, but this child will likely die within a year.  So, so sad.

I was surprised that there weren't more babies.  With adoptions being closed for 18 months, I expected the orphanage would be quite full.  Catherine asked Madam Chau when she thought adoptions would be opening and she said maybe October.  I'm not sure what that response was based on, but I will wait and see.  It would be great to come back to Vietnam again so soon.

Emily, who is 6, was a little overwhelmed by everything she saw today.  She was about 18 months old when she was adopted and the nannies all remembered her and hugged and kissed her.  I think it may have been too much for her little heart to take.  When we got back to the car, she was sobbing.  Catherine said she would not have taken her there had she known how it had deteriorated since she was there in 1999.  It's a lot for an adult to process, I can't imagine what she was thinking.

Eileen

Catherine and Emily

Me and Emily

We also visited a very beautiful Temple in Tay Ninh, just around the corner from the orphanage. 

Amelia, me and Eileen

On the ride back to Saigon, I sat in the front seat and got quite an eyeful.  That is the most traffic I have seen since I've been here and I'm telling you, some of those scooter drivers are CRAZY!!  Most don't wear helmets - Saigon leads the world in head trauma cases!!! 

I snuck in a nap when we returned to the hotel then headed out for more shopping, I mean sight seeing.  OK, shopping.  It's so fun and interesting.  And I've gotten pretty brave about bargaining.  I don't know that I've made any really great deals, but hey, a few bucks is a few bucks!

In the evening, I walked down to the Opera House (2 blocks away) to people watch.  I was expecting people to be dressed up but no one was.  Boring.  So I walked back toward the hotel and stopped into a French/American restaurant and had some dinner.  And a Diet Coke.  It will be so great to get home and have a big, big Diet Coke with lots of ICE!!!  I can hardly wait!

I tracked down Amelia to say goodbye.  She's leaving for home tonight.  She'll be back in NC for 3 weeks then she's heading to China to work in an orphanage over there. 

So many people in our group left here to do such exciting things.  A group went to Cambodia - 2 just for the weekend; the other 2 are going on to Thailand.  One family headed to North Vietnam to travel around another 2 weeks with their 6 year old adopted daughter.  One very young guy is going to Hanoi to do an internship and hopes to get a permanent position.  One adoptive mom here by herself is traveling down to the Delta area with her adoption facilitator and is going to meet her son's birth mother!  That's HUGE!

I've had the best time here and can't wait to come back again.  I've enjoyed sharing my journey with all of you and am glad that you've enjoyed it too.  As soon as I'm home, I'll figure out the best way to share my pictures and stories with you.  Again, thank you so much for your love and friendship.  I could not have made this trip without your support.

Goodbye Vietnam!

Kathy

2004 Vietnam Aid Expedition - Day 12

Friday, June 18, 2004

Subject: Day 12

Hi everyone!  I hope you're not getting sick of hearing from me.

Today was probably the hardest day of the Expedition.  The day started with a quick cab ride with Caroline to her favorite pho restaurant (Pho Hua - pronounced fah wah) for an early breakfast of really good pho - the best yet - and Vietnamese coffee with sweet milk (I'm not a coffee drinker so it's hard for me to say, but everyone who likes coffee, loves it!)  Then we headed to the Tam Binh Orphanage.  75 children, ages newborn to 8 1/2 years old, live there, all with HIV/Aids.  We had tea with the orphanage director and then took a tour of the facility.  It is new - about 1 1/2 years old - and it's a beautiful facility; very clean.  The first room we visited is where the older kids were playing.  They were all beautiful and looked to be well cared for.  They really checked out all those white people!   Honestly, I couldn't stay in there for very long - I stood outside and cried.  It was just so overwhelming to see those sweet kids with absolutely no future.  They can only afford to give Aids meds to the ones who are already too sick to save.  So sad as it would only cost about $10 per month per child to give them the meds they need.

Nol playing peek-a-boo with one of the girls.

Long getting into the action

Sarah getting a braid

Next we went to the infant room - babies from newborn to about 9-12 months old.  They were all in their cribs - about 20 babies.  There was the sweetest little peanut way in the back with a very bad cleft lip and palate.  She (I called them all 'she' because most aren't dressed in a way that makes it possible to tell) was so smiley and loved when Kisten played peek-a-boo with her.  (Kisten has 2 daughters adopted from Vietnam, one was born with a cleft lip and palate, so it was particularly hard for her to see that baby).  The nannies (2 per room) said we could hold the babies and we all rushed to pick them up.  It was a wonderful sight to see everyone with a baby in their arms!

Sarah

Catherine

Kathy

Love the hair!!

Amelia

Geoff

Shelley

Barb

Ty

Michael

Laurie

Will

So smiley!!

Jack

Jeff

Geoff, Keelan & Clare

Caroline

Then we went to the third room where the toddlers were.  They were all in their beds, some of them 'rocking' which was so sad to see.  Upstairs there were 2 more rooms with more infants and toddlers.  There was one little boy who is very, very sick.  He was just so sad.  Absolutely heartbreaking to see such a little child so sick and in so much pain.  When they get too sick for the nannies and the medical staff (1 Dr. and 2 nurses visit every day) to care for, they are taken to a hospital where they will die.

I spent most of my time in one of the toddler rooms where a few of us plopped down on the floor and played with the babies.  One little guy they call "the hugger" went around and hugged everyone!  He was so sweet.  One of the kids was really shy and stood back for the longest time but eventually came over next to me then let me hold her and hug her.  She was so precious.

The Boss

The Hugger resting on Nol

Caroline with the Hugger

Guess who's holding the snacks??

It was sad to have to put them back in their beds - they cried and raised their arms to be picked up again.  What a difference a little time makes.

We rode back to the hotel on a pretty quiet bus.  It was alot to take in.

We had lunch at a beer garden and were joined by a few officials from the American Embassy.  After they left, we had our going away "ceremony".  Caroline gave a short speech (Thank goodness it was short!  We've heard so many l-o-n-g speeches!  Particularly difficult to sit through when you have no idea what the people are saying.  It was actually funny to listen to people speaking Vietnamese then they would say "Catalyst Foundation" or "Caroline Ticarro-Parker".  Some things just don't translate!) and then gave awards to the top 3 fund raisers.  HELLO!  I was #2 thanks to all of you!!!  Then we presented Hanh with gifts (most of us brought her a t-shirt from the U.S.).  Hanh is the in-country coordinator for Catalyst Foundation and worked for 2 years to make all the arrangements for this trip.  She did a great job as everything went very smoothly.  Then we all said goodbye.  I thought it would be sad, but everyone had a "see you on the next Expedition" attitude.  What an excellent group of people - a very diverse group and yet we all worked so well together.

Saying goodbye to my roommate and new friend, Barb.

Based on the kind of day we'd had so far, Amy, Cindy and I decided to visit the War Museum - why not?  we're already depressed!  It was presented very much from the viewpoint of the existing government, which I imagine was rather biased.  I wished I knew more about the Vietnam War so that I could know the other side.  I didn't see all of the exhibits, it was just too much.

I spent the rest of the afternoon alone in my room resting and admiring my purchases.  It's kinda nice to spend a little time alone to process everything. 

I met some friends - Eleanor from Houston and Eileen from North Carolina - in the hotel lobby at 7:00 and we headed out to dinner.  No Vietnamese food for us - we went to a French restaurant around the corner from our hotel.  I laughed that I was eating spaghetti and meat sauce and drinking a Diet Coke (Oh yeah!  I found some!!!) while in a French restaurant while in Saigon! 

After dinner we walked down to the Rex Hotel - very famous and very beautiful - and went up to the roof for some ice cream.  It was SOOO good.  My sweet tooth has been suffering - I can't find anything really sweet! 

I'm taking a little day trip tomorrow.  Can't wait to fill you in on the details.

Take care.

K

**UPDATE** After returning home, I learned from my adoption agency, Children's Hope International, that not all of the children at this orphanage are HIV+ or have AIDS. Children's Hope also started a program to provide HIV/AIDS medicine to the children who do need it. Many of the children from this orphanage have since been adopted and are living happy, healthy lives with their forever families.