Salt, Coffee and Green Mango Juice

1. I have seen salt flats in the Ba Ria, Long Hai and Vung Tau area. Salt gets spread out on the side of the road to dry the same way rice does. It also gets piled up in small triangular mountains in the flats when it is harvested. The nannies taught me to eat watermelon and papaya with salt. I would have never bought salt in Vietnam, but Nathan and Merel did, and left their bag with me when they went home. 

The salt in Vietnam is very good! It has flavor, minerally sharp flavor. It makes food taste way better. I brought Nathan and Merel's bag home with me.

2. The coffee in Vietnam is soooooo good! It's the best coffee I have ever tasted. The Vietnamese like their coffee strong and sweet, just like I do. It's rich and chocolatey. Even coffee in a can tastes good there! The very first morning Susan and I were there, I went down for breakfast to the open air restaurant beside the pool at the Somerset, and ordered coffee. I expected a traditional Vietnamse iced coffee, but I got something like an americano. I took a sip, and was in heaven! It was sooooo good! You just can't go wrong. In Ba Ria, there was a coffee shop across the street from the orphange. They made great coffee, and sometimes they delivered.

I brought many pounds of coffee home with me.

3. I love mango juice. I kept saying that when I went to Vietnam I was going to drink gallons of mango juice. So, in the first week, I went to a restaurant for lunch and ordered mango juice but I got green mango juice instead. Tart, sweet, very refreshing! Ah, then I couldn't get enough. In Vung Tau, there is a cafe a block away from my hotel that served it. I took Molly out for a walk in the stroller in the evenings and we would stop for a mango juice. She ate the ice cubes, and I drank the juice. It's good.

I couldn't bring green mango juice home in my suitcase. :(

These are 3 things I'm going to miss from Vietnam.

Post Scabies Infantile Acropustulosis

Molly is suffering from infantile acropustulosis right now.  This is a secondary condition that develops after scabies have been treated.  She has broken out in itchy red patches with a pimple in the middle, and it looks very much like a scabies bite.

This secondary condition is often mis-diagnosed, and many doctors are not familiar with it.  It is a cyclical condition, and Molly could have flare-ups that come and go for years, although it could also disappear earlier - we will just have to wait and see.  There isn't much we can do to prevent flare-ups either. They heal on their own, and I can only try and give relief from the itching and prevent her from scratching.  Her sharp little fingernails tend to draw blood.

The Women Who Have Loved Molly

I have had a unique opportunity to get to know the nannies and other teachers who have raised Molly since she arrived at the orphanage. I wonder about these women. Who cares for their children when they are caring for ours? The nannies shifts are 24 hours, one day on, one day off, and I never saw a variation for holidays or illness. There are only 4 full time nannies, two per shift, and two other women who work part-time in the baby room. Communications with these women were the usual gesturing and looking up words in the Vietnamese/English dictionary, but I think they got a kick out of having me there. Plus, I helped out a little bit and brought watermelons to share.

I learned that these women love the children they care for. I watched 6 children leave with their adoptive Canadian parents, and saw tears in the nannies' eyes. They continued to ask me about the children afterwards, knowing that I was in contact with some of the parents (who are all from Canada). The day that one little boy left, the adoption ceremony was scheduled that same morning, so his departure was sudden, and two of the nannies didn't have a chance to say goodbye. So they made arrangements to travel to Ho Chi Minh City where he was staying to visit and say goodbye. I saw love in their care of the children everyday.

Khuyen

I got to know Khuyen a little bit - she invited us to her home one afternoon. She lives in a lovely house with land around it where she raises orchids and has fruit trees. She has two daughters, and her mother lives next door. It seems like she has worked at that job for many years - she has pictures of adoptive families on her coffee table with older children she said she raised. She gets to work by motorcycle, which is pretty common there, and took Molly and I home to our hotel many times on the back of her bike. She showed me that I could toilet train Molly by taking holding her under the thighs over a toilet, and hissing. Molly pees when you do that. One day she even shocked me by pooping! Thank-you Khuyen.

Hanh

Hanh was the women holding Molly in her proposal pictures. I was really happy to meet her. Hanh lives at the orphanage, and does other work on the days she is not in the baby room. Hanh is gentle and patient. She often waved me away from a crying, struggling Molly, and sung lullabies while rocking the crib, and put Molly to sleep for her naps during the day. Hanh would bring me lunch and make sure I got a nap when Molly was sleeping. She often surprised me with her knowledge of English. One day she gave me a dress for Molly and told me it was a 'souvenir'. Who would know that word? She always told me I was 'Mother', and I told her Molly had many mothers, including her. She also said one day, "Never forget me".  Molly and I will always remember Hanh.

Hoang

Hoang worked the same shift as Khuyen, and the two women were lots of fun together. I really enjoyed my days with them. They often joked with each other, so there was lots of laughter and lightness on those days. She is very pretty, kind and loving.

Son

Son was the nanny that commanded the most respect from the kids, and the toddlers tended to turn to her for approval. She accepted no nonsense, but had a really soft spot that shone often with the children. She worked with Hanh, and they were a good team, as Hanh was the gentle comforting one, while Son was the diciplinarian. Son taught me the 'ropes' when I first arrived. She had no problem showing me how to help out with the children, but curiously wouldn't allow me to help hang or fold laundry. She arrived for work on a bicycle, and would bring me bananas. She was very curious about me - she inspected my white skin, and poked at a blood blister I have on my leg. I tried to hug her once, but it felt a litle awkward.

Hieu

Hieu is a very pretty younger woman that came into the baby room for a few hours in the afternoon during nap time. I really don't know much about her, but could see that she was very loving and gentle. She brought snacks that she shared with us, and would go out to get a watermelon if I didn't already have one. She would nap at the end of her shift - generally with a child tucked beside her.

Van

Van also lived at the orphanage, and I generally saw her cleaning and gardening. She would come into the baby room for short periods of time to help out. She gave me a lecture in the beginning about holding Molly too much. She chattered on in Vietnamese, which I couldn't understand, but I got the message. However, I wasn't too offended - I think she was right.

Thuy

Thuy said her title at the orphanage was a teacher, but it seemed to me that she ran the place. She became my best friend there. She made lots of effort to communicate with me in English, and took very good care of me and Molly both. Molly loved her! I could have resented Thuy for the way Molly would dump me and whine until Thuy picked her up, every single time she showed up, but I loved Thuy about as much. She would show up at my hotel in the evenings with food, knowing I couldn't get out for dinner. She took us to her home, and to Long Hai beach (another posting) one weekend on the back of her motorbike. She would bring in food to the orphanage for breakfast and sometimes lunch for me. She visited the baby room often, and clipped Molly's nails for me. She taught me a lot of Vietnamese. She is lovely and kind and will always be a friend.

Canh

Canh is another teacher at the orphanage. She is a really pleasant and kind woman who always had a smile for us. She also brought me bananas from her tree, and was often part of the conversation in the afternoon 'Vietnamese lessons'. Canh and Thuy showed up at my hotel room one evening on a day that I was sick. I guess they thought they would help me out for the evening with Molly. However, they found that my symptoms were mild, and I had just bathed and dressed Molly in her pajamas. So instead, they suggested we all go out for a bowl of Pho soup! So off we went - Molly and I on the back of Thuy's motorbike, down this narrow street that I would have thought was a back alley. They took me to an outdoor cantina-style Pho house that was jumping with activity. Thuy and Canh held Molly while I ate, and they wouldn't let me pay the bill. I have pictures of Molly in her pajamas at the restaurant with the two of them. Its a great story to tell her when she's older.

So Cute I Can't Stand It

Molly has a new expression.  She has started wrinkling her nose.
I can't stop laughing at this picture!

Celebrate Adoption News From VT3

I just got an email from a waiting family whose file had been held up for a long time.  The hold up has been solved, and their file can move forward.  I'm so excited for them!  They are adopting a child from the same orphanage as Molly, so I know and love their child from my time spent there.

I'm so happy to have gotten the good news today!

Just Because I Can

And because Samantha has been asking, here are some random pictures of Molly from March 2010:

Homecoming (June 5)

We are home! The flight was good, and Molly was easy. She slept most of the way, as it was overnight for us.

There was a big crowd to welcome us home. Most of my family members drove up from the Okanagan to greet us, some of my friends were there, and 4 other adopting families were there with 3 of the babies who have all recently come home from Vietnam. One of those families came over from Victoria for the weekend.

We are blessed to have so many people that care for us!

Some of the crowd waiting for us to arrive

This is us on the monitor

Grandma and Grandpa meet Molly for the first time

An armful of gifts for Molly

Meeting Uncle Larry

Meeting cousin Deborah

The 'Fab Four' - Quan, Mylan, Molly and Ninh

The family came back to the house to celebrate my niece's birthday, as well as Molly's homecoming.
Happy birthday Janel!

Playing with Uncle Rob

Ron welcomed me home with a bouquet of peonies, and Lori left some lavender.

Loan

Beautiful

I don't know where to start to write about Loan. She is an employee of my Ontario based adoption agency. She lives in Ho Chi Minh City, and takes care of all the families who travel to the South to adopt their children. She speaks Vietnamese, English and French. She is warm and caring, funny and playful, professional and capable.

And Loan is also the glue that held me together here.

We liked each other instantly. We got to know each other in the van on the way to Tra Vinh with Susan and Uncle Howard, to adopt Susan's little boy. We had a conversation on that trip about what I was doing (crazy!) and I told Loan that I had promised in writing that I wouldn't yell at her out of frustration if my file got held up. We kind of giggled about that, but Whoa! it could have happened! Anyhow, she said OK, don't yell at me, but you can cry on my shoulder. Whoa, that did happen!

Every Friday night, as the weekend was looming, and the police investigation had not happened, I phoned Loan (she gave me a cell phone) and cried on her shoulder. EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT! I don't know what she was doing when I called, and I don't remember even asking if she had time to chat. I just whined. And she listened, and she comforted, and I carried on.

Here are some of the wonderful things Loan has done for me:

• The first night back at the orphanage, the arrangements hadn't been relayed to the staff, and they wouldn't let me take Molly back to the hotel. One phone call from Loan, and all was well.
  
• One day I left my purse in the van that Quy had picked us up in. I couldn't communicate my panic to him, so I phoned Loan, and she made everything OK again.
  
• In the first few days back at the orphanage, she came out to Ba Ria just to see me. She took me out for dinner, and convinced me to spend the next day in Vung Tau visiting Susan, while Molly was cared for at the orphanage. She was so right, both Susan and I needed a visit with each other then.

• She had plans with friends to spend a holiday weekend in Mui Ne, and invited Molly and I to join them. I'm kinda like work for her, but we went anyways, and had a great time!


• She realized that in Mui Ne, with Molly, I didn't have any free time to get out and explore, so she did some souvenir shopping for me, and brought me two lovely bracelets on the last morning! How thoughtful is that?


• She had to make all the phone calls to invite the guests to Molly's birthday party. I tried, but I didn't want anyone to misunderstand me. I wanted them to come on the right day at the right time to the right place!


• I casually mentioned one day that I would like to travel to Dalat before I fly home with Molly, if I could find someone to go with me. So, she invited some friends and came with me! Just so that I could see some of the country while I was here.
  
• I have already posted about how hard Loan has worked on my behalf to solve the hold-up of my file. It's so fortunate that she has such good working relationships with so many people in the adoption community.


• There are probably numerous other things she has done behind the scenes that I'm not even aware of. I can't speak the language well enough to find out!

When we prepare to come to Vietnam to pick up our children, we are asked to bring gifts for some of the key people we will be involved with here, including Loan. Well, a gift from me couldn't be big enough to convey the enormous gratitude I feel for her. So, I would like to be a resource for future families preparing for travel. I know a little bit about Loan's tastes, I know the shampoo she likes, and I know a tailor in Vung Tau that has Loan's measurements.

So before we left, I asked Loan to be Molly's Vietnamese Godmother. She brought over a cake the next day, and Kinh, Ngoc and Tam (Loan's boyfriend) came over to celebrate!

At the airport, when she was seeing us off, she bent over Molly in the stroller and talked to her in Vietnamese for a few minutes. I don't know what Loan was saying to her, I just assume that she was giving her god-daughter some good advice for her life in Canada.

I will take Molly back to Vietnam, hopefully often, as she grows up. I want to keep these friendships and relationships close to both of us.

Goodbye Dalat - Day 4 (May 24)

The last morning was simply breakfast and packing and hopping onto another bus for the 8 hour ride back to Saigon. Molly was an angel on the way home again - what a great kid!

And what great new friends we now have! Kinh was really funny, expressive, and loved Molly. If he wasn't carrying my baby, he was carrying my diaper bag.

Kinh bought each of us a rose at the market the first morning. These two were for Molly and I:
Ngoc was really good with Molly too. She could get Molly laughing great big belly laughs. She would play peek-a-boo with Molly and quote "I see you" from Avatar. Molly loved it!And dear Loan - the whole trip wouldn't have happened without her. She made all the plans, booked all the tickets and kept us all happy. Watch for my next posting for more on Loan. Dalat was a great trip! Better with my 3 friends, but I would recommend it to any travellers in the country.

Molly Rode an Elephant - Day 3 (May 23)

Day 3 started with a 2.3km cable car ride across a valley. The view from the heights is stunning.

It dropped us off on the other side at the Quang Trung Reservoir. The grounds above the reservoir house a pagoda, quarters for the monks and gardens. Again, it was a peaceful and beautiful walk through the area. The water was down a long hill, so we decided that it was lovely to look at from up above. Because, you know, if you go down a hill, you have to climb back up. My calves were stiff and sore from the previous day's walks.

The next stop was the elephants!

Molly rode an elephant!

She could have ridden an ostrich too, but Mommy is scared of those big birds. Plus, the saddle didn't look very safe.
After that we needed lunch and a nap, but we carried on in the afternoon. The first stop was a an embroidery house, which I have no pictures for, because cameras were not allowed. I had no idea what to expect - embroidered flowers on pillowcases? More handicraft shopping? No, there were works of art. Tapestries completely filled with thread, painting pictures of landscapes, people's faces, butterflies and flowers. The back-side of the embroidered cloth was as perfect as the front side. We wandered through 3 floors of work on display, then went out back of the building to see more. There were some artists working on pieces. I saw that the pictures were first hand-drawn on the cloth, then the stitches filled in the spaces. There were also some shops selling embroidered products, but they cost many millions of Vietnamese dong. Too expensive to consider. So, we left with no pictures or souvenirs, but wow, the art form is stunningly beautiful.

2nd stop was at the Valley of Love. Another large property leading to a lake, but this one was like an amusement park. There were fake statues of animals dotting the landscape, interesting looking boats on the lake, and even some cowboys offering a horse ride around the lake. We declined, but Kinh and Ngoc decided to go for a bike ride.

A quick break for refreshments, and we were off again.

Last stop for the day was the Hang Nha Crazy House. Nga is a woman who studied architecture in Russia for 14 years, then came back and built this weird and crazy 'art-installation' guesthouse. The rooms are for rent, but it's just too kitchy. We took a quick tour, and called it quits for the day. We were exhausted. I ordered room service, put Molly to bed and I think the others went out to see the night life...