Since being back from Tet, we have
been working hard to get the school ready for more students! We had our 2nd
Open Day for potential parents and are in preparation for another one in April.
We also are eagerly anticipating the arrival of Natalie Friesen the end of April.
It will be great to have someone to show around Hanoi and then we are off to
the central highlands of Dalat! We also made a trip to an orphanage in Ba Vi.
It is a very sad place with over 300 people, from infants to 70 year olds, with
disabilities. But, it is amazing how happy they are for a visit and especially
for basic necessities we take for granted. We are currently in the process of
donating and trying to raise money to redo their sanitation building so they
can enjoy showers. The sanitation building is in horrible shape and is in need
of desperate shape. We are so thankful for a supportive family and home community
to help us make an impact in the lives of the residences there. We look forward
to telling you about our upcoming adventures with Natalie, along with our
efforts at the Ba Vi orphanage!
We recently decided to rent
motorbikes again, so that we are able to get to our evening tutoring that we
have and not have to deal with dodgy motorbike taxis and regular taxis. The new
bike we got is an automatic….and it is HUGE! When I sit on the back with Lance,
my feet don’t touch the ground (which I feel unsafe in case we got in an
accident!). Besides being huge, it has
another great feature….a horn that sounds like a truck horn! Lance has really
enjoyed using it to let people know that our big rig is coming through! The traffic here continues to amaze (and
frustrate!) us. You will be in complete
dead lock and cars, taxis and motorbikes will be honking at you (as if you are
able to move!). Even if you were able to move, they would get to move an extra
5 feet! Traffic here does not understand or put into practice the concept of
yielding. When traffic is coming on to a side road….they do not look to see if
someone is coming and it is safe to go…they just go! And YOU are expected to
get over! Stop lights are observed….occasionally! Traffic will come at you head
on and come from 12 different directions. You really have to be on your top
game if you want to consider driving in this madness! People rarely move for you, let you through
or move over for you. You have to look out for yourself!
It has also been an interesting experience looking and applying for jobs back home as we continue to live and work here in Vietnam. It has been a unique experience for us and the schools that we have had Skype interviews with!
We think about home often and about our farm and all of the things that we want to accomplish whenever we get back. We are definitely looking forward to the peace, quiet and countryside, although now that we are finally used to falling asleep with cars zooming and honking, construction sounds buzzing and the sounds of people, I fear that it will be hard to sleep in the silence of nature on our farm!
I will include a few random pictures of Vietnam to make this entry a little more exciting!
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| Fishing baskets. |
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| The mess of traffic that is Hanoi! |
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| You can find ladies on bicycles on every street corner selling beautiful flowers! |
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| The crazy electrical wires in the city. |
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| A typical minority village house. |
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| Catching the days food! |
