Out For a Bit...

So, I do have more Vietnam updates, but I ran out of time to get them posted and I am headed to Kenya tomorrow. We are staying in a place with very little access to electricity and no running water, so internet is definitely out. But, tune back in around July 15th for some great Kenya and Vietnam updates. Thanks for reading!!

Getting My Hair Did

So, I’m not the biggest fan of washing and straightening my hair. One of the enticements of Asia is that they’ll do both, and they’ll do it fast and cheap. Yes I’m still talking about hair… Anyhow, I went off exploring through the alleyways near where we live for a place to get my hair done because a certain someone said if I went to a place off the main road, it would be cheaper.

I found a place- small, not too creepy, it’d be fine. I held up my notebook in which Justin had written hair wash and straighten in Vietnamese. She nodded. I asked her how much. As she was figuring out how to tell me the price, I looked around. I then noticed another client. Some of the staff was busy helping her… by picking lice out of her hair… I quickly backed out of there as I heard the lady telling me “two U.S. dolla”, while holding up 4 fingers. Hecks to the no am I getting my hair washed there! I then went to the main road and paid $4.00 for a wash and a straighten at a clean, well lit, hopefully lice free shop!

China Shopping???

S had invited me to go visit another orphanage. However, prior to getting there, there would be a stop at a china store. Another girl I had met, A, needed to get dishes for her home here. Aside from dishwasher and mattress shopping, I couldn’t imagine anything worse. We got to the store, which was more like a museum, and I was proven wrong. The china here was incredible.

It was more like art on dishes. Pattern after pattern, each one was so unique and intricate. I have never imagined ever wanting to own china. But after seeing all that was here I thought about possibly purchasing a set. S asked me what kind of dishes I like. I told her I buy lots of random, mismatched dishes. She then took me upstairs to an outlet portion of the store, full of scratch and dent china.

There I picked up several random pieces… but, I’m still toying with the idea of getting a full set of something. I told Justin that he would have to take a field trip with me to see all they had.

Next stop- the orphanage. And this orphanage was full of… BABIES!!... They were so cute! The youngest room of babies had babies all over the place- in cribs and on the floor. The next room of a little bit older ones were all sleeping on the tile floor- no beds or mats in site. Same with the third room of just a bit older than the previous room. Maybe the tiles help keep the kids cool?

I picked one little sweetie up and fed her a bottle. While feeding her, there was a little guy in a bouncy chair. So with my foot I kept him moving. Then another little cutie crawled over and was standing while holding onto my knee. I had a whole flock of cute babies. I did that for over an hour and it was wonderful. I’m planning to head back there fo shizzle.

An interesting thing I learned about but didn’t see-
At one orphanage, after they feed the babies they put these leaves across their heads and the leaves make them go to the bathroom… hmmm, could be an interesting form of pottie training.

Fish Spa

Today’s Adventure- the spa. That may sound like a relaxing, indulging time, but this was no ordinary spa. This was The Blue Moon spa Foot Therapy Fish Reflexology. The big idea- there’s a pond of fish and you put your feet in and the fish eat off the dead skin, leaving your feet silky smooth. Love it!




So I get there and I begin by soaking my feet in a warm bath of cinnamon water. Then I head to the ponds. First, I put my feet in the pond with the small fish. They gathered around and nibbled like crazy. Then I switched to the pool with the big fish. Holy moly that felt crazy! I was so ticklish that I kept squealing like a school girl- the spa attendant kept cracking up watching me. Finally, I got used to it and I’m pretty sure those fish had never eaten so well. My husband claims that the fish probably died of obesity after eating my feet…. He thinks that since my feet are always in flip-flops that they get pretty gruesome… Anyway- a few more visits to the fish spa and I’ll have fabulous feet… and for me, that’s saying something! I’m thinking of getting a school of my own to keep at home for maintenance.

My First Day of R&R...

I had arranged with a lady to meet her friend at the An Phu market in order to catch a ride to an orphanage. We’ll call that lady “S.” The plans then changed for me to find their driver at the market and head to S’ villa. But when Justin and I went to leave, we realized his motorbike had a flat tire. So, he called up a motor taxi, put me on the back of it, crossed his fingers and hoped I’d make it to my destination. I did make it to An Phu market and found the “cotton buds” that were requested. The driver found me and off we went. I arrived at S’ villa- a ginormous mansion just off of the jungles of Vietnam.

S is a very kind lady, but also quite the boss- when she says something, you do it. Her maid asked if I would like some breakfast. I told her I had already eaten and was fine. Her maid came in a bit later and said, “S says you will eat” and she put down a plate of little ham sandwiches. Now, this might sound good, however, two problems: mayonnaise and ham. I am a vegetarian and I do not like condiments. I contemplated my options… I had broken my cardinal rule of always carrying Ziploc bags with me (to stuff unwanted food in)… so, Option 1: pretend to have eaten the sandwiches, put them in the back pocket of my purse. Problem: it will be HOT in the car. Sweltering ham and mayo may draw some attention. Option 2: Pull off the ham, eat mini mayo sandwiches. Problem: yuck! And… just yuck! Option 3: Just eat the dang things, apologize to the nearest pig you find and try to pretend the mayo is… not mayo? Problem: goes against what I believe in, and what a waste of breaking vegetarianism- for little ham sandwiches. Final solution- This will be a choose your own adventure. You decide what you think I did.

Finally after the traumatic breakfast we set off. We picked up two English ladies. One we’ll call J and the other J’s mom. J’s mom was a jolly English lady who had a muttering speech and a bouncy laugh. Throughout the journey J’s mom kept looking out the window, sometimes in horror over the crazy traffic, and other times laughing her jello laugh at the miniature motor bikes carrying the ridiculously large loads of anything and everything.

We headed to the orphanage they’ve worked with. This was an orphanage for special needs children. What a delightful place it was. The kids were smiling and playing. They had great little mobile chairs to get around in. A guitarist had come to entertain the kids. There was laughter, singing and dancing. The poor orphanage cat got suckered into a few dances and then took refuge under my skirt. He followed me around the rest of the time we were there; probably just grateful I wasn’t swinging him by his tail. Then afterwards we fed the kids their lunch.

Some interesting things I learned:
It’s difficult to determine which orphanages to really focus on helping because the ones that look the most destitute often just pocket any donated money. They don’t want to improve the orphanage because they make a lot of money off of it looking horrible. The decent looking orphanages are the ones that actually use the money for the good of the kids, however they have a more difficult time getting funding because people want to help the more impoverished places.

Another thing, you can’t adopt from private orphanages, which means, the people that run those, set them up for the good of the kids. One reason some people set these ones up is because sometimes when kids get adopted out, they are abused and dumped. The government orphanages are often the worst kind, they can adopt out for the bargain price of a mere $40,000 U.S. plus bribe fees.