Last night we went out to eat with the director of our agency, Sue Hedberg. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant called Lemongrass. The food was good and DeanAnne and I both had pho. Pho (pron. fer) is a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup and it is served in stalls, cafes and by street vendors all over Saigon. It is full of noodles, meat, and vegetables. You don't usually eat the broth, just the ingredients. After we left the restaurant we walked back to the hotel and I took this picture of the Ho Chi Minh City Hall.
Last night brought back old memories. Jett is 1 year old, but he still takes a bottle about every 3 hours. He has not had anything food wise but cereal mixed with water. His caregivers held him alot and he has not developed muscularly in his lower body because of it. He can stand and cruise down the edge of the bed. He moves around really good and I think by the time we come home you'll probably see alot of difference in his lower body. He is a very happy baby and only cries when he wants a bottle. He is very interested when we are out walking and really pays attention to the things going on around him. He also smiles and laughs alot.
We went to the grocery store this morning to try and find some baby food for him. We think that if he gets some real food in him he will be able to go longer between meals. After we left the grocery store we started walking back. Some cyclo drivers begin following us and hassling us. I finally gave in and we let them take us for a ride.
A cyclo is a bicycle with two wheels on the front and a seat for a passenger. The driver sits on the rear and pedals the contraption. They are a common sight in Saigon and many of them are very old and dilapidated. The drivers will follow you around and aggravate the stuffings out of you to give you a ride. They are notorious for sticking tourists as well. Settle on a price before you get on the thing. Every one that comes by me pats his calves and says"Very strong, I give you ride!" So today I decided I would test one out. It is a really good way to see the city. We rode by a lot of places today.
We saw the Ho Chi Minh City Opera House and the Notre Dame Cathedral.
The streets are very busy and It gets kinda scary sometimes as the trucks and motorcycles zip past you. I am still amazed at what people haul on their motorcycles and bicycles. They carry things you can't even imagine. Here is a picture of a bicycle so you can get an idea.
We saw several booths while on the ride selling dog meat and kangaroo meat. We also passed several Budhist pagodas where people go to pray and offer incense. These incense altars are burning all over the city. Many shop keepers burn them right in the doorways of their shop. At the temples, some of the incense sticks are 4-5 foot long and as big around as a broomstick. They also burn huge incense coils in the pagodas that are suspended from the ceiling.
After a couple of hours of riding around, it began to rain. This is the monsoon season in Vietnam and rain comes almost every day. The cyclo drivers pulled over and let us stand under a shop's awning while they put the covers up on their cyclos. Here is a picture of DeanAnne's driver assembling her cab. The rain was short and we headed back on our way. It was really hot and Jett was getting restless so we headed back to the hotel. The weather here is very similar to Georgia, hot and humid. The humidity doesn't go away here though since it rains much more frequently than back home.
Thanks for checking up on us. No adoption work today or tomorrow. Wednesday we will go to the Binh Duong People's Committee offices for our Giving and Receiving. It's really nice here, but I'm ready to move through this process and stand on familiar ground again. It can be very unnerving at times when you think about how far away from home you are and how little is under your control. We have to put everything in God's hands. The language is a very significant barrier. I recommend to anyone coming to get a phrase book and practice a little before you come. If you have any Vietnamese friends, get their help. Most of the Vietnamese people speak enough English that you can understand them. The problem comes when they try to understand you. I know this thick southern accent I got probably don't help any either. At times it can be a real problem. You ask a question and the person just smiles at you. So you say what you think is a similar word in Vietnamese and they don't even recognize what your saying as Vietnamese. Both of you smile at each other and say thank you while walking away. The people are very nice though. I doubt there's anywhere else in the world you can make such a fool out of yourself and not feel really embarrassed by it.
