On Our Own

new photos

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:12:00 +0000

I finally uploaded the pictures from our family trip to the beach. My two younger sisters, plus all our kids, spent several days at a friend's beach house. We had a great time at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, visiting several other area attractions, as well.

I'm still working on web stuff, but at the same time I've had one essay accepted and another essay query accepted. So I've been busy writing and editing. I'll let you know when there's a web link to pass on.

changes ahead

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:08:00 +0000

Our lives are busy, but not in the way they used to be. I'm in the midst of changing things around and making teresaandkids.com's blog a personal/family blog and moving the weblog into a better system to be able to search for various topics. I'll be breaking it into essays more and less diary-style entries.

Meanwhile, I'm plodding away on the book about our adventures in Vietnam (and a few in China). The kids have been in California, with my sister for three weeks now and I'm thrilled to welcome them home tomorrow afternoon. It's been a good experience and I've been able to accomplish a decent amount and had a good time being completely single, but I'm really, really excited about them coming back.

I finally got my own page up for my life as a writer. You can see it at www.teresaandkids.com/teresa. I'm hoping to get one up for each of the kids as well, showcasing their photography and writing/art talents.

My to-do list is incredibly long, but it's getting shorter. Little by little.

Portland Rose Garden

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:41:00 +0000

It was cold and rainy during the all-school picnic on Monday, but the flowers that were in bloom were beautiful. You can see them all on Flickr.

Reunification Day

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:05:00 +0000

In Viet Nam today, people are enjoying a day off for Reunification Day, celebrating the fall of Sai Gon. Looking at the details of this day in history is difficult. So many people were left that wanted to go. Children were taken and parents were left. Tears and fear were everywhere, both with the American soldiers and the Vietnamese. Nowadays, the day is celebrated, like America's Independence Day, to mark the bringing together of the country. Just as Ho Chi Minh had long fought for.

It seems ironic as I think about the ensuing "Operation Babylift" and the current state of adoptions to America from Viet Nam. Lines have been drawn and American adoptions will be ending this fall if there isn't some miraculous agreement between the nations.

I can't help but wonder what will happen to the dear children in Tam Ky. So many of them were adopted to the States and that will end. The sponsoring of the baby orphanage will likely end as well (since the flow of funds/adoptions fees will stop). What will be the consequences? I worry that the volunteers of Tam Ky will fade as well, though perhaps it will require more help and elicit more volunteers. The kids will need them and the extra fruit and yogurt that they bring each day.

I want so badly to head back there, bringing along money, clothes, toys... It was so much easier to do so when we lived in-country, but now the transportation costs are a bit prohibitive, though I'm doing what I can to figure out how to do so. Part of it will be the rice bags that Mr. Tung's sister made. They'll be online soon and will help to pay for a gift-laden visit, ensuring that everything arrives to the children in need.

Today, I can't help but wonder about all the kids there and the frustration of so many and the celebration of others.

Inflation biting both sides

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:20:00 +0000

There's an interesting article in the NYTimes today about how the inflation in Asia (caused by the recession, coming recession-whatever you want to call it) is biting the U.S. due to our dependence on products made there. It highlights what's happening in Vietnam (!), as well as China.

Read the story here.

at long last

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:40:00 +0000

It's been eight months since we came back to the States and it's been a trying time to say the least. But finally, at long last, I've found full-time work that blends into my life with my kids almost perfectly. I was subbing at the schools for a while as a paraeducator (like an educational assistant) at the same time I was working for the web design company. Since that job ended and I started working at the adoption agency, I couldn't fit the subbing in. We were trying to make it work, but it just wasn't gonna happen.

Then two weeks ago, the principal at my kids' school asked me if I'd like to join the staff. One of their high school paraeducators needed to leave and they wanted me to take the position. I jumped on it and started work right away.

I'm still working for the adoption agency, in the early mornings and on the weekend. Then I work full-time in the high school part of the school (it's a K-12 school). So far it's worked out well; I have no extra commute time and I get to spend plenty of time with the kids, especially Stuart. We get to hang out for lunch and amazingly, he seeks me out, unafraid to be seen with his mother.

I was hired as a temporary replacement, but last Wednesday signed papers to return next school year. We'll have the summer off, though I will still be doing some work for the adoption agency. I'm planning to save every dime to go back to Ha Noi for a short visit before my students leave, then hoping that the kids and I can do something fun, as well, during the warm summer months.

Life trips and turns and every once in a while it feels like all's right in the world. Too often it doesn't, so for now I'll be basking in the ability to pay most, and possibly all, of my monthly bills. Delightful.

Pirates?!

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 02:40:00 +0000

According to VietNamNet, 77 fishermen were recently released after more than two months being held captive by pirates. Crazy! I guess it's been of a problem in the area for a while. Some are still being held. Really; whoda thunk?

Update--again

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 02:23:00 +0000

It's been a while, eh?

We're still struggling along, hobbling at this point. I had to change jobs and after searching for months, I finally found something. Of course, it's still not a full-time job and now I'm earning about $400 less a month than I was. I don't even make enough to cover rent and utilities. So I am continuing to look, every single day. I've been able to snag a few writing assignments, but the pay is intermittent. I'm afraid I will be giving notice on our shared housing on 1 March. There is simply no way to pay next month's rent. I'm not sure what we'll do, to be honest. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I will actually get a tax refund and be able to get through another month.

Audrey's been down with strep throat, missing an entire week of school. Finally, she got a prescription for penicillin and is on her way to getting better.

I've gotten lost in the worry about money and have neglected both this blog and my VietnamWithKids.com site. I've got to get it finished and market it like crazy so I can figure out a way to make money/get a book deal out of it. Wishful thinking perhaps, but I'm hoping.

In less than two weeks I will know if we are going to Hawaii or not. If we don't go, I don't know what I'll do. I want so badly to go back to Vietnam. Life was so simple, even when it was difficult. Life in America is sucking the desire to live right out of me. Nothing has made me feel quite so much like a failure as the last few months have. So frustrating.

With a bit of good news, I did get my first essay published in a glossy. And you read it here back in July.

Tung and I are still plotting on getting market totes made of rice bags (by his sister and a friend) over here to sell. Look for them soon-ish.

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 06:13:00 +0000

It's a bit different this year, celebrating in the States versus Viet Nam, but it's a lot less overwhelming, as well.

We attended two Tet celebrations this past weekend, though both were cut short by a flu bug that the kids can't seem to kick. Tomorrow, we're planning to have dinner at our favorite Ban Cuon Tan Dinh restaurant. And Friday will have me hosting a party to celebrate, inducting all my friends into eating lots of yummy and strange (to Western palettes) foods.

I've started a new job, writing for an adoption agency, and tomorrow I have a big interview for Teach for America. I'm hoping the good luck of Tet will rub off on me and things will continue to improve a bit. The last few months have been inordinately hard. If they get better, and I can pay rent without worry, I'll start tucking money away for a trip back to Viet Nam.

My former students are getting ready to head out to study abroad and none are coing to the States, so that means I have to visit them before they go. Time to start stashing the coins and bills away in hopes of getting enough to head back for a quick visit.

Give me a month and I'll have a lot better idea about what's going to happen to our lives this year.

Happy New Year with health, happiness and love to all.

Yes, I'm still alive

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:16:00 +0000

Life has been a little extra crazy lately with a mad hunt for a new job, watching my old one expire and not finding anything capable of earning the same (or preferably) more than the barely-scraping-by amount that I earn now. I start a new job, nonetheless, on Monday. I will be writing and editing for an area adoption agency. They don't do adoptions through Vietnam yet, but if all goes well with the agreement between the two countries, adoptions will continue and the agency will start doing VNese adoptions.

There are always a lot of differing opinions when it comes to adoptions: pro, con and everything in between. I'd like to think that in an ideal world it wouldn't be about fees, gender or age. In an ideal world, parents could afford to take care of their children, mothers wouldn't die at birth and there certainly wouldn't be any corruption. But we don't live in an ideal world, by far, and things are a bit messed up. Not just with adoption in Vietnam, but throughout the world. It's just that in Vietnam, it's on the chopping block.

For some time the two countries (US and Vietnam) have been working on the agreement to allow international adoptions. The current agreement expires soon, leaving hundreds (thousands?) of families in limbo. There's no promise that it will be renewed in some form or another; the State Dept. did say it won't be renewed in its current form. But the when and what's have not been defined.

I've been following the story as it unfolds, but not being an adoptive parent (despite wishing I could be mother to several kids in Tam Ky), I am unfamiliar with the lingo, the requirements, etc. But there's a great blog out there for families to keep track of what is happening. Check out Voices for Adoption Integrity. It's informative and the bloggers seem to truly have the interests of the children in mind. It's an important issue and one that won't go away. Even if they close down the adoptions between the countries yet again.

fond memories

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:48:00 +0000

Surfing YouTube today and decided to search for Dan Truong songs. He was often on the stereo when we visited the internet cafe in Tam Ky; cheesy as his songs are, they got entrenched. So I went to find some. I came across this one and the video reminded me so much of my time in Vietnam I had to share it. The small lanes, the cement houses with shutters, the bicycles, even the air mail envelope. It makes me a bit homesick, but I can't help but smile from ear to ear.

Viet Adoptions

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 23:12:00 +0000

There's been a lot going on in the world of adoptions from Viet Nam; I haven't kept track of it very well, but this article was in the week's Asian Reporter. It brings to light many of the issues that I've heard voiced and it's incredibly frustrating and a bit sad for all involved. Supply and demand takes on new meaning when it comes to adoption, unfortunately. It'll be interesting to see as it unfolds and we can hope that the adoption process gets cleaned up and works to benefit both children and adoptive parents.

Renewed US concerns about Vietnamese adoptions leave American parents in limbo
By BEN STOCKING - Associated Press Writer
© AP 2008-01-06 01:24:45 -

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Lynn DeHart never planned to live in Vietnam _ until the U.S. government said she couldn't bring her newly adopted grandson home.
Now, she's been stuck in a Vietnamese hotel for three months, trying to get a U.S. visa for 18-month-old Alexander.

«Good heavens, no, I can't leave without him,» she said.

«I couldn't live with myself. Do they really think I would return him to an orphanage
Renewed U.S. concern about possible baby selling, fraud and corruption -- the same fears that led to the suspension of Vietnamese adoptions from 2003 to 2005 -- are holding up visas for some babies adopted in Vietnam. Roughly 20 American families are affected, according to Vietnamese adoption officials.

«We have conveyed our concerns to the government of Vietnam, and they are assisting us in our investigations,» said U.S. Ambassador Michael Michalak. «We're trying to fix the system. It's going to take time. And it's a painful situation all around.

Nguyen Cong Khanh, deputy director of Vietnam's international adoption agency, agreed that the system needs to be improved. Too many American adoption agencies have been licensed in Vietnam, and the demand for babies is greater than the supply, he said.
Vietnamese law requires that foreign adoption agencies make humanitarian contributions to orphanages. These orphanages often don't disclose what they receive or how they use it, Khanh said.

«The agencies mostly pay in cash, and it is hard to ensure that the money is used transparently and correctly,» Khanh said. «This may have created fertile ground for corruption.

Families like the DeHarts, who adopted babies in line with Vietnamese law, are left with two choices: returning their babies to the orphanage or appealing the U.S. visa decision, a time-consuming and costly process with no guarantee of success.
David and Julie DeHart adopted Alexander last September and expected to take him home three weeks later. Then, U.S. immigration officials said they intended to turn down their visa request.

David, a family physician, had to get back to work in the United States. But his mother, Lynn, was willing to stay in Vietnam with her grandson while the family appealed. She never expected to be here this long.

«It is an amazing voyage that I'm on,» she said.
She has had to learn how to cross Hanoi streets, wading through a sea of motorbikes and scooters that rarely slow for pedestrians, not even for 64-year-old grandmothers pushing baby strollers.

«They go through red lights and drive on the sidewalk!» she said. «I just put up my hand and say, 'Don't hit me.»

Every morning, she and Xander, as the boy is nicknamed, call his parents and 4-year-old brother Spencer in the U.S. Midwestern state of Wisconsin using Skype, watching each other with webcams on the free Internet service.

U.S. Embassy officials sympathize with families in the DeHarts' situation but say they have a legal responsibility to investigate adoptions thoroughly. U.S. law requires that an adopted child be a genuine orphan or be given up knowingly for adoption by his birth parents.

Because of the recent problems, immigration officials have begun conducting visa investigations before parents arrive to pick up the child.

«I wish they had been doing that all along,» David DeHart said. «Unfortunately, there's a group of us who are now stuck in limbo.

Some have quit their jobs to stay in Vietnam with their babies, living off their savings while they appeal.

«My entire livelihood is at stake,» said Monica DiGioacchino, 39, who has taken leave from her job to pursue a visa for her adopted 7-month-old son Patrick.

«It is absolutely anguishing,» said DiGioacchino, a technical writer from Alameda, California, who shares a Hanoi apartment with a friend in the same situation. «We are first-time parents, and we are away from our support system.

Vietnam has become a popular place to adopt because the wait for babies is generally shorter than in other countries. Also, single parents are eligible to adopt here and, unlike neighboring China, Vietnam allows babies to be adopted before they turn 1 year old.

Twelve countries have adoption agreements with Vietnam, but Americans adopted more babies in 2007 than all the others combined, according to Vietnamese officials.
Last year, 826 American families adopted babies in Vietnam, including Hollywood star Angelina Jolie. In 2002, the last full year of adoptions before the suspension, Americans adopted 766 babies.

Among the other nations with adoption agreements are Canada and several European nations, including France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Sweden and Ireland.
So far, only the United States has raised public concerns about adoptions in Vietnam.
Before adoptions resumed, Vietnam agreed to set up a central authority to regulate adoptions in the country's 64 cities and provinces. But U.S. officials say that individual provinces have continued to set their own rules and adoption fees, increasing opportunities for corruption.

With more than 40 U.S. adoption agencies operating in Vietnam, the competition for babies is intense. An adoption can cost more than US$20,000 (¤14,000), not including travel costs.

While many agencies follow the rules, U.S. officials believe some do not.

According to the embassy Web site, some Vietnamese parents have been offered cash for their babies, and some infants have been put up for adoption without their parents' knowledge.

The embassy statement also describes a suspicious surge in reports of abandoned babies after U.S. adoptions resumed, especially in the rural provinces of Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho, where the DeHarts adopted Xander.

Many of the abandonments appear to have been staged, said a U.S. Embassy official who declined to give his name, citing embassy rules.

«They probably know where the child came from, but they are using false documents to make it difficult for anyone who is trying to figure it out,» he said.

The concerns about Xander's adoption stem from a date change on his adoption papers, David DeHart said. The form said the baby had been found abandoned in 2007, but apparently someone had changed the year to 2006.

U.S. Embassy officials will not discuss specific cases, citing privacy concerns. During September and October, the first two months of the 2007 fiscal year, they raised questions about 13 adoptions.

All those families are appealing for visas.

The DeHarts say they chose their adoption agency carefully and have complete confidence in it.

Still, David DeHart said he understands why U.S. officials are subjecting adoptions to heightened scrutiny.

«They are concerned about children basically being bought and sold,» he said. «That's something we obviously don't support.

Associated Press writer Vu Tien Hong in Hanoi contributed to this report.

final score

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 14:36:00 +0000

Today my students in Thanh Hoa finally found out their TOEFL scores. It's been a long, hard road for them; they attended classes 20 hours each week, with 20 hours of lab work required on top of it. For just about a year. It's been a lot of work and the test took hours and was so difficult. Many did not receive the passing score, I've been told, but some will be given a chance to up their scores with a crash course on the TOEFL and a re-take.

It's scary because so much relies on this one test score. For those who scored too low, they will be required to take the course over again or pay for the course (an amount that equals a year's wages for many).

The test is difficult, but IIG has not done very well with their textbooks, listening materials or keeping teachers. They did not encourage anyone to stay until it was too late (they never even mentioned the possibility of staying on to me until I said we'd be leaving and the same happened to Dung [pronounced more like Zoom]). It's been frustrating to watch as teacher after teacher passed through, often staying for less than a week and a few so-called teachers who stayed for less than one day. IIG's disregard for the teacher and for the students has resulted in students not being fully prepared for the big, enormous important TOEFL test. And that upsets me.

I miss those friends and students so much and every day I wish for good luck for them. With Tet approaching, I hope that the new air and life of spring will not only bless me, but my students as well. They all deserve it.

Tet's coming

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 04:34:00 +0000

Tet falls on the 8th of February this year, coming into the Year of the Rat. We're making plans to celebrate at the local event, then having a dinner party for friends to bring in some good luck for this next lunar year.

The Humanitarian Service for the Children of Vietnam is offering a way to help some families in Vietnam to celebrate Tet a bit better. Check it out and donate if you can.

history and food

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 14:51:00 +0000

As mentioned in today's NYTimes:
On Dec. 30, 1972, the United States halted its heavy bombing of North Vietnam.
It's always good when such destructive activities end. It took another couple years to get the U.S. out of Vietnam and that day, 30 April, is celebrated each year as a day of autonomy.
-----
Last night on OPB there was an episode of Globe Trekker, a new one it seems, that focuses on food in Vietnam. While it was inaccurate in a number of ways (phở is not pronounced phah, it's closer to phuh with a question sound thrown on). She mispronounced most cities, i.e. Ha Noi is a nice ha (as in haha) and not the hard ha (as in hat) that she gave it. Funny how little things like that'll drive me nuts.

Anyway, beside her mispronouncing the Vietnamese names and foods worse than I do, it was pretty okay. I wish they would have focused on the more everyday things that people eat (jackfruit, dragonfruit, bun bo Hue, banh mi trung, etc) and less on the things that are rarities (snake heart and water buffalo blood/heart soup). It was fun to see places we'd been, like the train stations in Hue, Ha Noi and Lao Cai. Ha Long Bay must have been cleared for the cameras, or she went on a lousy day, because it was packed to the gills when we went.

More info on the show here; check your local listings for air time.
-----
Today is finally our Christmas. My aunt Diana came up from Sacto, while my sister Stephanie and her two kids left Los Angeles to join us for a Christmas celebration. It'll be nice to be together again. Last time was just before we left the country. And here we are again. That means I get to show off my photos again. Yea!

One year later

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 16:57:00 +0000

Here it is the day after Christmas once again, but this year is markedly different from last. 365 days ago, we were in Seattle waiting to board our Korean Airlines flight to Viet Nam, the culmination of nearly 10 months of planning and saving. A day we thought might never come.

And now, a year later, I sit in the "living room" of our two-room space, chatting via Yahoo with Tung, a former student in Thanh Hoa. One of my favorites, he taught Audrey Vietnamese and basketball, and constantly livened up our classroom. Stuart is playing video games while Audrey catches up on sleep.

The memories of our time in Viet Nam overwhelm me a bit and I'm suffocated by my life here. After nearly a month of job searching, I've yet to score even an interview. Time's running out and I'm bordering on panic, again. Coming back to the States was supposed to be easier than this constant drama of never having enough money and having to choose between being a provider or a caretaker for my kids. They deserve better than this and I regret ever getting on that plane back here, thinking that would solve any problems.

The financial stress is awful and Audrey often complains that I'm just so grumpy, but I can't help it. All I can think of is "How am I going to come up with another $300 to pay rent?" or "Where am I going to find some money for food?" or "How do I explain that no one is getting any Xmas presents from me?" It weighs over me like a ton of bricks and no matter how polished my resume gets, it doesn't seem to be doing me any good.

And then I compare this feeling of an elephant on my chest with the times we were playing on the beach at Sam Son and i can't help but get teary-eyed, aching for those days when the stress didn't come from how we were going to eat, but having to get lunch prepared before I headed off to class for a couple of hours.

I'm hoping that the new year will bring a bit more ease into our lives and some happiness to my heart. It's been a heck of a year with extreme ups and downs that I would have never believed possible.

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 01:36:00 +0000

secret codes and long lost packages

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 01:17:00 +0000

One of my few attempts at decorating our living space has been to buy cone hats from the local Asian shop (FuBonn) and hang them over the locks on the double-hung windows. It provides only minimal coverage for the windows, but it looks cool. I've only got two now, but I'll get enough to go all the way across sooner or later.

A couple weeks ago, Stuart noticed that the sun shining through the window made something show up one of the hats; there seemed to be words on it. On closer inspection, sure enough! It says "Thuong Ha Thong Luu." It's been woven into the hat so that it isn't visible except when it's held to the light. I think it's one or two names. The person(s) who made it? I don't know, but it's interesting. The other side of the hat has an interesting design woven into it, as well, though it isn't quite as intriguing as the name(s). Now, our other cone had has nothing secret inside of it, but you can be sure that when I get the money to buy some more hats, I'll be holding them up to the light first.
----------

In other news...
We got a package from Vietnam the other day. Turns out, it was the package my mom had mailed to us in April. It made it all the way to Ha Noi, in June, then didn't make it to the hotel before we left on 7 July. By that point, we figured it had been filched, never to be seen again. But sure enough, some 8 months after being sent, it showed up in my parents' mailbox, filled with mail, bandaids, vitamins and spices. Just a little late.

why it drives me

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:02:00 +0000

I know a lot of people don't understand, but it's scenes like this, situations like theirs that make me crave to do more. The video documents a trip to Ba Vi Orphanage outside of Ha Noi. There are 124 special needs kids, thought to be 3rd generation Agent Orange victims, being taken care of by 1 doctor, 2 nurses and 4 caretakers. They are given little money to care for them, so all their resources (time and money) are stretched to the limits. So sad.

Watch the video.

Making ends (of the highway) meet

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 15:44:00 +0000

From an article in the New York Times:

"The Vietnamese section of the project is to be designated Asian Highway No. 14. It is to link to a highway under construction on the Chinese side of the border at Lao Cai. ... Both are now vastly more interested in markets than in strategic jostling. The highway is one of several projects integrating the economies of northern Vietnam and southern China. It is seen by government and Asian Development Bank officials as a vital spur to the region’s growth, particularly lifting the pace of development in the four poorest provinces of Vietnam."

Lao Cai is right on the edge of Vietnam (to China) and where we stopped on the train before bussing it up to Sa Pa. It'll make some big changes in the way the two countries interact commercially. Should be interesting.

Read the full article.

Viet class

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:54:00 +0000

Audrey's plugging right along with her Vietnamese classes. We finally found a place for her to learn: the Van Lang Vietnamese School. Classes are held every Sunday for 2 1/2 hours. The first class was a bit overwhelming since everything is done in Vietnamese and neither of us could figure out what they were talking about for the first 15 or 20 minutes of the class. She began to piece it together and has done okay. Thankfully, though she understands little of what is said, she isn't feeling overwhelmed, but rather feels like she is starting to get it a bit better.

Unfortunately, she's at a bit of a disadvantage as the sole (as far as I've seen) Caucasian with no Viet spoken at home. Everyone else speaks Viet, but are there to learn correct Vietnamese. Audrey is there to just learn it. But she's doing okay. I'd like to find her a tutor for once a week, but that'll have to wait for a bit. She's trying hard and for that, I'm happy.

The only frustrating part is that the kids laugh when she tries to speak it. That's irritating for both of us, but especially hurtful to her. Just don't know how to change that as it's always been the case. Bummer.

Clothes are getting ready to go....

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 14:54:00 +0000

Thanks to some sales on eBay (with some more coming soon), I was able to raise about $75 toward shipping some packages to the kids in Tam Ky. I got some of the smaller boxes together and it'll take way too many of them to send them that way (though it is quick and a good deal: $37 for the flat-rate box). I just can't get enough of the shirts in there. I did pack one full of 16 pairs of pants, so that'll head out to them early next week and should be there within two weeks. Fingers crossed. I'm also going to send some handmade Xmas candies to the volunteers there.

Then I was thinking maybe you guys could mail off some Merry Christmas or Happy New Year cards to them, as well. You could include cards for the volunteers, Mrs Hanh, Yen and/or the children at the orphanages. Just do NOT send cash. It'll get pilfered long before it gets there.

So send some cards to:
GVN Volunteers
158 Hung Vuong
Tam Ky, Quang Nam
VIETNAM

and give them all a reason to smile. I'll get a box or two of pants, socks and candies off soon and the holidays will be a bit nicer for those who are away from their families.

Finally ready...

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:27:00 +0000

I've wanted to make a calendar with our pictures for a while. I actually have used a couple of different companies to make them, but when I got the final product in hand, I wasn't so pleased. I finally found one, though, that offered exactly what I want. A desktop calendar with our photos, captions and dates marked for Vietnamese holidays. Woohoo! I'm stoked. Here's a composite of all the pages:

And of course you can get one yourself! I'm charging $8.99 and the couple extra bucks will go toward the shipping of all those clothes to the Tam Ky Baby Orphanage. I'm also selling some of the not-as-useable-for-Vietnam stuff on ebay to pay for postage, as well. All these shirts and pants have been sitting here for far too long.
[I've tried a dozen times to get this button to work, but nothing seems to help. Ugh. So, if you want the calendar, hit me up on paypal. Donate [at] teresaandkids.com is the address. So much for simple and easy.]
THANK YOU!

i love mango

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:28:00 +0000

I hadn't had lunch yet, so on the way to get the kids from school I was daydreaming about what I'd eat when I got the chance to stop at a store. Fruit sounded good. It always does these days, but the choices are limited to apples or bananas. Sure there are some others out there, but my favorites are so expensive ($3 for one Asian pear?! Who can afford to buy them?).

Pondering my lack of choices, the thought of mangoes burst in and I couldn't get them out of my mind. Oh how I ached for the sweet nectar of mango, so juicy it slides down my chin and I have to stand back to avoid being dripped on. I miss having a nice thick oval piece, sliced off the side of a deep yellow mango, cut into squares, right up to (but not through) the skin. Sucking the delicious meat of the peel, saving the pit for later. It's the best part, if you don't mind the stringy bits.

I never knew that memories of mango could bring me to tears.

The cold, damp weather lately makes me crave the warm days of the spring, when I didn't realize just how lucky I was, licking mango juice from my fingertips.

Love is grand

noreply@blogger.com (teresa) — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 02:42:00 +0000

No, not for me, silly! One of my students/friends from Thanh Hoa was married on Sunday. I wish I could have been there, darn it. But I'm sure it was lovely and I just wanted to wish him a hearty congratulations.

Here's a photo from the photo montage (with an epic 8-hour photo shoot!) with Cuong and Huong. The wedding photos are always done well in advance of the actual wedding. A custom I know some brides would appreciate here.

Congrats Cuong!