Indian Food

    My first middle of the night writing in a long while.  It feels like a long time ago that we were all up in the middle of the night adjusting to a new time schedule. No doubt tonight's sleeplessness is due to the delicious Indian food,delivered right to our door, that has given me a raging case of heartburn.

     Last Tuesday was parent teacher conferences at school.  Maeve's, by the way, was stellar.  She has come so far and become so strong as a student.  She is happy, happy, happy.  And walks around like she owns the place.  

     So it meant that Maeve had the day off.  Charles thought it would be a great day to go to a place we had heard of called Questzone, an indoor playground for kids.  According to the Nordic Chamber of Commerce website Charles was going there.  A half hour taxi ride later, no luck.  Charles realized he could get all pissed off about it, or make the best of it.  Then he saw the Military Zone 7  South-Eastern Area Armed Forces Museum!  Wow I feel like I missed out having to work all day.  Here's an excerpt about the museum from the glossy brochure: With 609 exhibits, 242 pictures and 60 extra-scientific documents (statues, embossments, sand tables, maps....and so on), the central room is general pictures talking about the armed force of the South Eastern Area during 30 years of resistance(1945-1975).  Here, there are exhibits, pictures helping visitors to understand parts of simple lives but rich human-culture of the South Eastern fighters and understand popular events during the building and developing process of the South Eastern Armed Forces and learn more magnanimous battles contributing to make history crossroads for the two revolution wars.

Here is  a picture of Maeve and Sophie with Ho:

And a Vietnamese tank:

     

     After the museum, they went to a nearby park, which Charles realized was certainly more about the couples on every bench than children. 

 They played anyway...

     There are many moments that I am happy to be with my blue eyed daughters in this country. People smile and stare at them and we can often get away with whatever we want.  Sometimes, people want to hug and kiss them and squeeze their cheeks in ways that make me uncomfortable.  They deal extremely well with it.       One afternoon at school, a woman gave Maeve a running hug and picked her up and swung her around, showering her with kisses.  "I guess you know my daughter." Charles said.  We got the gist that she was the assistant in the early childhood room next to Maeve's.  "Maeve," Charles asked her as we walked away,"who was that?"   

     "I think it was one of Mommy's students."

     Charles has threatened to charge for pictures with Sophie when they are out and about.  Hey - we have to pay that South Carolina mortgage somehow, right?

     I went to the bank last week to wire money to South Carolina.  Going to the bank here is always fun.  The system is so antiquated in ways.  Despite the fact that they do use computers for everything, every transaction also has 15 duplicate forms to accompany it.  You have to fill out the paperwork for a withdrawl, and then go and sit down to wait for them to get ready to give it to you.  Then, you can put your money in the money counter to make sure you got it all.  It is amazing to me how much Dong people walk away with.  Many fill a thoughtfully provided black plastic bag with the stuff and walk out of the door!  Maeve was with me one day as a woman completely filled a grocery size plastic bag with Dong.  She looked at me with saucer eyes like "Can you believe it?"  

     It always puzzles me in a place where I am always being warned about watching my purse and Katy, a student teacher at the school, had her bag stolen out of the front of her bike basket just the other day on the main stretch of road between school and our house.  Watch your purse, but carry around the same black bag that everyone knows what is in it full of Dong?????

     Maeve and I had a wonderful Saturday morning at dance class!  We watched the end of the 3 and 4 year olds class before hers.  Can you say Asian adorable in tutus?  I started thinking about who will hopefully soon be a new niece from China and how cute she may look in a pink tutu.  The class was terrific.  An hour long (!) with a quick snack break and a wonderful balance of "Keep your legs straight." and joyful dance, which we know is Maeve's specialty.  The class was small, and Maeve was only about twice as big as all of the others in the class.  It will be a wonderful addition to our weekly routine.

     As things get more and more comfortable, they sometimes get annoying. I caught myself speaking in bad Asian English the other day.  I think I have entered the under water part that you hear about in dealing with culture shock.  (Where you begin to deal with things under the surface and not just as a tourist.) A great guy who has a seventh grader at school and is from the States talks about how he was homesick and had a hard time for about six months, and then it was OK.  It would be silly to say out loud that this is not the States.  With a great new printer at home, work has become a step easier, which helps. But there are times when the little details of living take up much more time than I want them to.

    When Sophie can't read something, even if it is in English, she says "Awww, it's Vietnamese!"  (which sounds more like Vinamese when she says it with her animated little edge.)  Someday, I trust, Vietnamese will not be synonymous with something we cannot understand... 

          

Hope you be keeping well.  Keep in touch.