Counting Those Last School Days...

We're dusting off the suitcases.  10 school days and counting!  We are nearing the end of our first year in Vietnam.  The end of the school year feels much the same as it always does - it has never been my favorite time.  Kids are squirrely, my patience runs short, you remember....

Quotes from the Waugh household in the last months:  (No joke.)

"Maeve, what will you do in the future? "  Charles

"I don't know.  I have never been to the future."  Maeve

"What kind of family doesn't buy their kid what they want to drink?"  

Sophie, in the midst of her chocolate milk detox.

"No, I'm going with your boyfriend.  I'm not going with my boyfriend 

because my boyfriend is always tired." Sophie, to Maeve as they dressed 

to the nines for evening "dates".

"Ooooh.  I'm all messed up."  Smoothing her dress, 

"But I still look beautiful."  Maeve,  after she climbed out of the way back 

of a taxi.

Charles Waugh has found a new favorite thing; fresh coconuts.  He drinks at least one a day and often makes them into coconut smoothies like he is here.  I had never before tasted fresh coconut milk.  At the grocery store, they are readily available with the outer husk taken off, and they run about $.33.

Scraping the flesh...

Maeve and Sophie enjoy a spot of tea.

New hairdos and an evening stroll on the river.  

One of the highlights of our week for Maeve and I was the all school art show at SSIS.  It was so impressive!  An evening opening event was so much fun.  There was so much great art to see, and an auction where you could bid on student art to take home.  (There was some magnificent artist created art that was beautiful as well, but a bit out of our bidding range.)  I did procure a delightful little student acrylic for my new classroom.  Here, Maeve checks out the kindergarten gallery.

Cool lit sculptures.

Maeve proudly displaying her new necklace that she purchased from the middle school jewelry club.  It matched her dress, of course.

One of Maeve's pieces in the show, a puzzle inspired by Eric Carle's work.

High school sculpture and lanterns on the stairwell.

Maeve had a special part in the performance art part of the opening night.  She got to model the art sombrero that her kindergarten class created...

along with her Chinese dragon bag with fireworks that she created.

She started the show and worked the runway....

Ms. Helen is her spectacular art teacher.

    Another highlight of the week happened again at the dentist.  I noticed that Maeve had a big hole in her tooth. (Ugh.)  We stopped in at the dentist to make an appointment, on a Saturday (!), and she said "Come right in!   Let's take a look."  20 minutes later, Maeve had a white filling, and I almost passed out when I saw the bill.  150,000 VND.  Equivalence in US Dollars?  Almost ten.  So there are some great flights deals from the states these days - maybe you would like to schedule a medical holiday to visit us and get your dentistry done?

   Maeve had yet another virus this week.  (It has been quite a year for her!  Hopefully next year will be better.)  I had an interesting middle of the night hospital visit for a vicious UTI infection (which is now better, thank you, thanks to a follow up visit to our regular medical practice here, which is quite acceptable.)  It was a moment when I was happy to be forty and not afraid to look at the doctor on duty and say, "No I am sure that I do not need painkillers via an IV."  

   I mentioned my new classroom above.  I am officially going to 5th grade in the fall, and really happy about it! I missed it more than I ever imagined I would.  I am happy for the opportunity to return.

   Maeve and Sophie practice their cheetah kung fu (Don't ask me, ask Sophie.) in their ao zais.

And once again, people from Charles past continue to emerge and share priceless pictures via Facebook.  (I appreciate that no one seems to have these kinds of pictures of me to share...)  This one has the best blackmail potential yet.   But keep them coming those of you who may have even more humbling pictures of my significant other.

    Hey!  We will be in NJ on the 24th of June for a week, in Michigan for a month, and back to NJ for a July 29th return to HCMC.  Do let us know if our path will cross yours.  

We also signed papers to put our house back on the market this week.  If you know anyone who is looking for a lovely house in a phenomenal neighborhood at a great price, please don't hesitate to look it up. 

       Can't wait to see some of you.  Coming back to the States will be fascinating and great, I think.  I'm sure I'll post after Sophie's big day this week.

Tam Biet.  Don't be a stranger.

It's Raining Again

      Get out your umbrellas because rainy season has returned to Ho Chi Minh City.  Count on afternoon thunderstorms that can rattle your teeth. Honestly, I enjoy getting wet sometimes because it beats the heat, and usually before a storm there is a deliciously cooler breeze blowing.  : )

     People talk about how long it takes to feel like you really live some place.  You know friends, daily routine, places you go.  On Friday, I felt more than at any other time, that this is our neighborhood.  After school I packed four girls in a taxi for a play date at Lissa's, then walked down to the dentist.  Yes, it had been at least 2 years since my last visit- I wasn't looking forward to it.  It turned out to be one of the most pleasant dentist experiences I have ever had. I had my teeth examined and cleaned with strait forward and honest information, ala wisdom teeth need to come out, WITHOUT the major paranoia "You better do this and we have to take lots of x-rays, and, and, and..." that I have experienced for most of my adult life with dentists. The office was clean and our new dentist spoke English well.   She was trained in Japan. Charles and Sophie met me there an hour later, and Charles got the chair for the next hour, as Sophie and I walked down to play and get Maeve.  (Total damage by the way...2 complete, badly needed cleanings and exams.....500,000 Dong, or $30. (!) We'll put dentist on the things that are great about Vietnam list!)

      After we picked up Charles, we walked to one of our new favorite restaurants for "try something new" night.  This is our newest effort to get our super picky daughters to branch out a bit.  Tokyo Deli is a great Japanese restaurant, complete with the special sit on the floor on a cushion experience.  Sophie has discovered she likes miso soup, udon, and seaweed.  (Yes Molly, seaweed!) I am whooshed back to my exchange students days from the first miso soup swig.  (I was proud of myself the other day.  Maeve has a new student in her class who speaks only Japanese.  I was able to say enough to her for her to smile and answer back.)  Maeve was particularly taken with the Japanese restaurant experience.  After enjoying only her Coke however, she explained on the way home how she would create her own restaurant and how we could all come.

"Felice Topia" restaurant welcomed people with its sign, lion logo included.

You can see the Japanese restaurant influence....

Menu:

Silly Bananas

Fruit Robot

Flower Bananas

Carrot Cube Smile

Makes you want to come to this restaurant, huh?

Can't forget the drink menu:

Water

Grape Juice

Apple Juice

Pomelo Juice

I ordered Silly Bananas of course.  Wouldn't you?

Service with a smile.

Teddy drying in the morning sun.  Charles and I talked this morning about how intense and unrelenting the tropical sun is.  We often have to keep drapes closed in the morning/midday in order to keep the house cool.  I do like having such effusive light all of the time.

Maeve shows off her budding set design talents.  (Make sure you zoom in to appreciate the detail of this one...)

Sophie and Charles have been collecting seed pods and bugs.  So many cool species like this one, which we do not know what it is yet.  It is fun to share their discoveries after school.  So many make you create new schema for seed pods because they look so different from anything you have seen before.

When Maeve's classroom turtle, Little Cutie, disappeared from the classroom, Maeve helped out with her LOST poster, posted in the pod:

Lost Turtle 

She is Little Cutie

Have You Seen Her?

I am mucho happy about the reading and writing that Maeve is doing both at home and school.

  

      Charles and Sophie wave from our first official "taste test".  This time? Crackers.  Both Maeve and Sophie found new ones they like.  (Yes, you are on to me.  More efforts for a wider palate for all.)

     Happy Mother's Day!  Most especially to my mom, of course,  to friends who are new moms and my sister who is going to be the mom of a beautiful two year old Chinese boy very soon.  I got an exquisite, written from the heart card and breakfast and coffee in bed.  Top it off with bug hunting for the bug collection and mango for lunch and you have quite a respectable Mother's Day. 

     Gosh, almost forgot.  Can you ID the hunk on the right in this picture? (Boy am I glad it's this person's friends who keep sending pictures and not mine.)  An uncanny connection from my past?  My new colleague here in the fall went to none other than Hopewell Valley Central High School!  (My small town NJ high school.)  It is a small, small world.

      Tan Biet for now. Don't be a stranger.