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What's new this week ?
Writing stories here is much like a journal and recounts some of the events that mark my daily life overseas. Hopefully, this will also be interesting to you and shed some light into what life can be like living and working overseas...
In case you missed it, I archive older news clips in Daily Life Vietnam 2011.
January 29, 2012
Going to Hai Phong to visit Thang...
I have known Thang since 2005 when I was working in Thanh Hoa with CECI. He joined our team in the last sprint of the project as a very young and inexperienced translator. Since then, he has worked with many NGOs and developed professionally. He even just won a full scolarship to do his Master's degree in an Australian University so he will leave Vietnam in
May 2012. And last November, he got married to Loan. However, I could not attend the wedding because I was in Indonesia for work at that time so I promised him that I would go to visit him in Hai Phong. And he did not forget my promise as he kept asking me to fix a date thereafter. So I did. On Jan. 28th, I hired a driver with car to go to Hai Phong. Had we gone by train or bus, it would have been much longer and difficult with the boys. Already now in the car, they were playing, screaming and fighting most of the way, which took 3 hours. Once there we went to Thang's new house where he lives with his wife and parents. We also met his nephew Khang and niece Vi. They had prepared Vietnamese fried rolls - nem, fried pork rolls, tofu and Russian salad. Some friends of Thang also came by to saw hello so it was a nice lunch. But then just 2 hours after arriving, we took the road again back to Hanoi. Once back, we rushed to Denis' place for dinner with Maite and Julien. A busy Saturday for sure....
January 26, 2012
Just relax and take it easy...
While most Vietnamese are busy traveling back to their hometown, we are just staying put right here is Hanoi. The streets are deserted and every single shop and supermarket is closed. A few exceptional expat restaurants are open, but not many. We tried Au Lac Do Brazil which is a BBQ meat restaurant with exceptional meats from roast beef, lamb shrimp, ham, sausages, fish - all you can eat for 35$ adult and 25$ for a child. We also met with our Quebec and French friends for dinner, watching the 2 min. dragon dance in
the neighborhood and to allow the kids to play and run. On New Year's Eve Day, we were invited to Mrs. Hop's house (the lady who drives Rémi to and from school everyday) for a hot pot dinner with her family. And I have been cooking my contribution to the friend's meals with strawberry muffins, Nanaimo bars and strawberry cheesecake. Thanks God it has been chilly around 12-15 C which has been great. The housekeeper is on vacation leave so I have been doing all the cleaning, dish washing and laundry for a while. Friday I am back at work and things returns to normal for me next week with a heavy work load waiting at the office and annual report 2011 still to do. Simon will also be back at school but Rémi still has one more week off and will stay at home. We've had a great lunar new year break and we now feel recharged....
January 14, 2012
Happy New Year of the Dragon!
The streets of Hanoi are just mad and intense with traffic since everyone is shopping and trying to get ready for Tet (Lunar New Year) much like in the West right before Xmas. And I see this as an important time to thank the Vietnamese people who make our lives richer - the school teachers, our house help and of course, the many people who supported us with the adoption. So I bought many nice tin boxes of imported luxury cookies and also made many nice gift baskets with all kinds of treats
including whisky. Today I went with the boys 2 hours from Hanoi to visit Simon's orphanage and thank the director Mr. Phac and the live-in nanny. They were both very pleased to see Simon/Hung again, and he in turn seemed happy to see them as well. He did not appear scared or anxious in any way, even when we went back to the dorm where he used to stay. There are no children now at the orphanage except mentally and physically handicapped children who stay in bed and stare at the ceiling day and night. Then we returned to Hanoi and visited the lawyer who helped and her husband, who is also the Vice-Director of the Department of International Adoptions. Everyone was pleased to see Simon so happy and active. So one more week to go till the lunar new year...and a bit of quite time at home. Hanoi becomes like a ghost town with no one on the streets since most people return to the countryside to visit family. Most store, supermarkets and restaurants are closed for at least 5 days...