December 31, 2008 Wednesday - Tan Hiep B school (Tra Cu district) and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Nancy & friend with Marcia & Rosemary.

Dallas & Kevin - Karaoke
The late night New Year's crowd.

Sabina - hidden talents!

Multiple toasts for New Years!

Marcia,Rosemary & Warren.

Traditional drink.

New Year's Eve Dinner

Our group picture before leaving Tra Vinh.

Isn't she beautiful? She was so shy and did not want to pose for a picture but kept hiding and watching.

The older girls cleaning up the floor after the Dental Team finished.

Such great smiles!

Shy - she kept watching me from a distance.

Next time, we need toddler and infant toys for the children in class with their Mothers.

Sabina & Nancy teaching about women's health issues. Hidden artistic talent!

So crowded at the tables but no one complained.

Moms and toddlers in the afternoon class.

Teacher Huong teaching about how to brush teeth.

We were supposed to have more women. Thuy Chicago went with the bus to another village to pick up the women. They refused to get in the bus - they have not ridden in cars and busses. So Thuy taught them there.

Maddy & Phi relaxing.

The children checking out the CPR equipment.

The brooms and cleaning supplies right outside of the bathroom.

The women teachers all looked so lovely in their traditional outfits.

Looking at the pictures that Colleen took of them.

Cleaning up the school yard. The older boys picked up the trash and put it in the big basked that two of them are carrying.

Picking up the leaves to put in the trash basket.

She was in charge of a group of children and she ran a tight ship. They filed in on her order. After lining up at her command when the drum sounded.

Women's anatomy lesson!

Phi resting - too much women's anatomy!

Kids checking us out.

We saw these bottles hanging from the trees. Thought it was a game. Occasionally someone would kick one of the bottles but, basically, the children ignored them. So, finally, we asked. They are to put their school papers in when they are playing. Innovative!

The children are playing with a 'string' made up of rubberbands looped together.

I think the children were more impressed with Thuy than with Paul. But I was impressed that he tried! He actually acted sort of goofy and the kids just cracked up. He is so good with the children.

A form of jump rope played with rubberbands strung together. The children invent their own games to be played with the rubberband jump rope.

Paul with waiting children.

Kevin with waiting children.

Children leaving school and then the next group arriving at school. Because there are not enough schools, many children only attend for half a day.

Condensed milk - the only real form of milk other than Soy milk.

Boys from school at a place in town with computers - playing games!!

Walking around town. The local store - selling candy to the children who have never seen a toothbrush before.

The local Catholic Church. Several of us took a walk to town during lunch.

Thuy Dallas relaxing at lunch.

Lunch. Local take out. A little different every day and very good. The MSG took a toll on me and my legs were like balloons. So I cut back on the sauses and that helped.

Rosemary and Thuy Dallas with a village girl. She was not in school but sat on her bicycle watching everything for the longest time.

Warren & Harriet relaxing. The children would not sit closer for the picture.

Nancy revising her presentation - with help. The children are so curious about us but shy. Especially curious about us white people.

Screening exams.

Children waiting to be seen.

The bathroom. At school.

Women learning CPR.

Dr. Hirai in the Dental Room.

Children waiting - and watching. Teresa ready to clean teeth.

Beautiful flowers and beautiful people.

Women heading in for class.
Harriet getting the manikins ready for teaching CPR.

The Dental Team lined up for work.








Children lined up for school.

Walking in to the school from town - the bus could not go down the road due to all of the kids going to school.

Prayer Flags

Graves - above ground as the area is so wet - although we did see some that were under water.

Sights from the bus.

We saw quite a few of these adaptive bicycles. To make the bike move, you push the wheel forward and back. Steering is done with the handle attached to the front wheel. As in most of Europe and, I imagine, most developing countries, there is nothing like the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). Nothing is handicapped accessible. And we think we have challenges in the US.

A beautiful old woman who stopped to talk.

Harriet & Nancy - I look half asleep - maybe I was. We had a 0530 AM wake up call every day, breakfast at 0630 and on the bus by 0715. Work all day, return home by 6:30 PM with dinner at 7 PM. We were tired after just a couple of days. But no complaints. And that did not stop us from going out after dinner. Some of us shopped, others partied. I was in the shopping group.

Waiting to load the bus and people watching. I continue to be amazed at the ability to ride a bike and carry the incredible loads that the people carry. I would put everything in my car. I am so spoiled.
The atrium of the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Today we were at Tra Vinh School 3 - Tan Heip B School, Tra Cu District. We taught around 40 women and a few men. This school was in a very remote area. The children were all very well behaved and orderly when lining up to go in their classroom. When the drum sounded, they immediately stopped playing and went to their classroom. They lined up an arm length apart and stood in order until signaled by a lead child, when they filed into the classroom. They also helped clean up the school yard. In fact, they helped us put all of the furniture back when we were through for the day. Dental had to move desks from classrooms. The Dental office was in a separate building across a road. At the end of the day, all of these little children who had had teeth pulled and filled, helped carry the heavy desks back to their classroom.

The children all wore uniforms to school - so far we have seen that a lot of school children of all ages do wear uniforms.

Just down the road from the school is a large Catholic Church. We walked to town - which consisted of a few stores - and went into the church.

The scenery driving to and from the schools where we have been working is amazing. Very beautiful although the areas we are driving through have been very poor economically. Many of us are constantly taking pictures through the windows. That means I have a lot of pictures of blurry trees! The roads are a challenge. I really do not know how the bus driver handles driving here but I applaud his abilities and patience. There is a lot of honking from drivers. It is not the honking of Chicago traffic - the angry honking that you know is accompanied by swearing. It is honking to say "watch out - there is something behind you." I am continually amazed by the lack of carnage on the roads, although I can imagine that the outcomes of crashes are not good. We are so blessed to be seeing this country in this way. We are not seeing what the typical tourist to Vietnam sees. That is OK. In fact, it is good. I think everyone here is already so moved by all that we have seen.

Our New Year's celebration was at the hotel. A great dinner, wine, champagne, karaoke and some dancing. Happy New Year!