www.journeyforchildren.org

We have now been home for 2 weeks and I find that I am daily thinking about our experiences in Vietnam. If anyone ever wants to help in any way, please contact info@journeyforchildren.org. You can check out the website at www.journeyforchildren.org.
Warren and I are so impressed with the dedication of our colleagues on this trip. We rode on busses daily - sometimes a little squished due to all of the supplies that we had to take with us every day. We rode in vans, sometimes sitting in a little fold down seat or on top of the wheel case. No one ever complained. We just leaned on each other and talked, laughed, sang or slept. We were well cared for. Three wonderful meal a day. We shared our lunch with the women and children, eating a little and giving them the rest. We were up at 5:30 AM every day, returned to the hotel around 6:30 PM and dinner by 7:00 PM. And we still laughed, walked, shopped - and the younger ones even partied at night. The Dental Team worked long hours bending over low tables - no fancy chairs or lights. They wore head lamps. One day Warren held a pen light all day so that Theresa could see to clean teeth. The batteries in her head lamp died. Again, no complaints. Only comments about the wonderful children. The Public Health team taught in small rooms, with not really the space we would have at home. One day there was construction outside the windeow. All day. But the women (and some men) sat and listened so we just talked louder. What an amazing experience.
I know that I will spend the next year collecting things like frisbees, balls, jump ropes, toddler toys, kids T-shirts, Kids Meal toys. I have already started. All items that I can send (or maybe even take) to Vietnam on the next Journey for Children trip. I need to work on fundraising ideas, too, as money is needed to house and transport the team once they get to Vietnam.
Two quotes from Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." and "I must admit that I personally measure success in terms of the contributions an individual makes to her or his fellow human beings."
For a few days we made changes for over 700 children with dental care and 250 women and men and their children with education. We contributed positively to their lives. We were successful. And we had fun. I would do it again.

Many thanks to Armstrong Medical (www.armstrongmedical.com) and WorldPoint (www.eworldpoint.com) for donations of teaching manikins. We could not have done our CPR teaching without you. The Sisters at the orphanage in Phu Loc are going to continue using the manikins to teach CPR to the people in the community.

Don't forget - to help in any way, please contact info@journeyforchildren.org. You can check out the website at www.journeyforchildren.org.

January 9, 2009 Friday - Our last day in Vietnam and flight to Chicago

Fancy wrapped peanut candy that I brought home.
Home - and our souvenirs.

Our route - heading home from Vietnam.

Boarding our plane at Narita Airport in Tokyo.

An amazing Japanese vending machine at Narita International Airport.

At the airport in Tokyo - Warren and ice cream.

Waiting at the Saigon airport for our plane to Tokyo.

Our last view of Saigon from our hotel room.

Warren shopping for a new jacket.

The food all looks so good. And I am so amazed that they set this up every night.

That is flame coming out of the coconut shell.

He is selling sugar cane.

Making a sticky rice ball.

Hai Lua Restaurant at the night market

Walking past the temple again.

A variety of sea food - mostly snails.

NOT what I am having for dinner.

Jeff S. trying NOT to get run over.

Getting the food ready for one of the night market restaurants.

This picture was taken at 5:08 PM Saigon time. They are beginning to set up for the night market which is on some of the streets outside of the Ben Thanh day market (which closes around 6 PM). There are electrical outlet hanging down in the middle of the street - for the stalls in the night market.

Outside the temple.

Outside the temple. People buy these items and take them inside the temple and leave them.

Jeff leaving the temple. There is a handicapped child in the cart. We saw many handicapped people around the temple, all begging.

People praying inside the temple.

This is where the food offerings are left. We saw them pouring the liquids into a bucket. If this food is actually thrown out then I am struggling to understand. There are people hungry here. Donating to a food pantry I can understand, but throwing away I cannot. Yet they were pouring all of the liquids into the same bucket.

A cat inside an alcove of the temple.

Although you enter the temple from the street - the roof is not continuous, so when inside the temple, you are still actually 'outside'. So people in some of these apartments can actually see inside the temple. I guess with all of the incense that is burned, the roof would have to be open or it would be a health hazard!

We were surprised - we expected Buddist but not Hindu in Vietnam. See how little I knew!

Warren, Jeff S. & I went out walking for a bit and, just a couple of blocks from the hotel, found the Mariamman Temple. Outside of the temple, vendors were selling incense and flowers and food. Inside the temple, people were burning whole bunches of incense at once and leaving the flowers and food as offerings.

Back at the hotel and saying goodbye to Thuy Dallas. She is heading off to Thailand.

'Downtown' stores and apartments.

We walked by a large sports center and then found store after store in a row - all selling sports stuff - like balls, etc.

A picture of part of a map from the War Remnants museum. You can see Quang Tri where we worked for 3 days.

A school.

School boys at their 'fast food' lunch place. Sure looks healthier than what kids in the U.S. have for lunch.

Jeff S., Tracy & Warren. And more coconut milk.

The coconut milk man - with Jeff S. and Warren in front.

This is so Michigan Avenue.

We got to see a bride & groom - and motorcycle.

Harriet & Tracy in front of the Saigon Notre Dame.

Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, ( Vietnamese: Vương Cung Thánh Đường Sài Gòn or Nhà thờ Đức Bà Sài Gòn), a cathedral located in downtown Saigon. Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 & 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet). And it was closed when we were there. So, we could just see the outside.

Not at all what I expected to see in Vietnam. And so strange because it is so hot here. I associate Christmas decorations with snow - real SNOW.

All of the wires - amazing.

The central Post Office of Saigon.

These flowers and leaves are all made from fabric and have lights.

Harriet & Warren in front of the statue of Ho, which is in front of the central Post Office.

Then I had to buy the fried bread sweets.

Tracy buying the first of her coconut milk drinks.

Street scene

Breakfast - plain, old fashioned eggs with fancy carrots. Very good. I really was not feeling good today so this bland food was just right for me.

Our last day! It is hard to believe. We planned this for so many months and now it is over. So, of course power shopping was the order of the day for most of us. Tracy, Jeff, Warren & I (Harriet) went walking around town. First we went to get Warren's suit. He ordered a custom suit. Even though they measured him, it ended up too tight. So, after a couple of re-dos it now fits him - as long as he does not gain any weight.
We wanted to see 'Notre Dame Saigon'. We got there, only to find that the hours that you can go inside are very limited. So we looked at the outside and bought some stamps and old money from a vender. Of course, on the way to the church, we had to stop at all of the shops!
Then we went to the War Effects Museum. I could not make it all the way through. I have not been feeling good for the past 2 days and got to feeling quite nauseated while I was looking at the pictures. Maybe it was the pictures. Very graphic. Very real. So sad. The things that people do to people. Over and over again.
So, back to the hotel to drop off our purchases - and out for more shopping and our last dinner in Vietnam. We stopped in to a temple - I thought it would be a Buddhist temple but it seemed more Hindu and we did not see Budda anywhere. Interesting.

Educational Lesson: There are three Southern Indian temples in Saigon and, this one, Mariamman Temple, is for women. Mariamman temple, named after a very large temple in India, was built in the late 19th century by traders from Tamil Nadu. A common belief among the locals is that, the Hindu goddess Mariamman has miraculous powers. Originally constructed by the Tamils hailing from Pondicherry with a raja goopuram, the Mariamman Hindu Temple is regarded as a sacred site by many Vietnamese and Chinese. The architectural design of this temple is based on the principles of temple building, followed in many other ancient Hindu temples in India. A centrally located huge hall (mandapam) and inner and outer circumferences characterize the Mariamman Hindu Temple in Ho Chi Minh City. The address of this temple is: 45 Ð Truong Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Though there are only 50 to 60 Hindus in Saigon - all of them Tamils - this temple, known in Vietnamese as Chua Ba Mariamman, is also considered sacred by many ethnic-Vietnamese and ethnic-Chinese. Indeed, it is reputed to have miraculous powers. The lion (Simma Vahanam) to the left of the entrance used to be carried around Saigon in a street procession every autumn. In the shrine in the middle of the temple is Mariamman, flanked by her guardians - Maduraiveeran (to her left) and Pechiamman (to her right). In front of the figure of Mariamman are two lingas. Favourite offerings placed nearby often include joss sticks, jasmine, lilies and gladioli. End of lesson.

Budda is all over Vietnam. Almost all of the stores have a little Budda shrine.
Then we went to the Ben Thanh Market, at 45 D Truong Dinh. And had dinner at the evening outdoor market. The big market is open every day. Then, every evening, they set up an outdoor market on some of the streets surrounding the indoor market. The outdoor market is open from around 5ish until 3 AM. Then they take it down - and start all over the next day.
At 9 PM we headed for the airport. Our 1130 PM flight got delayed so we did not leave until around a little after midnight. We flew on ANA - All Nippon Airways. Great service, pleasant flight attendants, lots of bowing, Japanese food - including sushi rolls at 3 AM! We had about 3 hours in Tokoyo and then headed for Chicago.

I will miss the markets and the food. Although I really want a good cheeseburger. And I will miss the people. The kindness of the people. And I will miss the friends that we made on this trip. As Warren keeps saying, part of the reason this trip was so great is because of the people with whom we were working. What an incredible group of dedicated individuals of all ages. We talk about the generation gap at home and about generational differences but I did not feel any of that on this trip. So, thank you TH. Thank you Marcia. Thank you Tam. Thank you Thuy (Chicago) for inviting us. Stay in touch. Harriet