Vietnam

We had a wonderful week with family in Vietnam during our first excursion out of our home base in Kobe. We spent a day in Hanoi, 2 days on a junk boat in Halong Bay, and then 4 days at China Beach in Da Nang. Things did not go smoothly the whole week, but we recognize that we have had amazing vacations through the years. We have always been fortunate that everyone has stayed healthy and that our weather was always very good. We also learned this week that even with the bumps,... vacation is about sharing time and experiences as a family. I will share some highlights and try not to write too much!

We left Saturday morning at 6:33am on a bus from Rokko Island. (The next 2 buses were already full, so we had to take this one.) Matthew immediately felt car sick (and the ride was 50 minutes)! We made it to the airport before Vietnam Airlines opened. I hung out with the bags, while Phillip walked around with the kids. Alas, we checked in and headed to Sky Club. Our flight was fine, and we all tried to take naps. Once arriving in Hanoi, we found that people stared at us even more than in Japan. One lady watched Jessica the entire time we were in line for immigration. She finally just reached out and touched her hair! She looked to be very "grandmotherly", so Jessica just smiled at her. A car took us to our hotel in Hanoi's Old Quarter. The chaos began as soon as we left the airport. Try to imagine busy streets with about 70% motor bikes, 20% cars, and 10% bicycles. We saw entire families on motor bikes, with 1-2 children between Mom and Dad. They never stopped. We basically had to grab our kids' hands and just run to get across the streets. The cars and motor bikes were very good at anticipating where you are going. One hesitation could be trouble. There were many, many small shops and people following us around to sell things. It was quite overwhelming. One lady was in my face and kept repeating "cheap for you baby". Yikes!! Phillip really enjoyed the constant negotiation, though. Jacob had a very bad stomach ache for awhile. When we stopped to get a Sprite, a young man walked up and touched Matthew's hair!

Our hotel in Hanoi

Center of Hanoi

Bananas anyone?

On Sunday morning, we embarked upon a 3.5 hour bus trip to Halong Bay. Poor Matthew was car sick the whole time. We stopped about half way at a big shop and met a family from Cincinnati - just 5 miles from our old house in Beechwood Farms! Crazy! We made it to the Huong Hai Junk boat. There was a couple from London on the boat with us, and then 2 other gentlemen from London joined us later. It was almost like having our own family boat ride! We saw beautiful mountains, ate wonderful seafood, walked through a cave, and kayaked to a beach where we climbed a mountain for an amazing view. The kids jumped off the 3 floors of the boat and played in the water before dinner. After dinner, we hung out on lawn chairs on the top floor of the boat and admired the full moon. I loved just laying with Matthew and talking about what a wonderful life we have and how very fortunate we are. We had fun spending the night on the boat. There was actually a shower in the middle of the bathroom!

Our view at the end of our cave tour

Who is driving the boat?

The food was amazing.

The next day we took a bamboo boat into a monkey cave. This could be the highlight of the trip! I bet there were 40 monkeys playing around on the walls of the cave. Very, very cool.

When we got back to Hanoi, we had about 30 minutes to shop before heading to the airport. The flight to Da Nang was only an hour. Matthew could not stop crying. He felt so sorry for one of the men that had followed us around. He just wanted to go back and give him money.

The Furama Resort van picked us up, with cinnamon-scented washcloths, bottles of water, and fresh fruit. Wow! The resort was just beautiful. We did get to play in the ocean on Tuesday, but after that the ocean was closed because of high winds and strong undercurrent. This was a bit of bummer. We had lots of rain, but we did manage to play on the beach, swim in the pools, go to the spa for nails and hair, and get a couple of excursions in. We went into the city of Da Nang. Not very impressive, but we stumbled upon a very cool place to eat called "Bread of Life". An American couple started this restaurant and training for the deaf who are very overlooked and isolated in Vietnam. Most cannot do sign language and do not go to school. The cooks and servers are all deaf. They come to work to learn sign language and a skill, and they are paid for their work. It was a blessing for us to be there. The next day we went to Hoi An. Very cool town. Lots of shops and bargaining, but it was cleaner than Hanoi. Also, we did not have people following us around. We discovered that many families live right there in their shops, sleeping on cots. The families would come outside to eat together along the streets in the evening. This is very tough life for Vietnamese people.

Phillip and Jacob were so bummed that the ocean was closed!

We met up with friends (Bart and Marcy Finn) from Kobe. This was fun as they have 3 kids about the same age as our 3 - the 9 year old is actually one of Matthew's best buddies. This was a great balance of just family time and friend time. During the week, both Matthew and Jessica got a little bit sick... but we made it through just fine. Thank goodness for Ibuprofen!! :)

As I write this, I am sitting in the lobby of the Furama Resort in Da Nang. Our car comes at 7:30pm to take us to the airport. We fly through Hanoi, and then arrive back home in Kobe at 6:40am Saturday. I will post pictures tomorrow.

As I reflect upon the week, I am again very thankful for my family, our health, our friends, our safety, the opportunity to see another country, and so many, many wonderful blessings that God gives us each and every day.

Peace and Love,

Tina

October 19, 2010 - The Adventures continue

I need to start this blog where I ended the last one. Jacob. He is doing just fine and back to basketball and running around. The first middle school dance? Well, Jacob told me that it was fun and that everyone just danced together. The story from a couple of kids here in our apartment building? In their words, "Jacob was very popular. All the girls wanted to dance with him." Maybe it is the blond hair and blue eyes! He does stick out in a crowd! :) Uh-oh. I hope he doesn't read this blog entry!

Last week, I had my first adventure to the doctor. My symptoms started on Wednesday and by Thursday morning, I was miserable. I had aching sinuses, stuffy nose, sneezing, ... my nose even hurt to touch! This usually means I have my annual sinus infection. I checked with a friend on where to go. Then, I asked the front reception to call the doctor to ask about hours. As with the orthopedic, there are no appointments. You sign in. They can tell you about how long you will wait. You can stay to wait or come back by that time. So, I found that the doctor was only open 9am-11:45am. At this point, it was 10:30 and they thought the wait would be about an hour. I rushed over (just about 2.5 blocks!) to sign in (after taking my shoes off at the door, of course). Only one of the receptionists spoke a little English. I waited for a while and then decided to go buy groceries during that waiting time. Once I returned, the doctor called my name immediately. He was Japanese, but he did speak a little English. The clinic was very small, and the back area looked more like a small emergency room rather that a doctor's office. There were a couple of beds and curtains to separate them. We sat at what looked like a counter. He asked me my symptoms and if I had a fever. He looked in my throat, and then prescribed antibiotics. That was it. No check for temperature, blood pressure, weight ... nothing! I had to hope that I was good at my own diagnosis! I went back out to waiting area. They called me up to check out of the office and gave me my medicine there as well. Fortunately, the antibiotics did work, and I feel great!

My next adventure was on Friday when I went for my first haircut in Japan. Imai-san has owned his own salon here for 12 years, and he speaks very good English. Upon arrival, someone took my bag and led me over to a chair. Imai-san came out and we talked about what I wanted with my hair. Next, a woman walked me over to the sink. I sat down. She put a towel over my legs (to keep me warm) and then reclined my seat. She put one of those eye covers on ... you know, like on the airplane. The pure enjoyment began. She washed my hair for such a long time. The water was perfect - not too hot or too cold. She massaged my head, washed, and washed ... I literally almost fell asleep! The great thing here, too, is that they wash your hair to start the appointment and then again after you have cut and color, so I got to do it again! Wow! I can hardly wait to go back. :) The surprise was that the cost was actually very much in line with what I pay in Cincinnati. Bonus for me. (The boys' haircuts are much more expensive here.)

Phillip arrived back home on Saturday evening after 12 days in Cincinnati and St. Louis. He managed to attend all Procter and Gamble meetings and dinners, see several friends in Cincinnati, go to St.Louis to see his brothers and friends, have dinner with his mom, go to Columbia to see the Missouri Tigers play, and go to a Bengals game. Whew. We played and stayed up late on Saturday night. On Sunday afternoon, Jessica and Dad took a 3 hour nap together. Much needed and very sweet. We are very happy to have Dad home again.

Peace and Love,

Tina

October in Kobe

In the past couple of weeks, I have had a few little adventures. You see, any time we leave our home, we can easily end up in adventure land .... you never know what will happen!

One day a couple of weeks ago, I went with 2 ladies to the Vietnam Consulate in Osaka. We all needed visas for our families for upcoming trips to Vietnam. One lady had gone in the spring and paid 5000 yen per visa. When she called a couple of weeks before we went, she was told 7000 per visa. Well, actually, once we filled out applications, we were told it was now 8000 yen per visa. Ummmm.... what can we do? We have flights and hotels... gotta pay it.

Another day, I went on the train by myself to a different part of Osaka (Shinsaibashi) to take our laptop to the Apple Store. I only had to ask 1 person along the way to ensure I was on the right trains. However, once I arrived at destination, there were numerous exits out of the subway. I took the wrong one and wandered around a bit. I asked 3 different people who gave me 3 different answers. I finally found 2 young women who worked at a clothes shop. They directed me correctly. I laughed out loud when I found the HUGE apple on the side of the HUGE building. :) I again laughed out loud when I saw my name up on the screen at the genius bar - the only one in English.

I ate at a Mexican restaurant by myself (pointing at the picture of food that I wanted) and walked around while I waited for the computer to be fixed ... only to find that it needed a new hard drive which would take 1 week. The trip back was uneventful. Then, that Saturday, I missed a call on my cell phone. The message was completely in Japanese. I understood "Tina Maloney" and "computer". So, I went down to reception for translation. Alas, the computer was ready in 3 days! I took the train back solo again, arriving in Osaka at around 5:30pm. Think about it as arriving in Chicago at that time of day. Trains were packed. Streets were packed. Most people were dressed up, especially the ladies. I saw all kinds of super high heels, fish net, fur, skirts, big hair, and lots of make up. Wow. I quickly walked in my shorts and sneakers to the Apple store, got my computer, and went back to Rokko Island for a quiet dinner at home with my family! :)

Sunday morning brought a ton of excitement and action as we gathered around the TV (connected to US life via computer) to watch Alabama beat Florida!! Roll TIDE!

Last Monday, Phillip left for Cincinnati. This made for a tough week. All 4 of us shed tears at some point, missing our friends. I think it has been harder just knowing that Phillip is there and we are not. One morning, though, I woke up singing a song in my head. Don't call me crazy yet. I do have a 6 year old daughter, ok? I was singing Miley Cyrus "Life's what you make it, so let's make it rock!" Miley is so very wise. :) Well, maybe not, but it was a good little reminder!

This past weekend, Jacob's baseball team had their end of season tournament. He pitched a complete game (the first game). In the final inning, he hit a double off the back fence. He stole 3rd base. Then, the next player hit a ball in the infield that took a high bounce, so Jacob slid into home to score the winning run! He was mobbed by his Canadian Academy teammates from Japan, China, Korea, India, ... It was very cool, and much needed after a bit of a rough week for all of us. The team won the 2nd game, as well as the 3rd game (on Saturday) in pouring down rain (turf field). Jacob pitched another complete game. As I said on my Facebook status, I am not too sure that any kid is supposed to pitch two days in a row. I suppose it is ok as long as he doesn't keep doing it? I was caught off guard on that one. The championship game was rained out, but our team was the only undefeated one!!

Jacob scored the winning run!

Jacob, Matthew, and I got up at 4:30am to watch our Tide lose. The streak had to end at some point, I guess. They have played 2 top 10 teams and 2 additional top 20 teams in 6 weeks. We still have 2 top ten teams left to play. Tough schedule. I saw a quote last night on a friend's Facebook status. It was from Coach Paul Bear Bryant. "Losing doesn't make me want to quit. It makes me want to fight that much harder." Now that is inspiration.

Monday was Sports Day (a national holiday in Japan). It is a bit like field day. The kids were divided into Red or Grey team pending their birthdays. The younger children were partnered with older kids. Jessica got Jacob! Watching them together made me smile (on the inside and on the outside). Matthew got a senior girl. She was great with him.

On Tuesday morning, we made our first trip to a doctor here. No, not for Matthew ... it was Jacob! He actually hurt his knee during the first inning of the first game last Friday, but he kept playing. We iced it, and he took ibuprofen through the weekend. (There was no place to take him on Sunday or Monday.) He was still in some pain on Tuesday morning, so we went to the orthopedic doctor who was only a 5 minute walk away. We got there at 8:40am for 9:00am opening. Clinics here are only "walk in".  Dr. Abe studied in Canada, was very thorough, and spoke very good English. Jacob has a sprained patellar ligament and has to sit out of sports for a week, but he should make a full recovery! I wonder if this will affect his dancing at the middle school dance on Friday night? :)

Peace and Love,

Tina