what's up?

Sorry folks for the delay in updating the blog - we had a laptop accident - I should say Steve and Kino did and it is now rendered unuseable without a very expensive repair - new puter too.
Kino hasn't allowed us much time at the other computer as his status as Mr Hands has elevated to condition orange, in fact I know must end this as he si into something he knows he shouldn't be. He is not yet self directed in his play and also doesn't use toys when he does. But hey he can count to 3 and 10 with prompting!

Did his first swing today!

Ok off I go!
Leslie

It's too bad the saying "what a long strange trip it's been" has already been said. I feel as if we just came up with it ourselves...

Left Ha Noi with Henry and a executive for Global Drago Investment Holdings Limited - he was stuck in town due to the typhoon and couldn't leave for Hong Kong as planned so he came along for the ride to the airport with us. He lives in Vancouver so we had plenty to chat about with him. The line at the airport seemed about right - we were 2 hours early, which we were told was enough time given security and all. Glaciers are melting faster. We were about 5th in line and it took fully an HOUR to get to the counter.
The flight to Taipei caused Kino some issues with the descent – me too given my cold state. HE squirmed and cried and was quite upset. We broke our rule about feeding a kid to get him settled and offered him the cookie from our lunch. Steve had broken it in 2 pieces, which really sent him over the edge. So chocolate cookie in both hands we landed. The SECOND the plane landed – he held out his chocolate-coated hand and said “could you please clean this off for me?” No really he said what sounds like “Ennhh” which must mean something in Vietnamese, but his request was clear. Crisis over till the next one.


Taiwan airport ROCKS!!!!!!!
First they give us a meal voucher and apologize for the long wait (7 hours) we have. Then we find the nursery room for folks with kids – soft music, couches to rest on, a crib and changing table…. then they have what they call the green zone – soft lighting, massage chairs with all the tokens you would like, pathways lined with plants of all sizes. All in all making what will be a 7 hour stay here rather pleasant. They have wifi as well, but for a fee, but do have a free Internet room.

We were hanging in the green zone – parents grooving on the massage chairs, Kino playing with on the floor when Steve said “uh oh.” I was in the heavenly throes of my chair working my neck and calves at the same time and mumbled “what?” He said Kino just pooped. As I lay in my cocoon of delight my vision was of you know the whole down the leg into the shoes “code brown” type situation. I think I might have even said given that possible scene and mess – lets wait till our massages are done. Thankfully and I will spare you the details it wasn’t and in fact we were both back in our chairs before the massage chair was finished with us. We figured at that point we had dealt with all the possible toddler issues that could occur during such a long airport day and congratulated ourselves on the mission thus far.

Steve and Kino spent several hours napping on the floor of the airport. The nursery room would have been great for that, but a fellow traveler arrived who had a different agenda than ours, making it less user friendly. I won’t mention the long flight from Taipei to Seattle as I’m sure you can all guess it was brutal, made worse by the planes endless shuttering every few minutes which for me shook me from my light slumber over and over and over and over….
We had given Kino some benadryl to help him sleep, but found we had to wake him as we approached Seattle to give him some breakfast and in general have him on board with the plan. He did OK, but again during the descent was less than thrilled with the idea and spent most of his time furiously sucking his favorite thumb and kicking the poor monk sitting in front of me.

3 hours later and many lines later we passed through homeland security and Kino was stamped into the country – with his temporary green card in place in his passport. 2 baggage checks later we were finally within sight of my family –Janet, Jeff, Ericka, Alysia, Brianna, Jake, Noah and my cousin Susanna and her family Dave, Katie and Kellan. They had waited many hours to get this glimpse of the tired travelers and I must say I was excited to see them to! Balloons and a banner for Kino!

Many pics later we bid some of the group good night and Janet took us home. Kino in his car seat for the first time. He cried at first, but it might have been the cold. SNOW earlier in the day in Seattle- breaking all sorts of records.

We had brought some dehydrated pho with us and made it up for Janet, Ericka and Brianna to try as we tried to get the feel of our home with a new dynamic to it, get the heat going and say hello to yogi the cat who in his Siamese way had may things to tell us about.

Kino started to warm to the new folks in his life and allowed himself to be fed by his cousins and be held for pics when they left. He then came into his own and took on the balloons, the car toy Janet had brought and spoke on the phone with Janet for the first time – adding to his English. His next word? “Ah – low” In Ha Noi he would pick up the phone and hand it to us and Steve and I would use different voices and accents to “talk” – I would always answer with “ah-low.” He has since added bye-bye and good night to his verbal inspirations!

Our first day in Seattle was low key. We took a walk around our hood – Kino wearing his first coat, overalls and tennis shoes. He wasn’t thrilled with the coat – having issues with putting his arms through the sleeves. Had the same problem with a button shirt today – wouldn’t do it.

Pho at the local noodle shop, naps and a trip to the Asian supermarket rounded out the outdoor activities. Steve then moved our study into the living area so we can take over that room to sleep – Kino sat with some corn flakes to munch watching the show. Little does he know….

Sleep is still messed up for us all. We finally got Kino up at 11:30 this am to see the snow that was falling. He seemed quite interested. We bundled him up, got packed or really just changed suitcases and took him on his first road trip to Westport. He did OK, and we broke another rule of allowing him to eat in the car, but that was our fault, as we didn’t have anything for him to eat other than yogurt this am.

Currently I’m sitting with my feet on the hearth in the café – Kino is sleeping on a mattress and the sun is shining. Gave Kino a viewing of sorts of Kodiak (ran right to “Uncle Josh” when we arrived) – eh stood and looked at him from afar and shook his head- hard to say if that was because he can’t believe how big he is or that he’d prefer to not have anything to do with him…. (Kodiak is an Alaskan malamute –big boy)

This is not one of my more inspired posts and I apologize for the content as well as the manner I’m delivering it. Jet lag doesn’t make for stimulating anything.

headed for the crossing...

Looks to be our last entry before the marathon flight tomorrow. We’re considerably more at ease about the prospects of this return leg than we were on the way here. Certainly a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. We marvel about how transformative these past couple of weeks have been for us, in terms of our developing acquaintance with both Kino and Vietnam.

We entertained a number of touring ideas for our last day here: Halong Bay, a village renowned for silk weaving, another for ceramics. In the end we opted to keep in fairly close to our hood in the old quarter, venturing on a morning jaunt to an adjunct of the Museum of Ethnology featuring downed weaponry from its struggle toward independence, including the carcass of a B-52 and a couple fighter jets—staged in a bonsai garden. (The unlikely mix seemed too interesting to pass up.) There are a couple other attractions in that area we aimed to explore but opted instead to return to the Temple of Literature for the relaxed setting that Kino clearly enjoyed. There we spent a good part of the rest of the day, taking in a performance of traditional Vietnamese music and otherwise enjoying the garden settings. Let the pictures do the rest of the talking. Can’t believe we’re at the end of our stay. How great it has been to be sharing our intrigue in the process with all of you!

Keeping my fingers crossed for safe passage out of here. Leslie has symptoms of the plague; word of an outbreak of avian flu in Korea.

S

other updates and further guessing

Today we had our embassey visit that we were lead to imagine was some sort of ardrous ordeal involving checking our paperwork (that we brought along a portfolio of)being asked questions and in general something to get past quickly and efficently. This we did because once we paid our VISA fees, Steve signed two documents and declared that "yes the info you have in true as far as we know" - done. I walked back to the chairs surprised and relieved as I felt sure our paperwork won't be in order. We were there with a woman from SC who is adopting a 5 month old baby girl. We all took silly pics in front of the American flag and left. Kino was quite sedate as we decided to do our test dose of Benadryl just prior to leaving as it was his nap time and boy was he wound up. (The trip to the temple this am afforded him his first open spaces to run and boy did he with great delight and smiles galore. He also met a 3 yr old boy who played with him for a bit under the direction of his grandmother who washed both sets of hands and pulled up the pants and shorts of each boy so they rested under their armpits :) before allowing them playtime.)

Loves to run can be added to the Kino list of discoveries. Also takes great pleasure in lifting heavy objects - for example 1.5 liter bottles of water - he can lift them onto the bed and then of course throw them on the floor. Strong little dude. (Seeing him do that reminds me of a Steve photo when he was a bit younger on the farm carrying a milk can down the lane.) Hasn't figured out how to wear his Diego backpack but hauls it around and smiled when I showed him how I wear mine. Soon...

At any rate he was at full bore 2.5 year old antics so it seemed a grand time to see if the benadryl would be a success (for the flight home) or if it would cause the opposite effect. Thankfully it has had the desired reaction. Course it is now almost 5:30 and he's still out...

My cold - caught I'm sure on the flight here progresses -should be fully a pain in the neck by the time we fly back - guess I'll be passing on the favor...



SO there was a request to continue to guessing game and here is the clue - Kino's second English word is one we all use daily - work, play, home, phone everywhere. Guess what it is??

But Thap; Don Ky Village

Day-tripping around Hanoi, yesterday we toured about 30 km into the countryside to visit a Buddhist temple at But Thap, and then ventured along the Red River another 30 km further to Don Ky Village where traditional furniture is crafted in the time honored technique. It was a delightful break all the way around from the busy urban scene. We visited another Temple—of Literature--this morning in Hanoi that honors Confucian roots in Vietnam and shares many design characteristics of the one at But Thap, particularly the pagoda and the style of the walkways. The experience at But Thap was far more serene and enjoyable in its rural setting of rice fields and old-world villages. The drive to and from there was a great adventure by itself, snaking through small towns that afford a vivid slice-of-life perspective in the traffic and commerce along the streets. We met our driver, Vuoung, in our touring of Hanoi. He’s very pleasant and speaks English fairly well, a great asset in navigating the terrain and culture. We’re entertaining the idea of having him guide us on a visit to Halong Bay tomorrow but may have to wait for a return visit to take in that destination. Don’t want to over tax the younger member of our travel party who’s been holding up very well thus far. We’re making strides of understanding about Kino’s tolerances and energy which ties very closely, of course, with the timing of food and naps. His endurance and drive seems to increase each day. Yikes.

XO Steve

Kino's first English words

Guesses???? :)

Monsoon

Woke to the sound of RAIN and more RAIN and then some more RAIN!!!!!! Throw in a bit of thunder and lightening - yahoo - seems the monsoon has begun! Of course today is the day we are leaving in a hired car to go out of town for a bit of a tour.... and my throat hurts....uh oh...

More on Ha Noi and Kino!

Editors’ note: Great to hear positive feedback about our comments and reactions to our travels. “Blogging” bridges worlds between correspondence and journal writing as such leads us in to a middle ground that no doubt makes for tedious reading at times. In general it helps open our eyes along this road of discovery and it’s all the more rewarding to be sharing the experience with all of you. Steve

Ha Noi

Flying into Ha Noi is a bit like flying to Kansas – you know you are in the same country as everyone speaks a similar dialect, but it sure feels, looks, smells and tastes quite different. Coffee for example is harder to find and when you do it is served hot. Pho is also much more difficult to locate even though Ha Noi is supposed to produce pho that is better than Saigon’s. Hmm – could be our hood, which is more focused on commerce than eating. Each small shop has living space behind it so preparing food occurs in the same space as taking care of the baby (middle of shop) and making a living, watching TV – life. (In Saigon life as I have said was lived IN the street including retail to some level.) This design is known as nha ong or tube houses – narrow – sometimes only 3 meters wide but up to 50 meters long- looking down from our hotel which is one of the tallest structures in the area you can clearly see where the name derives – Americans may relate to the visual of row after row of single wide trailers each sharing a common wall with the house next door. Many of the nha ong have intriguing hallways leading from the street back to the living quarters – we walk slowly by and I love the glimpses we catch. This is from our tour book “ The houses tend to be interspersed by courtyards or ‘wells’ to permit light into the house and allow some space for outside activities like washing or gardening.” (Footprint Vietnam, p. 81)
Post our breakfast of canapés, fried rice, stir fried veggies, fresh warm mango juice, fried eggs, fresh fruit, congee, stir fried beef with pineapple, coffee, several hours of downpour, and some rigorous room play we taxied over to the Hang Be Market which for Seattle folks is sort of the Vietnamese version of Pike Place Market when it first started 100 years ago plus scooters riding up on your back end and nudging you with their tires in case you missed the horn in your ear. (Honest!)
You need a live carp? No problem there they are swimming in metal washtubs with an aerating system or some sort to provide O2 I guess. Kino watched as a woman arrived and pointed out a nice round one. The fishmonger picked up the selected one, it in a bag while Mr. Fishy gasped against the plastic like a victim in a bad horror film. He didn’t suffer the suffocation long as she took her cleaver and snacked it firmly on the head near the neck if it had one. Then came the gutting, descaling, and filleting process. Seemed a bit brutal for a 2 year old, but Kino watched with great interest. Talk about fresh eh?
He also saw chickens on the hoof, a tub filled with writhing live eels, tiny crabs in similar tubs as well as the large variety trussed with strong red cord that made them appear more like a festive party gifts then a live beasties, tables filled with parts of mammals, red with blood, most of them unknown to us, knives flashing through the thick moist tropical air readying dinner cuts. Then there were the vegetables, grains, rice, noodles, sauces, herbs, dried spices and of course the fruit! Sensory overload in Vietnam.
We tried to find our way to 87 Ma May street to see an original nha ong, but got lost of course – hard to navigate streets when the language prevents basic comprehension and directional abilities – especially when the micrographic copy of our map only has a few of actual real roadways. Anyway by design I managed to get us back to the hotel and we avoided 87 Ma May Street. :) For now.
I did wish for a kitchen as everything veggies wise at least looked photo worthy. One woman, an artist in her own right carved carrots the size of Kino’s calf into butterflies and crabs with such detail as to inspire poetry.

Kino updates – smiling more!
Has a real sense of style. For example this am Steve put his blue shorts on with a yellow shirt. He came back and pointed out that he preferred the yellow to match and wanted to change! He can match colors now when playing as well, but not yet able to speak the words in English.

Loves the phone – picks it up and listens to the beep beep beep and smiles Think he’s going to love talking on it. Had a video chat with Uncle Per in Denmark yesterday and he watched intently the interaction, but I’m sure he thought it was TV, which he is familiar with from the orphanage.

Enormously coordinated with his feet and toes. I watched him while he was to be falling asleep for his nap – find his shoes with his feet and lift them to his hands to be played with. (Shoes between feet lift and down. Repeat. Do you suppose the nannies taught him this?) It’s not only his feet that are skilled - he’s got great abdominals as well. He also used his toes to hold onto things – like crayons in each set of toes while skating across the floor.

Doesn’t believe bookmarkers have a place in books – goes along with his neat nature. Loves to clean up.

Learned to spit! Toothpaste and excess water associated with this enterprise!

Speaking of knowing you aren’t in Kansas – we awoke the first morning to the soft music via loud speakers set up in the streets. This went on for about an hour followed by what we can only guess to be rise and shine communist messages in loud Vietnamese for about a half hour. Saturday morning! There is much more of a police presence here than in Saigon with the local gendarmes station about 15 seconds away. The green clad police hang in the street and glancing into the station brings to mind the Hollywood image of that American dude who got caught with drugs in the airport of I think Turkey and ended up in prison. The shirttail hanging half way out, cigarette dangling, one eye partly closed against the smoke while ogling the activity.
Leslie