Reflections of Tam Ky.

This past month has flown by. We have been very busy with the three orphanages and teaching English to a group of the town's professionals. We have had a number of medical issues for the children that we have been working to get fixed before we leave at the end of this month. Katie just returned from spending a week in Ho Chi Mihn City with two babies that have pneumonia and a virus that has caused their livers to swell. There is also a one year old that has a cleft pallet and lip that needs surgery. Besides for these there are a number of minor illnesses, rashes and colds that require attention. The 120 children spread between the three orphanages all have different needs but they mostly require love and much needed attention. It has been nice to have a home base for the last few weeks. Our cook Mrs. Hahn is more than just a cook she has become a close friend and a provided the cooking that has helped me regain a few unwanted lbs.


Our time on the weekends and after work has been spent exploring the areas around the village and nearby towns. We have became addicted the the cheap clothing that is made to order according to one's exact and expanding dimensions. Since dress clothes are cheap and well tailored we decided this would be the place to add to our wardrobe for our upcoming job searches and interviews. We have visited some nearby towns including Hoi An and Quang Ngai. Each have their unique flares. Hoi An is known for its tailors, ancient Chinese covered bridge and owning the oldest houses in the country. The town with a french colonial flare, sits on a river and is very close to the coast and beach. Quang Ngai is a larger city and is very near the My Lai massacre site. This town has one of the three GVN volunteer programs in the country. We have become friends with the volunteers in Quang Ngai. They even spent last weekend with us in Tam Ky and we all visited a Karaoke bar (a national craze). I won't go into details but if you have seen that movie, "Duets" with Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow then you get the idea. They can't hold a candle to this bright singing star. Even the worm made an appearance when a dance party broke out when the Footloose theme song started.

Our time here has been memorable and exciting. I just hope the children got as much from us as we did from them. It will be hard to leave but we are hopeful that many of these kids will be leaving soon too with adoptive families.