Life in the future and the sweetest babies

I thought that this being my third time in Da Nang I would know exactly how to conquer jet lag before I even got here, but I was absolutely wrong. No matter how late I force myself to stay awake, I am up bright and early (5:30 at the latest), and then fall asleep around 2 in the afternoon and mess myself up again. It's almost 8PM and I have not slept since I woke up at 5:30, so I have faith that today is the day that I win and jet lag will be defeated. 

I'm sorry it has taken me a bit of time to update. My airline made me check my backpack and then lost it and then cracked my computer screen. And stole my camera and sunglasses. Not the coolest thing that has happened. And I've had a bit of trouble with my internet, but I should be all set now.

I spent my first few days back getting settled in and getting over the constant shock of how hot it is here. I have a really sweet little apartment where I will be living by myself (for my first time in my life, mind you) for the next two months. It is one block back from the South China Sea and has a beautiful roof deck with a really breathtaking view. It is the same building I lived in the last year. I have been debating whether or not I will rent a motorbike and drive myself around and have decided that I most definitely do not. I have panic attacks just being a passenger, so I think it is probably the better decision for me to not be the driver.

Today was busy and exciting as I got to spend time at 3 of the centers where I will be this summer. I spent the morning at the Red Cross orphanage. I haven't been there since my first trip to Da Nang in 2010 and it is much different than I had remembered. There are 23 children in the room where I will be working, most of whom are disabled with conditions such as Hydrocephalus and Cerebral Palsy. What I found to be the most heartbreaking at this center is that there are several children who seemed abled when they were born and were adopted, and when it was discovered that they were disabled their

parents decided against keeping them, which is more than I can wrap my head around. It is a beautiful and clean space with shaded swings and a small outdoor play space, but it is underfunded and they have more children then they've had in a while without the resources to really care for them. Mr.Phuc and Mr.T (two of the men I will be working with this summer- I met them originally in 2010), visit the center every day and provide as much care as they can (which is a lot, it is amazing what they are putting out). Mr.Phuc is a physio therapist, so he works with the disabled children, and Mr.T does whatever is needed from taking the children to the hospital to feeding to first aid. I will visit this center with them 4-5 times a week. I've found that at every center I visit the children are so eager for physical contact and affection that they cling immediately, thrilled to have one-on-one (or two-on-one or three-on-one) attention for a while. The caregivers do everything they can, but there is only so much hands on time 3 caregivers can give 23 children. My duties today involved diaper changing, feeding, swinging and hugging. 

In the afternoon I went back to Social Support to see the sweet, funny children I have missed so much. I was greeted by a laughing and smiling Tinh who was ready to play as soon as we came in. A lot of good has happened since I was at Social Support last year. It is cleaner and there is an air conditioner in the disabled children's' room. They have also redesigned the rooms so that the disabled boys are together and the disabled girls are together, sharing a play space. I was so, so excited to see all the children at Social Support and am thrilled that I will get to be with them a good amount this summer. On Thursday afternoon we will take them to the beach and then I am heading to Tam Ky with my friend Mark for a few days to visit the orphanages there as well as large center for victims of Agent Orange. There are a lot of projects that I will be able to help fund at Social Support center this summer, including getting a separate cooker for the disabled children so that they can have food that they can actually digest. The food that the rest of the people at Social Support eat is much too hard on their systems and therefore many of them are losing weight. I spent my time at Social today helping Mr.Phuc with the physiotherapy, holding hands and going for walks with the older disabled children, feeding the babies, and strolling with Tinh and Hua My in their beautiful new strollers. I really love this place and am glad and grateful that Mr.Phuc and Mr.T are investing so much of their time and energy in the children that live there, and I can't wait to help them out in any way that I can. This is really the place that made me fall in love with Vietnam first and the people there are incredibly important to me. It's funny how different it feels now opposed to my first time here. I think my heart broke my entire first trip and it was a really incredible experience. Everything was new and eye opening and often felt really overwhelming. I think I felt comfortable with the children pretty quickly, but my whole first trip was raw and breathtaking. It is still incredible, but all of me feels comfortable now and while I am still heartbroken for these children, it isn't as raw and I feel more able to be proactive. I don't feel like a deer in headlights anymore and my heart is in my chest instead of sitting heavy in my throat. 

After Social I visited with the children at Mary's House who we got to spend so much quality time with last summer. They are all wonderful and thriving and we will take them to the beach some time next week. My friend Lanh is directing the house with my other friend Diem and everyone has done such a nice job making the house feel like a home and taking care of all the children there. I got them ice cream and played a bit and will see them again tomorrow afternoon. In the coming week I will spend time at the two centers in Da Nang that care for victims of Agent Orange and next week I am meeting with a Vietnamese biologist who has researched Dioxin extensively and will hopefully be a critical aid for me this summer. 

It feels so good to be back. I have an incredible group of Vietnamese friends, but also a really wonderful set of Western friends and feel really supported. It's going to be a sensational summer, I can tell already.

My fundraising site will remain open until my last week here, and again- all the money I raise goes directly towards funding projects for the children, I funded the actual trip myself. I will write about our projects here, so if there is something you are particularly interested in, let me know! The site can be found at Connie's Fundraising Site.

To those of you in the Western Hemisphere- happy Monday from the future! I do feel homesick but am grateful that Skype let's me stay in touch for less than my phone costs at home (!!).

Pictures below and I'll write again soon.

Love,

Connie