It's been a very busy week here in Da Nang. The weather is still hot, although not quite as biting as when I first arrived. I'm starting to get in the swing of things and have finally, definitely overcome the jet lag, just took a casual two weeks.
Last Thursday we took a group of children from Social Support to the beach, and it was quite the experience. The children were so happy to be away from the center and also to be in the water. Tinh kicked and laughed the entire time and almost gave me about 5 bloody noses all out of excitement. Mr. T and Mr.Phuc really are incredible and just move forward to empower these kids without thinking twice. It wouldn't have occurred to me when I first met the disabled children at Social 3 years ago that we would be able to take them into the ocean. Aside from the attention they need physically, these kinds of outings really are so good for them. It was one of the best experiences I've had here so far and I look forward to taking them again next week.
On Friday me and Mark went to a town about 2 hours away from
Da Nang called Tam Ky to see our friend Anna from Australia who has been more or less running the orphanages there. She spent a year living in Tam Ky and is back now for a couple of weeks. We took 25 girls to the swimming pool on Friday afternoon, as well as a few painfully adorable little guys, and then had dinner with them. On Saturday morning we visited a center for "Victims of Dioxin and other Unfortunate Circumstances." This center is incredibly peaceful despite the severe disabilities the people there are living with. It's more difficult in Tam Ky because they do not have the same resources and volunteer traffic that we do in Da Nang. We're planning on getting back there a few more times this summer to hopefully take those kids out for the day. I went back down to Tam Ky by myself on Tuesday to visit a new center that Agribank built for victims of Agent Orange and other disabilities. I had a meeting with the director and a very detailed tour of the center and it gave me a good understanding of the support being provided to some of the families with disabled children. I'll be spending more time at the AOV centers in Da Nang, but it was really good to see a bit of what is happening in other areas.
I stayed home for Sunday and Monday because I got a pretty nasty case of pink eye in BOTH of my eyes and the beginnings of a chest infection, but about 48 hours of sleep seemed to knock that out.
On Wednesday morning we took the children from the Red Cross to the beach with two volunteers who are here from Australia. It was so fun. There is a little girl at Red Cross named Ha who is very similar to Tinh and just LOVES the water. She wants to swim on her own so badly, but is happy to kick around while I hold onto her underarms. Little Nga was a bit of an escape artist and we spent a bit of time chasing her up and down the beach as she sprinted away with a devious look on her face, but the water scared her so she more or less stayed on the shore playing in the break. We also brought 5 of the babies with us and they were delighted to be submerged in the ocean, several of them even fell asleep. 
This morning I brought my friends Mark and Kaberly to meet the kids at Mary's House and we spent the morning playing at the pool (we all miss you very much, ASM, Olivia and Dung). I haven't been able to see these children as much this summer so it was really nice to have some quality time with them. We're going to take them to the movies next week. I have Kerry's sweet daughter Giang spending the night with me tonight and we had a really nice day going to lunch and the movies and we're getting ready to meet a few of my friends for pizza in the city. I've been invited to a wedding tomorrow and it's my FIRST Vietnamese wedding, so I'm really excited for that!
Aside from getting to hangout with the sweetest kids this week, I was also introduced to several people who are really the leading faces in Agent Orange research and advocacy and have really, really inspired me. On Wednesday afternoon I met with Dr.Long who is the head of biology at the Da Nang University of Technology. We spent the afternoon talking about the different ways in which dioxin has and is continuing to harm people and the current and past research that has been done. I am going to write more about this after I meet with him and a few more people on Sunday morning, but considering the amount of known damage that dioxin has caused, there is very, very little known about that long term effects and the ways in which the chemical will continue to effect those initially exposed and continuously exposed. It's also incredibly frustrating, because there are tests that are done in Da Nang that can determine whether disabilities are caused by dioxin, but there is further testing required to definitely tie the chemical to other disabilities that there is not the funding for. A lot of the diagnoses are based on background and not actual testing, so although it seems clean the foundation of the disability, there isn't the set proof that I think could open the doors for greater funding. I am eager and excited to learn more and continue my research.
Last night I had dinner with a man named Chuck Palazzo. He is a Vietnam veteran who has moved back to Da Nang and dedicated to his life to advocacy and peace. He is easily one of the more inspirational people I have ever met and I had an amazing time speaking with him and learning about the programming that is being done and the work he and his colleagues are doing here. He has also introduced me to an incredible group of doctors, veterans, and researchers who are very knowledgeable and open to talking to me, which is really blowing me away. I feel incredibly lucky to have been introduced to such a passionate, intelligent and interesting group of people and I really look forward to learning more about them and their research throughout the summer.
Needless to say, it's been a very full week and I could not be happier to be here. I miss home for sure, especially my family in Boston and at home, but I feel right here and am full of motivation and inspiration every day.
I will write more soon. I hope everyone had a great 4th of July!
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