Music at the Symphony

You could really hear the violins at the symphony. The trumpet too. She is one of the best people in the orchestra. She is 21 and from Norway. She plays all over the world and the conductor wrote all the music. They played 5 songs. And the building was big and it had a lot of decorations.

Here's a video to hear the music:

The Drummers

I have been telling Cliff that one of the great things about being in Hanoi is how different all the shops, restaurants, and buildings are. Then we went to an upscale mall!! It was five stories with two sets of elevators. All the shops could have been found at most US malls. On the top floor was a video arcade. We loved watching all the young girls dancing on the electronic dance floor.

the Somerset

The place we live in is the Somerset we have 3 bed rooms, living room, dining room and a kitchen. outside we have a pool and a playground. On the 4th floor we have a restaurant too.

Death of a Cardinal

The Cardinal of Vietnam (Cardinal Paul Joseph Pham Dinh Tung) died this past week and the funeral was held at Cathedral Square in Hanoi, a few blocks from our hotel... thousands of pilgrims in white bandannas were out to pay respects. The Vietnamese Communist Party cut off all ties to the Vatican when they took power in 1954, and the Cardinal is credited to working tirelessly to re-establish official relations, which looks like it may happen this year. Here are some shots:

A Different Kind of Buddha

In most Asian countries, you'll run across Buddhas almost everywhere. From the Buddhas watching over the elaborate temples laden with offerings of everything from money to cans of beer, to the garish "fat" Buddha sitting on a pile of money on a shop counter, you have multiple opportunities each day to say a prayer.

Yesterday, Terry (Lisa's Mom) and I ventured to the Vietnam Museum of Art and discovered a really different type of Buddha style. For a short period of 14 years (1788 - 1802), under the Tay Son Dynasty, Buddhist Vietnamese Sculpture is considered to have attained its zenith. The sculpture is striking in its "realism and humanism" - and while they are religious subjects, it is supposed that the artists were using the subjects to reflect ordinary people's lives who lived at that time. Standing over 10 feet tall, with impeccable lacquer and detail, they are very striking.

In such a chaotic city packed with 6 million people, there is art everywhere. These sculptures really stood out for me as one of the most unusual, powerful pieces I have seen yet... Here's a few snapshots:

The Houses of the 54 Ethnic Tribes

Yesterday we visited the museum of ethology. This museum preserves artifacts and the way of life from 54 different ethnic groups that make up Vietnam. What really caught my attention was the houses that families built. I was shocked when i saw the inside of the houses. One house was owned by a rich family hat had 18 children, 13 boys and 5 girls(and people think were crazy). But despite all the money they had their house had the same cracked floors, little furniture, and concrete walls. The house that I found most interesting was a big tall one on stilts, it had a roof taller than a modern day house and stairs mad out of carved logs. I enjoyed this museum because it helped me picture what Vietnam was like in the older days a little clearer.

Seeing The Great Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

When we went to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum the first thing we noticed was the huge massive line, when I saw the huge line I thought ''wow'' I think this is the longest line I've been in my hole life. When we were almost at the entrance we saw a bunch of soldiers, well maybe just three or six marching next to the entrance. Before we saw Ho Chi Minh we had to walk up some stairs and every 1o or 5 feet we walked we saw a soldier. Right before Ho Chi Minh died he wrote in his will that he wanted to be cremated, but the government decided to ship him off to Russia to be embalmed and he didn't tell Ho Chi Minh about the plan. Ho Chi Minh is famous because he founded modern day for the Vietnamese people and united the North and South part of Vietnam. The Vietnamese People call Ho Chi Minh uncle Ho and uncle is the highest title. When we finely got to the room Ho Chi Minh was in, he looked like he was asleep in a big glass box with a blanket over his body, if you are wondering why I didn't post a picture of Ho Chi Minh is because you were not aloud to take pictures of him. When we got outside of the Mausoleum we went to see the house that Ho Chi Minh lived in I thought the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum was very cool and interesting because you could see Ho Chi Minh very clearly because the glass box was lit up inside.



This is a picture of the desk that Ho Chi Minh used:


Here's a video of the line:

MUSEUM OF ETHNOLOGY

Yesterday we visited a coll and fun museum. we saw a coll bike it had over 800 baskets on it. the baskets could catch little fish. the baskets were shaped like ovals. they were small.

Thank You Memere!

My Mom, Janine - Memere to the kids - left Vietnam today, and we all wanted to say THANK YOU so much for joining us on part of our adventure. It took a lot of courage and energy to make this trip, and we are all so happy that you did! She is truly a world traveler, approaching every experience with fresh optimism and energy unmatched by anyone. Her ability to connect with people from all walks of life, from all backgrounds, all ages and all situations is truly amazing. Her fearless attitude to any new experience is admirable. And of course, her kind, loving nature was so key to the integration of our two new sons into the family. We love you and miss you already!

There are so many stories... but this little example will give you a great window into my Mom... she was determined to ride a moped while in Hanoi... you have to experience the sea of mopeds to truly get it. Here's Memere getting on a moped taxi to explore the depths of Hanoi!

I'm Blogging!!

This has been an incredible adventure. I will never forget the day that Lisa, Cliff, Wes, Yve, Otto and I first met Chien and Thang at the orphanage. The moment will be etched in my heart forever. The twins are adorable, so much fun and with individual personalities. They are so fortunate to have found such a wonderful, loving family.

Grandpa and I are blessed to have two new grandsons... wish you were here, Grandpa!

Can't wait for y'all to meet them. Cliff just opened a bottle of Dom and we're having a dance party. Lisa and I leave tomorrow and we're sad, but hope to return to Asia someday soon. This is an awesome place.

Chien + Thang = Victory!

We have recently learned that while "Chien" and "Thang" both have their own definitions as words in Vietnamese, combined, the meaning of the two words together is even more inspiring. "Chien Thang," if you look it up in the Vietnamese/English Dictionary, means "Victory!" or more specifically "to triumph over poverty, backwardness or a natural calamity."

It now makes sense that "Chien" and "Thang" are the names that the birth mother gave to the twins in the hospital before she snuck out and left them behind. The hospital records show that she wrote the following thoughts in the note she left behind at the hospital before her departure dated June 27th, 2007:

"My name is Dang Thi Thanh, age 38. On June 21st I gave birth to twin boys. Due to my hard living conditions, I can't afford to bring them up so I voluntarily write this letter to give up my babies to the hospital."

We also know from her hospital records that she already had one child. In Vietnam, you must pay significant fees to the government to have more than two children. Most people do not have more than 1. Therefore, everyone we meet looks at us, holds up the "5" fingers on their hand and has a look of amazement when they confirm that we have FIVE kids. Then they say "you must be very happy!" Happy indeed.

Victory is a good way to describe this trip. Triumph!!

The Laundry Ninjas

You might think that the idea of being in an apartment in Hanoi with 5 kids and 3 adults would be a nightmare from a laundry perspective.....and it would be if we didn't have three secret weapons... 1) A machine that does BOTH washing and drying sequentially in the same machine....WICKED COOL!


2) A ninja named Wescott who is the only person who has actually mastered the instructions to run the complicated washer/dryer machine


and 3) A ninja named Yve who has always been a rock star folder and has been able to keep up with Wescott's amped washing schedule! Here are some pics of the daily process!

Chien = Party Animal

Chien's primary goal everyday is to be where the action is! He got up this morning and was dancing and jumping with Yve's jump rope around the apartment. He is happiest nude. Here are some classic Chien photos.

Tran Quoc Pagoda in Hanoi

this is one of the oldest pagodas in Vietnam. it was bult in 1842. it has 11 lares and 8 sids. 7 lares hold buddhas. tran quoc maens protecting the nation.