1 Month Since Gotcha!

A month already since Gotcha Day. What's Tanje achieved? Lots! Formula change, eating a variety of solids, gaining 1 1/2 pounds, understanding 'non' (and wagging her finger as she says it - gee, wonder who taught her that!), saying and signing 'lait', saying 'maman', enjoying brushing her teeth, running away from papa, sleeping alone in a crib (and dark room), running, clapping when asked, dodging her big sister, enduring her snowsuit, enjoying stroller rides (not at first though!), playing peekaboo, and getting into absolutely everything that isn't tied down. Quite a character!

Winter Wonder

Ahhhhhh!

They both slept last night!!!!! yippee! We feel human again! Took Savannah swimming and to the library and forced her to walk outside and play (wah wah!) and that got her back on track (ok, ok, i'll admit it: Gravol was the key). Tanje on the other hand turned around all by herself! Good girl!

Savannah's getting a little possessive of her sister: we were at the mall today, and she would get right near her and pat her cheek if anyone else got close. And she seemed genuinely afraid that we'd leave her with Anna and Joce when we visited today, asking twice, with a very worried look, to make sure that Tanje came with us. Tanje continues to be a happy little person. It's amazing how well she's adapting, trying out new foods, now completely on Canadian formula (phew! thought we'd have a situation here, as the Dialac she was on is only available in Viet Nam, or through some shady Australian distributor I found online). After one of the toughest weeks ever, we're on track, or at least getting there nicely. Thanks to all for your positive words, Sue, Mom, Dad, Jo, Joanne, Julie, Debbie. And to Nanna Carolyn and Joanne for the delicious meals. And Vee for the nice welcome home Tanje sign. Soooooo appreciated. Will definitely return your kindness, y'all!

 Beautiful cake from talented Tante Josee

 Sleeping buddies.

 Best cousin pals: Vee, DaNoMo and the girlz

Proud Grandpapa

Jet Lagged Toddlers Not Fun

Note the time of this blog entry: 0500. Have been up since 0200 with 2 toddlers who think day is night and night is day, for the 3rd night. Guess whose naps will be curtailed today?! Will add some photos of happy toddlers as soon as available : )

Glorious Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay is truly a Viet Nam treasure! We had such a nice trip, and it's as beautiful as we'd hoped. Amazing! The Halong Jasmine ship was just beautiful. Decorated in 1930's Indochine style, it had dark coloured wood furniture and trimmings, and some beautiful asian statues of deer, a drum, a dragon, amongst others. Our cabin was walled and ceilinged with bamboo panels, and the bathroom had a marble shower, a beautiful 'bowl' sink and granite countertop. We had wall to wall windows, one of which we could open, so it wasn't too bad to have to stay in the room while the girlz napped. The ride to there was hell though: took 4 hours (minus a 15 minute stop) to get there, despite it being less than a 200km drive. Savannah was a bit carsick, which made it worse. Gravol helped, but then she had the post-gravol grouchies the rest of the day.

The meals on the ship were beautifully presented and probably delicious, if you like seafood. Judging by the ouhs and ahs at our table, they were a hit. There were plenty of deck chairs for viewing the rocky splendour of the bay. And the waters were almost glassy, so no chance of seasickness! whew! When the boat stopped to overnight in a bay, we counted 11 other cruise ships in the vicinity. Because of the sharpness of the karst (rocks, just using a fancier word), there is little possiblity of building or living on these. But people do live on Ha Long bay, right on their boats! There are whole fishing villages out there. I counted at least 20 floating homes in one area, interconnected with ganplanks. There was even a floating bank! Wonder if they keep bankers' hours?

We visited the "Surprise" caves. Wow! We had to climb up and down, up and down some stone steps, both outside and within the caves. The main cave could hold hundreds of people, and it adjoined to a number of other large caves. Surprise is an apt name, as around every corner we were suprised by how many more caverns there were (it just went on and on!). At the top, where the cave opens to outside, we got a breathtaking view of the bay. We'd recommend the Ha Long Bay experience to anyone who's looking for scenery that's out of this world, and a nice piece of 'junk' to sail upon! http://vietnam.exotissimo.com/luxury/tours/cruise-halong-bay-by-luxury-junk/

We're excitedly preparing to head home. Oh, the packing! : )

Cuties and Sisters!

 Tanje and her Hai Duong Sisters

 The girlz, at an international cultural party (guess they didn't like my Canadian t-shirt, so they covered it with a Kimono!

Yukking it up!

Impressions and Observations

Travelling to Viet Nam has been a rich learning experience. Here are some impressions and observation
The people: friendly, considerate, beautiful, value and love children. Relaxed, smiling.

The language: a language of many very short words, and a zillion accents above and below the letters. 6 tones (thought Chinese with its 4 tones was tough – ha!). Nice sounding, a bit choppy because of all the short words, but smooth nevertheless. Very little English. One doesn’t realize how disorienting it is to navigate in a city with absolutely no French or English road or building signs, and with words so short that letters often repeat themselves in various street names. (N, U, G, A, I, Y, T, E, Q, H particularly frequent).

The streets: as previously mentioned, a lot of diagonal intersections, frequently with not 4 but 5 spokes. Wickedly full, traffic lights not particularly heeded by scooterists (or is it scooterers? Scooterites? Scootarians? Scooterese?). Yikes! Constant beeping. Toronto has nothing on Hanoi. Some really really cool two-toned bladabladabladablada horns. Rick wants one, but not if I get to one first! Always busy, sidewalks filled with vendors, their wares, little 'restaurants on the move' (carried by women in 2 baskets balanced on their shoulders, stove and all).

Capitalism: an odd presentation, with merchants of identical products all on same block, same street. Can’t imagine how they can realistically compete and make a profit, and not geographically very convenient if ya need paint or some such thing and have to drive across town. On the other hand, would be handy if the merchants all sold slightly different goods, but that’s not the case.

Architecture: a real mix. Lots of butter-that’s-been-sitting-out-for-a-while-yellow coloured buildings. These look like official buildings, as many have the same font of red print, some with sickles, either on banners or in the form of lights. In the outskirts, many 3-4 level very tall and skinny houses, some nice, some not so, in various states of construction

International adoption: So often, Vietnamese women, and sometimes men, would ask about our girls, and reach out to hold their hand, caress their cheek, make them smile, take time to babble and talk and pay attention to them. One even brought us congee from home. Don’t be fooled by the idea that if the Vietnamese loved children, international adoption wouldn’t exist. It’s quite the contrary. One woman said to us how lucky the children are, and that she feels they will have a better life than they could have had here. Is that true? Maybe, if one looks at financial and environmental (natural, not cultural) factors. However, there are losses inherent to adoption: our children lose direct access to their homeland and culture, and often feel displaced no matter where they are. In that way, we are plundering national treasures. That’s something we will strive to mitigate, but will never be able to take away completely. Thus, when we replied to that woman who said Tanje was lucky that in fact, we’re the lucky ones, we meant it! We owe the Vietnamese, and particularly, Tanje’s bio parents, a debt of gratitude.

The feel: 3rd world, for sure, but in evolution. Hanoi: harried, loud, odouriforous, areas of natural beauty at risk, but obvious attempts made to beautify them. Lots and lots of retailers, wall to wall, in every building fringing main thoroughfares.

Hanoi at night:

 
 
Tanje's continuing to do well. She is having some teething pain, but once the Tylenol kicks in, she's good to go. She's eating better, and really starting to imitate us. We're looking forward to the trip to Ha Long Bay tomorrow, so won't be able to blog for a couple of days.

Hi Sue, hi Tracey, hi Joanne.

Visa

Got a call from the hotel desk, saying I had to come down right away to pick up a package. Hmmm. We're not expecting Tanje's visa (to travel to Canada) just yet - it's way too soon, as it just arrived in Singapore on Monday. My heart in my throat, I hopped the elevator (sorry, the 'lift', they call it here, Aussie-style), figuring ok, we've missed some 'critical' piece of paperwork and will have to re-send. I paid the shipper, and went back upstairs. It was a long ride to the 22nd floor. On arrival, I ripped open the envelope, and saw: Tanje's Vietnamese passport, WITH her visa inside! Unbelievable!!! This is the first time the Canadian part of this bureaucratic process has proceeded quickly. So! We can come home now!

And will we? You bet! We ran down to the Cathay Pacific office, conveniently in our building, and booked a return flight for November 23rd! We're leaving in the morning, and arriving in Toronto at 1835 November 23rd night. We'll spend a night in Toronto, to return to North Bay on Wednesday November 24th, arriving around 1300. Sorry about the change of plans, guys! We know that means you may not be able to meet us at the airport (although I sure hope we'll see some of you there, as this is a very special moment for Tanje). We're excited to come back, and have y'all meet Tanje in person!

In other exciting news, we're going to Ha Long Bay on Sunday, spending a night on a tour boat, returning on Monday. Check it out: http://vietnam.exotissimo.com/luxury/tours/cruise-halong-bay-by-luxury-junk/ . Go figure, a luxury junk. Kind of an oxymoron, eh? Anyway, pray that there are no waves, and that seasickness stays well at bay (not ON the bay, not IN the bay, but well AT bay, preferably some other bay very far from the one we're visiting!). Can't wait. Should be a very scenic and memorable trip.  

Finally, I must tell you about Vietnamese milk. Guess which one of the two options below Savannah likes best:

The non-pasteurized! The pasteurized is sweetened. Interestingly, so's Tanje's formula. We gave her some we'd bought in Canada, and she despised it. So we had to rush out and buy the same kind she'd had at the orphanage. It smells like a vanilla shake. No wonder she loves it! Don't think we can get it at home though, so we've started mixing in the blander, less exciting stuff. So far, so good.  Guess the Vietnamese like sweet drinks: the iced tea I bought was also sickly sweet, way too much even for me. Hmm!

Mortimer

Here's Tanje sitting beside Mortimer, the jet setting moose. He was there in China to entertain Savannah, and continues his international career with Tanje. Thanks Heather, for introducing him to us!

We visited a prison which was build by the French (and no, the above playpen is not meant to be a replica, no matter what Tanje tells you). It was later used to house American POW pilots. A dismal, dark, grim place, surrounded by electrified wire and shards of broken glass atop its perimeter wall. The first photo is the view from our hotel. The latter was constructed on part of the old prison grounds. Note also the guillotine.

Tanje often naps through our tours, all snug in her carrier.

New Photos

I managed to complete yesterday's blog (internet service was very spotty), so be sure to go back and check the new photos!).
Cheers!

Exploring Some More

As Tanje continues to get to know us, she's getting to be quite a little character. She laughs a lot now, plays peek-a-boo (initiating it herself), claps, responds to her new name, and seems to say 'maman' on occasion. She imitates Savannah when she dances, and watches her with great interest. Cute!

 

We've explored more parts of Hanoi in the last couple of days. The temple of Literature, a small walled in compound a bit reminiscent of the Forbidden City in Beijing, was very peaceful and nice. It had some tailored gardens, a few ponds (murky water, but a few nice fushia water lillies in one of them), cement turtles (Savannah liked sitting on those), and a shrine. It was a 2km walk from the hotel, and too hairy to redo (traffic, few sidewalks) so we cabbed back.

Yesterday, we went to a war museum. Funny, they titled it the Vietnam war. I'd read somewhere that around here the war with the US is called the American War, so was surprised. The outdoor display was especially powerful. Starting with a tank and Mig fighter jet at the front of the building, one was soon confronted with a much more arresting site: a huge, shredded plane pointing straight down into the ground, surrounded by wreckage of many more. Every twisted prop, mangled turbine, shorn piece of metallic skin representing what the war was really about, the lives lost and the futility of it all. Even so, life insists on going on. Amidst the plane wreckage was a tiny kitten, lying underneath and oblivious to its surroundings.

We walked further, through the nicest street we've seen so far. Why? Wide sidewalks, with matching and even cobblestones! Sheltered by the tallest of trees. This street led to Ho Chi Minh's mauseleum. The mauseleum is an imposing sight, supposed to look like a lotus (can you see it? We can't!). Again, as for Mao in China, this very prominent monument in the capital city represents a hero who has been gone for many years (1969). Where are the modern-day heroes? Surely there have been inspiring people worthy of such adulation since then!

The One Pillar Pagoda was quaint and surrounded by well manicured gardens, as was Ho Chi Minh's palace (he didn't live in it though, preferring instead a 2 room pillared house behind it).

On to Ho Tay Lake, the city's largest. Again, surrounded by winding beautiful cobbled paths, but so stinky we decided to turn around and cab back to the hotel. One is squarely confronted here with what's going to happen to our environment if we don't take care of it now. We're spoiled in Canada, and it's easy to think pollution isn't something that'll bother us, but one look at the ruined lakes here is a resounding warning to smarten up.

Our paperwork should be in Singapore by now, and hopefully will be expedited so we can start planning to head home!

Hi Christy and Tessa and Cindy and Tania and Julie. Loved your comments. Poppa Dave, we're thinking of you!

Exploring Hanoi

Tanje's personality is continuing to emerge. What can we say so far? Happy, laughy, inquisitive, grabby (especially wires and other forbidden fare), curious, and still a bit sad at times. She walks quite well, and almost runs at times. She can turn on a dime while doing so, which tells us she must've been walking well before we met her, likely by her 1st birthday. She's finally eating better, although still not much for her age. The one sure thing: cheerios! Good thing we brought a whole box, as I haven't seen any at grocery stores here.

We spent the last couple of days exploring Hanoi. Its cobbled sidewalks would be nice if they weren't so darned bumpy, and unfinished. There are huge patches of sand, missing or broken or erupting cobblestones, and they constantly switch between different types of stones, making stroller navigation a perilous proposition even when one is lucky enough to have enough sidewalk space uninterrupted by the litter of parked scooters, adding to the hazards of pedestrian locomotion.

Hanoi's old quarter, at the head of Hoan Kiem lake, is interesting. Composed of 36 streets, it was originally settled by guild, that is, each street housed a particular type of merchant. Even today, it's a lot like that. I saw whole streets of stores for: sunglasses (yes, a whole street), paint, shoes, bags, buttons and sewing confections (nothing exciting though), shrines (which you see at the entrance of most stores downtown, with votives and smoking joss sticks), silk (missed the street crossing, and couldn't find my way back - unusual for me, but the streets are very disorienting here, with diagonal cross streets, jillions of alleyways, and a remarkable sameness).  Very different, full of life. We also checked out another lake near the hotel. Not as nice as Hoan Kiem, lots of garbage on the shores, and water kind of odouriforous. Nice necklace of treed pathways though.

We took in a water puppet show. It was amazing, and the music was sooooo moving. One of the singers had a voice as versatile as an erhu, like clear water running gently over and around smooth stones. So controlled, yet silky smooth. All was performed in Vietnamese, a language of many short words with rounded edges. It was a joy to watch Tanje taking it in, clapping and smiling the whole time. And Savannah just loved, it, asking for 'more' every time an act finished, and telling us over and over afterwards that it was fun to see the marionnettes (however, she didn't sleep well at all last night, telling Rick the marionnettes were in her room. Poor dearheart!).

Hope all's well with y'all!