Looks like we will be spending a day and night in Singapore. We got bumped off our flight from HCMC that would have brought us back to the states. So we will fly from HCMC to Singapore and catch a flight the next day. I am actually looking forward to seeing Singapore. the only down side is that we will not be traveling with our friends. That means it's all up to me to keep Maya busy on the flight home :) Thank heavens she loves her DS and any other technology I can provide!!
Maya is seems to be getting more excited about our trip. She brings it up in conversation more readily. I think now that she knows we will be staying in decent hotels and that we will not be seeing her birth family she is feeling a little more in control. She specifically asked if we would be contacting her birth family while we were there. At first she argued a little in favor of seeing them, but when I explained that this was not the purpose of our trip this time, she seemed relieved. I do plan for her to meet her birth family at some point, but not until she is older and can make that choice with more information and maturity. I feel that at the ripe old age of 9, she's not really at the place to make such a huge decision.
Maya met with her principal the other day to discuss her plans to ask her school community to put together t-shirt, tooth brush and tooth paste and a drawing into a large zip-lock bag. Her principal was very open to the idea and encouraged Maya to seek the help of the 4th grade. The population of her school is almost 1,000. So soliciting just the 4th grade should be manageable! Can you picture us packing almost 1,000 zip-lock bags and carting them off to Vietnam?! It would be amazing, but not very efficient!!
I just sent my passport off for renewal. Sandy brought to my attention that it expired on Sept. 23. We arrive in Vietnam on the 22 of March. When traveling to Vietnam and many other countries, you need to have 6 months left on your passport in order to gain entry into the country. So glad Sandy caught this! Can you imagine arriving in Vietnam just to be turned away?! Hopefully the process will be speedy and I won't have to hunt down my passport the week before we leave!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Donations
I am so excited! Maya and I sent out fundraising letters a couple of weeks ago, I am amazed by the generosity of so many of our friends and family, it's really very overwhelming!!! We truly are so fortunate!
I had a conf. call last night with Caroline and Scot and about 20+ others who will be traveling with their children. It was a wonderful call. We spoke about the children's reactions in past expeditions to the poverty, food, culture, etc... I got so excited after the call. I can't wait to go!
We only have 7 more weeks! i know the time will fly. We still have some things to do before we leave. Maya is composing a letter to all of her school mates. She is hoping to have all of the children in her school, there are almost 1,000, put together a large zip-lock bag containing a t-shirt, toothbrush, tooth paste, a picture drawn by the child and a photo of the child. Maya hopes to collect all of these bags and bring them with us. She will have the opportunity to pass them out at one of the many schools she will be visiting. I think it's a really wonderful thing for her to do. I think it will be really important to empower all of the children on this trip!
As I get more information regarding exactly what we will be doing during our trip, I will pass it on. I do know there are 3 teams: the school team, the home building team and the medical team. I hope to experience all of them!!!!!
I had a conf. call last night with Caroline and Scot and about 20+ others who will be traveling with their children. It was a wonderful call. We spoke about the children's reactions in past expeditions to the poverty, food, culture, etc... I got so excited after the call. I can't wait to go!
We only have 7 more weeks! i know the time will fly. We still have some things to do before we leave. Maya is composing a letter to all of her school mates. She is hoping to have all of the children in her school, there are almost 1,000, put together a large zip-lock bag containing a t-shirt, toothbrush, tooth paste, a picture drawn by the child and a photo of the child. Maya hopes to collect all of these bags and bring them with us. She will have the opportunity to pass them out at one of the many schools she will be visiting. I think it's a really wonderful thing for her to do. I think it will be really important to empower all of the children on this trip!
As I get more information regarding exactly what we will be doing during our trip, I will pass it on. I do know there are 3 teams: the school team, the home building team and the medical team. I hope to experience all of them!!!!!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Travel Clinic
We had our appointment with the travel clinic at UCONN. Maya was very nervous about the shots! We both needed typhoid and Hep A, so not too bad. Maya was a trooper! The appointment was informative and we left with some scrips for antibiotics and malaria pills. I feel better knowing that we have what we need. when I went in 1999 I didn't have any shots or scrips for anything. I made out just fine, but traveling with a child changes the thought process a tad!
We sent off passport copies so that Catalyst could apply for our visas. It's beginning to get more exciting! March 20th isn't all that far away! I am so curious as to what Maya's reaction will be once we arrive in Vietnam. She is the type of kid that holds her cards pretty close to the vest. When I ask her what she is most excited about she replies "shopping"! So, we'll see!
We sent off passport copies so that Catalyst could apply for our visas. It's beginning to get more exciting! March 20th isn't all that far away! I am so curious as to what Maya's reaction will be once we arrive in Vietnam. She is the type of kid that holds her cards pretty close to the vest. When I ask her what she is most excited about she replies "shopping"! So, we'll see!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
catalyst address
sorry, i typed the wrong address for catalyst. The correct address is
www.catalystfoundation.org
www.catalystfoundation.org
setting up a blog
At 44 I never thought i'd be "blogging", but here I am! It was actually easier than I thought! The purpose of this blog is to keep an account of our travels back to Vietnam. I thought it would also be a great way for friends and family to be able to keep track of us!
We will be leaving on March 19 for Vietnam. We will spend 2 weeks volunteering on a humanitarian trip with Catalyst foundation, http://www.catalystfoundation.org/ check them out, they are an amazing organization! They are totally grass-roots and seem to be making a huge difference in Kien Gang. I look forward to loads of hard work and very sweaty days!!
We will be leaving on March 19 for Vietnam. We will spend 2 weeks volunteering on a humanitarian trip with Catalyst foundation, http://www.catalystfoundation.org/ check them out, they are an amazing organization! They are totally grass-roots and seem to be making a huge difference in Kien Gang. I look forward to loads of hard work and very sweaty days!!
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