Greetings from Ben Tre

Sunday, October 28th (as written on Monday evening)

So, apparently we have internet connection in Ben Tre (I only find this out the night before we leave for Vinh Long...=D ). And, from the sounds of it, my husband is the comic relief.

For those of you planning to travel to VN, I have two observations:
1. Bring a calculator (to make sure you're receiving the right amount of dong for the dollar)
2. Apparently, each province has it's own type of electrical plug ins (HCMC had two prong & BT
has 3 prong outlets). Combine this w/ our electrical appliances having 2 or 3 prongs and it
spells "Tracy didn't bring all the different converters she needed)

After checking out at the hotel (see note #1 - we were almost charged for 3 nights stay, instead of two...quick thinking by my Math Wizard hubby saved the day), Mr. H, N, and L picked the three families (J & T arrived safely the night before) in two vans & drove us to the agency office. There, we had our orientation (and I saw Mr Colin's picture up on the display - one of the ones Heather R provided to me during her trip last Nov).

After orientation, we settled into our vans (J, T, & us w/ Y & N in the 1st van; P, M, Mr. H, & L in the 2nd) for our drive to Ben Tre (about 3 hours but conversations w/ Y made the trip go that much faster). We stopped in My Tho for a quick break & Y bought tasty VN treats for us to share).

To get to Ben Tre, we took the Rach Mieu ferry across the Tien Giang (giang = VN word for river). Since the vans didn't make it on the ferry w/ us, we stopped & looked around the area. There were lots of vendors selling interesting things. Y bought fermented quail eggs (for which I politely turned down an offer to try one). Ben Tre is famous for its different types of coconuts (yes, there are more than one). They use all parts of the coconut (and I do mean all - juice & creating milk for drinking, husks, shells to make really neat hand crafts).

After getting slightly lost (well, apparently our driver wasn't lost but the driver in the other van was...he thought he knew where he was going), we checked into the Hung Vuong Guest House. Not quite the amenities of the Lan Lan 2 but we have air conditioning (and for that, I'm happy). Within a few minutes of arriving to our room (view of the karoake bar from our window), a hotel employee I dubbed the "Dorm Matron" came in, closed the blinds (apparently my red hair is catching too much attention from the locals) & proceeded to tell us what items were "freedom" or "not freedom" (and well, the Coca Cola, beer, cigarettes, gum and brand name water are "not freedom" you have to pay for then).

We lost power for about 5 minutes within the first 10 minutes of being in the room. So far, knock on wood, no futher losses. If I have to identify the theme of our room, I'd describe it as "early 1950s institutional or dormitory, complete w/ Lucy & Ricky Ricardo twin beds). No top sheet, only a fitted sheet & thin blanket for covering.

Futher observations...
3. Karoake is bad in any language
4. Only in VN would you ever find me getting ready for bed at 8pm (=D)

E's travelogue

"E's" observations:
1) For those of you who have followed my travelogues over the years (that is, letters to grandma in the BB--before blogs--era), you know that most my content revolves around hiking. Therefore I have nothing to report...
2) I hadn't even finished point 1 before Tracy kicked me off her post because my comments were making the post "too long." Ahem.
3) Who is "E"? It sounds like a James Bond villain. I prefer "the professor formally known as E."
4) In my travelogues, when I wasn't discussing hiking, I would make sarcastic sociological observations about the natives or my traveling companions. Since my parents aren't with me and my wife is peering over my shoulder, I'll have to confine my observations to the natives.
5) I would not drive in Saigon. My Dad, despite his love of driving, would not drive in Saigon. He once lost a battle with a hedge in Ireland. He would have a nervous breakdown trying to drive here. (See, I found a way to rag on my parents in a travelogue even when they're not here. Shows my lack of creativity!) If you've ever watched a school of tropical fish (Ok, or watched Finding Nemo for those of you who don't get out much), you get the idea of driving around here. Thousands of fish/scooters (and bikes and cars and busses) all driving within inches of one another and somehow they move together without running into one another. I'd expect more people to be missing limbs...
6) Our hotel is half a block from the Vietnamese gov building where US helicopters plucked people from the roofs as Saigon fell. We didn't find this out until last evening. The Vietnamese clearly need to work on their marketing. If the Irish can get people to pay $, wait in line for hours, climb 4 flights of stairs built for leprachuans to hang upside down and kiss stone on a battlement wall of a collapsing castle, the Vietnamese ought to let people know where the major media event of the end of the US/Vietnam war occurred.
7) Who knew there were 47 kinds of baby formula? Ok, many of you are now snickering at me because if there are 47 kinds in Vietnam, there must 689.3 in the US.
8) Off to Ben Tre and Vinh Long. Next post will be from Colin Nhan. Obviously, he'll need a separate space so that he doesn't take too much space on Mom's post.

Day 2 in HCMC

Okay, so we're starting to make adjustments to the time change & most of the jet lag is finally dissipating. Those of you who know me will get a chuckle out of the fact that I was awake (on my own, mind you) before 5 am. Now, that doesn't mean I was out of bed by 5 am, just that I was awake.

E. & I lounged in the room until around 6:30 am. Oh, forgot to tell you yesterday that the room is very nice. We are in one of the "deluxe" rooms, so we have more space. Nice, firm King-sized bed, shower/tub w/ good water pressure, TV, and air conditioning (very important for those nice, warm, humid days...reminds me of summer in NC - frizz factor set to +10). The TV has HBO, Showtime, and Stars (in English w/ VN subtitles).

We've decided that b/c of the humid days, we shower at night (because the minute you step out into the outdoors, you feel like you need a shower again). So, after getting out of bed, we walk a few floors down to the restaurant/internet cafe. Breakfast was very nice. There were a nice variety of VN and Western foods. We both drank some very delicious mango juice (very yummy, enough that we probably had 3 small glasses worth). I wish I knew the names of the things we ate...they were tasty. E. had some type of hot soup for breakfast (always the adventurer in the dining area, he is...).

So, after breakfast, we left the hotel to walk a few block to the local market. One thing we have learned about walking as an American in VN, you have to ignore the locals trying to sell you something. For us, it's customary to say "no, thank you" and that's it. Not here. Saying "no thank you" encourages them to try to sell you something (our experience was a man wanting to take us on a tour of the area...).

Walking to the market was quite an interesting sight. There were a lot of street vendors on the sidewalks even before we reached the market. In the market, even that early in the morning, the areas was busy with the hustle and bustle of the daiily events. The market is divided into sections, depending upon what the vendors are selling. You could buy anything from clothing to fresh seafood.

Well, we didn't buy anything and kept walking. We came to an incredibly busy roundabout on the other side of the market (remember my posting yesterday about traffic in Saigon?). Not quite ready to tackle crossing the road, we decided to walk back to the hotel. Jet lag kicked my tush yesterday morning, so I slept for a few hours. E. sat down and read one of his Poli Sci book (and didn't fall asleep...=D ).

After a refreshing nap, we were up & met w/ the agency staff (Mr. H. & L.). They took another couple (P. & M. - adopting a cute little girl from Ben Tre) and us to the Maximart via taxi. So, another roller coaster thrill ride ensued!

Now, the Maximart is certainly interesting. It's (I suppose) the VN version on Wal-Mart on a smaller scale. You know, I got a taste of what it's like for non-English speaking immigrants arriving to our country & having to naviagate in a world so different from their own. I was so happy to have Mr. H & L there to serve as interpreters to buy things we needed for our kids. It was funny to see the difference in the sizes of things P & M bought for their 7-month old compared to buying for our 2-year-old C. We bought Pampers, formula, bottles (two, apparently one for the water & one for the formula), bottle washer, and a thermos for holding hot water. E. had the experience of using the Visa card for the 1st time.

Mr. H & L also gave us an itinerary for next week. We'll be leaving w/ P & M, as well as the other VL family (who didn't arrive until later Saturday evening...) Sunday afternoon to travel to Ben Tre.

So, we met w/ P & M and had a really nice dinner at a restaurant across the street from the hotel. For those of you traveling to HCMC & staying at the Lan Lan 2, definitely go to the restaurant. Very good food & reasonably priced. E. & I had a great dinner for the equivalent of about $10 dollars (US).

After dinner, the four of us walked around HCMC. We were going to try and see one of the water puppet shows but couldn't find the location. It was interesting from a sociologic perspective to see the number of young adults & couples at the park, sitting on their Scooters. Kind of like our teens & college kids hanging out together. The scooters were sort of their own "personal space" in a very crowded city.

After our walk, E. tuckered out & went back to the room. P, M, & I walked around for a little while longer and came across an ice cream shop. We went in (air conditioned, yay!), sat, and had some very yummy ice cream (me, scoop of chocolate & scoop of vanilla...). After that, we we back to the hotel & I crashed.

So, here we are, Sunday morning in VN after a really nice day in the city. We'll be picked up around noon by the agency & meet w/ the staff for orientation. Around 2pm, we'll depart for Ben Tre. We'll spend Sunday evening, Monday, and most of the day Tuesday in Ben Tre. Tuesday afternoon, we'll depart Ben Tre for Vinh Long.

On Wednesday, we'll finally get to meet our little boy. Our G&R will be on Thursday and C. will officially be our son & we'll have the joys of 1st time parenting.

We most likely will not have Internet access until we return to HCMC next Thursday evening. So, stay tuned!

The End of a Very Long Day

We have arrived to HCMC. And, yes, as you can tell by the title, we've had a REALLY long day. We left Charlotte on Wednesday. US Air was delayed and we took off about 1 1/2 hr delay. **Note to travelers, make sure you read your itinerary more carefully than we did about whether food is provided or if it's for purchase (our LAX flight was a for purchase).** The in-flight movie was "License to Wed" (cute, especially if you like Robin Williams or are a fan of the TV show, "The Office").

Fortunately, we had a long layover in LAX, so our stress levels didn't significantly increase (with the exception of the counter agent who said they couldn't "guarantee" the bags would arrive w/ us in HCMC...another leap of faith, eh?). Wendy was right, the international terminal at LAX is like a little city that never sleeps. We arrived to very long lines (but, I will say one thing...they were very effective because after our 10-15 minute walk...good to stretch the legs and walk after a cross country flight), it only took us about 30 minutes total to get through check-in and security (CLT should take a few pointers on that one =D ).

We arrived to the terminal at LAX and found ourselves having about a 3-hour wait (we thought). Thanks to Quantus, whose flight left later than expected, we had another delay in departure (this time, stress meter rose slightly but not terribly bad b/c we only had a 1-hour layover in Taipei). So, off we departed about an hour late.

I really like EVA Airlines. The attendants were very friendly and courteous and ensured the needs of their passengers were met. Each seat (even in economy) had an individual TV screen for viewing (headphones were included for each passenger). The food was very good & they had lots of choices for movies, TV shows, and music.

While on board, we met a really nice gentleman from Santa Barbara who was originally from Germany. He and his wife were experienced travelers and he shared fun stories. I also made a new friend in the seat behind me - a 5-years-old boy name Benjamin. As I returned from one of my stretches, Benjamin chatted with me (high energy little guy - lots of fun :) ). He was cute too - had lost his two front teeth and was grinning ear to ear.

I will say one thing, 14 hours is a long time to fly. I know I watched at least 3 or 4 movies (and I know Eric watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - twice).

So, we arrived about 1/2 hour late in Taipei and fortunately EVA delayed departure for the flight going to HCMC (well, there were quite a few of us on the plane transferring to that flight). We didn't have to run (but we walked really fast) to get to the terminal.

The flight from Taipei to HCMC was about 3 hours (more time to take in another film). In the spirit of The Lord of the Rings, we had "second breakfast" (Merry and Pip would be proud). We arrived to HCMC around 1015 am VN time (about 1115 pm on Thursday for those of you on the East Coast). **Note to those traveling to VN - bring a black or green pen to fill out your customs card** It took about 1/2 hour to process through customs, then another 1/2 hour to wait on luggage (**Another note, have something easy to see on your luggage tag - our tags are fluourescent colors**).

Our agency's rep picked us up at 1130 and off we were to the hotel. You know, words cannot do justice to describe riding in a vehicle through the streets of HCMC (the ride is definitely NOT for the feign of heart). There were quite a number of scooters, bicycles, and auto zipping around from all directions. Lanes were optional. Man, honestly, the ride was more thrill-seeking than any I've experienced at Carowinds - our local amusement park).

So, after a short rest this afternoon, we're feeling a bit jet lagged, tired, yet eager to continue the process. Tonight will be rest & tomorrow begins our next adventure - shopping in HCMC and going to the market w/ the other families.

To be continued...Let the pictures begin!

T-minus 1 and counting down...

I was playing with my digital camera and snapped a picture of Colin's crib. Guess we now officially have a "Zoo" theme, eh (giraffes and gators and lions, oh my!)? The painting hung above and to the right of Colin's crib has a very special place in our hearts. The painting is entitled, "Pima Indian Drummer Boy." It is from an original oil with the DeGrazia Gallery In the Sun (Tucson, AZ). What makes this painting so special? It was a gift to Eric from his Great Aunt Tibby.

Well, today has certainly been a very busy day in our home. It was PACKING DAY. After spending the morning completing a few important errands, we stuffed suitcases inside suitcases (the better to bring more things home w/ us :) ) and pretty much completed the majority of our packing (save the bathroom stuff, etc. - things you really can't pack until the day of travel).

You know, the good thing about being busy it that time moves quickly and it keeps you sane. My CM (Charlotte Mommies) UC friends will attest to the sanity of keeping me busy (and preventing spastic me from rearing her spastic head - it's not a pretty picture, trust me!).

So, we have 3 suitcases for check-in (w/ 2 additional suitcases being crammed w/ things inside the larger suitcases) and two bags for carry on. Good tip from more seasoned travelers: bring a change of clothing in your carry on! I'm also carrying our digital camera and video recorder to help record & document this wonderful journey to the other side of the world.

Yikes - I still have a few errands to run in the morning. All these final preparations to complete before the big day. So, it's around 12:15 am (0015 for you healthcare or military people) right now. It's incredible to think (providing US Air is on time ;) ) that around 18 hours from now, we'll be leavin' on a jet plane.

We're flying from CLT to LAX, so going through LA to the International terminal will certainly be an adventure in and of itself (...stay tuned for further developments). Nevertheless, next stop: VIETNAM!

All Aboard! The Heberlig Express is preparing for departure!

Leavin' on a Jet Plane or "T minus 4 days and counting"

Yesterday is such a blur! I received an email from our agency yesterday afternoon to confirm that the PC had confirmed our G&R for the week of October 29th. YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!

Guess who was the 1st person I called? Nope, not my wonderful husband...I called our travel agent Todd Gallinek (I'd HIGHLY recommend him to anyone traveling internationally for adoption - he's been fantastic) so that he could confirm and book our flights.

The next call was to Eric, of course. Then, the entire phone tree of calls had to be made during the day to let our family and friends know that we had definitely flight plans.

We are now at 4 days before our departure date (of the 24th) and the frenzy of travel preparation is on! Today, it's house cleaning (major endeavor - including the fridge, washing Colin Nhan's clothes, etc., etc., etc., - I'm lovin' it!). Despite all the last minute things to do (yes, we still have toddler proofing on the agenda :D), it's all worth the time and effort.

We spent last night watching a movie - probably the last official grown-up movie night we'll have for awhile (I forsee lots of Baby Einstein and Disney in our near future). A very strange Farrelly brother's movie called "Kingpin." Very strange, indeed (recommended by our chiropractor Dr. Bill - note to Dr. Bill, you have a very warped sense of humor - hehehe).

Signing off for lunch - will be posting as we can to update you on our travels!

Minor Bump in the Adoption Highway

So, our plans have had a slight modification. Based on current estimates, we will most likely be traveling to VN around the 24th of this month. Because there are families traveling to Ben Tre (another province) and Vinh Long, our G&R will probably take place on Thursday, November 1st.

Mildly disappointing, but in the grand scheme of things, it's only a small bump in our adoption highway. Colin is still coming home very soon!

Half a World Away

Thanks to Audra at Charlotte Mommies for sharing this with me:

Here is a poem I found when I was searching for poetry! It made me think of you and your little Colin! Jill Work wrote this poem for her son-to-be Quinn, while he was 33 mos. old and waiting in Can Tho, Vietnam. It was sung at his baptism. Jill is the adoptive mother of two children.

Half A World Away
by Jill Work

A half a world away
Sometimes it seems we're so far apart
But a half a world away
Is not too far for a journey of the heart.

My little one, my bundle of joy
I'm waiting for you
My precious son, my baby boy
I know you're waiting too.

A half a world away
A child waits for a family of his own
While a half a world away
A family waits to come bring him home.

My little one, my bundle of joy
I'm whispering a prayer
My precious son, my baby boy
I hope to soon be there.

I hope that we
will no longer be
a half a world away.

Slow Moving Moon

Thanks to Audra for telling about this wonderful poem written by a Mom adopting from VN! I've made a few addendums to personalize the poem to our adoption journey.

Marea Rose Jenness wrote this poem while waiting for her travel date to adopt her son from Vietnam, in the winter of 2001.

Slow Moving Moon

By Marea Rose Jenness

It started out a slit of light.

Stubbornly, it grew to a crescent.

In this January-February (October) sky,

while I wait to see you for the first time,

its progress seems painfully slow.

Three-quarters now, it will be full in three nights.

Then in reverse, it will shrink to a crescent before I travel.

Eleven (Seventeen) long nights.

I have no power to speed the earth's shadow as it moves across the moon's face.

I think that I may notice each degree of progress.

Travel Approval

Our agency has given us the BIG update. They are preparing our G&R letter of request for the week of October 22. We will begin our ticket search tomorrow and have been informed that we should plan to be in Ho Chi Minh City no later than Saturday, October 20th (meaning we fly out of the country no later than Thursday, October 18th).

G&R stand for Giving & Receiving Ceremony. This is a formal ceremony where Eric and I will sign the adoption papers for Colin. The term comes from the idea that we are "receiving" our child and "giving" a gift to the caretakers who have been taking care of our son at the orphanage since he was an infant. In turn, they will be "receiving" our gift and "giving" us custody of our son.

Wow! I am amazed, excited, and nervous simultaneously. It's incredible to think that in 17 days, we will be making the most important journey of our life!

Now...let the frenzy begin!