Convey Studios: September 2008

Monday, September 29, 2008

Back at Home: one week down

It's hard to believe we've been back for one whole week [two whole weeks for Charity and Frank, who rejoined normal life earlier than the rest of us].

We've had some time now to adjust back to our family and friends, jobs and schedules, hobbies and homes we left behind during the trip. Things are starting to return to normal [with sleep schedules being the one glaring exception...].

It's easy, when thrust back into real life with its obligations and long to-do lists, to feel like the trip was a blur, and not quite know what to do with it all.

Was I really in Vietnam? That all really happened?

Little things might serve as reminders:

that one motorcycle in traffic. it seems so lonely among all the cars...

the 2000 dong i didn't spend, wrinkly and out of place in my wallet...

the inside joke I almost make, pausing just in time to realize no one's around who would get it...

Little moments from the trip pop up, maybe for no reason at all.

On the other side of the world, an orphanage full of delightful kids are getting ready to have lunch and then take a nap, while Danang bustles by their open door.

A father who works long hours in rice fields, only to be paid in rice, is working extra time to save what he can so his daughter can have surgery it could take years to afford.

A single mother and young son are waiting for a new house, to replace the wooden structure they now call home, with a kitchen that's not much more than a fire-pit and a teapot.

And here I am in Springfield.

That's the thing with a trip like this. The world opens up wide, and feels smaller at the same time.

There's a connection to the people we encountered, whose stories we were able to share for just a little while.

There are a few people in particular we saw almost every day. Yao, our driver, and our translators Tam, Hanh, and Huyen. Without them we would never have been able to navigate the culture--or the traffic!--so well.

Yao displaying his silly side, a delightful surprise it took a few days to discover. Other delightful Yao surprises: his grasp of English, his preference for Vietnamese power ballads, his mad karaoke skills. His heart for others. His love for his kids.

Erin, Katie, and me with Hanh. She's a little hard to see because she's in long sleeves, sunglasses, and a hat. You see, ladies, Vietnamese women prefer to stay as light-skinned as possible. Socks beneath sandals, long silky gloves, sweaters on 80 degree days. We, on the other hand, were glad to soak up the sun.

Monday, September 22, 2008

This end is really the beginning

We made it home. Ah :D

And in impressive fashion - somehow we've lived Sept. 22 twice over, traveling 12 hours but really more like 30, some strange space-time continuum... Nothing makes too much sense right now, we're just glad to be rid of airplane food (but I'll give it to United, not all that bad), two inches of personal space, funky un-identifiable scents, and ridiculously high-maintenence travelers in our midst. The familiar faces that greeted us at the airport with big hugs, accompanied by crickets whirring in the warm Missouri air, never did the soul so good - nothing like a welcome home.

The thing is, we still have lots to share with more pictures and explanations of the food, culture, sights, and our adventures (I know Brandon just put up some more videos). In the next week, we'll get some up so please continue to pop in.

AND the most exciting thing of it all: this trip was preparation for a formal masquerade we will be holding on Nov. 22 at the Historic Firehouse on Commercial Street, featuring the kids' art and projects, as well as an array of other Vietnamese specialities. Proceeds will benefit Giving It Back to Kids.

If you're interested in helping, attending, or seeing how things progress as we prepare for this event and process this trip, keep up with us here (and don't hesitate to comment or email!).

This trip was not at all about us, but about the kids... what we can learn from them and the world we live in together; how we can be inspired by their courage to love, hug, learn, create, and interact with us: big, weird, goofy, awkward strangers that bombarded their worlds and butchered their language; how we can see them and then remember the significance of the simple things, recognizing little beautiful moments, grasping simplified living, and being softened by relationship we all crave...

All that to say, you're just as much a part of it if you'll let it in. Thank you for your support, reading, emails, prayers and encouragement! Join us, as this return home really is just the beginning of more ahead with and for these neat, precious kids.

More to come...

Friday, September 19, 2008

Good morning, Sandy Beach

It's 6:30 the morning of our last full day in Danang. We have a day of art and birthday fun ahead of us, with kids at Dai Loc, our biggest orphanage yet.

Tonight we hope to make one more trip to Bread of Life, to say goodbye to our new friends and their delicious American fare.

But before we start the day, as you are all ending your day at home, I thought I'd share just a little bit of what morning looks like here at Sandy Beach. Enjoy.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Tam Ky Infant orphanage & Quan Nam

Mural #3!!

This was a precious moment. She had just got

done chewing her gum and was pulling it out and playing with

it. She just kept looking at it with wonder and giggled for

the longest time:)

Thank You Good Hamburger

This morning we have a coffee date with an adorable waiter in Danang...but I'm getting ahead of myself.

It was Charity who first got us all excited about Bread Of Life, because of a chance encounter she'd had with the owners' daughter at a Dollar General in Springfield. [what are the odds!]

We knew it was an organization that helped deaf people in Vietnam by running a restaurant that serves western food; we also knew we would have to make it one of our dinner stops.

On mural day #1, we had to stop in Danang to buy some plastic buckets for paint. Naturally we went to the container store [Vietnam style...shops here are very specialized. This one sells plastic and glass containers of all shapes, sizes, and purposes. see?], and what was right next door?...Bread of Life. It was closed on Sunday, but we were excited to find it was so close.

At Tam Ky we'd met this friendly girl who also volunteers at the orphanage from time to time, and we discovered she works [wait for it...] at Bread of Life.

We can't escape this place.

So finally on Monday night we [along with Robert] piled in some taxis and headed back to Danang city, weaving through traffic and dodging scooters along the way---an experience that is going to make Missouri drivers seem so boring by comparison.

When we approached Bread of Life's open door, we knew there was something different about this place: a well lit and conspicuously clean atmosphere, greetings from smiling wait staff in red polos. And a big difference, compared to other Vietnamese restaurants, is the MENU.

[feel free to hum "food glorious food" from Oliver as you read this]:

pasta

pizza

burgers

fries

Something about well-made, familiarly-flavored food is comforting like a big ol' hug from Grandma.

As we poured over the menus and bartered for sharing-rights with each other, the founders of Bread of Life told us a little about their organization. Bob and Kathleen Huff started B.O.L. 10 years ago, after they'd been working with a humanitarian group called World Concern, out of Seattle. They saw an opportunity for working with deaf people in Vietnam, because there are few services for the deaf here and fewer people who speak sign language.

Bob said it's hard to raise funds for a "big, long, forever project that people can't get a piece of," but this---a restaurant and training center, employing and educating workers who are deaf---is a small enough [but HUGE] project, and they've found real success.

So here's where our coffee date comes in.

Last night for dinner Sesha, Brandon, Erin, Hanna and I all went back to Bread of Life for Deliciousness Round 2. We recognized our waiter from Monday night as a charmer who had signed a sleepy face [you know, where you make a pillow out of your hands?] for those who got decaf Saigon iced coffees.

Erin asked him how to say some things in sign language [she remembered much more than she'd thought at first] and through a mixture of signing and writing we chatted with this delightful guy named Chan for the duration of our meal. [After he and Sesha returned from a scooter ride to a photo-developer, that is.]

Chan taught us thank you, you're welcome, good, and [most heartwarming of all] friend.

I remembered random, impractical signs from student council camp like hamburger and vacation, but from this limited knowledge was able to piece together THANK YOU GOOD HAMBURGER.

He wanted to know our names and ages, so we wrote that down and then he signed all our names. We talked [through signs and writing. so so cool.] about how long we'd be in Danang, why we were here, as well as his story and education [went to school at Village of Hope, and has been with Bread of Life for 3 years.].

We were sad to say goodbye, and that's when Chan suggested we all meet this morning for coffee at a little place he knows in the neighborhood. So we [through careful rechecking of understanding] decided on 8:30 at Coffee Wonder.

ps--That's a happy burger face...

pps--For a good time, seriously check out all the links in this post. I think you'll be as inspired as we were.

Friends, It's Sesh :)

Friends,

It's Sesh:) So I have no idea what I'm doing on this blog, so ignore the out of sequence photos. Mad props to the girls with writing skills and to BGood with his video skills.

Woot & secret handshakes,

Sesha