More from UniBreak Sarah Gordon in Saigon!

Orphanage kids in Saigon


I am writing to you from a very hot and sweaty Vietnam! It's the end of my third week here, and I can't believe I have only one more to go. It's a bit like being in Townsville - time has gone so quickly, but then it's hard to imagine being at home again after living so tightly in this wonderful culture. So much has happened since I last emailed, but to be honest it's hard to remember things day to day! Life is so fast-paced here (or maybe that's just the swarming traffic that makes things seem faster than they really are!). Something to mention before I forget - as Ben has pointed out, we are no longer "nourists" - new tourists - which are easy to spot here in Saigon, they are the ones standing on the side of the road with their jaws on the ground and we float through the traffic like pro's.

Unfortunately, we had to postpone our trip to Mekong Delta until our final weekend, but Ben and Julia were happy to wait until I could go too. This week has been great, as have all my weeks. This week felt somewaht like a 'milestone' at the orphange, where we are almost like one of te nurses - we know the routines, the names of the children, what they eat, what they need, what they are trying to say etc. It is a big orphanage with children of all ages but we have focused our attentions on one-two nurseries of children on the upper level - from littlies to about 10 years old. As you know, my "little monkey" was one of my favourites when I arrived at the orphanage - her name is Ngoc but I call her "Gocky". She has cerebral palsy and she's about two years old, from what I can tell. I have been working very closely with her and as of the last few days, she knows me. She follows me around the room with her eyes, cries when I put her down, and snuggles into me when I carry her around. I will have to pull back a bit next week to make leaving easier for her. I adore all of the children - we have such a fantastic time together and I can absolutely say that they are different kids to when we arrived - they have a spark in their eyes and they are more outgoing. The orphanage is a harsh environment, and very restrictive, and very understaffed, so even though the staff do their best to make things good for the children, I can see the importance of having visitors to liven up the days of the children and attend to the smaller details, like playing, hugs, and kisses.

Not that the work is easy, because it's not. It was at first quite stomach-turning - the children eat the most awful food - I call it "Shrekking solution" - it's different for all ages but most of the time it's this green, thick stew. The smell of it is something in itself. The rooms smell, as you would expect, when children are involved! Most children drool, so there is always that to deal with, all over us usually. Most of them have difficulty swallowing their food (speech pathology radar has gone up, believe me!) and they cough before you can get the towel up and it goes everywhere, including in our mouths if we are talking! And of course, there's the nappies! They are cloth and very basic - not like the towelling cloths we have, so they are soiled very easily. Today I handed Ben a bubby to hold because I was trying to get up off the floor, and when he put her down we realised we were both covered in you-know-what (the worse one). Lovely!

Yesterday we took the children on a day trip to the zoo - it was so much fun! I was responsible for Gocky - she hated the stinking buffalos! They had ice-cream and a nap in the park, and we were absolutely exhausted when we got back. There is a group of Aussie guys here as well and we have been working more closely with them since they got back from the tea farms (the orphanage has tea farms that older orphans work at to support themselves). I am in the process of making a communication board for a smart little boy with cerebral palsy. He is non-verbal, but can point, so I have put my speech pathologist hat on and am working with a guy called Pat to get the board underway. He will be able to use it to point to his feelings, what he wants (food, sleep, play, toilet etc.). I am really excited, because at the moment, he has no way of communicating, and if you didn't know how smart he is, you would probably ignore him if you were a visitor to the orphanage. One of our little bubs died this week from an infection - the day before she had a temp through the roof. That's what it's like here - their lives are more fragile than you would first think.

Phat is one of my absolute favourite children - he is about 7 and has a deformed cerebellum, which means he has difficulty with balance and motor coordination. He also has deficient language skills. He uses short words and breaks them into syllables when he speaks. We have taught him to say "YUKKY" and 'YUMMY" - which has proven very funny. He is a fantastic character, so friendly, and has become very attached to Ben, Julia, and I. Bau Loc is a little boy who is able-bodied and is waiting to be adopted to his new family in Italy - he is in the terrible TERRIBLE twos at the moment - thinks he's the boss of the nursery. Hien and Bau Minh are the cheeky troublemakers (Nick and Sam, anyone!) - they make an absolute mess when they eat and throw toys everywhere! There are too many more to add here, but I can't wait to show you some of the gorgeous pics we have taken!

A bit of drama too - out taxi driver one morning hit two motorcyclists - one carrying two people. The noise was sickening, just a "crunch", and they were all three lying on the road while other cyclists tried to dodge them. Two were okay, but one woman cut her foot open (thongs) and had to go to hospital. I have been extra cautious in the traffic since then.

One last thing - this weekend it is the celebration of Tet - the lunar New Year in Vietnam! It is bigger than Christmas, I can tell you! Yellow and red are the official colours, and it's celebrated with flowers (THOUSANDS), fireworks and dragon dances! I've taken some great lead up photos, can't wait to add more to my collection this weekend!

We are visiting Cu Chi Tunnels tomorrow for a half-day trip - these are the tunnels the Viet Kong used to travel underground from the North to the South of Vietnam. I am excited, but not sure what to expect. I've heard the tunnels are very tiny, but, go figure, have in some places have had to be widened to accomodate westerners! Should be a great, if not entirely claustrophobic, experience.