Thuy An Orphanage

Very quick note to say that I made it to the orphanage, I am keeping a diary so much more detailed accounts will follow..  I just wanted to say that everything is OK here.  I am one of eleven volunteers, the only from North America.  There are 3 Vietnamese volunteers from Hanoi, 3 Koreans, all from Seoul (2 girls, 1 guy), 1 Japanese guy from Osaka, 1 Finnish guy from Tampere, an Italian guy from Milano, and a Belgian guy from Liege. 

We just finished some gardening today, and have a quick break for lunch.  Very interesting interacting with the kids.  They are all very excited to see us and to play with us, even though they have varying levels of problems.  Some are autistic, some are mute/deaf, many have muscular problems, a lot stems from exposure to Agent Orange (their parents).  One child passed away yesterday actually from Lung Cancer due to his mother being exposed to Agent Orange (The Vietnamese call it Dioxin).

For Christmas day we will spend it with the kids, then have the Sunday and Monday off, likely we will go to Halong Bay or to Sapa, we still have to decide as a group...

Bye for now,

Jeremy