New fruit

Today Nhung brought us a bowl full of these Vietnamese fruit that we had never eaten before. They are called Longan (pronounced lon-heen) which means "dragon's eye". This fruit is popular throughout Asia and is from the same family as the Lychee. It tastes a bit like an apple with flowers. Unusual and hard to describe. But very sweet and fun to eat because it is slimy like an eyeball.

Picture to the left in its various stages of being eaten. The outer shell and the pit are not eaten.

Cleaning the lake

Near our house is a small lake next to a canal with a foot bridge going to the Mall. This week Lisa viewed a man cleaning the debris from the lake. He was using a large broken tree branch to catch, collect, and move the litter and leaves. 

Interesting View

This is the view from our Dining Room window. We feel blessed to be surrounded by such lush tropical spaces. There is an open field and then a lovely park. Simon's homework area also overlooks this park. He loves it because when he gets stuck on a Math problem or wants to daydream, there is all manner of activity happening at all times of the day.

Often there are people training hawks and eagles in the field. We hear their whistles frequently. But recently there was a strange development. One of the owls (?) got away from its trainer and landed on Simon's homework window. He was staring at our cat, Bella, who was lounging in our yard. Never a dull moment!

Visitor to Vietnam

This past week we entertained our first visitor to Ho Chi Minh City. Ana arrived from Qatar in time to celebrate her birthday with us!

She spent the week exploring downtown with Lisa, shopping for souvenirs, trying Vietnamese food, and learning how to be a good passenger on a scooter!

She also was able to attend some classes at SSIS. Like Simon, Ana is taking the IB Diploma Program and they have four of the same courses. Because of the standardized nature of IB, these courses are the same everywhere in the world so she was able to get some extra course time.

Not as happy as we look

On Monday September 5, Max moved into the Conrad Grebel Residence at University of Waterloo. Shelley and Lisa spent 4 days with him attending International Orientation, purchasing items for his studies, and moving his things into his dorm room. It was a very stressful time for all. Saying goodbye to a member of your family, even for such wonderful purposes as moving on to university, is really hard. The staff and faculty at the International Student Success Office were a tremendous help in this transition. But it finally came time to say goodbye. The staff and faculty at the Grebel Residence offered permission to cry, words about why this is a hard time, prayer for peace, and the all-important box of Kleenex. 
And it appears that we have survived. Lisa is back in Vietnam settling into routine with Tim and Simon. Shelley is back in Nova Scotia making progress with healing her broken arm. Max is in Waterloo making friends, having fun, meeting professors and classmates, and eating the delicious Mennonite food at Grebel. Thanks to everyone for prayers and words of encouragement.

Nova Scotia visits

At the end of August, Lisa and Max traveled to Nova Scotia to begin the process of moving Max to the University of Waterloo. We spent a week adjusting to the 10 hour time change from Vietnam before flying to Toronto. And what a wonderful week it was! We were able to participate in a couple of activities that we hadn't planned on!

First was a family reunion of sorts: Uncle Don's 80th Birthday party brought family from all over the province to Mush-a-Mush Lake. For some of Lisa's cousins it had been as many as 9 years since being together. Lots of great food and story telling!

There was also a gathering of friends from the Class of 1983, which Lisa was thrilled to be part of! A delicious meal of seafood and a special time of re-kindling friendships.

We also were on hand to say goodbye to Max's cousin, Brett, who was returning to university for her 3rd year of Nursing at Dalhousie (Yarmouth campus).

Nana and Grandad now have two grandchildren at university.

It was also a time for Lisa to help her sister, Shelley, learn how to manage the pain of a broken arm. One thing a nurse surely knows how to do is medicate properly!

Last Days

During the last days of Max's visit to Vietnam we tried a few new things. The Saigon Central Post Office in District 1 is one of the oldest buildings in HCMC. It was built in 1886 and reflects the French style. (Vietnam was a French colony.) Some say the building was designed by Gustave Eiffel, but that might not be true. It is a working Post Office and is beautiful inside and out.

With friends we tried a new restaurant called Skewers. Delicious!! Then we walked around downtown -- it was our first time wandering in the tourist areas at night. Great fun!

History Lesson

On another trip to the downtown area Max and Lisa visited two historical sites in downtown Ho Chi Minh City to get a history lesson on the events leading up to Vietnam's Reunification.

Independence Palace was the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam until April 30, 1975, when the South was "liberated" so that it could become part of North Vietnam. After 1975 the Palace became the headquarters of military administration and political consultation in the process of Reunification of North and South as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. It was at that time that the name of the city changed from Saigon to Ho Chi Minh. Today the Palace is a fascinating historic attraction. This site has many lessons for tourists, not the least of which is that history can be told from many perspectives.

Another lesson in perspective comes from the War Remnants Museum. This is a museum that describes America's "War of Aggression" against North Vietnam. In North America we know it as the Vietnam War. Inside the museum are photographic displays of the effects of Agent Orange, a collection of photos taken by the 137 photographic journalists that were killed between 1955 and 1975 (the American War), and a collection of American military weapons that were left behind during the dramatic withdrawal of American troops. It was a sobering experience.