Home Delivery?

Most of the items we purchase at various stores get delivered to our home by motorbike. But sometimes we just have to carry it ourselves...... We purchased a couple of folding chairs and metal racks for our home. We went directly to the carpenter and the metal worker on a street about 2 km from our home. There was no delivery and we were feeling strong so we walked home.

Pink, naturally!

People often refer to this well-known landmark when giving directions downtown. We had not seen it until this week when walking to the tailor. It is "the pink cathedral", a functioning Catholic church.

This week we also saw pink lotus flowers in bloom near our home. The Vietnamese name for these water lilies is hoa sen. The lotus is the national flower of Vietnam and represents purity and determination because it grows in muddy water but rises above the surface remarkably beautiful and delicate. 

Guests from Myanmar

This past week we were thrilled to host friends now living in Yangon, Myanmar. We met the Hedgers in Doha and have stayed in contact with them for the past four years while they lived in Venezuela. They recently moved to Yangon and we were delighted that they chose to visit us in Vietnam this Spring. Their days were busy with tours of the Cu Chi Tunnels, Street Food on a Back-of-the-Bike, the Dam Sen Water Park, and a River Cruise to the Mekong Delta. We spent evenings relaxing, catching up with old friends, and meeting their newly adopted son, Max.

Bali Break

During Spring Break we spent 6 restful days on the island of Bali, Indonesia. We traveled with friends and rented a villa in the village of Kuta near Double Six Beach.

We spent our days lounging by the pool, browsing in quaint shops, dining at delicious cafes and restaurants, walking the beach, reading in the sun, and getting massage therapy. We laughed a lot. We ate a lot.

Tim, Simon, and Andy took a refresher course then joined a group going diving at Blue Lagoon.

Soccer in Thailand

This past weekend Lisa and Simon traveled to the MRISA Varsity Soccer Tournament in Burapha, Thailand to support the SSIS soccer teams. The host school, International School of the Eastern Seaboard, is a wonderful facility for soccer and located about 2 hours from Bangkok. It was unfortunate that the weather did not cooperate so that we could enjoy the full facilities of ISE.

The first day of the tournament started out beautiful, sunny, hot. But at noon it began to rain hard (which was very unusual for this time of year). After an hour of rain the fields were flooded. After another hour of pumping water from the field and using squeegee to dry the fields, play resumed but it was muddy, messy business.

Therefore, Day 2 of the tournament was moved to Planet Football which played on AstroTurf. Complete with a foot-cooling pool and four playing fields, this new facility finished the tournament in record time. The SSIS Boys and Girls both played in the Final games of the tournament. In the end both teams earned Second Place.

Simon and Lisa stayed at the Golf Resort next door to the school and had fun watching golfers (mostly from Korea) and their pink clad caddies.

Art Gala

Last month Tim and Lisa attended a beautiful evening of Art, dinner, and entertainment. This black tie Gala was sponsored by the Galerie Nguyen and we were guests of the gallery director, who has children in the High School.  It was a special opportunity to view 20 up-and-coming young Vietnamese artists. Selections of their work was on display in the foyer and we had opportunity to vote for our favourite. Each piece was unique and beautiful!

There were also several prestigious international Art judges in attendance and at the end of the evening there was an awards ceremony to honour five of the artists. The top winner won money, a trip to an International Art Fair, and a 5-year contract with one of the galleries in Ho Chi Minh City. This type of exposure is an amazing gift to these young men and women.

Besides a magnificent dinner (green pea soup with truffle creme fraiche, Cape grim beef, red chimichurri, creme brulee), surrounded by extraordinary Art, there was entertainment in the form of a young Vietnamese pianist, named Tuan Manh. He is a spectacular performer and actually composed a piece on the spot, inspired by one of the pieces of Art. Very special!

Art for the Soul

This semester, Lisa joined a weekly Art Club with several teachers from SSIS. The teachers are naturally very gifted in artistic expression and this was a time of relaxation for them at the end of a busy week. For Lisa, it was a creative stretch and an opportunity to engage her right brain.