Graeme = 1 Motor Scooters = 0

Purple haze running through my mind..

Graeme = 1  Motor Scooters = 0

Graeme and I took out our first motor scooter a few weeks ago.  No, we didn't rent one.  We sent a motor scooter with 2 people on it to the pavement!  We were coming home from dinner one night, Erin was behind us.  As we made a left onto our street and were just about to start the left turn into our parking garage I felt something on my left arm and simultaneously heard Erin shriek.  Realizing it had to be a scooter trying to pass us on the left - the wrong side of the road, which in and unto itself is not uncommon here - without beeping (btw there were two wide open lanes to our right and if you are passing someone you should be beeping).  In a split second I knew it was either gonna be them or us that went down, so, conjuring up my old ice hockey days I laid my shoulder into them as hard as I could.  It threw them off balance enough so that, as they squirreled past us, I could tell there was no hope for them and "POP"!  off flew their helmets (probably would not have done them any good anyway as a what passes for a helmet here is about as protective as a baseball hat), then their front wheel gave in from wobbling and stuck to the right and down they went.  Graeme's bike seat is in the front, so he's basically weighted directly in front of me, sort of combining our center of gravity.

Keep that center of gravity...

I am pretty sure if this happened with him on the back we'd be on the cement as well. 

Graeme and I were stopped and perfectly upright.  I was asking if they were alright as they picked themselves up off the ground.  I could tell it was just some minor road rash (but in this climate that will take just about forever to heal).  They wouldn't look our way.  There were plenty of people around (security for a few buildings, taxi drivers, etc.)  One of our Security guys just looked at me and told me to go.  Twice.  So, we went.  Erin somehow figured it was my fault and starting yelling at me but I was too pumped with adrenaline and high fiving Graeme telling him how we showed them who was the Boss!  He was pretty pumped too...

My only question is:  do we get to put two notches in our helmets b/c of 2 riders or just one b/c of only 1 scooter? 

Considering the Grandparent and Great Grandparent readership of this blog I won't go into the traffic accident statistics of SE Asia, but let's just say it's not a matter of "if" but "when"...just hoping the score remains this way forever...

Halloween kind of snuck up on us...yes we've loved seeing all the Facebook pics of kids at Pumpkin Patches, Fall foliage, people wearing sweaters and flannel....but the weather here has us mentally in August mode.  They don't celebrate it here but there are enough ex-pats that you see it around.  The local Mall puts on a big deal and Graeme's Daycare was all about it.

We started the festivities off with an event the weekend before at Erin's school.  Or at least tried to.  We got Graeme all pirated up - some serious improvising due to lack of supplies - and cruised to the event. 

Arrgghh!

Well, it rained like we've never seen it and the "outdoor" event was shoved under a mezzanine so it was wall to wall people.  I don't know if you have ever seen Graeme at a party with a lot of people, but it usually doesn't bode well.  The kid does not like crowds or chaos.  As soon as we entered the event he saw another pirate - a 6ft, 220lbs father of someone who went all out with the gear.  This sent Graeme into a tailspin that was unrecoverable.  We lasted about 10 minutes total....9 1/2 of them under duress.

Mommy-Pirate

The parade at Graeme's daycare, Kids Club, came through though.  Halloween was on a Thursday, a day Graeme does not go to daycare, but they had a parade for all the kids and parents were invited.

Wild in the streets...

Erin was able to play hooky for a little while and surprise Pirate Graeme...he was stoked!
All the kids were super cute and it was a hoot to watch them walk down the street in their neighborhood singing "Go Away Mean Witch, Go Away!".  Locals were at their doorsteps scratching their heads...

The Tiny Tot Crew....

Frogs in a bucket...

Spending the better part of the day with 44 other 2 year olds had Graeme kind of spent so we never made it actually Trick-or-Treating.  His school had sent home a map of homes from families who would be participating and have treats for kids if they went out.  Super funny because along with the map were detailed instructions on how to actually Trick-or-Treat as well as what to do if a Trick-or-Treater rings your doorbell.





If you are a member of the Hawken family the weather is something that has a hold on you in life.  Something in our DNA has us transfixed...following the weather here is a challenge.  Well, first off, there isn't much to follow.  We just changed seasons, from "wet" to "dry".  To be honest it didn't change a whole lot.  We get fewer thunderstorms in the afternoon now but they still occasionally pop up.  And it's hot.  It's hot when you wake up, all day and at night.  We've just traded humidity based heat for tropical sun based heat with the season change.

Living in a Communist Socialist country with Government controlled media, we don't hear too much about what's going on.  We rely mostly on US websites and who knows who they are relying on for the information about here??  So one day last week Erin came home a few hours early.  The US Embassy had closed all the schools because there was a Typhoon expected to hit HCMC between 3pm and 8pm - Erin got out at 2:30pm.  We scoured the web and found nothing. 

Why bother having an attached roof when you can just sandbag it?

We made sure the candles, matches and water were stocked (even without a Typhoon the power here is shut off periodically).  We watched outside as locals prepared by putting sandbags on sheet metal rooftops - because they probably are not attached at all.  Building codes here are a bit, ummm, lax?  And we waited...nothing.  Then at 8pm, almost on the dot, the rain started.  But that was it.  Just rain.





It would be incredibly rare for HCMC to take a direct hit from a Typhoon.  Central Vietnam gets slammed about 12 times per year.  We never hear anything about it even though lives are lost, houses fly away and towns are destroyed. (sound familiar Klauser family?)

Rainy days...

So all we got was rain.  It rained through the night and the next day.  That is pretty rare for here. A long rainstorm might last an hour or two, but usually only 30-45min.

Graeme and I put our rainy-day-fort-building-skills to the test and weathered it out.






But back to the lack of information....about a day later I got an email from my Uncle Ted (Hi Uncle Ted!)...in his email he signed off telling us to be safe with the approaching storm.  I figured he meant the one we just missed out on...for some reason it stuck in my head so I got online and Googled around.  Well, hello Typhoon Hayian!  Had no idea it even existed and about 36 hours later the Philippines were rocked and all reports had it heading our way!  Not a peep was being spoken about it here...Well, Skype, FB and email lit up from everyone in the West checking in on us, setting up scheduled times to talk through the approach of the storm for updates, etc.  It is a tough one to predict because there is no Gulf Stream in the South China Sea so once that thing got through the Phillipines it was anyone's guess where it was going.  Plus it covered so much territory it could have affected the entire country all at once.

Pretty much Charlie has us on a need to know basis and as far as I can figure out, when we need to know something we get a call from the US Embassy a half hour before it's supposed to hit the fan....we were following the info online from the same sources you were and we are only a 2hr flight away from the Philippines.  Our hearts and thoughts are with the Filipino's as well as anyone with Family or Friends there.  There is a heavy Fililpino population back in the Bay Area as well as here - just hoping everyone connected is as safe as can be.  Scary.  We are very grateful for the "pass" Mother Nature and hope to never wake up and see Jim Cantore standing here.  We are also grateful for everyone thinking of us as well as checking in on us...

To say the least living here is interesting from a media/information viewpoint.  To help put it in perspective - a few weeks ago they tried to eliminate CNN and CNN.Com from Vietnam as well we got a letter reminding us that Social Media is only for sharing personal information, not political information, viewpoints, etc. They just threw a few people in jail for doing just that ...Click Here if you want to dig deeper.

We have been able to get out and have some fun locally.  We made it over to District 2 for an Art Auction for kids and Graeme was able to make his own T-Shirt.

Look out Mossimo...

"G" label...

Cruizin'...

Nothing like a cactus on a hot day.

Pirate training

 We also hit up Snap Cafe - a great eatery with a built in playground, all under thatch cover so the sun gets through but doesn't beat you up.  Unplanned, we ended up meeting 4 other families here from Graeme's daycare (great minds think alike).  It's a great place because the kids run wild while you eat and hang out with the other parents.  There isn't a whole bunch for kids in HCMC so this place is a treat.  It's quite a trek to get there, so this was only our second visit. 

"Man, I hope Daddy is watching!"

Some sort of milestone happened for Graeme though...out of nowhere he was playing without the assistance of Mommy or Daddy!  He was content running around with the other kids, parent free.  A first.  And a pleasure to watch as I sat and ate my hamburger without interruption.

Good times...

Daycare buddies...

We took a trip over to Chinatown in HCMC, an area called Cholon...there is a HUGE market there called Binh Tay Market.  It's pretty much a wholesale market - where the people from other markets and retail stores buy their goods.  So the prices here are way cheaper then anywhere else.  Some vendors won't sell you onesy-twosy's but most will cut you a deal on whatever you want.  Name a brand of shoe, bag, accessorie and you can find it's knock off here.  Need junkfood?  Footwear? There is about 100,000sqft of dedicated space for each...pretty amazing.

Candy?

One of several halls...

While over there we hopped on some cyclo's and took a tour to Buddhist Pagoda's built by the Chinese.   The cyclo's are a good way to see things on the street that don't catch your eye when in a taxi or on a bicycle..They are pretty cool. 

The only way to ride..

got snacks?

Ummm...which one is for the cable?

Garden apartments..

Not made for 6 footers that is for sure..

Mother nature eats buildings here

Lighting incense cone for G-Nan

G-Nan's cone....

Saying a prayer for G-Nan

With Erin's Grandmother's (G Nan) passing heavily on our minds, we lit several incense sticks for her as well as put her name on a red sheet of paper and lit an incense cone and had it hung in the temple for her.  It takes a long time for the cone to burn and in the end the paper burns with it.

We told Graeme G-Nan could hear him talking to her while we were there and he was telling her how much he misses her and how much he loves her.  It was very sweet.

Well, I know this turned out to be a lengthy note.  We appreciate you reading it (especially if you made it this far!).  I promise next time more pictures ;)

We also want to, again, thank everyone for thinking of us and reaching out during the Typhoon Haiyan event.  Our thoughts and hearts are with those affected by it and can only hope for a speedy recovery for all. 

Hoà Bình,

The Hawken's in HCMC
#thetaoofgraeme