Cruising along this spring, after Tet in India there was a lot of stuff going on. Easter, Spring Break, Reunification Day and Labor Day holiday's. Not to mention a bunch of soccer after school, art shows and other fun things that encompass everyday life.
HERE COMES PETER COTTONTAIL
Easter came at a time when both Graeme and I were not feeling our best. The Hot Season was just starting and this usually coincides with the Viral Season (think Flu season in the US). Hot Season this year was the hottest ever on record in SE Asia. Oofa.... There are virus' here that just aren't on the map of most medical journals and 9 times out of 10 you just have to ride them out. The fact that it's also the hottest time of the year only adds to the discomfort. Graeme started it off with an on/off fever for 8 days and a hacking cough. He then passed it on to me, where I carried it on for almost a month! Yuck...It was a tough season for his entire class. On one day there were 8 kids absent (that's out of 18) due to various illness'....here's to building an immune system! Not letting that get in the way of Easter Egg hunting fun, we carried on but inside our apartment this year and having to forego the picnic at the school later that day. I think you can tell by the pics and short video here that Graeme persevered and managed to have a grand old time!
Spring Break was next on the list of holiday's and this year we took a different approach. Erin had a conference in Chicago towards the end of break and her sister, Aunt B, was due with their first child shortly thereafter. So we decided to send Erin off to Lodi to surprise visit her sister for 10 days and try to get the baby to show up early, while Graeme and I had "Guys Week" back here in Vietnam. Between play-dates with other kids who hung around for the break, playing golf, riding bikes we managed to stay busy. We also managed to sneak off to the beach for two days. Bonus surprise - the resort we stayed at just opened a mini-golf course! Nothing wrong with that!
Luckily Erin dodged the germs Graeme and I were spreading and while we were gallivanting around Ho Chi Minh City as swinging bachelors, Erin managed to surprise Brittany and her family (only her mother knew she was coming) and spend some quality time with her while pregnant. While the excitement didn't jolt the baby out early, after Erin returned from the US on her trip, baby Greyson Sea Shumacher was born on May 3rd to Uncle J and Aunt B (Jason and Brittany). Everyone did a great job, especially Brittany, and everyone is healthy and happy. Looks like it's an all Boys Cousin-fest in this family! Graeme keeps referring to his new cousin as his brother and we are all very excited to see them in a few weeks time when we get back to California this summer!
CON DAO ISLAND
Shortly after we moved here I took notice of some small islands just off the southern coast from Ho Chi Minh City. Con Dao Islands....a group of about 14 small islands with the largest used as a prison island for almost 200 years, starting with the French and ending after the Vietnam (American) War where the Saigon regime held VC prisoners in "tiger cages" under abhorrently inhumane conditions. Aside from historical significance, we were interested in going there because of it's pristine water and beaches and it being only about 45 minutes away. Problem was, there were never any flights! So, last Fall we got ahead of the game and booked a long weekend at the end of April (Reunification and Labor Day) along with our dear friends the Sylvester's.
Having seen the pictures and spoken to a few who have been there, I didn't get my hopes up too high in regards to beach and water quality. We travel all over the world and go to a lot of beaches and the amount of trash we come upon is just saddening. It's not a SE Asia thing but a global thing. So I always keep that in the back of my mind, adding to that Vietnam isn't known to be the most avant-garde in waste management...well, were we surprised. White sand beaches with not a sole on them. Crystal clear water that you could see coral from 30ft down. An abundance of sea life and live coral. An incredibly relaxed atmosphere and lifestyle surrounded by impenetrable jungles clinging to steep peaks. Just a little slice of heaven. Grab a motorbike for $5usd/day and hit up as many beaches as you saw fit! We literally went from floating in crystal clear Caribbean blue water with only the two families to being in the hub-bub of Saigon traffic craziness in the matter of a couple of hours total travel time. Just unbelievable and a great getaway..
Every once in awhile you get a trip that hits the mark on all levels - location, experience and company. This was one of those trips. Hanging with the Sylvester's is always a good time and the kids get along so well you almost don't even have to look after them. A highlight was renting a boat for the day to go snorkeling and diving. We spent the better part of the day in the water exploring the sea life. Erin and Chris got to go diving, and the kids (some of us a bit older then others) launched off of the boat. Good times all around.
Each year SSIS puts on an art display from its three schools. This year they combined it with Drama and Music performances. It is absolutely impressive not only, how much art there is to look at, but the quality and amount of imagination and various medium, techniques and materials used. Just takes your breath away. This year Graeme took us on a tour of the event, pointing out his pieces and his pride was evident. He always says Art is his favorite class and his teacher, Ms. Barton, does an incredible job with these little creatures. They have multitudes of individual projects, as well as projects there entire class worked on, or his entire grade or his grade and the Kindergartners all together. If you are ever having a bad day, I recommend looking at Elementary students artwork to brighten up your day...
One of the cooler things we get to do with Graeme as parents at the school is the Learning Journey. Basically, they set up the classroom and surrounding areas that they use into different sections representing things they work on throughout the year. Then Erin and I come in and Graeme takes us on a Journey of everything they do at school. The teachers don't help them along, it's just him showing and telling us all about what they have been up to all year long. We visit the art room, music, playground, gym, library and spent awhile in the classroom. The summation and highlight for us is him showing us his journal that he's been working on throughout the year. We get a copy (and show it to anyone we can get to look at it over the summer) at the end of the year but this day we get a sneak peak before it's finished. He is such a hard worker and is so proud of his accomplishments it is truly moving having him take Erin and I on this journey and inviting us into his world that we don't get to see on a daily basis.
It seems we have hit a bit of a milestone with Graeme's blog here.....we are now over 10,000 views! We are not selling ads but for those of you who don't know, after each summer I have a hardcover book made up of the year prior's blog (running on a year-to-year basis of when we moved to Vietnam) so Graeme has something tangible to look back on in the future should the web disintegrate or something. We actually look through them quite a bit throughout the year. So, thank you to all who keep clicking on the links and taking a look. It's a lot easier to muster the courage and inspiration to write them for Graeme knowing that they are being appreciated by others as well!
Next stop is Summer Break where we will start off with a 3 day layover at Disneyland Tokyo on our way to Norcal then onto NJ....hope to see you somewhere along the way!
Hòa Bình,
The Hawken's in HCMC
*Yes, Graeme owns pants other then the red/white/blue with red shirt combo seen over and over here...but can you guess his favorites to wear?
** A friend of ours is a Photo Journalist as well as Documentary maker (not to mention a Media teacher here at SSIS) and did this great video on the present and history of Con Dao. CHECK IT OUT HERE.
