Rainy season has a hold on us....unlike any other year we've been here, it has been raining non-stop. Not our usual 3:30pm thunderstorm that lasts for 1/2 an hour, but full on rain all day, all night. Floods of epic proportions. Sidewalks caving in. To be honest, I am not sure how Ho Chi Minh City is still standing? The water table is so high we are basically floating.....
Rain Rain Go Away
Where's Erin?
In between rain drops we've been able to stay busy. Erin made a trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand with her students on their Week Without Walls trip. A stunning landscape in Northern Thailand and a perfect opportunity for the students to get out of their comfort zone.
Graeme and I held down the fort here keeping busy as Kindergartners do. I mean, he has a full on schedule now! Soccer on Monday's, Yoga on Tuesday's, Swimming on Thursday's....how did this happen? Throw in a birthday party just about every weekend and general-friend-hanging-out as well as a few school functions like Family Day and little dude is busy.
your school had a bamboo tunnel, right?
Cotton Candy, it's what's for breakfast
Settling in to Kindergarten
Well into our fourth month of Kindergarten, Graeme is doing great! At first the transition was harder on him then we had expected. A bit of a mix of a summer hangover, new teacher, new classmates, new routine. He had the same teacher and routine for two years prior so this was an adjustment. Nothing major, just some emotional hurdles to hop over and once he broke through he started to shine as usual. Something new this year is Vietnamese class. Graeme has it 4 days a week built into his curriculum. Soon he will be translating for Erin and I to help us figure things out! Cannot wait for that!
Learning how to read at the moment, Graeme is bringing books home daily to read to us at night. Homework! On top of all the academics Graeme still has a large empathetic side to him and it's showing in how he helps his classmates when they need it. He's well on his way to making his mark in Kindergarten and continuing his solid foundation for a successful future.
Kinder-pranksters
Concentration
Phu Quoc
With a busy start to the academic year a vacation was clearly in order. Thank goodness for Fall Break! Having never been, we followed the lead of Team Sylvester to Phu Quoc Island - an archipelago about 1/2 hour flight from here. The rainy season followed us there but we persevered and managed to squeak in a trip to a waterpark, play golf and pillage pool toys from others.....nothing beats a week of sand and surf, who needs the sun? Another great trip with great people...starting to notice a pattern here....
Up Up and Away!
Charging the shorebreak
What r these 3 up to??
So, you are gonna paddle, right?
Hey, I made it in a pic!
Halloween
Not to be outdone by a tropical island, Halloween arrived right on time this year. We struggled a bit to find carve-able pumpkins but made do. One thing we did not struggle with was Graeme's costume. For the past 3 months he's been wearing it around the house - cape, hat and fangs. A Vampire! He did don a scary mask for a Dia De Los Muertos party we went to but for school parade and trick or treating he was a Vampire. Even though we only hit our buildings up for trick or treating, he still has enough candy to last him the rest of the year at the pace he eats it! At one stop there was a choice of candy and apples. He chose an apple and he was so stoked about it! "Look, I got an Apple!" The other kids were looking at him like he was crazy.... Erin actually won the costume prize this year. Twice. First at an adult party she was a beer-belly guy - spooking out everyone. Then at school she was Luigi. Using her pregnancy to it's fullest!
Spooky Toes
atta gurl....
With Thanksgiving just around the corner we are on our hunt for Turkey and finishing up plans for Winter Break. Erin has been doing fine with the pregnancy. Standard doctor appointments, pre-natal yoga classes and lots of uncomfortableness. Dry season and more pleasant weather is just around the corner as well and we are looking forward to a bit more time outdoors...don't forget the door is always open! Just was looking the other day for someone and RT tix from USA were $670 depending on dates...just saying. Hoa Bin, The Hawken's in HCMC
