24 Hours and 14 Time Zones

Posted by Andrew:

After about 24 hours of travel (Seattle, Seoul, Ho Chi Minh City), we have landed at the Hoang Yen Hotel in Phu My Hung, a suburb of Saigon.  Even though we are exhausted, the trip was relatively easy.  I tend to worry much more than I need to.  Some highlights -

All of Korean Airlines...The stewardesses in baby blue tops and ultra-starched white scarves. There is a ratio of about 1 stewardess to 5 passengers.  When we boarded our flight from Seattle, there were slippers, toothbrushes, and water bottles on our seats waiting for us.  Debra and I immediately put on the slippers and padded around the plane in them for the next 12 hours.  We were tempted to join the Korean Air elite passenger club which is called "Morning Calm." 

Elia's air sickness somewhere over the Pacific...The mess in the aisle was not exactly a highlight, nor was the fact that 7 flight attendants descended on us as soon as it happened and had the whole thing cleaned up in about 45 seconds.  What was a highlight was the elderly Korean woman next to Elia.  As soon as Elia stopped throwing up, the Korean woman began to vigorously massage Elia's hands, feet, and belly.  Elia immediately felt better and has been asking Debra and I to massage her feet and hands since then.   

The movie selection on the flight..."Hollywood Classics" which means anything from The Terminator to Shrek to Fiddler on the Roof, all subtitled in Korean.  How do you translate "Oy vey" into Korean? 

The meal choices were "Burning Hot Side of Beef" or "Noodles with Short Mustard."  Debra insists I just couldn't hear what the stewardess was saying.  Both dishes were very good and came with as much wine as you wanted. 

When we arrived in Saigon, after a brief layover in the shopping mall/airport in Seoul, we quickly cleared immigration and customs.  Because of our ten suitcases with a matching blue jungle theme pattern, all of the other passengers (primarily Vietnamese) began to notice when our bags would come on the claim carousel.  They would laughingly point them out to us and help pull them off and onto our overladen carts.  We exited the airport into a throng of several hundred people.  Entire families had showed up to welcome relatives, but we became a spectacle with our three carts, 15 bags (counting carry-ons) and very cute children.

Since getting here, everybody seems to be smiling and pointing at us, especially Asher and Elia. People are fascinated by Asher's braid, and complete strangers can't resist touching Elia's face.  Both kids are completely fawned over everywhere we go.  We thought Portland was kid-friendly...this place is amazing.    

Goodbye Home of 6 years

As can be true in life, things don't always happen as we might imagine. Our last month at our sweet homestead in Estacada has been a flurry of chores and lists that we didn't even come close to accomplishing. The goat barn is not cleaned out, the garden and orchard did not get mowed one last time, the moss did not get scraped off the roof, the walls in the mudroom are not as clean as they could be.

But the skylight that has been leaking from time to time got reflashed by a professional, the gutters were replaced, the house finally got painted fully. We laid carpet tiles in the kids' bedrooms.

Both of these lists could go on and on.

In the end, we find that what matters most are the "people" things.

We got to stay these past few days at my mom's house in Clackamas, providing us all some sweet early morning times. Frantic calls for help to friends were promptly and lovingly returned in the form of food, muscle, child fun, and in more ways than I can even think of in my busy brain at this moment.

We feel privileged to have been a part of our lives. We may be the ones moving, but we have not done it alone. Nor do we go alone. As we head out tomorrow morning on this adventure, we take all of us - our families and friends, our Portland and Estacada experiences, and our open hearts for what is to come.

Paranoia, Self-Destroyah

Since Andrew and I made the decision to take this opportunity in Vietnam, my paranoid fantasies have been on the rise. The closer we get to departure, the more intense they seem to become. I have, at times, lived literally in fear that "something" was going to happen. Imminently.

The kids or Andrew would get hurt. The kids would disappear. Andrew would be killed in a car wreck or shot at school by some student lost in the struggle of end-of-the-year test scores. My cancer would come back. One of our mothers would be diagnosed with some fatal illness.

It wasn't until last week, when both of our children were away - Asher at sleepaway camp and Elia at a friend's house for the week, that Andrew confessed he has been having the same ill thoughts. What a relief to not be the only one. Strangely, my fears eased with both kids away, while Andrew's spiked to the point of extreme discomfort. It helped to talk about it.

Let me say that again. It helped to talk about it.

Talk about it. Whatever it is, talk about it.

Heartbreak Hotel

With one week to go, the toll is starting to add up. Today we found a home for our last dog. So far, we have placed 13 chickens; goats - Zoe, Zippee, Zeus, Zorro, and our pregnant Mei-Mei; dog - Lulu; cat - Captain Whizbang; and now, our Sadie Sue.

Each placement has brought relief and has taken a little piece of our heart.

The chickens, goats and Lulu have been gone long enough now that we have been able to move forward. It has helped that they all have such great placements. The chickens are happily pecking at the La Medica/Schwimmer household, the goats (now 6, with the birth of Gyzmo in May) at the Morgan's, and Lulu, in dog nirvana at the Kellogg's.

We have held on to Captain Whizbang and Sadie. For, Sadie, maybe almost too long. We have known for awhile now that Captain Whizbang is going to join the goats at the Morgan house so we have been able to rest easy on that decision. Sadie has been another story altogether. Wouldn't you know? The one pet we thought would be the easiest to place was, in the end, the hardest. Some of this I have to attribute to our own unwillingness to let her go. But let her go we must.

Yesterday, with a sick and heavy heart, I was starting to research no-kill shelters and imagining my family going off to Vietnam without me while I stayed home to find a good placement. In my head, Sadie flew to Alaska, New Jersey, Minnesota and Spain. It's been a gut wrencher, to be sure.

Today, I am pleased and relieved to report that none of this will come to pass. Sadie will be joining the household of Mark & Sue ( we don't even know their last name?!) and their cat, Jo-Jo, in SW Portland.

Now, perhaps, the real work begins. The work of grief as we say goodbye.

.... and amber waves of PANIC

Last night, Andrew was practically levitating off his chair with anxiety that had no place to go. I was able to reassure him with, "It's okay, we have plenty of time", repeated over and over ad nauseum until he was able to scrape himself off the ceiling.

Today I can't breathe.

It is June 2nd. We are hoping to have our house rented by July 1st. In case you need help with the count, that is less than one month away. We have no renters on the horizon and a LOT of jobs around the place to finish. Lots to sell and do. An exchange student to graduate and his parents to entertain. Furniture to deliver. Floors to lay, gutters to replace. Good-bye parties to throw and attend. Stuff to pack and stuff to give. Schools to finish, cars to sell. Every day, at least one thing is forgotten.

Yesterday, we drove all the way to Elia's dance class in Clackamas to find the door locked and the lights off. Oh yeah, no class this week. That was after pulling the kids out of school 1-1/2 hours early for their immunization appointments only to arrive at the doctor's office (in Portland), pay our co-pay, wait, and then be told that neither of them are due for anything until September. This happening AFTER calling the day before to make sure they actually needed shots.

Yesterday it seemed kind of funny. Today I feel a little cursed. Who will scrape me off the ceiling?

The Last Pickle

With 8 weeks to go until departure, we are experiencing a lot of "lasts". Last night at dinner, we ate our last homemade pickle. The jar was the last of our downstairs pantry. We emptied the downstairs freezer a couple of months ago and have been living out of our upstairs freezer since then. It's been a long time since we've not had food stores in the house. It's a whole other way of living. We've stopped buying the two-for deals because we might not be able to eat them before we go. The pantry looks a little bare. Our grocery bill is cheaper, but we have to go more frequently. With much less space available to us in Vietnam, I like to think that we are getting a little practice in before we go.

And, I can see some new family language in the works. When I'm tried and low on patience, "I'm on my last pickle here, people". "Now, THAT is the last pickle!"

Luggage trial

This past weekend, I got to try out my carry-on luggage. And my travel alarm. And my new Kindle.

Thanks to my friend, Rene, I got to visit Alaska for a long weekend. In addition to spending two days in her excitingly busy K/1 classroom, I got to go on an Audubon cruise (seeing Humpback whales,  a COLONY of stellar sea lions, and all sorts of bird life), and spend a little time with their family in the ER after their daughter, Eliza, scared us all by dropping on the soccer field. Eliza got to clear her lungs as they repositioned her dislocated shoulder - OUCH. It sure sounded painful.

And, I got to try out my travel toys. All in all, it will be just fine. I am disappointed though that the roll-on duffle from LL Bean does not stand up by itself. This I found out in the security line at the Portland Airport. I let go of the bag while trying to get my shoes off for the scanner. Biff - there it went right onto the foot of the person behind me. Whoops. A little hold up there and some eye rolling by the TSA employees. But it fits perfectly into the overhead compartment. Clever positioning will take care of the rest.

The Kindle was purchased after much debate. I do think I am going to be happy to have it. Although it will never replace the sheer joy of holding a book,  it was awfully nice to have many "books" to choose from during my trip. And all in the space of a thin notepad. I was disappointed to discover that, as an electronic device, it does need to be turned off during take-offs and landings. And, I realized, once I got back home, that I should have turned off the wireless capability during the entire flight. Whoops.

I'm glad to have had this trip to practice. My travel skills are a little rusty. Do we still take our shoes off? Hold out the toiletries? Rene had a good laugh - at my expense. One thing is for sure, especially with the kids along and on a longer flight, it will be imperative to pack some food.