Last Night in Saigon

It was Friday night and it was going to be my last night in Saigon. The streets are bustling and it seems like everyone is on their motor bikes or getting on taxis and going out. I jumped into a Taxi myself and immerse into the Friday traffic jam. I had to cross down town before heading out to district 2 to visit the children one last time. They requested if I can print out some of the photos we took at Vung Tau so I kept to my promise.



I stopped by “Sieu Thi” super market which is not too far from my office. I had first asked Tuan Anh, my coworker, about buying some popcorn to accompany movies with the children. This apparently is a rarity in Saigon so I had to improvise with candies. Strolling down the “Sieu Thi”, I found the candy row. On some neighborhoods and streets, Saigon can appear like a third world country but in this supermarket, I felt like I was in the US with row after row of goods. There were all kinds of lollypops so I grabbed about five bags estimating that it would suffice for about 100 children.

Entering the Pagoda, armed with candies, movie projector, some stuffed animal toys, I was geared up for another festive event. Normally, I am greeted only by the 5 year old crowd of kids. This time, it was refreshing to have some of the older children also greeted. These were the same ones that joined us for the Vung Tau beach trip so they were sight for sore eyes.



The younger boys saw the plastic translucent bag I had on hand so they pointed and asked for the toys. Some of the toys I forgot to bring last week were toys that had names on them as a gift to a specific child from their sponsored parents. I also had some stuff animals which were meant to be given to any child. The remote control toy cars however was much more of an enticement since all the boys started to rush for the bag. I tried lifting above their heads but it was it became a feeding frenzy. It seems that I don’t have the disciplinary gene or perhaps the parental acumen to yell at them to control the mob of 7 year olds. I decided to take evasive action and stepped on the table in the dining to rise above the crowd. Not noticing where I was standing, I stood up and I saw some of the children gasp. There was a ceiling fan spinning at a fast clip which I just barely missed. Standing on top of the table, my head could have easily touched the spinning blades. After I noticed the nearly tragic moment, I stepped back and told the kids in my most authorative voice that some of these gifts were for specific children and therefore they had to wait. They seem to get the message so we continued up to the movie room.


Nigel had prepared a four hour DVD with all kinds of cartoons for the children’s enjoyment. I was therefore not lacking in entertainment content. However, the tricky part was getting the electricity to work. It appears that each outlet in the room has a fuse adjacent to it. Rather than having a central fuse box for the building, the fuses were located next to each socket. The problem was that all the fuses seem to be missing so there was no juice coming out of any of the outlet. One of the assistance at the Pagoda saw my predicament and went searching for a fuse. He was very kind and effective at placing in a fuse and in a few minutes, we were up and running with the cartoons blaring on the green tinted wall.



It was a treat passing out the lollypops as the children sat on the tile floor and the lights were turned off. All the children were taught very well since when given anything, even the smallest of a piece of candy, they would hold out two hands with heads bowed as if they were to receive a grand jewel. They would then nod their heads in gratitude upon receipt of each piece of candy. I have never met such an obedient set of children.

I sat among the children soaking in the colorful flashing images of cartoon world. The younger children took turns coming up and sitting in my lap. They would crowd around me and then as one child slides off, another would step up. I felt like a Santa Clause but it was even better. I would have multiple kids sit side by side and two at times on my lap just sucking on the candy and having a great time with the movies.



Co Bao stopped by and confirmed with the older children that they had school on Saturday morning, which they did. They were therefore suppose to finish their homework. They explained defiantly that they had finished their homework and therefore deserved hanging out with the younger children.

As I was lost in the sea of little people, I felt that there is no other place I rather be than right here at that moment. I then felt a little tap on my shoulder as one of the older kids signaled to me. The two girls motioned for me to me to follow them as they disappeared out of the room. I put the little ones on my lap down and walked out. They had a little book in had and wanted to show me. It appeared to be a highly prized item in the way it was affectionately held. It had little cute stickers on it and appeared rather old. They were very proud of it as it was being revealed to me. This was a photo album that has pictures of the children. It was a family album but in this case, there were no parents but rather just the children. Apparently, groups of children were given the same birthday since their exact birthdates were not known. This resulted in pictures of birthday celebrations with groups of children.

Lien Thu then pointed her fingers upon a little child playing on a shallow pull of water o a public pool. She described that this was her when she was a little girl. The emulsion on the photographic paper was fading and the colors have lost its luster. However, from her gleaming smile on her face during her animated description indicated that this faltering image will never fade upon this child’s eyes. The pictures that were most treasured and most numerous were the ones when they went on a field trips. Some appear to be to local theme parks in Saigon. Some were of them going to the beach before. I am so happy that they did have the opportunity to venture out of the Pagoda and had fun. Nearing the end of the album, they had placed the pictures of our recent trip and were very proud to show them to me. I honored and filled with joy to feel as part of their lives and part of their family and included in their memories through the album.

As I was talking to a few of the older children reminiscing upon their prized family album book, a little girl who they called “map” which means fat tugged at my feet. She was just a little chubby but that nick name just stuck and that is how the 4 year old girl was refereed to. I lifted her onto my waist and continued my conversation with the small group. We talked about Lien Thu’s new boyfriend at school or Trinh’s vocational school. It was just fun shooting the breeze and hanging out with the gang.

Upon my return to the main central make shift theatre, many of the children has sucked their way though a few cartoons and lollypops. I went to open up a few more bags of candies. Rather than passing them out as the first time, they started to come up, even the ones in front which did not see me sneak back in. It was as if they had a canine sense for sugar snacks even when the bag was being opened across the room. I finished passing out all the candies and we watched a few more movies.

I did not grow up going to school on Saturday morning so I thought it was appropriate to have movie night on Friday. We actually did stay rather late but I felt guilty since this is a school night. After the Goofy cartoon completed, I therefore turned off the DVD player and the lights were turned on.

The children of all ages were very good with providing assistance. They would hand me the bag or help gather the DVD to be placed in its bag. Only a few minutes after the showing, we were all packed up for the evening. I then strolled my way across the terrace hand in hand with the children making my way back out the front gates. Co Bao also gracefully walked me out like always. There were a good size group of us waiting for the taxi to come. It was a sad parting since they knew I was leaving in the morning on a jet plane. Trinh joked that she would hide in one of my suit cases and be transported with me to the US. I then gave the children a parting hug including a hug with co Bao and hen crawled into the taxi. It was rather sad driving away but I felt they are with me. The children of Dieu Giac will always remain with me. I feel that even when I am on the other side of the earth on a different time zone, I can never forget the smiles and special times I have with these children. Co Bao commented that I have a special bond with these children. I modestly replied that the children were adorable and that anyone who meets them would feel the same. I do feel however that the children had made an indelible impression on my heart and they will always fill me with affection and love which I can never forget.

Vung Tau with the Children

Co Bao recommended that we do not show as many films this time since the children were going on a special field trip the next day. This has been a long trip in the making but I am so happy that this dream of mine is coming true. We had a movie night on Saturday night but early on Sunday, I woke up at 5pm to head back to the Pagoda once again. The tour company that my cousin Hanh Dung has reserved was very punctual since they called me at about 5:30 making sure that I woke up and are prepared for the trip. Hanh Dung was not able to join but she was very nice in preparing “xoi” which is a sticky rice snack for the children and delivered it to my hotel at 5:45 am before I took off for to the Pagoda. I was hungry and the “xoi” is still fresh and hot so I snacked on that as an impromptu breakfast on the way to the Pagoda.



As my taxi arrived at the Pagoda, all the children were already boarded on then bus and waiting eagerly to go. I was surprise at their energy so early in the morning on a Sunday. They were filled with enthusiasm and broke into song and continued their vocal performances the entire two and half hour trip to Vung Tau. This is considered the closest beach from Saigon and is actually not that far geographically. The traffic and streets conditions in Vietnam however, do stretch the journey to a lengthy ride. The tour company I hired had a driver and three other helpers. They were very good with organizing the children talent’s for singing by having a little contest. They would take turns singing on the microphone with the winner receiving treat snacks. Although there was one child at a microphone at a time, they choose children songs which everyone knew so it was a sing along were every child knew the lyrics. I was the only one on the bus who was clueless since it appeared as if these nursery rhythms were never etched into my childhood before I was planted into American culture.



The pagoda had fewer than two hundred children but I only took 30. Co Bao told me that she selected the best behaved and used the trip as an incentive for them to behave the weeks before in preparation for the trip. Co Bao selected well since every single child in the group of 30 were angels. They were the best behaved and good spirited children I have ever had the pleasure of being with. They took turns going up to the microphones to sing their songs on the bus and just enjoyed every single moment.





We arrived at Vung Tau on north beach about 9am. I had this fear of the ensuing chaos concluding in loosing the children once they stepped out of the bus. On the contrary, it was a pleasant surprise to see them line up hand in hand as the children paired up in two lines. They all wore matching red t-shirts and were given a yellow hat to help identify them among the beach crowd. I had printed out pieces of paper with my cell number, and the address of the Pagoda. I was going to pass this out to the children but was so impressed by their orderly conduct; I decided not utilize this form insurance for the children’s safety. We counted from the line to make sure there were 30 children and then proceeded in an orderly fashion out to the area where there were beach chairs assigned to our group. The children were then instructed to go to the dressing room to put on their swimming clothes. Most of them just put on shorts but some had pants. It is rare to have bathing suites in Vietnam apparently. The children, both boys and girls, just wore their normal cloths to go swimming. The red t-shirts and yellow caps were part of this ensemble which comprised of their swimming suite.




I changed into swimming trunks which I purchased at Vung Tau not too long ago from this same beach on my last team building trip for my group. I joined the eager children onto the beach hand in hand into the water. As we walked pass the hot sand swinging our hands up and down, I felt just as carefree and as happy as a child, just like one of the children.



The children love the beach and ocean water but none of them knew how to swim. This was quite a daunting task because I felt I had to keep an eye on all the children in the water making sure no one ventures out into the deep or has any challenges with the water. I had learned that they only had one other experience with the ocean since they had a field trip to Phan Thiet. Their lack of exposure to swimming pools and beaches precluded them from any form of swimming instruction.



Their lack of swimming skills did not deter them from plowing through the water and having a great time. They stayed together in groups with the smaller children on the shore while the older teenagers venturing out into waters that came up to their necks. These older children all called me “Thay” which meant teacher. The smaller children also caught onto this and also gave me this honorary title. One of the 7 year old enquired why I was referred to as “thay” which was clarified since I taught English to these same children in the past.



We just waddled in the water all the way until noon. I knew I was going to be into trouble since the little sun tan lotion I had put on must have been washed away by the salty waters and the Vung Tau sun was piercing. I was in for some serious sunburn. I was lost in the childhood care free spirit to even notice my reddening skin. Even though I a few hour lessons teaching English and had spent movie nights with these children, this is the first experience were we all were able to hang out and have fun for an extended period of time. It is a great treat.



We washed up and went to the restaurant which was adjacent to our beach area. There was a wedding event at the same time inside the banquet area but we all sat on the balcony where we were able to see both the ocean view and the banquet where the reception of the wedding was being held. The children were fascinated by the wedding and made call kinds of commentary on the bride as if it is some kind of soap opera television show.




After the meal, the children were too full to swim so a group of about six of us went for a walk. We were all hand in hand strolling across the water’s edge. The children continued with their line of questions such as if I was married and if I had children. It sounds like personal questions but I think the Vietnamese culture it is a common and natural for them to enquire about this. They were very puzzled by the fact that I am about forty and have no children. It was a paradox which they could not fathom. I have noticed that for me to be a Vietnamese it is quite a social anomaly and therefore the children perceive me as an alien from another planet.



The children’s appetite for soaking in the sun and swimming in the beach is insatiable. Some of the boys were already splashing on the shore when we came back from our walk. This became a contagious activity that consumed the entire group including myself. I became fatigued; I lied on the water’s edge where the wet sand kept me cool. What started out as a wet sand fight, ended up me loosing and being buried under the sand. They took creative license of piling on sand with castles and figures. It was a bit difficult to breathe with the large pile of sand completely covering me except for my face to breath. I had an itch on my face but realized at that point, it was senseless since there was no way to then scratch with my hands buried under piles of sand. It was a little frightening but I also felt totally secured under the many little loving hands which put me into this sand tomb.



The schedule was for us to leave at two. I jokingly said that it was 2am and that we would stay longer. The children were also hesitant to go and dragged their feet when it came to getting cleaned up. We ate the “xoi” which Hanh Dung had purchased for us. Even though lunch was only a couple hours ago, the swimming and beach activities seem to work the children’s appetite very quickly. We did a final count in two line file similar to the start of the day. Everyone was accounted for so we slowly made our way back onto the bus.



The tour guide team started new games on the bus having the children play a guessing game which was a variation on the dating game. It was a cute game where the older teenagers had a blast playing. There were some songs but the spirit was not the same as in the morning bus ride where there were much more exuberance. A DVD was then played for the remainder of the bus ride. When I came on board, a little 7 year old child took my hand and motioned to sit next to her. She is darling and I could not refuse such a gesture. During the ride, another girl who swam with us of the same age came over and I had two little darlings side by side. I felt like I was the happiest “father” in the world.



We stopped at a rest area where there were many vendors selling snacks. I took them by the hand and we strolled through the tourist shops. There were many other busses for different tourist groups which made this same stop. I purchased them some sweets and bread snacks. While their thirst was being worked up, I asked if they wanted a drink. There were advertisement signs enticing their eyes for soft server ice cream. Some of the younger children mentioned gestured to the ice cream so I asked who wanted it. They all then raised their hand as if eager to supply an answer to an itching question. I then walked over with a small group of the teen age girls to buy the ice cream. It was priced at 4,000 per cone. That seems perfectly fine with me but the children were gasping expressing that it was such a rip off. They refused for me to have to spend this. I insisted but they would not budge and reasoned that we had drinks on the bus. I felt the sincerity and a sense of gratitude that they appreciated what was given to them today and they did not want me to feel that they would take advantage of my generosity.

The evening skylines darken on the last leg of the trip. The mood was more somber. Trinh who was one of the girls came over to me as if to whisper in my ear. Nothing seems to come out however but she motioned if I can sit with her. I gladly came over and she wanted to express something but I sense some hesitation. She started to then said, I can’t tell you. My curiosity is peaked so I insisted, and persisted. She then looked sheepishly down and said she is not happy. I replied with a question of why. I said this has to be one of the most special and fun days I have had. She agreed and said it was the one of the best days she can remember. She is just sad that it is coming to an end. She does not want to go back and just want to be back to Vung Tau with me. It was very sweet. I tried to comfort her saying that we will have other opportunities. She was still limp as if her life spirit was been sucked out of her. I took her hand and said that we will remember this moment for a long time and that I will always cherish the fun times. She started to tell me that she is not very happy with her life and that she is very sad since she does not have any one to care for her. She said she does not believe in herself and that she is all alone. I was rather surprise that there is such a world of sorrow on such a young child. She clung on to my hand and just did not want to let go and she wanted to hide her face since she was tearing. I promised that I will visit and we will have more fun trips. She then tried to smile but I can tell there was sadness.

She then said that even though she has just begun to get to know me, she has never had any one care for her the way she has today. I told her that seeing her joy and the children’s joy is the most wonderful gift I can ever receive and that this is one of the most special trip and moment for me. We sat there with out many words but there was a bond that was quite unique. When the bus came to a stop, she did not want to leave and did not want to release my hand. I tried to make light of things and said that co Bao is waiting and is worried if you don’t return. She reluctantly started to leave. Trinh jokingly said this is the wrong stop, this is not her home and she waned to come with me. She knew it as all in jest so she later continued along with the other children. The mood was a somber and most of the children were pretty exhausted and waved good bye. I was really touched by Trinh and the every child on our trip. There was great warmth and love that the children had for all of the things that was around them. They saw joy in just about every little thing. At the same time, there was emptiness and lost within their hearts. I have never had children and am very drawn to them. It is as if my attraction towards wanting my own child and them wanting parents was a force that made our experience such a unique one. I am very touched by every moment of that day. I have to live up to my promise and visit the children once again before I head back to the US.

The children took my camera and just had a field day. You can see a complete set of pictures which is uploaded to here.

Not Just Another Saturday Night

It was Saturday evening and I just finished working in the office with my team. This was however no ordinary Saturday night; for me it is a very special night since I am able to see the children at chua Dieu Giac. I have been waiting all week to see them but co Bao suggested that I waited until the weekend since the children had school on other nights so the weekend would ensure that I see more of them. I therefore took a taxi directly from my office in district 10 to district 2 in Saigon where the Pagoda is located. I had some of my employees including Nhi, Quyen and Minh join to pass out the gifts. Ray who was a fellow Vietkieu who was also visiting from San Jose wanted to join. There was a festive mood for this gathering.



As the taxi arrived to the front chua Dieu Giac, the gates were closed. I stepped out seeking for co Bao to ask for permission to enter. One of the little boys who was about 6 recognized me and yelled out “chu Sy” and I was filled with feelings of coming home. Even though I was born in Saigon and have a fond connection, this place has never really felt like home to me. It is a nice place to visit and do business but it is still different and foreign from the American experience I had growing up. As one boy yelled out “chu Sy” and another one and another child, it was the warmest feeling of welcome. As the gates opened, I took the boys into my arms and hugged them and carried them as I directed the taxi to proceed inside. The whole place seems to come alive with reverberation of my arrival.

(video)

The children were filled with curiosity and questions. The barrage of questions was all tossed out at once. Is the taxi mine? How did I get here? When I came to Saigon? How long am I staying for? Are we going to show a movie tonight? It was the most pleasant and warm set of questioning I can ever ask for. Even though some of the questions were nonsensical, I stilled answered them with diligence trying to express my gratitude share with the children the positive energy and enthusiasm that they have for my arrival.

Ray and a couple of his friends had just arrived and he joined me in the festivities of gift giving. He had brought his own box of toys and candies. Ray has noticed that I have done this before so looked at me for instructions. He said that he was going to follow my lead in this bizarre but wonderful experience of passing out the gifts to this group of about a hundred orphaned children. I acted as if I knew what I was doing and that there was logic to this, but in reality, it always is chaos every time. We just go at the seat of our pants trying to find the best way to make sure all the children receive their toys.



The younger children were lined up in rows with girls separated from the boys. The older children stood in the back more as witnesses since they want the gifts to go towards their younger brother and sisters. Even though there may not be blood relationship between these orphan children, there was a definite bond and it was one big family. We placed the boxes on one side of the courtyard and proceeded with passing out the gender appropriate dolls to the girls and cars to the boys. I joked with co Bao that we should just switch and have the boys play with the dolls and the girls play with the toy cars. However, I can see the eager eyes from the children that their gender biases towards certain toys is well entrenched.

It was a great variety of gifts from my mom, and friends that had given to me at a dinner gathering before my trip. Other friends just dropped their toys at my office and every toy was greatly enjoyed by the children.

We then proceeded up stairs to the third floor for the movie night. My co-worker Nigel who is a movie buff has prepared a special treat for the children this time. It was a series of classic older Disney cartoon shorts ranging from early Tom and Jerry, Donald Duck and Goofy characters. There was plenty of physical humor so the lack of English comprehension was not a pre-requisite for enjoying the humor and visual images. All the children sat on the floor and a little boy would crawl on to my lap and we would just have a great time watching the movie. I was having a time of my life soaking in the spirit of the children. The visit to chua Dieu Giac has always been a highlight of my trip and this is no exception. I have never been on such a high since each time I visit these children, I am in heaven.