Sunday, July 12th

We woke up this morning and had a nice American breakfast by the pool, then ventured out to buy some essentials. Our walk was interesting. For starters there are electrical lines everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE. And as for traffic rules...there are none. Oddly enough, the best way to describe it is organized chaos. We'll have to get some video footage since there is no way to explain it. After a good 30 minutes walking in what felt like a sauna, we arrived at the Co-op Mart. There was anything and everything. Picture a Walmart confined into approximately 1/100 of its store. And then the smells hit us! At least Alex & I had experience in China, but poor Franca started turning green. Trying to get through the aisles with people left and right of you should be an Olympic sport. By the time we got back we were soaken wet. Alex, Franca & Portia went out and enjoyed the pool, while I took advantage of what was likely one of my last moments alone. We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon with Renny (another adoptive parent) and her new and beautiful daughter Lia. Renny has been here for about 5 weeks so she was a great source of tidbits. She brought us to an absolutely delicious Chinese restaurant and then we headed to The Ben Thanh market. This is where you could wheel and deal for just about anything your heart desires. We had a good chuckle when one of the sellers said to Franca "Go in." and Franca said, "I can't. I won't fit." Then the seller said "Oh no, someone bigger than you fit." Well, that's a boost to someone's self esteem! Portia got some beautiful dresses and we are looking forward to returning. We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming and napping, perhaps too much napping and will likely pay the price tomorrow, especially with the excitement of seeing baby Reu.

Funny Daily Moment:

At the restaurant, one of the customers noticed Portia and we thought she said, "Holy $h!t!" With her accent, we quickly realized she was trying to ask, "How old is she?" (Read as "Ho Ly She!) Too funny!!