Journey to Peace Village

A typical day starts at 6 a.m. I am a late riser, most Vietnamese get up at 5 a.m. Washing up and getting prepared includes smearing on sunscreen to my arms and neck. I use children's sunblock because it has a higher spf.
Breakfast usually consists of:

• Orange juice (nguoc cam)
• Coffee (ca phe)--the coffee is interesting--it is brewed in individual filters which drip into a glass. Very strong, but very good!
• Pho Bo is the main dish, a beef noodle soup.
• Lotus bean soup, a staple Mrs. Trieu gives me everyday. It is somewhat bland and reminds me of oatmeal.
• Fruit--watermelon or maybe dragon fruit, a cool white fruit that grows in South Vietnam. this has grown to be a favorite!

By 7:30 a.m. I am off by Xe Om to the Peace Village. Mr. Quyet is my regular Xe Om driver hired by the Trieus. I pay him weekly for a discounted rate.

At Peace Village I am usually enthusiastically greeted by my "boyfriend" Minh. Ushering me into a small rec room, we watch a children's show with the other kids. The show is "live action" and sort of a version of the power rangers, only one of the main characters has the head of an elephant.

Class starts promptly at 8 with the banging of a large wooden gong in the courtyard. Ms. Canh usually warms the kids up with music, a tape of various songs, including "Ali Baba" and the Stephen Foster classic "O Susanna." Then I give English lessons--body parts, counting, animals or colors. All the fans are going but it is still hot work! This can be followed by writing exercises for the children, a sort of penmanship exercise in which the kids practice letters, with the more advanced students writing words or phrases. During this time frame I try to keep the ones who can't write amused. Tai, for example is Autistic and try to show books or stuffed animals to him. Minh sometimes brings in a car magazine a soldier gave to him and he will point at a photo and I will repeat its name either in English or Vietnamese. This is followed by much of the "thumbs up" sign.

After writing, the children sing in Vietnamese and I try to follow as best I can. Sometimes Ms. Canh has me lead the class and this leads to some interesting improv! Then it is time to play with blocks. The kids usually want me to review their designs! Finally we end the morning with singing the alphabet song (English) or as a treat, Bowling!

I go home for lunch. Ang. Quyet picks me up with the Xe Om. My lunch usually consists of:

• white soda
• rice (com)
• hard boiled eggs
• a Vietnamese vegetable that resembles spinach
• meat, pork or fish (ca)
• fruit, dragonfruit or watermelon

After lunch I follow Vietnamese custom and shower and take a short rest. Lunch break here is usually two hours.

At 1:45 p.m. Ang Quyet picks me up by Xe Om and its off to Morning Star. When I arrive the kids are waking up from their naps. I play with them and after her bath, I massage Mee's limbs. Mee is a delightful little six year old with cerebral palsy. She is paralyzed from the waist down and has difficulty controlling her arms. The Navajo message oil seems to make her limbs less rigid.

Morning Star is always a tough assignment. The atmosphere is a lot less controlled than Peace Village, which is more like a classroom. This is more like a free for all! A girl named Nuop usually sits on my lap. She's no dainty Asian lass either, she is a heavy set 10 year old weighing at least 100 lbs. You have to dodge her head butts! This is a way she has of showing affection and getting attention!

I have to take a lot of precautions at Morning Star. I can't wear any pins because the curious kids will try to pull them off. I can't pull back my hair because the kids will rip out the bands, and this really hurts! Despite these precautions, I usually end up getting hit or poked somewhere. Luckily most of the kids are small and can't do too much serious damage. But the highlight is always seeing Mee. She has a big smile on her face and doesn't give up trying to do simple things like putting pegs into a hole. Mee can't hold things very well so this is always a struggle!

At 4 p.m. after two exhausting hours I am Xe omed home by Ang Quyet. I rest and then go here, to the Internet shop. If I have energy, I try to get photocopies of coloring books for the next day. Then its back home for guitar practice and supper.

Supper usually consists of:

• Bia (Ha Noi beer a really good brand!)
• rice
• vegetables
• hard boiled eggs
• fish, chicken or pork
• fruit, dragonfruit with some slices of a type of hard Vietnamese pear or peach. Sometimes also small sweet bananas from the Trieus garden
• cha, green tea, rounds off the meal and helps relax me

I usually watch tv with the family for awhile. Game shows are very popular, the Vietnamese have versions of "Wheel," "Millionaire" and "The Price is Right." They also have their own "Vietnamese Idol" music show. Sometimes the Trieus will put on Cnn in English for me.

Finally, I retire up to bed, shower and read. I also try to study Vietnamese at this time. By 9 - 10 pm I am ready to turn in!