Remembering Dec. 8th and, well, that’s it!

I didn’t have anything to post for December 7th b/c you lose a day on the way to Vietnam.

Dec. 8th, from our YouBelong Journal:

…we landed in Vietnam around noon. A travel agent was supposed to meet us to help us obtain our Visas. We traveled on Entry Visas because three days just isn’t enough time to obtain a Visa. (Imagine that! It’s barely enough time to pack!) We were prepared to have a local travel agent meet us and help us through the process. We were in for quite a surprise. There was no travel agent to meet us and there is no “process” for obtaining a Visa…It was unbelievably overwhelming and slightly frightening. After traveling for 24 hours, you get off the plane and shove your way through a huge mass of people from many different countries who all want the same thing, shove your paperwork, passport, and money through a window, and pray, pray, pray that it comes back with a Visa. Because our agency rep told me that there was no need to bring the Visa application that I had printed and filled out entirely, I didn’t! Therefore, we didn’t even have the appropriate paperwork (or information) to obtain the Visa. Karen, our travel partner in crime, did an excellent job pushing, shoving, and getting us in there to get the Visas. She found someone who understood enough English to find new forms. I filled them out – sort of – and prayed. It doesn’t sound too bad, but it was definitely disconcerting. We eventually had our visas after 30 minutes or so of total chaos. I now understand why one needs a local travel agent to obtain a Visa. The travel agents apparently have an “in” – they shove to the front and someone actually takes their stack of applications and processes them in a somewhat orderly manner. The rest of us have to fend for ourselves.

After we made it through the Visa process and through customs, we collected our luggage. Ed complained and made fun of me for the blue luggage with pink “accenting,” but he was left with his foot in his mouth when we spotted our luggage from the second floor! (Unfortunately, Karen and Andrew’s luggage did not make it. I believe Karen wrote about it on their blog. Please keep them in your prayers, because this is of course very stressful for them.) A CHI rep met us and drove us to the hotel. Vietnam is amazing. I was in awe during the entire ride from the airport to the hotel. I’ve read about the traffic and the motor bikes for nearly two years, but it’s not something you can really grasp until you see it. It’s truly unbelievable. I can’t even describe it…

After we checked in at The Rex, Thuy… took us across the street to the Tax Market to pick up a few items. She asked whether we wanted her to come or if we wanted to brave it on our own. After looking at the street we needed to cross to get to the Tax Market, we all opted for her company. If she had not come with us, I would still be standing on the street corner, trying to figure out how to get across to the Tax Market. It’s a life threatening experience, crossing the street in Vietnam. If you saw that HORRIBLE movie Bowfinger (with Eddie Murphey, Heather Graham, and Steve Martin) from 1999, try to remember the scene where Eddie Murphey is running across the freeway, dodging vehicles that didn’t stop, yelling, “Hail to God, hail to God, hail to God…” That was us today. Nobody stops. Ever. I’m the dork who refuses to cross a street until the red hand is replaced by the little man that tells me it’s okay to cross, even if the street is empty. Well, there are no red hands or little men here, and nobody stops. We just followed Thuy’s lead and went for it. Motor bikes literally shoot around you, missing you by inches. You’re not supposed to speed up or slow down – just keep a consistent speed so they can judge their speed. Sure. Easier said than done when dozens of motor bikes are headed straight for you, honking wildly. Karen and I have decided that there had better be some really great things to do on the block where our hotel is located!

At the tax market, we picked up diapers, formula, and rice cereal for Mattix…Thuy helped Ed and I shop for items to donate to the orphanage, such as diapers, formula, baby powder, and wipes (thanks for contributing, Mimi!). Added to all of the clothing we collected (thanks to our friends who really helped us with that – Bess, Lindsey, Sarah, and everyone else), we have a lot to take with us tomorrow.

Karen, Andrew, the Rankeys (Matt and his MIL) and Ed and I had dinner at the Rooftop Bar at our hotel…The food was great and it was amazing to look around at the city below.

After dinner, we came back to our room and packed for our trip to Kien Giang. We fell asleep early and here we are! It’s now 4:15 a.m. and our alarm will go off in an hour and fifteen minutes. I’m so excited I can’t possibly sleep. I can’t believe that we will finally meet our baby! I’m a little anxious about the drive. Kien Giang is only 150 miles away, but it is a seven hour drive that involves lots of small bridges, bumpy roads, and two ferry rides. (And no, that’s not a typo; I wrote seven hours.) I’ve heard it’s a little rough, but we’ll be able to see a lot that we otherwise wouldn’t.

I learned tonight that Ed has never changed a diaper. (Why didn’t I know that?!) I haven’t changed a diaper in ten years, so this is going to be interesting. Trial by fire, right?!

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Okay, so I didn’t do the greatest job editing down the post; I’ll do better this week, I promise. It was just such a surreal day for us. I’m sure other people have traveled on an entry Visa and thought it was no big deal, but I almost crapped my pants on multiple occasions. Being there with NO help whatsoever and not understanding a word of Vietnamese is scary. Another travel mate’s mother in law was yelled at and pushed along by an armed soldier.

The crowding and the pushing reminded me of the concerts I used to attend in high school. (Have I ever told you how I was once knocked out at a 311 concert in the mosh pit? Good times, good times.Or the time three big guys had to help me OUT of a mosh pit at a Stone Temple Pilots Concert? I’m starting to date myself, huh? I always ended up getting shoved into them somehow. Hard to believe, but I was pretty small in high school.) Anyway, it was scary. Thank goodness Karen was there and took charge and just started pushing. I was a little freaked out and ready to curl up into the fetal position

I’ll now admit that I didn’t even fill out the entire Visa form. I didn’t have a lot of the info we needed and I didn’t know what to do. A freaking travel agent was supposed to meet us! Karen and Ed still crack me up when they relive the scene wherein Karen was telling Ed to find someone to page our travel agent (who didn’t exist) and Ed was looking at her like she was a freak because, really, who the hell was he gonna ask? The dude with the gun? When we finally made our way to the front of the line, we just shoved our passports, money and paperwork through and PRAYED they would come back out.

They did, and it was okay, but it did stress me out a little.

We made it, though, and saw VN for the first time and fell in love.

This is Ed and I at the Rooftop Restaurant after traveling for over 30 hours. Note that my priorities haven’t changed. I looked like hell and had not showered in two days, but I got my ass straight to the restaurant!

 

 

 

Karen and Andew, across the table:

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And that’s it – no gym stories. I went to a muscle class and it was surprisingly normal and I didn’t humiliate myself. Don’t worry – cardio strip tease is still on Thursday.