Hello from Horn City

You just can't imagine all the horn blowing that goes on around here. The horn means I am coming so move out of the way or I am going to hit you. I was able to read everyone's comments this morning. Thanks so much for the concern and encouragement for our family. This site is in Vietnamese, so I am unable to respond to the comments because I can not manuever around it and find my way back. We walked down to the Saigon River in the heat of the day (dumb, huh?. We sat and watched the boats: one looked like a plane, one was a sort of cruise ship, a barge and a houseboat (sort of). On the way home we saw in the market an entire cooked duck (head and all) and an entire baby pig. (I took a picture, but the glare from the glass case kind of blocked the good view). Well we finally decided to call him Van after all. He is cuter than all of his pictures. We have not found an internet cafe close by. We want to post photos soon, so hopefully once we're in Hanoi we can. We are waiting on a phone call to find out if we have our Consulate appt. today. Our coordinator, Henry has to fly to Hanoi tomorrow because a new family will come in. We have another coordinator here, but her English is very limited. Henry seems to know anybody and everybody and that helps to speed up our wait oftentimes. I found one more use of the sidewalk yesterday-a potty for grown men. For breakfast this morning we had King bananas (small sweet bananas), french bread and Ritz Crackers. You can buy a box of Ritz for about a buck. Most of the American food here is expensive in the markets. Pop Tarts are $4. and a small container of gatorade is also $4. We are not allowed to iron in our room, but there are cigarettes on the coffee table and beer in our refigerator (not purchased by us, of course). Which seems more dangerous to you?? Keith has formed a liking to iced coffee. Race is not feeling well this morning, kind of has a sour stomach. We have medicine, but have only been giving him Pepto so far. He is not too sick to play, so he doesn't feel that bad. Mandy Watson as far as the sick children I mentioned, I meant seriously ill, not so much colds, etc. But I am sure any kind of medications would be fine to bring. One little boy, Kien loved the little plastic car I brought for Van, I had to leave it with him. There are at least 4 or 5 motorbike dealerships on each block. There are fancy motorbikes with designer looking seats and emblems on them. There are also some that seem like they will fall apart. Race is still tired of all the looks he is getting. One of the guards at the Hotel just loves to serve Race, but Race doesn't know how to take it. We try to eat with our chopsticks and he brings over spoons and just watches us eat. There are white geckos here, but they keep their distance, good. Let me know of any questions and I will try to answer them. Our flight to Hanoi is about an 2 hr flight. We are hanging close by today in case we need to go to our appt. Van was whining and unsettled last night, so we thought he didn't feel well. Can you believe he is working us already, he just wanted to look out the window or go for a walk. He gets restless in the Hotel. I guess you can only play blocks for so long. Mandy, Patty, Mindy, Ruth, Alice & Connie I am glad that my old computer reminds you all of me. I will bring him in to see you as soon as I can. I think he'll be social, he seems to go to anyone and loves the loud streets. Keith and the boys are in the room, I was hoping Van would go ahead and dirty up his diaper before I return. I told Keith and Race not to leave the diaper on him until I returned. Lots of people smoke here. I need to check on the guys.
Julie