Tales of Triumph, Tempests and TEDx

I often feel like I should take the kids at Mai Tam something when I go to visit ... I used to take fruit when I travelled by xe om as it was easy enough to stop near the orphanage and pick something up. Now that I don’t have a regular way to go, and have resolved to go by bus when possible, I don’t want to have to schlep watermelons around with me, especially as the walk from the bus stop to Mai Tam is a few blocks. So this week I took balloons and some origami paper. Light and convenient.

Balloons are a favourite treat, as the kids love them and if we can get them to blow into the balloons, they are doing something to develop and strengthen their lungs. And then they can break them and make loud noises and shriek and giggle. So most of the kids came and got balloons and some tried to blow them up and others just ended up stuffing balloons in my mouth ... the concept of needing hands to inflate a balloon just doesn’t dawn on some of them, it would appear !^_^! I had tucked a package of origami paper in my purse along with a couple of cranes, as I thought the kids might like to learn to make cranes (the only thing I know how to fold). Those of you who know me well know my love of origami cranes and how I believe they can be a conduit for many, many purposes. But, when I make them for specific people, I feel folding is a very prayerful activity. I love them and love making them. I thought making cranes might take the kids' minds off of food rewards and possibly help with developing concentration ... I had such a distorted understanding of what 4 and 5-year-olds are capable of ... really, they just wanted the birds, so they could have a treat and make them fly and then pull them apart and shriek and giggle. Well, there were a couple who showed interest and potential ...

One little guy, Thiên, has been a bit of a mystery to me over the months I have been going to Mai Tam. First, he has consistently spurned my advances. He is quite solitary with little outward affect, and a tremendous sense of reserve or self-containment for a little child. Very still much of the time, with very deliberate movements. He is tiny ... the size of a 3 or 4-year-old ... but he is missing his front teeth, so he may be somewhat older. Lệ Thu says he is very sad and doesn’t feel well and doesn’t often interact with the other children, although she says he does have a loud voice and will often roar. He was sitting with a glass of milk in front of him (sort of ‘you sit there, young man, until you have finished what’s in front of you’) and I unwittingly broke the rules when I gave him a red crane. He was immediately intrigued and studied it as carefully as I had suspected he would. Then I started folding a lovely turquoise crane for San ... Thiên quickly joined us (with his milk) and chose a blue paper for another crane. He watched me and took another sheet and tried to follow. He got a few steps through the process before it got too hard for him (and I know there is another way to fold that is easier, but I only remember one way). But the neat part was that he was so interested. He loved it that his crane kissed his cheek when it came to life and he loved blowing into the crane. He came around and sat on my lap and said, “Cảm ơn Bà”. He balanced himself on my knees and stood with his arms outstretched like he was the king of the world.  He smiled and laughed. He just came out of himself ... it was so amazing. I feel I have a sense of what play therapists must know when they see kids engage in play in such meaningful ways ... such a heartmelter. Can I also say that the glass of milk was mysteriously knocked over??? How does that happen????

Now for the tempest. Although in the south we have not had anything like what China and northern Vietnam have experienced as a result of Typhoon/Tropical Storm Conson, we certainly did have a doozy of a storm yesterday. It poured and poured and many streets in Ho Chi Minh City were flooded. Nguyễn Văn Linh was certainly one of those streets affected and I got some shots of cars and bikes trying to navigate their way through about a foot of water. I can only imagine what other areas and communities have been going through. Such powerful forces can be mustered by Nature, no? When I got home, I could see a tree had been uprooted directly across from my balcony. Workers were in the process of cleaning things up and busily clearing the street. In some ways I wasn’t surprised, but I still cannot really believe that the chainsaw operator was working in his bare feet. Oy. Took them 20 minutes and things were back to normal. Except, of course, for the tree.

And finally, TEDx. One of the major benefits of my new job is that it is exposing me to a larger range of communities ... especially within the university, alumni, business contacts, and students. Through my colleague, Phoenix, I was introduced to two inspiring young professional communication students named Giao (/zau/) and Thuy. They and some friends are involved in an incredible project ... bringing a TEDx event to Saigon. Some of you may be familiar with TED.com or TED Talks ... TEDx events are related - independently organized occasions that feature technology, entertainment and/or design. This will be the first one for Vietnam. Between finalizing the venue and finding sponsors and complying with all TED’s rules and regulations, Giao and Thuy and their co-organizers have an incredible mountain to climb to pull this off, so please keep them in your hearts and minds and wish them the best. Such an undertaking ... what an incredible learning experience!

BTW, this is where I work ... my ofice is on the ground floor and is sort of directly under the stairways.  Isn't the tree beautiful? It's called "Phượng vỹ", or phoenix's tail.  My friend Thy, who works in Bobby Brewer's, says students have strong feelings about this tree, as it blooms when they leave school and so it really reminds them of their school days. It's a type of flame tree or Royal Poinciana.