Crazy Debbie says, "Hello Typhoon!"

The Below Events are True & Actually Happened. None of the Names were Changed

Once upon a time (thats how all great stories start), there lived a group of missionaries that traveled to the country side of Vietnam (A Loui, to be exact). Their purpose was simple... to bring much needed health care to the people and through their actions let the sick know WWJD. It was the morning of the second to last day of clinic when the leader of the missionaries got a call saying that he and his team needed to leave the country side because their was a big typhoon coming and the roads might be blocked the longer they waited. So, the leader, we will just call him Chuck, went to all of his people and told them that the team was request to evacuate the area after lunch. Chuck also told his people that not all sick would be seen but to try their best to see a big handful (185 patients were seen).  After the group ate lunch (or not) and gathered their things they headed up the road to Da Nang. Oh, what an adventure they had. The winds were starting to whirl and the rains beginning to drop all the while 6 buses started on the adventure that was bestowed on them. It started with a fallen tree in the middle of the road (but don't worry all the big, burley, strong men got out to save the day and move it).  Followed by another tree in our path. Next, came a mud covered strip. The team was questionable weather or not they would make it through. They did. They continued on with a few bathroom stops on the way (you know the 60+ crowd have a problem holding it) till they were faced with yet another mud spot. At this point, if they were in South Carolina all the boys would  be yellin, " whoa doggie look at that mud spray." But they weren't so it was more of a "I hope we don't get stuck." After a few more restroom breaks and a little bit more mud, the team arrived at the massiveness that is commonly known as a active mud slide. Now, so far they had been in the bus for 3 hours and the storm had gotten worse so they knew their only option was to try and get through alive. The first bus made it through (I mean of course nothing was going to happen to the Seacoast group), then the next one and the next and so on and so forth till all the buses were through this gravitative barrier of mud and clay. It had been about 30 minuets since the last time the busses had stopped for a bathroom break so the old people, I mean the advanced in age, had to go drain the main vein. After that the 3hr trip turned into a 4 hr trip, which led to a 4 hr 15 min trip, which ended with a total of 5 hrs under its belt. The people then found their hotel rooms and went to sleep.

The next morning upon awaking one of the members, Bailey, heard the typhoon outside her room. When she opened the door to look outside rain came rushing in and the wind was blowing the trees sideways. Her an her roommate went down to breakfast and arrived soaked from head to toe. After breakfast there was literally one thing to do and that was to find some place in the hotel and sit. So thats what everyone did. Oh, and they lived happily ever after (that's how all great stories end).

Ok but for real there was a typhoon its name was Ketsana and it killed some people in Vietnam and the Philippines. It rained alot and the trees blew and thats about the end of the story. Oh, we were stuck inside all day with nothing to do. Now thats the end of the story.

** pics will come later on

Flashbacks, Reruns, History, The Past, What Once Was...

Some random pictures and things from the trip so far...

Can't go over it. Can't Go Under It. Can't Go Around It. Gotta Go Through It

 Today is our first free day since we have started working. It got kind of chaotic with all the organizing of people getting on the right van to the place they choose to visit. The choices included but were not limited to going to the waterfall, going to the waterfall, or going to the waterfall. Oh yea, there was another option.... sit in your room (read post below about rooms). We decided to go to the waterfall. Since we are with Vets With A Mission the majority of the people are veterans, so that means they are at least 60. With that in mind I was envisioning this waterfall experience to be as follows: we pull up in the vans, walk no more then a 100 yard, arrive at the waterfall, marvel and take pictures, then return to the bus. Big whoop, I know. But, oh no, we are in Vietnam and when in Vietnam everything is exciting (except the native food). It went a little more like this: We pull up in the vans or mopeds, notice that we are on the edge of a cliff, of sorts, survey how to get to the waterfall, we realize the only way is to go down this cleared out strip of red clay trail, JB goes first, of course. I'm not going to lie it was kind of sketch but the "young" crowd (aka the translators + Seacoast group & Debbie), minus Cyn & Baba, head down the face of this cliff. Dr. Dave also came with us ( he is apart of the "young at heart" crowd). When we got to the bottom of this almost vertical, 50 foot, trail we were faced with a raging river that we had to cross. The water was cold, the rocks were a bit slippery , and approximately 4 people fell into the water, that doesn't include Jordan & Jack who were swimming in it. It was all up hill from there, literally. We scurried down the path trying to avoid the nice presents the cows had left for us. It was like the game mind sweeper, you steep in the wrong spot and you would wish your foot had blown up. The dirt path turned into antique looking stairs, which then turned in to a rock which was overlooking blustering river waters. The waterfall was in sight and there was no way we were going this far without getting to that waterfall. So, we bounce down into the water and skip, like little fairies, across the river rocks till we reach the other side. We had arrived at the waterfall so we did the typical and took pictures in front, beside, and under the waterfall. The reversed the above steps. I believe I have failed to mention that the water contained some very loving friends... leeches. They were just trying to show some Vietnamese love by kiss our legs and feet. Everybody got at least one leech on them but me (haha). 

For lunch we went to some place the translators knew about. It was different from the restaurant we had eaten lunch and dinner at for the past 3 days, which was a bad idea because they had kind of figured out what we will/will not eat. Not at this new restaurant. Our lunch consisted of wild boar or goat (no one knew), a fish that was fried whole, rice, french fries (upon request), and lizard, yes, lizard. Some one picked up a big lizard, dropped it in some hot grease, chopped it into some big pieces, put it on a plate and served it to us. Eyeballs, legs, skin, everything was still intact. None of the local translators would eat it but they wanted us to. That is like someone telling you to jump into a fire because it is the funnest thing ever but when you ask them if they want to get in the fire the say of course not. Needless to say I didn't eat the lizard. 

Jb spent his free day doing far away from homework. (for about 30 mins)

Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn

We have internet here, obviously, or you wouldn't be reading this (actually I don't have it right now for some reason). 

So, we arrived in A Luoi yesterday, early evening. We are staying at a Vietnam guest house. Now, let me just tell you about a Vietnamese guest house... Ok, imagine a 3 store townhouse mixed with a Motel 8. On the bottom floor is an open room with a front desk/bar, stair case, and about 10 tables (which make up a restaurant). If you choose to go up the stairs you will enter into the "guest house" part. The top to floors are laid out the same. A hall with 5 bedrooms, 2 on one side and 3 on the other. When you arrive at the door to your room and put the key in, you have to give the door a pretty sturdy shake for the door to come unlocked. At this point if you walk into the room to fast you will hit the other wall. The rooms are, how do you say, simple, possibly a little dirty (as in sleep with your whole body covered), and with a chance of some type of fungus. Two twin beds are crammed into this "quaint" little space. The beds are lets just say there. They have only a fitted sheet with a "baby making" fleece blanket folded at the end. There is no air condition but the fan will turn the room into a ice box (if thats any indication of the size of the room).  There is a bathroom, I mean shower, I mean bathroom. Um, well, it's a 4 foot by 6 foot room with a toilet, sink (that drains to into the floor), mirror, towel rack, and shower head; call it what you want. So, when you take a shower you have to remove any thing you don't want to get wet including the toilet paper. And when you get finished everything is wet (including the toilet seat). Oh, and another thing, the toilet paper roll is probably half the size of American rolls. I mean I'm not saying that Americans have fat butts but the Vietnamese just don't require as much tp. 

 

After dinner last night Me, Jb, Michael, Debbie (psycho roommate), Steve (deranged triage leader), and Lou (ragged out pharmacy pirate) went out with the college translators. They took us to do none other than karaoke. Now, here, in A Loui when you go out for karaoke you go this place that is once again very similar to a Motel 8, but one story. You went into this 12' by 12' room that had a plastic "leather" couch that was fallen to pieces, a little tv, a disco ball, two speakers, and two microphones. They even had a book full of english songs you could choose from (if you were born in 1934 they would have been your college jams). We stayed there for a good 2hrs and then returned "home".

Today was the first day of clinic for this place. There were a lot of old people, a lot of little babies and a few in between. The people didn't seem to be as sick. We did however still see over 200 patients. During our stay in A Loui for lunch and dinner we will eat at the same restaurant every day. Hopefully by the end of the trip they will realize that we don't particularly care for things that have bones sticking out or isn't completely cooked. Dinner tonight was the first time in the past 4 meals that I didn't just eat rice, it was really good. Fried rice, french fries, veggies, and steak bites; about as American as they could get it. Have I mentioned that the coffee is amazing., well it is.

Tomorrow  will be the last day in this clinic. We will move to another clinic, just down the street always for 2 days. Then on Tuesday we will go to the Furama for the final days.

** Lou & Steve are actually way cool people.

"When the Girls Look at Me all they See is a Green Card"

Chuck got a phone call this morning from a Vietnamese women that lives in America. She called to say that she had heard there was "hot" boy on his team. She continued to tell him that the staff at the Furama (the hotel we go to in 4 days about 2 hrs away) had also heard and was expecting his arrival. You may be surprised to know that it was not Michael or Jack but our own young lad Jordan.  Yes, Jordan has to to Vietnam just to expand his harem. His favorite part, you may wonder, is that in a matter of days he will never see them again. When asked for a statement he says, "I keep telling them I have a girlfriend."

P.S.We are going to A Loue today and most likely will not have internet so this will be the last post for the next 4 days

P.S.S JB is really just ignoring all the girls

Where in the World is Mom?

So it was another day at clinic. I got up too early. I still haven't figured out what good it does for you to get up that early but I did anyways. It was raining today so it was a wee bit cooler than the past two days. Today was the last of the 3 days in Hue. Evidentially they (the locals) had their town hall meeting last night. The number one topic... what to say to the Americans to get medicine. Obviously they had forgotten the fact that they were going to be examined. If you walk into a room of 6 people and say you itch all over there's a good chance that one person is going to want to look at what your itching.  Now, make 3 out of the six people doctors; you can expected 50% of the 6 will ask to see what's itching. With that taken into consideration do you honestly think you could sit in front of a provider & convince him/her that you had a rash, fungus, etc but not be able to produce any evidence, no. Granted, the minority were trying to pull the wool over our eyes. 

There were a lot of family cases today. For instance, the baby would have pneumonia and so would the mom, or the 3 kids and parents would all have scabies (actually it's more like the chief and his whole tribe had scabies). We gave out a lot of vitamins, tylenol, albenasol.

Here are some pictures & a video for your viewing pleasure...

 

Debbie & I were teaching some kids how to say english words.

Michael was "americanizing" a adorable, baby, boy (aka circumcision). 

 

The peds/pharm room

   

The older girl was picking a flower for the baby. They were beautiful.

 

Life is way simpler naked. You can just stop whenever you want and pee.

 

This is how they carry the kids around

P.S. Mom is an unofficial provider. Who says you have to go to extra school to be a doc.

It's Your Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROGERS-TRAMA!

    

Ketchup & Mustard

It was a glorious first clinic day. We got up and ate breakfast between 5:45 & 6:30. Typical vietnamese breakfast is unlike ours, it is more of a full meal... soup, noodles, eggs, steak type stuff, sausage, fruit, etc. I just eat some sausage and fruit and I'm good to go. The ride to the clinic was 1hr 30 min and I'm just here to tell you that it was as smooth as the scalp of a Vietnamese child (if you can't tell from the picture it wasn't smooth). Once to the location of the clinic we were directed up into this "keep the tigers away" hut (it was on stilts). It was pretty cool. There was only one room and the building was made out of bamboo and palm frowns... even the floor. 

I was originally assigned to pharmacy but quickly realized that I would be better suited some where else ("my way or the high way" type women ruled this joint). I went to the providers section to fetch Michael and never returned. I started to work with Dr. Dave.  He's a cool guy with an obsession with cameras. Oh, and he's the big cat on campus. If there's any medical problem that might require surgery (that we can't perform) then they get directed to him for evaluation. 

There was this little boy that came through that had these big purple lips. His fingers were clubbed. And his heart was on the right (like left & right) side of his body (to bad he's not dyslexic bc that would work out great for the pledge of allegiance). Dr. Dave asked his mom if they could get the chest x-rays, etc. redone since it has been a year. She said yes. 

I kind of don't remember anything else that happened yesterday so that will have to do. Oh, we had hamburgers for lunch.

When this Grass Burns my Brain it's like Acid Raindrops, Mary Jane is the Only thing that Makes the Pain Stop

I'm to tired to blog any thing but here is a little preview. 

(This picture doesn't contain actually drug use.... unfortunately, because that would be hilarious)

Last I Checked I'm Not a Baby Goat

Yesterday, Jack, JB, and Michael went to the airport to pickup Cynthia, Baba and our delayed luggage. Me and mom ventured down to the market while they were gone.  It was unlike any other market that I had been in. There was no cheap touristy crap that the locals just used to make money off stupid foreigners (ok there was some of that). The stuff being sold ranged from clothes to sheets to pig legs. The market acted as an american mall. You would be walking and end up in this never ending clothes section. No lie, it was like you were in a cave made out of clothes with these little leeches on the cave walls grabbing you and trying to suck you in to there little hole so then they could try and persuade you that you really  needed something. Once we finally burned the leeches off with a lighter (so we didn't actually use a lighter but it took some strong force) we found out way to the grocery part of this super Wal-less Mart. Someone needs to let Bi-Lo (or you grocery store of choice) know that the only way to supply fresh food to your customers is to kill it right before them. Oh and another thing Bi-Lo, it is the 21st century and we, in America, don't discriminate. So, do as the Vietnamese do and sell every part of that pig that you kill. I mean who doesn't want to eat a brain; brains make you smart so eating a brain should make you smarter. And how cool would it be to say that you had bbq heart for dinner. Needless to say the market had some very interesting smells going on.

We had a pill packing party which turned into an pills already packed party. But we did how ever get our name tags with our jobs for the week on them. Jordan got presented with the job of wheel chair assembly dude. I have to give JB props because he can make some stuff. But usually he likes for it to involve some type of power tool or otherwise it doesn't get done (or it just takes a little longer).

For lunch we went to the Vietnam House. It was extremely good. I had pineapple fried rice in a real, full blown pineapple. It was quit tasty.  Jordan had seafood fried rice on a boring plate. Mom got nasty tofu but she did get cocoanut water in a cocoanut, which was pretty cool.

                                                                 

Fast forward a day and you would find me, yet again, on a plane. Today, Sunday, we flew to Hue (pronounced like way). We then rode a bus 30 min. to the hotel. We went and got linner (lunch+dinner). We got a ton of food and it was $5.25 a person. That was about the extent of today. Tomorrow is the first day of clinic and it should be pretty interesting.

 

Wanted:Dead or Alive

The reason I didn't blog yesterday was because I lost a loved one. I'm going to take some time now to say some words...

You were always by my side and kept me connected to the world. Whenever I needed to know anything you would produce it within seconds. You reminded me when I needed to do something and were always there to be my alarm clock if needed. Oh, dear iPhone I will miss you. Be lost in peace.

It's a bird, It's a plane, Nope... just a heard of motor scooters

WE HAVE ARRIVED IN VIETNAM!!

After 4 different plane flights (ranging in time from 45min to 13hrs), 3 less team members (for now), only one delayed plane flight, 4 delayed/lost until tomorrow checked bags, and a countless number of plane meals... we arrived!

Evidently America didn't get the memo but over here in the Asia part of the world the face mask = style. Designs range from the simple surgical looking mask to the custom designed mask. Oh, another memo that skipped over the good ole' USA was that motor scooters are way in. Forget little smart cars and hybrids just go green by getting a motor scooter. They go fast, use hardly any gas, and can fit into small spaces. Oh and the best part is when a heard of 50 coming charging across the street and your life turns into a game of frogger.

More interesting news: Me and JB became millionaires today! We have a million Vietnamese dollars, so what if it almost will not buy us a tank of gas back home.

Lastly we ate at some really good vietnamese restraunt and followed that up with a group foot/leg massage. It was $7 for 45 mins. I believe the massage ladies and men had just as much fun as we did. They would look at the size of our feet and just laugh. Everyone was crackin up at Jack bc he got stuck with a guy foot massues which i don't know if you have ever had a Vietnamese foot massage but it could get awkrad at times.

Yes, I would like a number 3 with a coke and a side of spiritual warfare. Thank You.

"You know I have been thinking how it's the perfect senereo for something bad to happen to us on this plane. Like Karlayne decided not to come and then Baba and Cyn had to stay in San Francisco. It's just like one of those things were Cynthia might be mad origanally when she & Baba got delayed in SFO but if something were to happen to the plane she would look back and be glad that Baba brought the wrong passport." (Mom decided to tell me this as we took off for a 13hr plane flight. Thanks Mom.)

Spiritual Warfare defined by...

Wikipedia: Spiritual Warfare is the concept that demons or fallen spirits attempt to thwart (to prevent the occurrence of) goodness and the will of God.

Seacoast Vietnam Team: Spiritual Warfare is 1. A provider decides not to join you. 2. Getting delayed in ATL by an hour and a half and almost missing your plane to 'Nam. 3. Your translator brings her expired passport so her and her daughter have to stay the night in SFO. 4. None of the teams checked baggage arrives.

"Bless He Heart"

Lets  just start this little blog off by saying I'm 37,998 feet above CO..... yes that does mean I am using WiFi on a plane!

Yes, I know that you are just as excited as me that there is now WiFi on planes (free, might I add, if you have enough email addresses :P) but here's the deal we are going to Vietnam. The plane was scheduled to leave out of Chs at 6:59pm (it was on time); we got to the airport at roughly 5pm and didn't check in until 6:25. At this point one would ask themselves, "Self, what could they possible be doing for 1.5hrs  thats preventing them from checking in?" Well, its like this... 

1. Jordan has this cough. A Dr. decides the cough sounds bad. Dr. calls in a prescription at the nearest pharmacy, Kerr Drug (1.2 miles away). Jack volunteers to go take JB to get meds. It's 1.2 miles away. Jack took Cyn's car. The car has built in navigation. Jack has an iphone with GPS software. It's 1.2 miles away. Jack gets lost. Jack calls mom. Mom dosent know how to get there. 10 min. Gene calls Jack. Jack is still lost. Gene asks if anyone knows how to get there. No one knows. The car has built in navigation. Jack has an iphone with GPS software. 15 min. Someone calls  Jack again. He is 5 mins away from Mtp. Mom's  freaking out. Gene gets Jack straight (on how to get there). Everythings dandy. NOT ! It's now 6:20. Everyone has already checked in. The kind lady behind the counter informs us that they in 5 mins they cant check anymore bags. JB and Jack aren't back. Everybody calls Jack & Jordan. They say they are pulling into the airport. We learn that we can check JB in w/o an ID bc he is a minor. Mom checks Jordan in with the the 2 bags. They arrive just in time. There is peace on earth. Not so fast.....

2. Karlayne has this heart problem. She went to the Dr. to get some test. The IV blew. The test couldn't be completed. Karlayne calls (6:20) and says she's not coming. Mom talks to her. Michael talks to her. There is going to be one empty seat on the way to Vietnam.

Thats the end of the Charleston saga. Now for the lovely ATL airport. We arrive with enough time to get some food until we board at 9:23 to go to SFO. The food was good but in true Hotlanta fashion our plane was delayed. Not only was the plane delayed we had to move terminals. We were at gate T26 and had to go to A32.  Our plane didn't leave till 10:30. The plane ride is roughly 4.5 hrs. Our plane departs at 1:35 from SFO and according to this handy personal screen thing we will arrive in SFO at 12:58. Thats 37 minuets. We have to go through baggage claim, re-check in, and get to our gate in 37 mins. 

We are slowly descending into SFO. Altitude:16015  (pics will come later)