Hue, Vietnam - Visit to my sponsored child, Quy, Quang Tri province...
I must say the people who planned my visit to my sponsored child (SC) did an excellent job. The translater they hired to accompany me on the visit called me the night before and informed me she'd be showing up with transport at 8:00 a.m. and she was there at my hotel right on time. She was very helpful in preparing me for the visit as we drove about an hour to the local PLAN office for the Quang Tri district.
PLAN is very protective of the sponsored children and families. They have every sponsor who wishes to visit their SC read and then sign an agreement stating the rules they wish the sponsor to follow in regards to the visit.
A representative from there joined us. I had requested they take me shopping for things for the family, so they took me to a local market. They suggested the things for me to buy for the family, practical things. I bought detergent, tooth paste, tooth brushes, towels and shampoo. I also bought a soccer ball (called football here and in the rest of the world except for the USA) for Quy. We bought some candy for the kids at the SC's family house and also bought some for children at a primary school we would be visiting later in the day.
Another PLAN representative met use at the dirt road leading to the SC's family home and led us to and introduced us to the family. The father and mother were very warm and invited us in for green tea. The house was a single story home build of concrete. They have electricity and (thankfully) fans were running to help keep us cool. I presented the gifts to the family and the soccer ball to Quy. Many of the the family's friends and relative had come over to visit us as well.
Quy is 11-years old and quite shy. I think my visit was a little overwhelming for him. I'm thinking that his parents and relatives had expectations of him in meeting me and that he was just too shy to perform the things they expected. I understood completely. I've been there...
Quy and a friend went out shortly to play with the soccer ball and I joined them in the front yard. We played an informal game, two of them against me. Fortunately we didn't keep score because they did quite well against me. The family and relatives watched me playing and smiled and laughed. My T-shirt was soaked in sweat after we finished and they put a fan directly on me both to cool and dry me off!
The family invited me to lunch, which I gladly accepted. We started with a toast of rice alcohol that they had made themselves. It's quite strong (60% alcohol). I had tasted similar home brews in Indonesia and Malaysia and have gotten to enjoy small amounts of it. We had rice with toppings of pork, egg omelettes, and a vegetable and meat soup. It was all qutie good. I had spinkled on some of their hot peppers as well. I think the translator was quite concerned for me eating the peppers, but I had no ill effects during or afterwards. They did have a nice kick to them!
After lunch the family showed me their garden and their livestock.
We came back for some green tea and I spoke some with the family and relatives through the translator. Two of the older women that were visiting learned some English during the Vietnam war and we spoke briefly in English. Later on I just enjoyed being with the family as they talked and laughed with each other without needing to have everything translated.
Quy's father and mother work primarily at rice farming. Quy's father also gathers honey from the forest. He was kind enough to give me a bottle of honey he had gathered as a parting gift. I tried some before I left and it was quite delicious! I even managed to transport it back to Bangkok with me!
Quy's father held my hand and walked me back to the PLAN vehicle after I had said my goodbye's to Quy, his brother and mother. He invited me to come back for another visit in the future. I am looking forward to it!
I must say the people who planned my visit to my sponsored child (SC) did an excellent job. The translater they hired to accompany me on the visit called me the night before and informed me she'd be showing up with transport at 8:00 a.m. and she was there at my hotel right on time. She was very helpful in preparing me for the visit as we drove about an hour to the local PLAN office for the Quang Tri district.
PLAN is very protective of the sponsored children and families. They have every sponsor who wishes to visit their SC read and then sign an agreement stating the rules they wish the sponsor to follow in regards to the visit.
A representative from there joined us. I had requested they take me shopping for things for the family, so they took me to a local market. They suggested the things for me to buy for the family, practical things. I bought detergent, tooth paste, tooth brushes, towels and shampoo. I also bought a soccer ball (called football here and in the rest of the world except for the USA) for Quy. We bought some candy for the kids at the SC's family house and also bought some for children at a primary school we would be visiting later in the day.
Another PLAN representative met use at the dirt road leading to the SC's family home and led us to and introduced us to the family. The father and mother were very warm and invited us in for green tea. The house was a single story home build of concrete. They have electricity and (thankfully) fans were running to help keep us cool. I presented the gifts to the family and the soccer ball to Quy. Many of the the family's friends and relative had come over to visit us as well.
Quy is 11-years old and quite shy. I think my visit was a little overwhelming for him. I'm thinking that his parents and relatives had expectations of him in meeting me and that he was just too shy to perform the things they expected. I understood completely. I've been there...
Quy and a friend went out shortly to play with the soccer ball and I joined them in the front yard. We played an informal game, two of them against me. Fortunately we didn't keep score because they did quite well against me. The family and relatives watched me playing and smiled and laughed. My T-shirt was soaked in sweat after we finished and they put a fan directly on me both to cool and dry me off!
The family invited me to lunch, which I gladly accepted. We started with a toast of rice alcohol that they had made themselves. It's quite strong (60% alcohol). I had tasted similar home brews in Indonesia and Malaysia and have gotten to enjoy small amounts of it. We had rice with toppings of pork, egg omelettes, and a vegetable and meat soup. It was all qutie good. I had spinkled on some of their hot peppers as well. I think the translator was quite concerned for me eating the peppers, but I had no ill effects during or afterwards. They did have a nice kick to them!
After lunch the family showed me their garden and their livestock.
We came back for some green tea and I spoke some with the family and relatives through the translator. Two of the older women that were visiting learned some English during the Vietnam war and we spoke briefly in English. Later on I just enjoyed being with the family as they talked and laughed with each other without needing to have everything translated.
Quy's father and mother work primarily at rice farming. Quy's father also gathers honey from the forest. He was kind enough to give me a bottle of honey he had gathered as a parting gift. I tried some before I left and it was quite delicious! I even managed to transport it back to Bangkok with me!
Quy's father held my hand and walked me back to the PLAN vehicle after I had said my goodbye's to Quy, his brother and mother. He invited me to come back for another visit in the future. I am looking forward to it!
posted by Chris at 10:00 PM
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