Here I am at SFO. In many ways it seems odd that I am headed back to Vietnam already - it seemed so many months away for so long. But, wasn't I just in Vietnam? Was that really 2 years ago? Am I sure I packed everything I needed to pack? Oh well, ready or not, here I go. Airport arrival was easy this morning thanks to my parents who picked me up and drove me to SFO. Love them! We didn't even have traffic this morning on the Bay Bridge. My two large bags passed check in with no problem. Weight limit is 50 lbs each and they weighed in at 47.5 and 43 lbs. But I don't think I could have fit much else in without having the zippers break on me. Security was easy with no long lines and I found my last Decaf, Soy Latte for the next 10+ days. I expect that I can get one in Australia and NZ so it is really just Vietnam where I am coffee free these days as they do not have decaf.
So, here I sit waiting for United Airlines to swap out the plane which apparantly has no air conditioning. I guess flying 300+ people in a closed in box for 14 hours is a bad idea. So, I can happily wait an hour for a plane with air conditioning. Hopefully, they will get the food and luggage moved over too : )
I am really looking forward to being in Vietnam again and spending the days working to make lives better for the families and children we support. We will be in Rach Gia the whole time. That is the community that lives in the garbage dump near the Cambodian border. I was there on my last trip with Catalyst and I am hoping to see some progress in the school kids (particularly their English) and the housing situation.
I am on the construction team this year. Our two main projects are to build a brick house (3 little pigs comes to mind) on the edge of the river and build a playground (including cement foundation) for the school. I asked to be on the playground team. As typical on these trips in Vietnam, we do not really know what this means until we get there. Some of the team is already in Vietnam and is looking for the right tools, etc. that we could not bring with us. But we won't know the real state of the situation until we arrive in Rach Gia on Sunday. So, Sunday night will be the construction team meeting for re-planning and setting the tasks for the week. Of course this meeting will be fueled by 333 (vietnamese beer). If we are lucky, the main supplies we need (gravel, lumber and sheet metal) will have already been delivered to the school. If yes, then "all" we have to do is figure out how to build a playground out of a pile of gravel (for cement) wood and sheet metal. Sounds like a Bob's Building Brigade adventure doesn't it. Wish I had some Bob's with me here. You would all love this!
But first, I need to get to Vietnam. Even if this flight is delayed longer then an hour, I am pretty sure we can make up the time on the 14 hour flight to Hing Kong. I have no idea how long the layover is in Hong Kong, but I suspect the plane to Vietnam will wait as I would suspect there are 100+ people on this plane that will be continuing on to Vietnam. Original schedule was for arrival in Vietnam at about 10pm Vietnam time. The bus to Rach Gia leaves early morning the next day so if the flight is delayed less then 7-8 hours, I should be fine. If for some reason, I am more delayed, then the adventure will begin as Catalyst in country staff figure out how to get me and my luggage to Rach Gia. We had this situation several years ago when someone missed a flight. I don't remember exactly how we caught them up to the rest of the group, but it was an adventure. Maybe I should have left a day earlier as this is cutting it close. Oh well, it will all work out someway - it always does. That's part of the adventure.
I am already super glad I brought my computer so that I can sit here and blog and not have to type on a blcakberry or iTouch (which I didn't end up buying). Hopefully I will be able to connect to wifi in Vietnam somewhere in Rach Gia. Our Director thought we would be able to, but as mentioned, things in Vietnam do not always turn out as planned. Worse case, I will type everything anyway and upload it all when I get to Australia.
Time to go check on the flight status.
So, here I sit waiting for United Airlines to swap out the plane which apparantly has no air conditioning. I guess flying 300+ people in a closed in box for 14 hours is a bad idea. So, I can happily wait an hour for a plane with air conditioning. Hopefully, they will get the food and luggage moved over too : )
I am really looking forward to being in Vietnam again and spending the days working to make lives better for the families and children we support. We will be in Rach Gia the whole time. That is the community that lives in the garbage dump near the Cambodian border. I was there on my last trip with Catalyst and I am hoping to see some progress in the school kids (particularly their English) and the housing situation.
I am on the construction team this year. Our two main projects are to build a brick house (3 little pigs comes to mind) on the edge of the river and build a playground (including cement foundation) for the school. I asked to be on the playground team. As typical on these trips in Vietnam, we do not really know what this means until we get there. Some of the team is already in Vietnam and is looking for the right tools, etc. that we could not bring with us. But we won't know the real state of the situation until we arrive in Rach Gia on Sunday. So, Sunday night will be the construction team meeting for re-planning and setting the tasks for the week. Of course this meeting will be fueled by 333 (vietnamese beer). If we are lucky, the main supplies we need (gravel, lumber and sheet metal) will have already been delivered to the school. If yes, then "all" we have to do is figure out how to build a playground out of a pile of gravel (for cement) wood and sheet metal. Sounds like a Bob's Building Brigade adventure doesn't it. Wish I had some Bob's with me here. You would all love this!
But first, I need to get to Vietnam. Even if this flight is delayed longer then an hour, I am pretty sure we can make up the time on the 14 hour flight to Hing Kong. I have no idea how long the layover is in Hong Kong, but I suspect the plane to Vietnam will wait as I would suspect there are 100+ people on this plane that will be continuing on to Vietnam. Original schedule was for arrival in Vietnam at about 10pm Vietnam time. The bus to Rach Gia leaves early morning the next day so if the flight is delayed less then 7-8 hours, I should be fine. If for some reason, I am more delayed, then the adventure will begin as Catalyst in country staff figure out how to get me and my luggage to Rach Gia. We had this situation several years ago when someone missed a flight. I don't remember exactly how we caught them up to the rest of the group, but it was an adventure. Maybe I should have left a day earlier as this is cutting it close. Oh well, it will all work out someway - it always does. That's part of the adventure.
I am already super glad I brought my computer so that I can sit here and blog and not have to type on a blcakberry or iTouch (which I didn't end up buying). Hopefully I will be able to connect to wifi in Vietnam somewhere in Rach Gia. Our Director thought we would be able to, but as mentioned, things in Vietnam do not always turn out as planned. Worse case, I will type everything anyway and upload it all when I get to Australia.
Time to go check on the flight status.
Have a safe trip and a great time! I wish I were there with you!
ReplyDeleteKathleen
Good Luck Angelina Jolie ..uhh.. i mean Susan Theresa... Maybe next year I will do this trip with you . I'll be following your success from here in Bahrain ! Miss you and can't wait to see you again in person one day !
ReplyDeleteSusan,
ReplyDeleteSorry I will not be there to help...but as you drink a 333 think of me... my family and I are coming into HCMC on April 2nd and hope to see everyone