Pictures to My's orphanages blog Part 2

An orphan who had been living at the pagoda since the age of 5.

My with an orphan at the pagoda.

Le, the head nun, and My with some orphans at the Long Thanh Pagoda.

Teaching the young orphans at the pagoda how to brush is My Nguyen.

One of the bedrooms at the pagoda.  Two children to one bed.

Pictures to My's orphanages blog Part 1

One of the garden where the residents of the Long Thanh Pagoda grow their own vegetables to eat.

Some of the orphans at the Long Thanh Pagoda, and there is a nun in the upper left hand corner.

An orphan who cooked Bahn Xiao (Vietnamese pancakes/omlettes) and a lady who lives at the pagoda.

A male orphan of the pagoda who paints wonderful work.

My and Le bowing with incense sticks at the pagoda.

Visiting Dongnai College of Education

On Dec. 30th and 31st, Jimmy and I visited Dong Nai College of Education where my brother teaches English. We were welcomed warmly by the staff and students. We visited three classes to present various topics such as tooth anatomy, caries, gingivitis, periodontal disease and proper brushing and flossing technique. The students were interested in the topics and participated in our presentation by asking many questions. Their politeness, respect and appreciation made us feel very happy to be there. We really enjoyed the atmosphere when the students stood up to welcome us. They raised their hands and stood up when asking and answering the questions.

I would like to thank you Mr. Khanh, Mr. Pho, Mr. Dat and Mr. Han who gave us an opportunity to visit school and to have the presentation. Thank you Jimmy for being such a good teacher assistant. We had a wonderful time !

The orphanages in Bien hoa and Long Thanh

Xin chao! We are back in Seattle for a week and have just recovered from jet lag. On Dec. 29th, Jimmy and I visited Disabled Orphanage in Bien Hoa center. Many of the kids at this center are disabled. They include autism, mental retardation, deaf and blind. After visiting the campus, we gathered around children to give tooth brushing instruction. We donated many toothbrushes and toothpaste to the center.

In the afternoon, my friend Le and her husband took us to another orphanage in Long Thanh, half an hour drive from Bien Hoa. The Dieu Phap pagoda/orphanage is not only the place to worship Buddha but also home of the orphans and disabled elderly people. Most of the children were abandoned at the foot steps of the pagoda. The kind hearted nun provides them a family shelter and helps them to receive an education. Many children have grown up, graduated from high schools, colleges and universities and become the useful citizens to society. Some of them are back the pagoda to help the nun to raise other kids. In addition, the pagoda has a nursing care for disabled and poor elderly people. Most of them have no family and suffer from serious illness.

We brought some items such as rice, noodle, oil, toothbrushes and toothpaste to the pagoda. We also spent our time to give oral hygiene instruction to young kids. On Dec 31st, we visited this place again to give more items : thermoses, bowls, spoons, chopsticks, rice, noodle...

Jimmy will upload the pictures of these orphanages very soon !

Dai Nam Cultural - Historical Park (Disneylandish Place)

On Dec. 28 , Jimmy, my friends and I visited Dai Nam Cultural- Historical Park that is located about 40km from Saigon. Jimmy called it "Disneylandish place". Covering an area of about 450 hectares, the park has been under construction for the past 10 years and is expected to be a biggest park in the country by 2010.

This park displays historic images of Vietnam's 64 provinces and cities, replicas of the wonders of the world (the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, Angkor Wat, Thailand's Golden Pagoda, and the Kremlin), the zoo and the wide ranges of recreational activities. Dai Nam Quoc Tu (Temple of Four Gratitudes), the most important temple in the park, is used as a worship place for people who helped to build the country such as the Lac Long Quan, the Au Co mother, The King Hung .... Near the Dai Nam Quoc Tu is the Ngu Hanh Son (The Five Mountains). The Five Mountains symbolize the five elements of the universe: mental, wood, water, fire and earth. Inside the mountains are exhibits history of Vietnam from Lac Long Quan and Au Co eras to the Nguyen Dynasty, the 1975 liberation of the south...

Visiting this park, my friends and I reviewed many legends, stories and history of Vietnam. Jimmy and the kids got bored when listening to all stories but they had a great time while riding roller coaster.

Dec. 28 Continued

Breakfast at the cafe with My's former students.

Outside the main temple at the Disneylandish place are My and a former student Le.

5 dragon structure at the Disneylandish place.

A group picture at the Disneylandish place.

Inside the main temple where there are gold colored statues of Buddha, a Vietnamese king, Ho Chi Minh, and som other figures.

Dec. 28, the third day Dr. and company are gone

Our group went to the Disneylandish place.  

A roller coaster that a small group and I went on.  It was a blast!

Some pictures of the structures in the Disneylandish place.

We are standing on a bridge with a gate behind us at the Disneylandish place

The Great Wall structure that surrounds the entire Disneylandish place.

We met with more of My's former students today, about 8 of them.  We met for breakfast at a cafe and afterward, some of them and their family members came with us to a very big and nice Disneylandish place.  On the outside, it looked like the Great Wall of China and there were many Asian looking temples inside the walls.  Also located inside the walls were a zoo, a theme park, many statues, and lots more.