The waiting is finally over....

We know we haven't posted for a couple days. But I guess we are just waiting.

We filled yesterday with some wandering around Hanoi, at least our Old and nearby French quarters. We bought some clothes on "Baby Street" to bring to the orphanage in Lang Son, trying to buy things like the clothes the caregivers there seem to prefer for the babies--two pieces, tops and bottoms, and sweaters, especially zip up or snap up sweaters. They use tops and bottoms, because, as we learned, they don't use diapers. They must just change and wash the bottoms. We filled a big plastic grocery bag for $20 US.

As Nancy made clear on our visit there, they need clothes and formula for the babies. It makes sense. We recognize the same clothes in all the pictures we received, and they were wearing the same clothes when we visited them on Friday. They must need more clothes!

Then we made another trek to the mall, this time bringing along Marci and her family. They filled a grocery cart with various items--including a lot of snacks for the family. We didn't buy much--but we did get some shaving cream and disposable razors. If we haven't made it clear at this point, you can get anything you need in Hanoi--except, as far as we can tell, American baby bottles and liners.

On our third outing of the day, we ate dinner out at Al Fresco's, part of the chain of restaurants owned by the same owner. We've already eaten at Pepperoni's, which is a block from the hotel and features a pizza buffet bar for $4 US. Al Fresco's costs a bit more. We noticed the Vietnamese customers were all buying the "jumbo ribs" platter. I went with the tacos, just to say I ate tacos in Vietnam. Peggy had a salad and quesidilla. The food is fine, and it is fun to be eating Tex-Mex in Hanoi.

Other errands during the day included getting prints made of the babies with their caregivers, which we will give them tomorrow in Lang Son.

The day went quickly.

Today started off a bit more slowly. We slept later than I have been sleeping, and got to breakfast at 8:30 or so downstairs in the hotel. Peggy and I started making plans to take a trek across the city to the big West Lake, which we figured to be as long as 10 kilometres or six miles. Then we got a call from Marci with an invitation from World Child to take a trip to the "Ceramic Village." The famous Jenny of WC, whom we know only from phone conversations, would join us. We gave it some thought to sticking with our own plans, but we decided to join the group--and in the end it was a good decision.

We loaded up in a van at the hotel, and then we went to the Melia where we picked up the Keller family. We have barely met them.

On the drive to the village it was interesting to compare their experience in Hanoi to ours. They arrived later--maybe even Tuesday--and then they went to Thai Nguyen on Wednesday to get their babies. So while we have had more than a week here to get the lay of the land, they got their babies right away.

The babies from Thai Nguyen, it turns out, all suffered from a fungal infection that gave them visible sores. The Kellers took their baby to the clinic right away on Thursday or Friday. After getting a diagnosis and some medicine, the doctor advised them to keep the babies indoors at the Melia, a controlled environment, for a few days. So today was essentially one of their first outings out of their hotel, other than going to pick up the babies.

For those of you adopting from Thai Nguyen, Jenny talked about the problem in the van ride. The orphanage is going to be cleaned and sanitized. Our conversations about the orphanages gave us a little bit more information. Adopting from Thai Nguyen orphanage is a little bit like adopting in China; these are babies for whom the birth parents aren't known. We learned, as well, that for some of the ethnic groups, superstitions are strong--and that twins are sometimes abandoned for superstitious reasons.

The ceramic village, located a few miles outside of Hanoi, wasn't a big hit with us, at first. We started in a big main building, with several floors of pots, cups, flower vases.... You get the picture. Some of the pieces interested us--like big coffee mugs. And we liked these "kissing cups." On one floor there is a demonstration set up, with unfinished pots, paint and brushes, and a kiln. Robbie, Katie, and Betty painted their own cups. It's free unless you want them to fire your cup.

But once we went outside and started going shop to shop, we warmed up to the village a little bit more. Eventually we found some interesting smaller items that we think will fit into our bags--and make it home intact. The Kellers had some friends who made the same trip in December, and they did some buying. When they got home to the states, the pieces were broken. We hope we can do better than that because we bought small things that we can pack safely.

We have been told the Luc's name, Nghiep, means accomplishments, and we have seen it used in different ways--including a giant flower display apparently celebrating and literally spelling out Ho Chi Minh's accomplishments. But at the ceramic village we found a sign with Maisie's name, Minh Tam, for the first time.

Tonight Jenny organized a dinner for all the families at a restaurant that also featured traditional Vietnamese food and music. In the van she copied the name and address of the restaurant on a piece of paper. She told us to give it to the taxi driver. I took a look at it, noted the address, and passed it on to Marci.

At 5:30 Peggy and I met Marci, her daughter Katie, Lisa (carrying her baby in her Bjorn), and her mom Cindy in the lobby and we headed out to the restaurant on foot. "The address is 1 Ly Thai Tho," I told them confidently, "and so that must be near the big statue of Ly Thai Tho down by the lake, on the other side." It would be about a one mile hike.

We followed our usual route to the lake, made our way around to the other side, found the statue, and then found Ly Thai Tho street. We followed the numbers down to number one. But it wasn't a restaurant. It was a dress shop next to a motorcycle garage. Marci had given the sheet with the name of the restaurant to her mother, who took a cab. We were, well, really, really lost.

It was a moment of some distress--and it was my fault. We were late for dinner, lost in a strange part of Hanoi, without any idea where we were supposed to be going.

Eventually we called the hotel's main desk, which called Martin, who told them where we should go. So my phone came in handy. It turns out we were on the wrong side of the lake, after our 30-minute walk. The address was 1 Le Thai Tho, not Ly Thai Tho. And the restaurant was a big restaurant right on the lake--just five minutes walk from our hotel.

We hailed taxis, gave the correct address, and arrived at the restaurant--only 50 minutes late. The rest of the group didn't even know about our adventure.

Dinner was nice, with real Vietnamese food--and we bought a CD from the musicians. We sat with Andrew, a World Child volunteer who helps with translating--and has a whole life story that is pretty remarkable for a 22-year-old guy. He is also really tall and really big; he used to play football and basketball. Among other things, he operates a Nepalese restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City.

We still keep asking about Martin, whom we haven't seen for days. We're told he's doing a translating marathon, trying to prepare the paperwork for the next rounds of World Child families who will make this trip.

On the way home, yes, we walked, and trusting that we knew how to get back to the hotel, we stopped for ice cream. We got back to the hotel safe and sound.

So we have managed to pass the time since we visited with Maisie and Luc on Friday. And now tomorrow at 6:00 AM we board the van to Lang Son again--and this time we return with the babies.

We have been thinking about our plans for their names, and we have come to a decision to incorporate their Vietnamese names. Luc will be Luc Au Su Doyle, with Maisie's name Maisie Minh Tam Doyle.

We can't waiting until the morning!