Days 4-6: Tuesday, July 15 - 17, 2008

Day 4: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 - Danang to Hanoi

We board the plane very early this morning to fly to Hanoi. I am nervous about Juneau’s reaction to being on a plane for the first time. As we wait for the bus to take us from the terminal to the plane, the ticket taker says something to Lilian in Vietnamese and Lilian responds with a smile. On the bus she tells us: “The lady said that the baby looked more like me than her father. It was easier to not try to explain.” It hadn’t dawned on me until that point that with me, a lone white guy with a Vietnamese baby strapped to my chest, walking around with my parents and Lilian, a Vietnamese woman who is my same age, that it must appear that Juneau is Lilian and my child. We all share a laugh about that one.
On the plane, Juneau is so relaxed and just interested in looking around. She doesn’t make a peep the whole flight and I’m relieved.

Juneau's first plane ride

Gulf of Tonkin (non-history buffs could care less about this picture)

We arrive at the Hoa Binh Palace Hotel in Hanoi. It is an OLD hotel built over 100 years ago by the French. It is nice and we have a big room with lots of room to stretch. We go for a little shopping in the old quarter of Hanoi before returning to the hotel restaurant for dinner. While dining over our French themed cuisine, we watch out the window at a downpour that causes at least a 6 inch build-up of water on the road. Everyone has pulled their motorbikes and bicycles over under the building awnings while a few are out splashing through the water and laughing at this mini-flood. Juneau is doing a little better today and lets me sit her down a couple times without crying as long as I don’t venture too far. I give her a bath for the first time and she is NOT too thrilled about it. She also makes it through her first diaper change without crying. No real smiles yet which is heartbreaking but progress nonetheless. Day 5: Wednesday, June 16, 2008

This morning it is still a bit rainy so we visit the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology outlining the history of the ethnic groups of Vietnam and showcasing lots of cool artifacts and model dwellings from each subculture. The highlight of today comes when, on a whim, I try to ring Emilie on Skype and she answers. It’s 5:30 a.m. for her and I figure there’s a chance she’ll be getting ready for work and have her computer on. As soon as she answers we quickly get our webcams hooked up. I have Juneau sitting on my lap at the computer and as soon as I get my webcam plugged in I hear Emilie start screaming “I can see her, I can see her.” It’s our first opportunity for her mommy to see Juneau in real time and also the first time I’ve talked to Emilie, without typing it, since we left for Vietnam. It’s also the first time I’ve gotten to see Nova in what seems like ages. We don’t have much time but we share an amazing 15 minutes for the first time as a family, even if it isn’t totally live, in-person.

Talking to mommy and Nova all the way in Michigan

This evening Juneau has finally relaxed to the point that she is interested in playing with things as we sit at the dinner table. In our room she loves the remote and chewing on a teething ring I brought. Her front bottom two teeth are in a long way and the tops are peaking through so she wants to chew on everything.She is starting to let her personality show and is babbling a bit and saying “Ba” (daddy in Vietnamese).

Day 6: Thursday, July 17, 2008

Today we had a really cool experience. After getting up early and spending nearly an hour on the webcam with Emilie and Nova, we head out for some sightseeing. There was one site I definitely wanted to see while in Hanoi so I locate some pictures on the internet. As soon as I show Lilian, she knows exactly where it is. We take a short cab ride, which Lilian has to direct because the cab driver doesn’t know where the place is, and arrive at the remnants of the Hoa Lo Prison…better known to Americans as the Hanoi Hilton, former POW camps to American pilots shot down during the war, including the man who is hopefully our next president, John McCain. The prison has several historical eras but we are most interested when we reach the wing devoted to the American POW’s. It is an eye-opening experience. The pictures and captions pertaining to the Americans’ imprisonment is laced with propaganda including multiple pictures of protestors in the U.S. who according to the picture, are “showing solidarity of the American people with Vietnamese people in the Vietnamese struggle for independence and unification of the country." Another panel of pictures shows U.S. airmen playing basketball, cards, and setting up a Christmas tree. The display gives the impression of an experience second only to a resort vacation. Not surprisingly, none of the displays mention torturing prisoners for information.

Entrance to the Hanoi Hilton
Inside: A main gate to the prison

Standing outside one of the cells, complete with leg shackles embedded in the floor

John McCain's flight suit and parachute

Next we visit Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam (the Temple of Literature and University), Vietnam’s first university, established in 1076. This temple serves as a place to pray to Confucius and includes a record of those passing the “royal examinations” over the years known as the stelae of the doctor laureates (PhD’s by today’s terminology). The Stelae sit on the backs of giant stone tortoises, one of the country’s four holy creatures. Local tradition holds that coming to the Temple and rubbing the head of the tortoises will bring intelligence and success in studies.

Entrance to the University / Temple compound

Rubbing the head means future PhD in the family

Tonight we take in a show featuring an art form unique to Vietnam - water puppetry. It’s like a puppet show…in water. I know everyone is here to see pictures and not read so here are some of my favorites:

First bath in the big girl's tub. That sink was getting too small.

Juneau already knows "the grandpa Stickley" (sleeping sitting up with mouth hanging open)

Plane ride with dad

Naptime with Grandpa Stickley
Temple Tour
Full belly - Out for the night.