We're in Da Lat - Little Paris and their own Eiffel Tower!
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Day 6 - The Road to Da Lat
After the goodbyes with the children, we all went back to the hotel to pack up and make our way to Da Lat, only 100 km away but we knew it would take us about 5 hours.
On the way out of town we stopped for a brief visit to a Hindu temple. Here's a snippet from their brochure: "Crowning a hilltop above the Song Cai River the four surviving Cham towers of Po Nagar, the Lady of the City, command views of orange-blossomed flamboyant trees, massed fishing fleets, scattered islets and huddled squatter villages of rusting iron. The towers, built some time between the 7th and 12th centuries, are still a place of worship. Nha Trang was first settled by the Cham people and only in the 17th century did the Kinh, the people the world knows as Vietnamese, impose their rule."
We then headed to another Nha Trang specialty - hot mud baths. The Thap Ba Hot Spring Center was a treat for many of us. Some chose to enjoy a mud bath in hot mud the consistency of melted chocolate, others opted for the 1 hour long massage and mineral bath. The mud and nearby pools and showers were hot - around 30-38'C, that's almost 90'F! Definitely great for the skin after you soak, then bake then rinse, and then take a dip in to the hot mineral pools and get a massage from sitting under the watefalls. The ones that had an hour long massage couldn't stop raving about these little women who made their tired bones "snap, crackle and pop". Definitely, something for the scrapbook!
We had a wonderful seafood luncheon right across the street from another beach and then promptly took our Dramamine for our trip to Da Lat. The road is bumpy and narrows, the last hour is spent going straight up 5000+ ft. that looks like it shouldn't have a big tour bus on it. It is full of sharp curves and blind corners. We used the horn a lot and looked out instead of looking down. Once we finaly reach the top the view is breathtaking! Da Lat does not look like the rest of Vietnam, it is not as hot and not humid at all (there were people wearing winter jackets!). It is full of huge trees and the valleys are filled with coffee and tea plants as well as rice fields. But there are stil many cows and water buffaloes on are on the road!
When we made it in to Da Lat (also know as Little Paris - the most romantic city in Vietnam) we checked in at the Novotel - wow! A french colonial building right across from the post office that has the "Eiffel Tower" as their landmark! We go to Da Loi school tomorrow morning for a full day of work!
Enjoy all the pictures until then!
Peace,
Caroline
Day 6 - Goodbyes at camp!
Well the camp has ended. It was a very bittersweet moment as it is every year. While we are so glad that all the children had so much fun, had great field trips, good food and met new friends; we were so sad that it was time to say goodbye. Some tears were flowing at campfire last night so we were trying to hold it together early this morning!
We woke up to the hottest and brightest day in Nha Trang. It was a good send-off for the kids at 6 am! We all went to find our respective "families" and made our rounds of good byes with all the children. Last night they had small gifts for us and this morning there were a few more. One project stayed up to decorate some fans for us, some stayed up to finish their thank you letters. A little girl said to one of our team members that she was so sad that she wanted to cry but she wouldn't so that we wouldn't start to cry too.
Most of these children have been abandonded or orphaned. Living on the streets was a life they were used to and we had expected them to be a lot "tougher". But they were so sweet, honest, well behaved and just plain wonderful. I was asked many times why spend all this money on a camp - why not just donate it to all these shelters so that they can stay open and help more children? The answers come when we realize that for a few short days these children did everything that a child should do...laugh, play, get rowdy, meet new friends, smile, rest and most of all feel unconditional love.
When we started this expedition, I had told the team that this experience changes you - bad or good - meeting these children will change your life. They are resilient and tough as nails when it comes to what they have endured. Our girls at the Little Rose Warm Shelter have all been victims of sexual abuse and over half are victims of sex trafficking to Cambodia. Most had been living on the streets for over 3 years before they came to live in the shelters. Some are orphans of parents who had AIDS, some were sold into prostitution by their own parents, some are separated from their siblings that are also living on the streets, some that are 15, 16, 17 years old and have just begun to learn to read and write, some have been beaten by other children just because they are homeless...these are children that have endured so many hardships.
But what we did by providing them with these fun-filled days is give them a sense of hope. Each one of our team members connected with at least one if not many children who they couldn't communicate with in language but by the holding of a hand or the constant hugs. We gave them our undivided attention and unconditional love and the reassurance that there were many people that will always care about them. We reiterated to them that if they stay in school and study hard that their futures would be bright. And mostly we wanted them to know that they deserved to have FUN.
We may never see these children again, after all the shelters are supposed to be temporary homes. At the Little Rose Warm Shelter our goal is to help the girls get an education, learn a vocation or reunite with their families in a safe home. They will probably never see us again but they will always remember the Summer of 2004, the "Trai He Yeu Thuong"..."Cherising Camp". The summer when a group of Americans came to just play with them and carried messages from other school children, friends and families that said that all children of the world deserve love. Each one of us can make a difference in the life of a child.
