And no, not the one from the Hunger Games!
Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon is so huge that it's split up into many districts. Thien Phuoc, the orphanage at which I will spend the next two months, is located in District 12, one of the suburban districts of HCMC.
Now, I'm a math nerd, so here are some numbers:
Population of HCMC: 7,396,446.
Population of the province of Quebec: 7,903,001.
As the locals would say: "same same but different". But then you look at the area:
Area of HCMC: 2,095 km2
Area of the province of Quebec: 1,542,056 km2!!
That's like 736 times bigger!! No wonder there are people everywhere in this place... haha!
Still, out here in the suburbs, it's not too crowded. The highway is far enough that at night I can hear the call of the frogs and not the honks of motorbikes. Plus, being in an Asian country means that I'm never far from food and a spa. My fellow volunteer A. and I went on an exploratory mission and found within a 15 minute walk: a dozen restaurants, a couple spas, a fruit stand, a banh xeo stand, the highway, a bunch of what looks like tire shops, and best of all: Silver Creek resort. Silver Creek is a luxury hotel that's just a few doors down from the orphanage and has an outdoor pool, equipped with a jacuzzi and sauna! I talked with the receptionist to see if there's a possibility to get some type of monthly membership in order to use the pool.
The orphanage itself is a wonderfully modern facility -- especially when compared to what I saw while in the Philippines. They have a physiotherapy room, full of equipment. Also a dentist room! There are about 60 children here, all with mental and sometimes physical disabilities. The majority seem to be non-verbal, so communication is difficult since my Vietnamese is still practically non-existent despite my best efforts. But they are full of joy nonetheless and a few have already captured a corner of my heart. More to come, I'm sure!
Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon is so huge that it's split up into many districts. Thien Phuoc, the orphanage at which I will spend the next two months, is located in District 12, one of the suburban districts of HCMC.
Now, I'm a math nerd, so here are some numbers:
Population of HCMC: 7,396,446.
Population of the province of Quebec: 7,903,001.
As the locals would say: "same same but different". But then you look at the area:
Area of HCMC: 2,095 km2
Area of the province of Quebec: 1,542,056 km2!!
That's like 736 times bigger!! No wonder there are people everywhere in this place... haha!
Still, out here in the suburbs, it's not too crowded. The highway is far enough that at night I can hear the call of the frogs and not the honks of motorbikes. Plus, being in an Asian country means that I'm never far from food and a spa. My fellow volunteer A. and I went on an exploratory mission and found within a 15 minute walk: a dozen restaurants, a couple spas, a fruit stand, a banh xeo stand, the highway, a bunch of what looks like tire shops, and best of all: Silver Creek resort. Silver Creek is a luxury hotel that's just a few doors down from the orphanage and has an outdoor pool, equipped with a jacuzzi and sauna! I talked with the receptionist to see if there's a possibility to get some type of monthly membership in order to use the pool.
The orphanage itself is a wonderfully modern facility -- especially when compared to what I saw while in the Philippines. They have a physiotherapy room, full of equipment. Also a dentist room! There are about 60 children here, all with mental and sometimes physical disabilities. The majority seem to be non-verbal, so communication is difficult since my Vietnamese is still practically non-existent despite my best efforts. But they are full of joy nonetheless and a few have already captured a corner of my heart. More to come, I'm sure!
Happy to hear that you have arrived and settled a bit love! Looking forward to seeing a few photos of those kids
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