The making of the Tết flowers

Ok, so let's start with showing you all my goal:

It's call hoa cây, which translates quite aptly to flower tree. Each branch is made up of ten flowers just so:

 

Seem a little daunting? Well, I now certainly think so! However, I have to admit that when I first decided upon this challenge, I didn't think it was going to be quite as challenging as it's turning out to be. The only experience I had of paper flower making at the time was of the final step which is to tie up the ready made flowers to the small bamboo branch using ribbon. That in and of itself is no easy feat, but I definitely under-estimated the effort necessary to reach said final step.

The craft of making these worship flowers in Thanh Tien village is over 400 years old. The techniques and tools have been passed down over the generations and is in danger of dying off, which is where Rose Vietnam and my volunteer work comes into play. I will write soon about the project as a whole, today I want to focus on the techniques of making these particular flowers. Here are the tools: (much to my surprise and delight, Mr. Loan said he was in the process of making my very own tool kit to bring home, so I can show you all how to make these flowers back in Canada!)

The first steps (that I have not yet learned) are to dye the paper and cut up bamboo into the right size pieces and dye these as well. Mr. Loan promised he would show me these steps before I left. I think he's just waiting to see me become comfortable with the hammer before he hands me the machete, or whatever it is one uses to slice up bamboo!

The next step is cutting. I never thought of using a hammer and a weirdly, but perfectly, shaped nail (I call it a nail for lack of better word, please let me know if this told has a name!) to cut paper, but that is how it is done. The execution itself looks quite simple, not so. Just today, I was getting comfortable with this step, thinking I had mastered it, think again! My most recent cutting were rejected as không đẹp, meaning not beautiful as they weren't perfect circles. Hum. The weird nail thing has to go down perfectly straight for this not to happen. Better luck tomorrow!

After the cutting comes the wrinkling or folding. For far I've learned to do this in two ways. Either with a bamboo stick and foamy thingny or with a rope and differently shaped bamboo stick. I think I've mastered the foamy technique to Mr. Loan's wife's satisfaction (I call her the "quality control") but my technique with the rope is most definitely not yet up to snuff!

 

Next is gluing, using the same starch as when making Bánh Lọc! Yum! Very sticky though... I learned quickly to keep it to only one finger at a time otherwise you end up with quite the mess. Most of the gluing is quite straightforward, but not so for the rose (Minh and Hao can attest to that).

Ah finished! Well except for making the stems, gluing on the "pollen" on the end of stems, assembling, oh and learning (and mastering!) the cutting, wrinkling, and gluing parts of each individual flower... Now the question is, what is such a flower branch worth? Any guesses? Well, in the markets in preparation for the New Year these go for about 2000 vnd a branch, less than 50 cents. Flabbergasting. 40 branches takes an expert 12 hours to make, which is less than two dollars for an hour's work. Really makes you think. Meanwhile, I've completed four branches in a week, with a bunch of spare flowers lying around. I need at least 150 branches to make a tree, and I've got 2 months to finish. A fine challenge!

Thien Phuoc -- Pictures

Today I would like to share the environment of Thien Phuoc orphanage with you. I've already written a few posts and shared pictures and videos of the children I spend my days with... Yet, as my days at Thien Phuoc are quickly coming to an end, I realize that a big part of my experience here is tied into the place, the actual building. This has not only been my place of work, but it has become my home as well. The stairs, the walls, the hallways have become familiar. On Sundays, after being away for the weekend, I feel relaxed when I get back to the orphanage. I am always amazed at humanity's unique capacity to adapt. We are the only species to inhabit pretty much any climate, everywhere. I am currently fighting off a cold, so I won't get any more philosophical right now and get right to the pictures. Here is my make-shift home, I have to admit that I'm sad to think I'll be leaving it in just over a week.

The fourth floor is reserved for the volunteers staying at Thien Phuoc.
This is where I enjoy my meals, with a great view and a welcome breeze!

Another part of the fourth floor is a small terrasse that we share with drying laundry. To my surprise the children wear uniforms (though now that I think of it I shouldn't have been surprised, everyone seems to wear uniforms around here!)

The beds drying in the sun after being hosed down. They are actually quite comfortable, though I'm happy that I have a more traditional foam mattress as my own bed!

The hallway next to the kitchen, leading to the newer building of Thien Phuoc. The sinks are where I've developed my fast-as-lighting dish-washing skills. Oh and by the way, the staff here also wear uniforms!

The main room of the original building. This is the first thing you see when you enter Thien Phuoc. Usually the older children that aren't in the physiotherapy group are gathered here to play. This is also where all the older kids eat. On special occasions, such as the mid-autumn festival that I got to witness on my first visit to Thien Phuoc, all the children and staff gather here.

The second floor of the newer building is for the younger children. There are also a few older children here that need more attention. This is what I like to call the "watching tv formation". There's also the "eating formation" and the "shower time assembly line".

And of course I'll mention food! The younger children usually get a variation of rice pudding for every meal, sometimes accompanied by yogurt or a fruit. The older children alternate between rice pudding, rice soup and noddle soup. Appealing to my more organized side, everything at Thien Phuoc has a system, such as the bowls with names on them.

Meet more of the kids!

Here are the rest of the kids I work with in the Physiotherapy room. I hope you enjoy getting to know them, they are full of surprises. Not a day goes by without at least one of them surprising me!

Meet Tien:

Tien was slow to trust me. It took at least a week for her to let me know that she knows a lot of English. She's incredibly clever, loves puzzles and signing along to popular clubbing songs -- her current favorite is 3 by Britney Spears! Her right side is incredibly weak. Though she can do whatever she pleases using her left hand, she struggles with simple tasks with her right hand. Upon closer inspection, I realized that she looks like she suffered from some kind of stroke. Her right eye is lazy, her right leg is smaller and less muscular as well. She is supposed to spend her time practicing crawling but is usually seen sitting, as in the picture, ordering the other kids around. Though she can be a bit of a bully, she knows when she's gone too far and apologizes. I've been teaching her the alphabet and numbers and she's picking it up very quickly! I'm also greatly delighted when she scoots up to me and says: "Chi Aki, Tien massage please?".

 Meet Huy:

 Huy is a bundle of joy! At first, I wasn't able to recognize his expressions on his ever changing face. With time I've come to see the difference between pain and pleasure. Huy is constantly in motion, suffering from involuntary, violent, and sometimes seemingly painful muscle twitches. To get around, Huy rolls himself over with surprising eagerness. Though non-verbal, he makes his desires clear with loud squeals. In the physio room he is working on sitting. Such a simple task is extremely difficult for him because of his twitches. He often falls out of his special seat. Such a lack of control over one's body could lead one to be angry or resentful of his limitations, but Huy always comes up with a smile when he takes a tumble! 

 Meet Nhi:

 Nhi is one of the best people I've ever met. She is always willing to lend a helping hand and is quick to laugh. She is probably the most physically adept kid in physiotherapy. She can walk, talk, and is in control of her movements at all times. She has a slight limp to her walk and I work with her to stretch and strengthen her right leg to make walking easier for her. When she's not bored and starting vacantly at the television, she's helping me and Chi Phuong (the girl I work with in the physiotherapy room) with the other kids. She walks Phong around the room; chases Tai so that he walks faster; helps get Huy back into his chair; teases Nam and Mr. Huy to make them laugh; jokes with Mai and Tien, encouraging them to crawl. She even fetches the bucket we use to help the boys pee! Recently, she's taken to help me with the massage machine. Though she tends to get in the way more than helping me with that particular task, I enjoy her company and the pure delight she shows when helping. 

Meet Nam:

Nam reminds me of an old lady! He practices standing in the corner of the room, observing the antics of all the other kids, yelling out "Troi oi!" (an expression equivalent to "Oh my god!") at opportune moments. He seems to be more than content to stay out of the fray, though participating in his own way by his frequent comments. He often will call out "Mot! Hai! Ba!" (or "one two three") when I bend to pick up a child to bring them to the massage table. He's also picked up on my murmured "yoisho" and has taken to yell it out whenever I try to pick up the flailing Huy (he's a heavy little guy!). Nam is a great observer of human behavior. He can tell when something untoward is happening and makes sure that I know about it. I've come to trust him to keep an eye on things while I concentrate on a particular task.

Welcome to District 12

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!

Off again!

It's been 14 months since I arrived at YVR, back from South-East Asia. As those who talked to me during those first few days back can attest, all I could talk about was going back. To Vietnam, and soon! Well here we are, back at YVR, one-way ticket to Ho Chi Minh City in hand, with that I'm-so-excited-and-nervous-that-I-may-throw-up feeling.

As I sit here waiting for my flight, I feel overwhelmed. I feel like I haven't stopped since I've been back. Eight months fundraising at Public Outreach, a Dathun, a semester of Mukpo Institute, three months back at Camp Ouareau. It's been quite the ride and I have to wonder if I'm ready to take on another challenge so fast. At the same time I feel as if every project I've undertaken in the last year has in some way help to prepare me for what's ahead. This trip is much bigger than the last, the projects I have will be taking much more of my time and will be much more challenging.More responsibility. It's a daunting thought. It's an exciting thought!

A bird's eye view of my plans:
2-3 weeks to get over jet lag, learn more Vietnamese (it's HARD!), and relax on a beach
2 months at an orphanage near HCMC/Saigon
5-6 weeks off to visit Cambodia and Laos
3-4 months helping to lead a Rose Vietnam project near Hue

But before any of that can happen, I have a 12 hour flight to Shanghai to survive! See you on the other side of the Pacific!