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.

Unique strategy

Here is another heart-warming video for you all! One of my favorites, that I like to call Mr. Huy because he's such a gentleman, showing us all that if at first you don't succeed try and try again until you can do whatever you put your mind to! His determination and golden heart shine through in everything he does. The first time I saw him move about, I couldn't help but be moved. The look in his eye, completely focused on the task is unmistakable. That coupled with the simple joy shining through each of his movements is enough to melt your heart. Mr. Huy puts us all to shame when we think any task we face is insurmountable, when we think that we just can't possibly do it. We can. We just need to find our own unique strategy to get over our own personal obstacles!

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.

Vietnamese shampoo

Now I know that some of you have heard me gush about this already -- perhaps multiple times -- but please indulge me once more! Quite simply, there is nothing that I've experienced that is as soothing and relaxing and downright blissful as a Vietnamese shampoo. I've never been a fan of showers. I don't know why. (Though I do enjoy a good onsen...) I've always thought of showers as necessary to keep clean, but never understood how some of my friends and family could claim that a shower was one of life's great pleasures. Now I must re-evaluate, the Vietnamese have definitely found the best way to wash hair.

Here's the process:
You lie down comfortably on a table that's like a massage table, your head in a basin. (Now, in back home, when the hairdresser insisted on washing my hair, I never really liked it because I felt uncomfortable in their reclining hair, my neck feeling strained to fit up into the basin.) They start by shampooing your hair. Then you get a great head massage. Scratching. Massaging. Kneading. Wow. Rinse. Then they massage exfoliating cream into your face and neck. Rinse. Then another face massage with a hydrating cream. Great eye massage. Pressure point work. You feel like you might fall asleep. Rinse. Once again they shampoo your hair with more massaging. Rinse and repeat a third time! After that they do this amazing waterfall thing. Your eyes get covered with a wet cloth and they spray water over it. Somehow this makes me shiver in delight all the way to my toes. Time for an ear cleaning, tickles tickles tickles. Conditioning time. While the conditioner works, you get yet another neck massage, followed by a shoulder and arm massage. Final rinse. After that they help you to sit up (believe me, you need the support!) and give you a quick back massage to help you return to the world. Ah... bliss! The whole process takes almost an hour, and you feel like a new person afterwards.

So? Did I convince any of you to come and visit Vietnam to try this out for yourself?! :) There's a great salon a few minutes walk from the orphanage. The two women who work there are very friendly and we have a great time trying to communicate with our handful of Vietnamese and English words. Over the past month we've become friends, sharing food and, most recently, an aloe drink that they'd made from aloe plant growing in their garden. I force myself to only get a Vietnamese shampoo once a week, but it's a challenge. After all, it only costs a buck and a half a pop...

Meet some of the kids!

Most of my time at Thien Phuoc is spent with a dozen children in the physiotherapy room. They've all grown on me in different ways. At first I thought they were much more limited, but they've opened my eyes. I now see how they work with their limitations and how they emphasize their strengths and build upon them. It's a lesson in the amazing adaptability of humanity. I am continually impressed by them. Everyday they trust me a little more and open up to me. The smiles and excited cries I receive when I enter the physio room are undeniably the highlight of my day. I feel very lucky. Today I'd like to share a little of their magic with you! So without further ado...

Meet Huy:

I call them Mr. Huy since there is another smaller Huy also doing physio. Mr. Huy is non-verbal, I've never heard him speak even a word of Vietnamese but he understands a great deal of English and Vietnamese alike and can communicate with actions and facial expressions. He spends his physiotherapy hours on his verticalization machine, removed from the other kids. Still, he makes his presence known by his undeniable good humor. While I'm working with the other children, usually as I'm giving another child a turn on the massage machine, I glance over at him and stick my tongue out at him. He responds in kind and I am immediately rewarded by his look of pure delight in the interaction. He's great at giving high-fives, even though such a precise movement is obviously very challenging to him. When I work with him, we work mostly on practicing such precise movements. He can't walk but gets around great in his special half crawl. I have a great video of this that I want to share on another day! Days that I get a hug from Mr. Huy are incredible. His determination and positivity are an inspiration.

Meet Tai:

Tai was a lesson in paying attention and letting go of pre-conceived ideas for me. For the first week, I thought he was non-verbal and not particularly clever. I didn't get attached to him at first for the simple reason that he sweats a lot and hugging him wasn't pleasant for me. Embarrassing when I think back. Now he is undeniably one of my favorite kids in the world. One day I realized that he was in fact able to talk, in his own special way, and it was me who didn't hear or understand him! Like Mr. Huy, precise movement are difficult for Tai. He can control his motor skills with great concentration. He can in fact say easy words like "hello" and "Aki" and "I'm good", they just sound very different because of his difficulty in making his body do what he wants. On good days he can form 3-4 word sentences, on bad days single words are extremely challenging. I then discovered that he is incredibly clever! He can do a 64 piece puzzle with a little help: he can't control his movements enough to pick up pieces and put them in place, but he does know where they go! I learned to watch him carefully and realized that he'll point (with a arm that's shaking uncontrollably) to a piece and then to where it goes. And he's always right! In the same way he can play "memory" and beat me! I'm now intrigued by what is hidden in that brain of his, just waiting to come to light! Our favorite way to say hello is with a wink and a couple clicks of the tongue, like he's doing in the picture. Tai taught me to open my eyes in a whole other way and to embrace the possibilities.

Meet Phuong:

Oh little Phuong, or Monkey as we all call her... she's stolen my heart! If you've seen the video I posted earlier of her, you know she's just a bundle of laughter. She is also completely non-verbal but easily communicates her moods to those around her. I want to spend my whole day playing with her and making her laugh. She's tiny, like a toddler, but is seven years old. Unlike the other children in physiotherapy, she can walk, with her little hand grasped tightly around someone's finger. Except for her size, physically she seems to be "normal". I work with her to try to convince her to walk on her own, which I'm positive she can do if she just trusted herself to try! I'm also starting to challenge her intellectually, without any results so far. She doesn't seem to be interested in learning how to do puzzles or other games. I did teach her to blow kisses though! Any moment spent in her company makes me glad to be there. Monkey has taught me to slow down and just enjoy the simplicity of playing.

Meet My:

My is still a mystery to me. She loves music, LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem in particular! She'll sit there pumping one hand into the air on the beat with a big goofy grin on her face. She can speak rudimentary Vietnamese and knows a dozen words in English but is very quiet... In fact, she seems to be hidden behind her friend Tien most of the time. (I'll introduce you all to Tien in another post with more of the physio kids soon!) She spends her time in physiotherapy practicing to crawl, without getting bored or tired of it. I'm impressed with her will and stamina! Recently I uncovered a great sense of humor in her. We now pull little practical jokes on each other. I look forward to learning more about her. Thien Phuoc has a startling number of visitors on a daily basis. It's no wonder that the children take a little time to open up and trust a new face. As the weeks pass, I see My opening to me a little more, showing me a little more of herself and what she can do. I can also see that she's hurt when I don't show up when I'm supposed to. She's taught me the importance routine and stability to children.

On that note, it is strange for me to think that I'm already half-way through my stay at Thien Phuoc. The taught of leaving all these kids in little more than a month makes me cringe inside. There is such a difference between living in an orphanage full time and visiting one for a few hours every day as I did while in the Philippines. Moreover, since there isn't a group of volunteers here to hang out with and unwind with, my whole life revolves around these children. I'm with them from the moment I wake up until they go to bed at night. Even during my lunch break I'll pop in to spend some time with those who aren't sleeping. They've invaded my head and my heart. I can't imagine living here for a year as A. is planning to... I would never be able to leave them! It will be hard enough as it is, but it's unavoidable. As with everything in life, this is a temporary situation. At the same time, knowing it is so helps me focus, slow down, and appreciate it that much more.

Pause patisserie

Ah food... The true love of my life! I'm not going to lie: one of my major reasons for choosing Vietnam was my love for Vietnamese food. I was thinking of pho, vermicelli, and Vietnamese subs. Oh and their killer lemonades! It wasn't until right before leaving that I realized that because of the French influence there would also be an abundance of bakeries... yummmmmy!

My top two favorites are ABC Bakery found in the Backpacker's district. Their croissants just melt in your month. They also have a great Banh Mi (Vietnamese Sub) with loads of extra veggies, compared to the one you get on the street. Their fruit shakes are also to die for, having a great texture, like a slushie, but with real fruit!

My other favorite is a chain called Tous Les Jours. There's one right across the street from T.'s house (where I've been spending my weekends away from Thien Phuoc). They have great chocolate muffins, sesame balls with red bean paste inside, and... wait for it... curry buns!! That's right! My favorite from Japan, that I've never been able to find anywhere else before. Ok, they aren't exactly the same as Japanese beef curry buns, but they are pretty darn close and delicious! TLJ also has Portuguese-style egg-tarts and mango-danish-pastry-like-yumminess!

Here is a picture taken by A., my fellow volunteer, in Tous Les Jours before being quickly told "no pictures" by a staff. Luckily it's a great shot!

Monkey!

Some children just pull on your heart strings and don't let go... Little Phuong is one of those for me! Her nickname is Monkey, well deserved by her behavior! She is six years old, non-verbal, but she very bright and knows what she wants -- and how to get it! She is one of the children I work with in the physiotherapy room, mainly on walking. She is steady on her feet but seems scared to make the jump from walking when holding my hand to walking alone. I've been successful at getting her to do a couple of steps on her own a handful of times. My greatest success is having taught her how to blow kisses!  I hope this video gives you a glimpse of her...