Our Hanoi Home.

Whew! What a day! We just got checked into our hotel here in Hanoi--the Somerset. It is a very nice place, and after the man came and fixed our air conditioner, it seemed MUCH nicer. Zoe had no complaints because she was asleep all the way from the airport.

So, a first for Sam, flying in a plane. He seemed to do just fine...I think the high altitude made him giddy and happier! He was an entertaining little card for most of the 2 hour flight. Or perhaps it was his new-found love: a giant can of Planter's cashews. The kid has munched on them all day long, and seems to have such joy from having them handy. At some point he discovered that he could put a few "spare" cashews in the front pocket of his overalls, and all afternoon you could see him reach in and grab a little snack. We'd heard of this "food hoarding" phenomenon that is fairly typical for orphanage kids, but it is really something to witness first hand.

Yesterday was a good day--we hung out with the kids in the morning at the hotel. Very strange, calling them "the kids". We've always had "the kid". It feels great to say it! (fast forward a little while: Hey, do you think my parents will keep the kids this weekend? ha) We sent Mom and Dad out to experience the town, and they had an exciting rickshaw ride around town. Mom looked a bit weary when they returned...so of course we let them have a relaxing afternoon in....with the kids. In the afternoon, I took Brian to experience "the market". I really expected him to be disinterested (even though it was a a cultural experience, it was still SHOPPING, not a popular thing with him). HOWEVER, he surprised me! The guy haggled with shopkeepers for watches, snake wine (!), and all variety of other items...I hate to admit I really had a hard time keeping up with him.

We had a dinner planned with Dillon staff and all of the traveling families last night. It was a beautiful restaurant, and there was lots of authentic Vietnamese cuisine. Sam used the chopsticks much more skillfully than I could manage (did they teach him this at the orphanage?) We didn't last terribly long...somehow, little kids and an organized evening meal just don't end up making for a relaxing dining experience.

This morning, I spent the morning hanging out with the kids in the room, trying to pack. (One might ask, where was Brian? The guy went BACK to the market...apparently my dad had experienced the fresh meat side of the market and told Brian about it, and I guess he felt like he had missed out on the visual and olfactory experience there. Because of this experience, I believe my dad is now considering the positive aspects of vegetarianism.) There was this one fairly brief but sweet time in the room this morning where Ben and Zoe were coloring in their coloring books on the floor, and Sam was arranging bathroom toiletries. They were all lined up so happily on the floor playing together. Sweet, sweet, sweet!

The flight here was fine, but did anyone ever mention how flying with two kids is infinitely more complicated than one? The two hour flight was just fine, but we kept thinking: HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO THIS FOR A 15 HOUR FLIGHT? EEK!

Tomorrow I think we get to take in the Hanoi sights a bit--I believe our visa interview is Thursday. Loc, our nice Dillon staff member here, feels fairly sure we'll have the visa in hand Thursday afternoon...so MAYBE, just MAYBE we might get to come home a few days earlier. We'll see! Hanoi exploration tomorrow.

Thanks for everyone's prayers and kind thoughts! We are hallucinating about Mexican food....