On Sunday, em Thao and I arrived early in the morning at Binh Vien Tu Du (Binh Vien = hospital), a hospital for Women and Children in the downtown area of District 1. Em Thao wanted to show me the hospital and visit with some of the children living in the dormitories at the hospital, orphans with disabilities or special needs that are able to live in the hospital and get treatment, attend school, and make friends.
Earlier that week, we went again to the sieu thi (supermarket) to buy some candies and foods for the children. It's always been fun to visit the supermarket and this time I found amazement in the milk aisle:
It's as big as the US's aisle for carbonated drinks!! They really have quite a few options of sizes and flavors of milk...whereas the carbonated drinks aisle was smaller than if I spread my arms wide. Impressive! Drink your milk (sua) kiddies!
Speaking of milk, a little digression:
So I watch a lot of tv when I eat meals with the housekeeper. It's all Korean/Japanese/Chinese/Taiwanese/Vietnamese dramas that are dubbed in Vietnamese - even I think sometimes the Vietnamese shows are voiced-over because the voices are so much louder and clearer than the rest of the noises in the background, ie footsteps, doors opening and closing. It's fun to watch their emotions and try to follow the crazy drama -
AH! Speaking of great drama: There is a great show that is called "Vi Yeu" that is just like "She's the Man"! And it's the only show I really like because the "boy" is so obviously a girl and the roommate that she has a crush on now knows that the "boy" is a girl but she doesn't know that - and hilarity ensues. Comedy can be understood without actually understanding WTH is going on...
okay back to milk - So watching tv, every now and then there is a commercial break (so much better than a break every 10 minutes!). There is one commercial in particular I think is so cute in delivering it's message: VINAMILK feeds Vietnam...hooray youtube has it!
It has beautiful shots of a downtown city, a countryside with its green fields, an old pagoda or temple, and the Mekong Delta (child on the bridge) - the complete essence of life in Vietnam
OKAY back to the hospital:
It specializes in Women's Care and basically a campus of buildings for cafeteria, pharmacy, and one building that serves as a dormitory for babies and kids. Em Thao and I were able to join in with a "Red Cross" like group that was touring the rooms and handing out gifts - we also spent some time talking with the kids about school and the activities they do.
It seems to be really hard to live as a disabled child in a developing country; wheelchair ramps (let alone elevators) are rare in this city and the buildings and houses are generally tall and skinny, so being able to climb stairs is a must. I'm pretty sure my school does not have any kind of wheelchair ramp...But the hospital does a good job at maintaining a sense of normalcy for these kids and it was really neat to see the nurses taking care of the babies. I really wish I could understand their conditions and read the information that was available to us...
more pics here
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