It's about time we got this blog thingy started back up again, don't you think?
After six great months back in the States, we've returned to Quy Nhon as a family of three. It's good to be back.
As I type this from the Seagull Hotel, our son Micah (cutest little guy in the WORLD) is snoozing in his travel bed and Joelle is across the street at the university doing some apartment cleaning before we move in. We'll be tag-teaming the apartment today while the other one looks after the little guy.
Micah was a joy to travel with; although we were a bit worried about how much plane-sitting, taxi-riding and hotel-sleeping he could endure it turns out he's just as happy a kid at 35,000 feet as he is at sea level. With the exception of a couple of short cranky spells, he was all smiles and giggles (or snoring) the whole way across the Pacific.
As expected, Micah--being the cute, chubby white baby that he is--has drawn plenty of attention on this side of the world. Everyone from waitresses to hotel workers to flight attendants have wanted to pick him up, squeeze his feet and make funny faces at him. We've been told that for some reason it's not culturally appropriate in Vietnam to call people's babies "cute" or "lovely" or any such thing, but that rule has been broken with impunity when it comes to Micah. The stardom hasn't gotten to his head just yet--he seems to be just going with the flow, for the most part.
Joelle has already received her first unsolicited piece of advice on parenting as well--the kid needs to wear a hat, according to the lady cleaning the floor in the Saigon restaurant where we ate breakfast yesterday. When we explained to her that we had walked all of 30 feet (across the street from our hotel to the restaurant) she seemed to accept that.
Around Quy Nhon the weather has been downright chilly--all the way down into the low 70s, if you can believe it. We were reminded just how different people's perception of temperature here is on the ride into the city from the airport--a little boy was riding his tricycle alongside the road while wearing a full-face ski mask. Winter's icy grip seems to be loosening, though, as the next few days are supposed to be up in the low 80s with sunshine.
All told, we're glad to be back. It was hard to leave family and friends behind in the States, but we both sense that this is where we're supposed to be. And although it's a bit more complicated than before, it's a lot of fun doing it all as a family of three.
6 comments:
Glad you made it home safe but sad we didn't get one last conversation before you left. Thank goodness for Skype. I loved seeing pictures of Micah he is adorable and looks well fed. :-) Love you guys!
Glad you folks made it safely, keep smiling. We are thinking of you.
Dennis and Bonnie
Welcome back! See you in a couple months.
You look good as a family of three!
Hi Steven! It's so happy to see your family with a new member backs to Quy Nhon.I wish i could come to Quy Nhon this afternoon to see your chubby cute son! Now i'm working in Danang.
Cong(Frisbee teamate)
such a great feeling reading your stories and experiences in vietnam! I'm viet myself and just went for vacay this past summer ( all of june actually), I stayed with families in Saigon all that time, and what you said about viet culture and their almost once a week spell of no electricity is true, lol. Anyways have fun in Quy Nhon!
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