Beautiful Da Lat

To call Da Lat, Vietnam beautiful would be an understatement, but it is really the only word that Dr.Sama, Marco, and myself kept saying in our two days there. We did so much it is hard to know where to begin.

Well I guess the beginning is the SEVEN hour bus ride from Saigon to Da Lat. Even though it was seven hours long, it didn't feel as long because the views were amazing and the ride was comfortable. On our first night in Da Lat we went for a small walk. Our "small" landed us outside district one of Da Lat, so it wasn't very small after all. It was really easy to walk around Da Lat because the weather was cooler and there were a lot less motorbikes. The next day we got up bright and early to visit the Domaine de Marie Convent. We were welcomed by the Daughters of Charity in Da Lat, as well as a few Ladies of Charity from the communities in Da Lat. We got a full tour of Domaine de Marie, including the school for the deaf and the school for kids with Autism. Both of which are run by the sisters at the Convent. The kids were all so welcoming ... not letting their disabilities keep them from enjoying life.

Despite the power being out at Domaine de Marie, we were able to shop at the store there ... which included some wonderful articles of clothing, all handmade by the girls in the local community who take part in the vocational training at the convent. The girls are all so talented and as we were told by the nuns, many are orphans. Their skill set and need make them ideal candidates for GLOBE loans. In fact even before we could mention that they would make good borrowers, the nuns brought it up. It still amazes me that they caught on to the concept of microfinance so quickly. They asked all the right questions and seemed so intrigued by our program. We even left an application with the Daughters at Domaine de Marie which will be translated by one of the Ladies of Charity to Vietnamese. We may even have applications from Vietnam before the fall semester starts (YAY!!). Just the idea of having borrowers from Vietnam is so exciting for Dr.Sama, Marco, and myself because we see people who can clearly benefit from our program. At times the poverty is masked by the "show" that's put on for tourists, but with every visit and with every meeting we see the poverty clearer. It is unfortunate that many people may come to Vietnam and get a different experience from ours. However, it is important to remember that although not everyone will be able to see the injustice that we see, our experiences will have a far greater impact because we are able to share them with all of you.

We are now back in Saigon from Da Lat and although we miss the gorgeous weather, we are all so excited because tomorrow we meet with more daughters who have shown a real interest in GLOBE. So till then Good Night or in your case Good Morning.

Lucky

So we finally made it to Vietnam. It was a really long flight, followed by a short stopover in Hong Kong, and then another much much much shorter flight(Thank God).

I was so exhausted by the end of these two flights that I wasn't even feeling like myself by the time we got to Vietnam. That all changed very quickly when we were greeted so generously by the Nuns from the Holy Cross,Alan Zweifler, and his wife Spring. It was a very warm welcoming ... one which I wasn't expecting.

The Nuns were so sweet and although they knew they wouldn't be able to take us to our hotel with Alan and Spring, they still came down to the airport.I look forward to talking with them some more over dinner on Friday.

Vietnam is breathtaking. Alan and his wife were kind enough to help us get to the hotel and then took us out to eat some real Vietnamese food. Alan takes every opportunity he can to remind us that he is so lucky to have a wife like Spring. However, it is us who are so lucky to have them both showing us the ropes in Vietnam.I was especially surprised to learn that Spring is an entrepreneur. I was also shocked to learn that much of Vietnam earns about a dollar a day. It's a lot to take in with all this jet lag, but I can already see a home for GLOBE in Vietnam.

Tomorrow we are going to meet with Nike and Cu Chi Women Union and some borrowers. I think this will be an insightful look into micro finance in Vietnam.

Till Tomorrow ......

- Alina R. =]



By The Way go to the link to get some background on Alan (he is truly amazing): http://testwww.stjohns.edu/about/news/items/pr_uni_091110.news_item@digest.stjohns.edu/about_us/pr_uni_091110.xml

Wait! I'm going where ?!!

This is it! Tomorrow i'm headed off to Vietnam with two wonderful people.

Anyone who knows me knows that I break things down to every last detail ... it's just who I am. So when I found out I was selected as a student fellow for GLOBE, by my peers nonetheless, my precise words were "Wait! I'm going where ?!!" ... followed by some tears ... some worrying thoughts about where my passport was ... and believe it or not some more crying.

From that day it's been an emotional roller coaster .... I'll spare you the details, but I will say that I am so excited for this journey to begin !

Dr. Sama has worked nonstop to make sure that we see Vietnam for what it really is. From the appointments that have been made with so many wonderful organizations and so many wonderful people I imagine Vietnam to be a place of great generosity. I just can't imagine it be anything less.

So to reiterate what Marco said .... please share in this journey with us. I promise to keep my blog posts exciting and I too will post plenty of pictures. So I'll write to you all very soon! =]