A Ballet called Chaos

The title refers to the street scene in Hanoi, not the process we're going through (at this point, at least... so far, things are going as smoothly as can be expected... "at record speed" according to the interviewer at the US Embassy today!!). We are actually getting used to the street traffic and the street activity ... I know it's a populated city (I think 5,000,000, but there are ALWAYS people sitting, eating, smoking, playing board games, selling things, just standing, going every which way, coming from alleyways, on foot, on bicycle, on motorbike... like I said... "CHAOS". But oddly enough, there is definitely some rhythm to it... lots of horn honking all of the time, motorbikes and cars literally criss-crossing at or between intersections... and NO road rage... NO accidents... people just narrowly miss each other (and us) but under seemingly total control. Now I know why we can't rent cars or motorbikes here. It would NOT work. The entire ballet would be brought to a crash within minutes, guaranteed!



So yesterday (Tuesday) we didn't accomplish much, as our embassy appointment, originally thought to be possible yesterday afternoon, was moved to today. Martin therefore offered to take us to a town just outside of Hanoi where silk factories and shops dominated. Twist the girls' arms!!! So we and the Mausts piled into a taxi-van with Martin and Kenny and rode to the village.

A very cool tour through a silk factory and then onto the silk shops where beautiful silk dresses, shirts, ties, pocketbooks, etc were bought for ... let's just say quite reasonable prices. This included beautiful traditional vietnamese dresses for Emma and Molly. We returned to the hotel by evening, ordered in food from our favorite "American restaurant", Al Frescos.... the Hanoi equivalent of Applebees for Emma?

Today, Kate, Emma, Molly and I took a quick taxi ride to the park Em & I had ventured to on Monday (remember the downpour?). After a ride on the Carousel that wasn't running on Monday, Em took us RIGHT to the playground with the ride she LOVES .... she calls it the Toilet Spinner :-) There were lots of other schoolkids there playing and eyeing us... they were quite fun to watch!

We got back to the hotel and got ready for our first Embassy Interview. We waited in a DMV-type room to be called into a small interview room. Just Kate and I were called in, Emma waited outside with Martin and the Mausts. The room was small and hot, with the interviewer on the other side of a glass partition (that seemed air-conditioned, naturally). The interviewer was amazed that we just got here on Thursday and were already at this point! That was good to hear. Lots of simple questions, and an explanation of the process.... His info is sent to Ho Chi Minh City for review by the one woman who approves all of these adoptions. They will hear back from her at that point and set up a second interview here. Once that is done, we should, barring any delays get Molly's visa the next day, and we're free to go HOME!!!! Only catch right now is that the one woman I referred to is off for a "couple of days" and he's not sure if that means things just wait for her to get back. "go with the flow, remember?" After our interview and the Maust's interview were done, we went to get the girls' passport photos taken and then back here for some "blog-time". This evening we'll be heading to the Water Puppet Theater, which Emma has been looking forward to big-time. We'll fill you in on that later.

some random shots from the past 2 days:

Vietnamese school kids playing in the playground

Making friends in Hanoi.... who needs language, anyway?

It's amazing how the women here constantly approach us, in a very friendly way, and are so happy to see us with a Vietnamese baby. This kind of scene is repeated many times per day. And the waves and happy looks we get from virtually everyone we pass is heartwarming.

A Carousel is a Carousel in any language!! Molly is not impressed, though :-)

Typical scene ... this one in the village outside of Hanoi

Another typical street sight ... amazing what people of any age and gender will fit on their bike or motorbike

Emma Modeling her traditional Vietnamese gown at the shop where it was made

SISTERS FALLING IN LOVE:





At the silk shops:

Howie, Emma, Kate with Molly, Kenny (from World Child), Cindy with Lydia, Super Guide Anh Martin from World Child: