Merry Christmas!

Hello lovers!

It is Christmas morning in Viet Nam. Hue city, which is usually silent by 10 pm, was bustling last night. Our hotel threw a christmas party- outfitted with some special treats for all of the foreigners...white bread, french fries, mayonnaise, oranges, what looked like beef and potato "stir-fry" and warm Hooda beer...it truly was a special night. The "boss" paraded around making sure everyone had a beer in hand at all times. After the "refreshments," a few of us headed to DMZ bar where all the staff donned Santa hats. The doorway was lit like a christmas tree and Santa himself stood with a pooch and a beard that looked more like Fu Man Chu than good ol' Saint Nick. A lot of foreigners are spending their holiday here, and even now at the Mandarin Cafe, there is a huge table of people sharing a christmas meal.

Tonight we are having dinner with our friend T-Bone and his family. His mom is preparing a Vietnamese food, T-Bone is making a Hue specialty and Liz, Emily, Paul and I have the task of bringing an American dish, so this afternoon we will head to the market to see what we can come up with.

We arrived back in Hue two days ago and decided to save a dollar per night by switching to a different hotel about a block away from where we were the last time. For four dollars per night we are inhabiting a small, windowless, cement room right off the lobby with a bathroom in which everything leaks...it definately makes this christmas memorable. We are in the process of looking for a room in an apartment...there are two possiblities in the works, so hopefully we can move within the next week...

We begin our work at Duc Son right after the new year, so the next few days will be spent doing research for the project and looking into possible grants to apply for, as well as finding a place to live...The goal for the work in Duc Son is to start a sponser a child program, so I want to look into effective ways to go about it. If anyone has any tips or insight regarding Sponser programs or grants, I would love to hear from you. Since Duc Son is run by nuns, Liz and I are looking into grants geared towards women.

Paul bought a bicycle yesterday. Teal. It is a real gem. Everyone looks at us as we ride by, me sitting on the back (there are small metal "shelf" that sits over the back wheel. All the bikes have them, and more often than not, there are two people per bike- with interesting variations for peddling and steering.)

The weather has been glorious- hot and sunny, but today I think we are back to typical Hue...overcast and cool. It rained all night and looks like it is trying for more.

I will leave you for now. All of our love. We miss you and hope you have a lovely holiday!

Please write and let us know how you are. Also, send me your mailing address...I have some things I would like to send out.

Talk soon,

love, eva