Day 2 of Orphanage!

Sadly, it is our last full day in Vietnam but it was well spent today at Thien Binh Orphanage. The bus ride to the orphanage was quite long but Ken brought his new guitar and we spent most of the ride singing to Ken, Bryant and Cece’s guitar playing. We arrived in high spirits.  As we entered the orphanage, it was around noon and the kids were in the cafeteria area eating their lunch and some were washing their own dishes. We slowly went up to the small tables and met some of the kids. They ate pretty fast when we said that we were going to play with them and give them candy once they finished their lunch.

my slow eater

Almost immediately the MEMO boys broke out the soccer ball and started a game with the older kids. Meanwhile I was feeding this little 4-year old boy who was more interested in his dessert than his lunch. After we finished, I gave him chocolate and apparently that was the key to his heart. He grabbed my hand and pulled me outside to where all the other kids were playing. When he joined up with his other friends, I took the opportunity to take out my camera to snap a few pics. One of the kids spotted it and asked if he could take a picture. I gave him my camera but showed him to put his wrist in the wrist strap and told him to be very careful. He started to take pictures of all of his friends and they were being super goofy and less shy in the pictures. I figured that the boy would take good care of my camera so I let him hold on to it.

the photographer taking a photo of himself

Soon, the kids were getting toys but I found my kid and he was too shy to go and grab a toy but as soon as the crowd of kids disappeared, the box was empty. Then I went on a mission to find any extra toys lying around. There were some kids holding 2 toys and the first one that I asked didn’t go so well. I asked another boy if I could have one of his toys and he just handed it to me, after which I gave to my kid. It was a Class of 2007 owl (Thomas: con chim ma di hoc) and he was super happy. Soon, we all got together for a group picture and the kids went back to their rooms. Some of us started migrating towards the kids’ living areas and I decided to follow to see what it looked like. We ended up in a room full of 1-2 year old babies! They were so cute and mostly napping. Some of them woke up and we played with them. 

Alex rocking a baby to sleep =)

Johnathan and an adorable baby

It was one of the most peaceful moments of the trip for me. Later on the bus, I looked through the pictures that the little boy took…



- Vivien