Day 7. May13 "Love and Marriage"

I'm Alive!!! Sorry for my untimely break since posting my last blog. I had a lovely meal yesterday (so I thought) at Son Vihn Orphanage yesterday, but it wasn't until I got back to my hotel that my stomack was in utter pain up until now...some 36 hours later. I will end my food poisoning tale by saying those 36 hours have been horrilble to suffer alone. I'm still not feeling tịp Top so if I'm not feeling somewhat better I've been rêrred to a Doctor.

So I had a great 1st day at the Orphanage on Sunday morning! All your gifts of perfume and all the other toilettrie donations where recieved with Love from the Sisters and Ninh! I was taken on a tỏur by sister Biel and got to meet all the children....As you can only imagine it too was Love and 1st site...They are soo happy and just open to meet new visitors! when I arrived wearing my Chef's hat and Apron I had to pass the wooden church as its called by all the locals. It was early morning and a Mass was going on. I tried to be very rêspectful of it but was not too successful in being un noticed. All the children in the church were pointed at me. I moved swiftly past to be out of any more on lookers from the service.

I left the Orphanage around 11am. A girl leaving the church said "Hello" ! we struck up a conversation and then parted....she then came riding up to me on her bike and asked me if I would like to attend a party at 3pm for her cousin who got married earlier that morning. I was extacted! This is just the kind of thing I like the best about traveling.....when a rare hâppening pops up into fruision. I went home to my hotel trying to find something to wear that would be appropriate for a wedding reception. I mêt Lena and a friend of her's named Hen, who I now call "Little Chicken" back at the "wooden church" at 2:30 and they escorted me to the party in their village. Their people consists not of Vietnesse but of another race called: The Bahnar culture....its an entirely different language. It's people at one time had much land to farm etc....they have been bullied by the Vietnamesse somewhat like they way we took over the Indians land in America. I guess this process is quite prevalent all over the world.

The village is extremely modest to say the least. Its people however are some of the ríchest people in kindness, warmth, genorousity in a manor many westerner's have forgotten to express....(this however does not apply to my big hearted followers of this blog)

I walked into a party already in progress. Being pulled into this group and drink from some wooden Barrel with a hose popping out! It was Banana some sort of Banana wine! Nanh the secretary from the Orphanage introduced me to his wife right away! She wisked me to the dance area where thêre was a band playing and many singers took the mic. I myself even took to singing my version of "Let it Be" lol It was a song that they all knew! It didn't matter how good you could sing....It was all about the joy oF the day and the love and happiness. This I found out was Nanh's són wedding. I didn't realize that the girl wwho invited me Lena; was Nanh's neice.

Me being the only white man stood out like the only foreinger in the room until I noticed another white tall man enter the scene. we introduced ourselves right away because It was a obvious choice. His name is James Randel 36, from England....a Scaffler who jokingly said hẻ was put out of work because of the American Resession and took to taking a long trip around Malaysia and other Asian areas as well as Vietnam. He had literally just arrived in town from the Northern regions and met someone like I did and was invited to this party in the Bahnar village. we became instant alliances and had great chats about both our experiences on our jouneys to this part of the world...so much that all the girls kept trying to break up and join the festivities at hand....and they were right I suppose!

After the party a group of us retreated to what I like to call the tree fort house and had a lovely group dinner of probably 18 to 20 people sitting on the floor in a circle. After the dinner "Little Chicken" wanted me to come to her house to her sister's birthday celebration. I left James at the Tree fort only to find out the next đay from him that he climbed out of the tree fort home to releave himself. After doing so James took a step the wrong way and sunk into a swampy drudge of mudd all the way up to his kneck. He was pulled out be a couple people and cleaned up. He did loose his phone in the pluge.

It was and will ever be remembered as "Love & Marriage" day for myself.

Until next time....xôxo