Catch up day

It is now Saturday, I'm back in Saigon, Peter made it here in one piece after also getting fleeced by a cab driver (Vietnamese initiation), and we are kicking back before the tours begin on Monday.  I can't believe a week has gone by already.  The last few days of Da Nang were a whirlwind.  Our interpreter, Luu, took us to his friend's orphanage on Thursday night for dinner.  We toured the facility and met a few of the children who were about ages 6 to 12.  It was more of a safe house than an orphanage because some of the children went back to their families.  Enzo, the founder, used to work for Unicef until he married a Vietnamese woman and set up Care the People (http://www.carethepeople.it/lang1/).  It was a charming night oddly enough. We had a family meal with the children and then they cracked out - you guessed it - the karaoke machine.  And much to my dismay they had the English as well as Vietnamese lyrics. I almost managed to dodge it until one of the kids tricked me by pulling up Laura Branigan's classic 80's tune "Self Control".  She started singing and then half way through handed me the mic with a big grin.  Nice move - wasn't expecting that.

 Green House - Da Nang

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Pinning an Asper School chevron pin onto a graduate

And from one extreme to another, the next day we had our BizCamp graduation and roll-out discussion.  I can't say enough great things about our participants.  They worked hard every second they were here. They are dedicated to their communities and eager to raise the standard of living.  They have a number of challenges but I have no doubt they will make it work.









The course ended at 11:00 and by noon I was splashing in the waves of the South China Sea off China Beach (Da Nang Beach).  We transferred to another hotel to access the beach and have lunch.  The resorts are incredibly posh.  The infinity pool was massive.  It was a brilliant end to the week (and a nice start to three weeks of sunburns).


See you later Da Nang.  I met some wonderful people and hope to be back again to see the progress.