Day 1-2 by Don	Day 1-2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, Back Home
	After nearly a year of planning, we are finally here in Da Nang, on the central coast of Vietnam.  We have over $11,000 of donations in one way or another.  Right before we took off someone was able to donated 13 laptops and very small computers which I quickly packed in boxes and paid for extra luggage.  Others donated CAD software (PTC) that we are now instructing 10 teachers, who will in turn teach the children of the three schools we are helping out here in Da Nang.  With the money that was donated, we purchase 20 computers with monitors (for a total of 33 computers with the ones that were donated), desks to go along with them, paint to paint the orphanages bunk beds and walls, head phones for the children to use in the classes, and 2 interpreters to help out in the instructions.
	All of this started last year after Carolyn and I traveled to Beijing.  We found an apartment on Vacation Rentals By Owners which was offered by a couple.  On leaving, we heard that one of the representatives of VRBO, Marvin, was due to stay at the apartment right after we left.  I told Ding that she should tell Marvin that I wanted his job, traveling around and checking out the different apartments.  Long story short, Marvin and I hooked up and started talking about service projects and he suggested I should just offer my computer experience.  Same day, a friend who was support for us in Tibet, emailed asking if I knew of an orphanage in Cambodia that would take some supplies.  I contacted the agency that we knew in Vietnam to see if they needed anything, and on their opening web page, staring at me was them asking for computer people.  This seemed like an idea project to help out, but I always get leery about things like this...will the money be used effectively?  Will the money actually make it to those in need?  Well it turned out that a good friend l raced with in the Eco Challenge was due to go to Da Nang in January for a medical conference.  What better excuse, than to go see Rick in the very place that was asking for the help!  Rick and I spent 5 days in January and were mesmerized by the kids.  I don't think Rick even attended one of the classes offered during the conference!  He just signed in, and we both left to visit the different places.  Everything seemed so god-coincidence as Sheila called it, how all of this played out.  It was just all too coincidental…meeting up with Marvin, Erin asking for an orphanage, the foundation asking for computer help, Rick traveling to Da Nanag.  Sometimes you just have to accept, let go, and see where you land.
	We arrived on Sunday. After probably spending over 15 hours on the internet finding the ideal place to stay here in Da Nang, and then making reservations, and even confirming them, when we got to the hotel, they didn't know who we were, nor did they have any rooms for us.  The women at the My Khe Hotel was great through.  After calling several people, she arranged for two rooms that we could check into later in the day.  She would hold our luggage as we started exploring our new surroundings.
	My Khe Hotel Mot as the locals called it (there are two, mot means one) is situated on the China Sea.  This is the vacation spot for the Vietnamese people.  You will rarely see a Caucasian here.  People from Ha Noi, and Ho Chi Mihn city come here with their families and just enjoy the beach.  There is a big water park up the road from here that you hardly ever see anyone at, we are told by someone that people would rather just come to the beach and have fun.  They arrive at 5AM by the hundreds (thousands?) and are gone by 6:30AM…only to arrive later in larger masses at 6PM.  During the morning and afternoons, the beaches are empty.  Our two room hotel rooms are large and comfortable.  I think we paid $40/night.  Other than Robyn kicking me all night, it is the ideal place to stay.
	On Monday we traveled to the Vocational school and started setting up computers.  This school would take 8 of the computers which would augment their 10 existing computers.  The 10 older computers were still running Windows 2000.  Fortunately the new computers were all running XP.  Linda and Robyn stayed here and continued setting up the computers and desks, while Deanna and I traveled with Lihn to the School for the Blind.  Here we set up 8 additional computers.
	After we were finished here, the three of us traveled back to the Vocational School to pick up Robyn and Linda and we traveled out to where the children live.  When we arrived, the children and the "mother" and another gentleman who I saw in January were madly trying to find the can of the correct color paint to pain some fans.  It was very funny watching them talk back and forth, they seemed so intense of finding the paint that they felt was the correct color.  After opening maybe 10 cans, they found the correct blue paint.  We did some sanding of the fans, and then painted all bazillion fans that they had dismantled.  I never knew there were that many fans in an orphanage, but there must have been some spec that says that you must indeed have that many.  We sanded them all!  Then we painted them all!  Then we sat while they dried so we could paint them a second time.  Linda said that she was going to tell people that she did indeed sit around and watch the paint dry while in Vietnam.
	That night, we met up with Khua, Rick and my taxi cab driver in January.  It was good to see him again, but something was different.  He was more reserved that back in January.  He did get us to a local restaurant, and after eating, we met up with him again and he took us to the Coffee spot that Rick and I had gone and we had the most awesome ice cream.  We had a nice 20 minute walk back to the hotel along the beach.  As we walk though the alley ways, my mind travels back to our race several years ago where we walked many miles and hours through the local population.  People are sleeping in their hammocks in the front, you could see people in their homes watching TV, street side restaurants are filled with people eating and drinking.  I long for the race we did many years ago together.  We walked the beach back to the hotel.  Robyn kept stepping on phosphorous algae and she was glowing at times!  Linda and Deanna have some good discussions together.  I am tired from the jet lag and just want to walk and walk and walk in my thoughts.
	The next morning, I split up from Deanna, Linda and Robyn.    They will be going back to the homes of the kids and painting with Lihn.  I catch a taxi and since I can't pay him, we go to the Vietcong Bank for money.  Afterwards, we travel to the School for the Blind and I meet up with the technical interpreter and we start teaching the PTC software to 7 instructors.  What a challenge.  If I did not have him, it would definitely have been a thousand timers harder.  None of the instructors is really technical.  There are some who teach accounting, some teach 2nd graders, one who is blind and attending the university.  They all seem to have a hard time with the software, all except an artist student.  After about 1.5 hours, Tam suggests we take a break.  Nobody leaves during the break and they all do the exercises over on their own and I am amazed at how much they really did pick up.  Other than setting the constraints on circles, they all have it down except the two accountants, who had only used Excel and nothing else.  This takes me placing my hand on everyone’s hand and clicking and dragging to show them how to do it.
	But in then end, they all master it and we take lunch.  A three hour lunch!  It drives me crazy to take such a long lunch but I sit with my interpreter and we discuss living in Vietnam.  He tells me about a saying they all learn...”in Vietnam, what is not enough, is enough”...basic apartment rent is $60/month...a house is $1000/month+...salaries are $80/month...no one thinks about getting a house...Joy is doing great things for the people here...there is a very poor, by beautiful place at the southern tip of Vietnam which I want to go see.  It is hot and my 3 hour lunch is almost over...time to get back to instructing.  `:-)
	Day 1-2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, Back Home