Tet is like all of the American holidays rolled into one. SUNY Brockport's partner in Vietnam is the Union of Friendship Organizations.  Students such as Victor and I in the above picture are community service volenteers and here we are giving gifts of money to children of poor families.
     Another aspect of community service is our time at the Agent Orange (AO) group home.  It is like day care for kids and teens suffering from birth defects due to US use of the highly toxic chemical dioxon during the American war.  For more information on that you can google danangquangnamfund.org. Think about it...US veterans were not the only ones affected by AO.
     I have a correction.  On second look the dragons at the park are MUCH longer than I said.  The hedge dragons are about 100 feet long and the dinner plate dragon is probably 60 feet long.  I think the whiskers are so that people know it is not a Chinese dragon.
     One of my favorite dishes is pho ga which is rice noodle soup with chicken.  We went with some Vietnamese people who ordered for us on Saturday and what we got was a vegetarian dish that was awesome.  I have no idea what it is called and I hope to find out so I can order it again.
     So far the weather has been cloudy and rainy and in the mid to high 60s.  Liz asked about the sunsets and form what I remember of my flight time here in 1969 these are some of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.  I hope to see some of that beauty on the visit as well.  The weather should clear just in time for Bernie's visit in February.