The Zalenski, Lorigan, Butler, Warren contingent has arrived! After a 36 hour tour (24 hours fly time), we, all of our mangled boxes of donations, and SOME of our luggage are in Ho Chi Minh City. We took a cyclo-tour of the city --WOW-what sights and sounds. Words cannot explain the wild ride - people, bicycles, motorbikes, buses, taxis - EVERYWHERE! We then met up with Tracy, Will & Helen (David had to get back to school) for a wonderful Vietnamese meal complete with squid, monkfish and some things we're not quite sure of. At the end of the day, we got to have a quick drink at the rooftop bar of the Majestic Hotel overlooking the Saigon river before hitting the hay. Due to technical difficulties, no photos today. We were all looking a little ... read more

Today was one of our best days yet. We got to spend time with our friend and tour guide Ti -- and he brought along his very funny and sweet sister-in-law Chi. We went to the government-run dental practice. I'll let David do the talking.... (Dave speaking) It was a very quick tour, as I'm not sure how receptive they were to a foreign student sitting in on things. I kept my distance to say the least. The neatest concept was that every specialty was housed in one big building; from simple cleanings to implants, you could get it all under one roof. It was fun to see how the patients would leave their shoes outside the doorway; sitting on the chairs with bare feet! To add, each room shared five chairs, except for the VIP ... read more

Tuesday March 18th I'm writing this at 2:30am after a very exhausting day -- I think we were all in bed and asleep by 8:30pm. I woke up and thought I'd better write the days events down -- before I forget. We toured the CuChi Tunnels today 25 miles outside of Ho Chi Minh City (though most people we speak to still call HCMC " Saigon"). Our tourguide's name was Mr. Bin. He was a soldier for Southern Vietnam during the American/Vietnam War fighting alongside the Americans. During our trip through the crowded streets -- this time by bus -- Mr. Bin discussed the history of Vietnam and the hardships of the Vietnamese people due to the constant struggle for independence from France, Japan, North vs. South and China. He explained the eventual price that he ... read more