The bonsai reunion

Yesterday I came back from work at the Hope Centre and the Bonsai was back!
Ong was so happy and our landlady couldn't stop grinning. The thieves had used a boltcutter on the gate's padlock, so we got new keys and the bonsai is now chained to the 'bonsai-bathtub', so all is good and peaceful now!

I think the family is on the watch a bit more now, though. Yesterday night I was coming back from our South African friends' weekly movie night and I got a flat tyre, so I had to push all the way home (not too bad, only a kilometer), so I called Kim to ask if he could cycle towards me. It was already almost 11pm, but the family is normally still up watching some interesting-looking Vietnamese soap opera, so he had some explaining to do as the family thought he was a burglar! Apart from the bonsai incident though everything here is really safe and the people are incredibly helpful.

I got my flat tyre fixed again today, new inner tube and they checked the rim of my wheel for spikey bits and it was only 45 thousand! BARGAIN!

Apart from a few bike problems everything has been going smoothly, so I have started to really feel at home here. If I didn't have my place at St Andrews for September I'd stay here!

Today I taught my first lesson at the Hope Centre! I'll be teaching the admin staff to run the Hope Shop, which will be opening next week, I hope. I've been busy designing products, too, and promise to upload some pictures once we have more prototypes. My favourite is the Huda bangle, made from Huda beer labels on wrist-thick cardboard thread spools. Proper recycled goods! We're also doing bangles with Aluoi fabric, a beautiful handwoven fabric made by members of 2 of Vietnam's 50+ ethnic groups. So be warned, that's all you'll be getting for Christmas and birthdays this year!


I'm off to the Hue Children Centre library this evening. Yesterday we lent out our first books and some are due to be returned tonight, so I am incredibly excited about seeing our lending scheme evolve over the next few weeks!