Art at the Father's House: Session One

The Father's house is a home for single mothers with babies up to 2 or three years old. We planned three sessions of our version of "art therapy" tailored to the needs of this group of women. Art therapy at the Father's house started off with a relaxing session of using brushes and stamps cut from potatoes and peppers. We chose to have the women do this as a way to encourage free expression as a way to relax, something these Mothers do not get to do.

let's be honest--nothing could have prepared us for real life in Da Nang!

Let us introduce you to a bit of the craziness we have been living in.

First off, here is a lovely treat called Chè. Apparently it is a dessert--after taking a few daring bites of this smoothie-like treat, Matt concluded it was a lovely blend of, well, "PF Changs and Dairy Queen." Let's just say we are glad we tried it but we recommend the Mango Sinh To (Smoothie).

We have found some favorites, including my favorite, Bún thịt nướng (a noodle dish with greens and peanut sauce) and some delicious noodle and vegetable dishes. But just in case...


...we stocked our mini fridge with yoghurt in case of emergency or for a cheap breakfast.


as for laundry, we learned to do it in buckets and scared the cleaning lady with the maze of clotheslines in our room.


Last, but possibly most important, we have paid about 5 visits to the local bike fixer, considering our bikes are in use every day!

Week 1: Part II: Promise House

The rest of the week we were at Promise House doing crafts and playing Duck Duck Goose (which became an all-time favorite-bordering-on-obsession with the kids).


We also decorated the walls of the girls' bedroom with outlines of each girl, and painted handprints of the boys on the walls of their room.

A Crazy First Week: Part I: Dai Loc Orphanage

Well, culture shock has finally dwindled and we are feeling acclimated to the crazy moped traffic, the smells and the heat here. It's been a crazy week and a half--last week we spent working with Orphan's Voice. We biked to two different orphanages in Da Nang and did art, played games, and gave much needed attention to the children there.

Being immersed in the culture here is amazing and varied--we have already had tons of adventures and hilarious mishaps and learning experiences which we will update you on in a future post!

First, here are some pictures to fill you in on our life this past week:



At Dai Loc Orphanage we brought supplies for everyone to make and decorate a mask. They kids here are amazingly talented and put us to shame with their art.




We also prepared journals for each child and created prompts for everyone to reflect on and write or draw in the journal.


It has been so rewarding and so humbling to work with kids who are so open to learning and who (usually) are patient with our almost nonexistent Vietnamese vocabulary (so far we know "hello," "thank you," and "no problem")!