The Moyer Family Adventure

I know that I posted not too long ago about the boys and their sports activities. But this weekend was end of the sports program for the boys this year and I had to do one more post. I take pictures all year long of the boys participating in their various sports program for my scrapbooks. On Saturday, I could not helping thinking that a couple of pages of pictures could never capture all the countless hours over the past three years that we, and in particular D, have devoted to supporting our sons in their sports programs. In hot tropical sun or damp winter weather, the Moyers have been on the field, on one type of court or another, on the baseball diamond or in the pool participating in a variety of sporting events - with their parents in tow. D and I are both firm believers in raising our sons to love sports, not to become star athletes, but to encourage them to love exercise. The other thing we value is sportsmanship. So we have taught the boys that after every practice or game, they should tell their coach "thank you"  and shake their hand in appreciation for the coach's time. And so I just wanted say a very big thank you to D - he did most of the heavy lifting on this one. Thanks Coach, you're the best.

We always thought the Eagle Scout Project would be a lot of work, but we never knew finishing up everything would just as much effort. The clock was ticking for us because we wanted to have the court of honor before a lot of our friends who helped on the project moved this summer. We didn’t think too much of it until I started reading what needed to be done for the Board of Review and the final approval from the National Headquarters. Yikes! So we ramped up plans to get everything done.

T was lucky because our Branch has a former scout master and two other men who are Eagle Scouts. They did a wonderful job with his Board of Review and he came back glowing. We were so very proud of him and how seriously he took his preparations. Family preparations of the Court of Honor were equally as brisk as we were awaiting many of the things we needed from the U.S. But last Sunday afternoon, it all came together and about 40 friends gathered together to celebrate T’s success.

T was the MC for the afternoon and did a lovely job. Only a wee bit nervous. First, we honored J and his completion of his Religious Knot and Arrow of Light requirements for Cub Scouts. Afterwards, he “crossed over” into Boy Scouts, where T welcomed him with the Scout Handshake and a new uniform. J’s Cub Scouting experience has been mainly accomplished on his own. He hasn’t had the monthly pack meeting to celebrate his accomplishments, nor other boys to work with. So I was particularly glad he could celebrate his accomplishments the same day as T.

T’s portion of the event was kicked off by O and J’s explanation of the Scout Law. Up until the big day they couldn’t do it without the giggles, so their eyes never left their papers to ensure they could deliver on the big day. It was a way to include O, who was quite proud of his role. Elder M, one of our senior missionaries here and Eagle Scout, delivered the Scout Oath. He has been a big part of T’s project and final Board of Review so we were glad to be able to include him in our event. D presented T with a lovely embroidered neckerchief, plaque and flag. And our event was complete. I think it was a great day for T, he had friends, our embassy and church community in attendance. Even the woman who works for the NGO we partnered with for the project came. It was a nice testament that, though he is a Lone Scout, T’s project brought a lot of people together – just like an Eagle Project should.

One of the best decisions we made before coming to Vietnam was not to bring a car. Even now it seems crazy that a family of five can get around without a car - something you could never picture in America. So I had a hard time imagining how it would be to get around. In the end, it was worked out even better than I ever imagined. With the shuttle to work and the bus to school, we don't need to worry about transportation during the week and on the weekends, we have the two best things we have ever purchased - our motorbikes. We are all despondent about selling them before we leave. I don't know who loves them more - the boys or us.

Maintenance is super easy and affordable for motor bikes. Everyone has one so parts and supplies are cheap. The bike wash is one example of how cheap having the motor bikes can be. It costs about $0.75 to have a motor bike thoroughly washed and detailed. While you wait you get to sit in this lovely lounge room where you can buy a lukewarm soda or some other beverage. For those looking for a little more relaxation, there is always the bamboo smoking pipe. A full tank of gas that will last about two weeks for me is only $2.50. And the one time I got in an accident and dinged up D's bike, the brake handle and mirror was replaced - less than $5.00. The memories of all our rides - priceless.

I am always reading dire stats in the news about young marriages, such as "60 percent of the marriages of young people (aged 20 to 25) terminate in a divorce." Yikes! These are not exactly confidence builders for someone who married at twenty. So I am proud to say that this week D and I reached the 18 year mark of beating the statistical odds of staying married (for couples who marry young anyway). Luckily for us so far, so good. Our anniversary fell on a Monday and we thought that having an extend lunch would be the perfect way to celebrate. Plus, we'd be all dressed up nice for work anyway! A couple of years ago I had a fabulous buffet for a work lunch at the world-famous Metropole Hotel and thought it the perfect venue for our lunch. I was really looking forward to it, until D called me that morning breaking the bad news that the buffet was no longer being offered. He seemed kind of frantic about it and I explained it was okay to go somewhere else. So we picked another restaurant in the hotel and enjoyed a lovely Italian lunch. At the end of our meal, a decadent chocolate mousse cake and lovely bouquet of roses were presented by the wait staff. Apparently, my sweet husband was distressed earlier that morning not because of the closed buffet, but because he wanted to prearrange a little surprise for our meal and the not knowing where we would be eating was putting a crimp into those plans. It was a lovely surprise and a perfect example of how D works to beat those dreary marriage statistics. Love you.

Our family loves beach trips. Ever since our first posting in Cyprus, we have been fortunate to be able to make beach trips all around the world. I always find it interesting that no matter where we are – the beach is always an easy going relaxing experience for us. We’ve heard a lot about the island Phu Quoc from various friends who enjoyed the natural beauty and remote beaches of this tropical island. So we have been looking to visit for a long time and finally were able to plan a trip during our spring break. Based on a recommendation from a friend we stayed at a place called Cassia Cottages. We were surprised to discover that it was owned by someone we knew. He has his own spice company, so we knew our hotel restaurant would be great and it was.

The hotel was made up of small cottages in a garden like setting. Our cottage overlooked a pool and the beach, it was lovely to be able to open the windows and enjoy seeing both from our living room. Completely family-friendly, the boys were able to run around in bare feet and ate dinner a couple times in their PJs after washing the sand off for the day. We also spent the large part of each day exploring the island on motor bikes. What can I say, we love our motor bikes. It was interesting to see the little fishing villages. We also found a great beach that we had all to ourselves and spent the morning in our own little world. Our clothes, however, were caked in red sand from all the dirt roads. We had a great time.

Phu Quoc was once an unknown beach paradise outside of Vietnam. It is the kind of place where girls still wear the traditional white Ao Dai to school However, this once sleepy island is starting to gain international attention. Its beaches were voted "The Most Cleanest and Beautiful Beach of World" by ABC News in February, 2008. I have to agree that they are certainly beautiful, but I think the “cleanest” title might not quite fit certain beaches on the island.

Phu Quoc is the largest island in Vietnam. It floats in the warm turquoise waters in the Gulf of Thailand, about a 50 minute flight from Ho Chi Minh City. It actually is quite close to the coast of Cambodia. Phu Quoc is famous for its two traditional products: fish sauce and black pepper. The rich fishing grounds offshore provide the anchovy catch from which the prized sauce is made. At night you can see the fishing boats lining the coast as they use flood lights to attract the fish. Pepper cultivation is located inland in the center of the island. There is also a great national park and scuba diving available on the island

For the time being, tourists visiting Phu Quoc can still enjoy the experiences of finding a remote beach lined with coconut trees and calm blue waters. But that is changing, we noticed that there was a lot of development going on. It is obvious the word about Phu Quoc is getting out. But for the most part, the island remains a hidden gem.

The Hanoi Citadel occupies a vast swathe of land in the center of Hanoi very close the the HCM memorial, but was only recently opened to visitors in 2010 as part of Hanoi’s 1,000 anniversary. For the past 1300 the citadel has been at the center of Vietnam's military affairs and off limits to anyone who would have liked to have visited the historical site. Coinciding with its opening, the Citadel was also named a UNESCO world heritage site under the name: "The Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long – Hanoi." Yes, I though the title was a bit much myself.

The significance of the Citadel in Vietnam is both historical and psychological. It was built in the 11th century by the Ly Viet Dynasty. Constructed on the remains of a Chinese fortress dating from the 7th century, on drained land reclaimed from the Red River Delta, it has been the center of political power in Vietnam for almost 13 centuries without interruption. The buildings reflect a unique South-East Asian culture specific to the lower Red River Valley, at the crossroads between influences coming from China in the north and the ancient Kingdom of Champa in the south.

Due to its long historical military significance, many believe that those who hold the Citadel hold the country. Since its construction, numerous dynasties, French colonials and Vietnam’s communist rulers all have fought to establish this area as their military headquarters. Including Vietnamese celebrated general, Vo Nguyen Giap, who planned campaigns against the South Vietnamese government in a small building within the fort. Essentially, this place has been Vietnam’s Pentagon for a thousand years.

Considering its location downtown, the Citadel area is very quiet. Because it has been in continuous use over the last 1,000 years the space has undergone continuous construction, not many relics of ancient value remain besides the original imperial gates and a set of 15th century stone carved dragon stair cases that decorate the steps to what was once the central building, the Kinh Thien Palace. Tucked away in various buildings are small museums related to the site. But our favorite exhibit was a black and white photo exhibition of Hanoi during the turn of the century. We had a great time picking out buildings in the city that still existed and marveling at how the city has changed.?The boys on the other hand considered scaling the Citadel walls the highlight of the day.

We just spent a great day exploring downtown Hanoi and pretending we were tourists. We have about four and a half months left and there are a couple of things we want to buy, a couple pieces of furniture to be made and a couch to reupholster. The weather is warmer here, but we are still waiting for a sighting of the sun. It has been since November that Hanoi has been covered in clouds, mist or pollution. I had hoped our Spring Break trip last week down south would bring the sun, but it did not and I am really missing it. I assume it still shines somewhere! As always having three boys, work and church keeps us busy and out of too much trouble. Here is a little bit of what we have been up to...

It is our Saturday night tradition to go to dinner and try a new restaurant.  The boys eat pretty much anything so we aren't too limited on what we can try. Recently, we were told that the Japanese do the best Korean BBQ (I know strange, but true) so we tried fantastic restaurant near the Japanese embassy. Since it was filled with Japanese people, we figured it would be great and it was. My cultural insight of the evening was walking out and noticing that at every table the women had to do the grilling for all the men at the table. At our table it was D that did all the grilling. I guess it is not as manly in Japan to BBQ as it is in the USA - I couldn't get the tongs out of his hands. On the way back we stopped by a new fountain they built in our neighborhood.

A couple of weeks ago our school had the Spring Fair. I worked the American booth while the boys ran around having a great time. Cup cakes sold like an illegal drug. Apparently, everyone thought it was very American so they had to have one. Something fun the school does is to have the performing arts program showcase the students. T is in dance this year and they had a huge Bollywood style flash mob. It was great to see him enjoying the experience, plus I just love Bollywood. The big surprise of the afternoon, however, was J's band performance. He has been taking drums for the past six weeks and we didn't expect much. He performed last that day and we were amazed at how well he did - he got a roar of cheers from the crowd. Yet, I am still not convinced about drum lessons!

O had a PAC at school to showcase what his grade has been learning this year. We rotated through classes including a dance for PE, a solo reading as part of his music performance and a poetry jam. Of all our kids I think O has had the best experience at UNIS. He has the opportunity to try and experience so much I already dread his rebellion against the more traditional teaching style of the U.S. But for now, he is loving school and all that he is doing there.

And of course we do sports. Sports are a little different in that for the younger kids they are only held once a week and we don't do seasons, so the boys end  up doing a lot of different ones at the same time. The list is a wee bit scary if you think about it, this semester the sports line up is soccer (2), swimming, volleyball, fitness, basketball, baseball, and street hockey. They of course love it and I think the boys will really miss being able to try so many sports when we head back to the states. As our time is coming to a close, we are still loving every minute we can here. We've got a couple more trips in the coming months, the end of school and all the fun activities it brings, a few big events at work and then our preparations for yet another international move - and we're looking forward to it all.

The phone call came in on Friday, “so is it true about D?” And I couldn’t help wondering what D had done. The caller asked, “is it really true he actually went on a Motorcycle trip?” I had to laugh, D caused the same stir among his local office staff who couldn’t believe he’d want to go on a some “crazy” motorcycling trip. Poor D, I guess they have a hard time seeing beyond the suit he wears every day and his calm demeanor to see his adventurous streak! To add fun to the mix, D’s friend Y flew in from the U.S. to join him on what I call his “mid-life crisis trip.”

Day One. The trip started in Hanoi and took them west out of Hanoi, then South and finally back North again. They were given three motorcycle engine choices, as D described them: not manly, manly and really manly. They went for “manly.” First, they took Highway 6 passing a sea of reice paddy fields punctuated by amazing limestone karst rock formations. After a quick lunch in Hoa Binh, the capital of Hoa Binh Province, they cut cross two short mountain passes and then descended to the mountain valley settlement of Mai Chau where they overnighted in a stilt house owned by the Thai people who live there. It was about a 140 km drive the first day.

Day Two. Saying goodbye to the villagers, they then head south on a lovely winding road which followed the banks of the Ma River. After 2 hours riding along the river they stop to see Fish Ferry Stream. The guide said it was “a great mystery of nature” to find thousands of big fish peacefully swimming in shallow water. When they arrived, the water was low and there weren’t too many fish, it did not quite living up to its bill for D and his friend. After the slightly disappointing break, they jumped onto Ho Chi Minh Highway and head to Khanh village, which is home to the Muong ethnic minority. They had diner and overnighted in the local chief’s house. D describes it as very rustic and the quite night punctuated with the sounds of vomiting by their host and guide who tried, but failed to drink D’s friend under the table with local rice wine. It was about a 140 km drive that day.

Day 3. After breakfast at the home stay, they rode to Hoa Lu, the ancient capital on Vietnam which dates back to the 9th century. After a quick stop there, they rode to Trang An, also known “Halong Bay in the rice fields.” They enjoyed a relaxing boat trip on river and traveled through several mountain caves while still riding in the boats. The last let of the trip was the long haul on a high way to get home. But alas, the last stop of the trip was at a goat meat restaurant and by the time D woke up the next morning he was too sick to get out of bed. My poor road warrior.

Before the trip, D worried most about the traffic on the roads as he knows how crazy it can be here. But the guide took them mostly on back country roads that were populated by the occasional water buffalo. He said the scenery was fantastic and the entire trip far better than he anticipated. It was definitely an amazing experience for them both. I am already looking forward to seeing what these two will cook up for when we are living in Mexico.

The aquathlon is an annual event at UNIS. The inaugural event was last year and T did both the running and swimming portions of the event. But this year the event was opened up for teams. As you can imagine, I never even thought about, until D asked T to do the event as a father and son team. T lit up like a light thinking about participating in the event with his dad.

The event had 125 entries and at 123, the boys had a long time to wait to start their race. They had decided to go the distance at a 300m swim and a 3000m run. T started first with the swim and actually was able to pass the swimmer in front of him - which was pretty exciting for all of us. However, as T was passing off his marker to D, I noted that the father of the swimmer that T had passed was dressed from head to toe in synthetic running gear. I was pretty sure that the race gods would end up balancing the odds when D was running against Mr. Lycra Man.

Both the boys made it through their paces in good time. Though one was not quite as winded as the other (I will let you guess which one was not quite as in shape as the other.) But equally excited to have finished the race. They did not come in first, but actually made a good showing and celebrated the day by eating two sausages and carrot cake each! So proud of my dynamic duo!

The most beautiful boy in the whole world turned seven this week. Some may think I am biased, but I am not. O has a sparkle in his eye all the time, but this week it was particularly bright in anticipation of his big day. There were a lot of fun highlights for him, gifts at breakfast, homemade cards from brothers, cupcakes at school and a delicious chocolate cake and even more gifts for dinner. The day did end in tears as there just "wasn't enough time to play with all the new toys."

On Saturday we held his birthday party for friends. He wanted an angry bird birthday themed party and luckily for me it was very popular last year so there were a lot of great ideas on the internet. As always, we liked to make some of our own games at home, so we created our own bowling pins, pin the beak on the angry bird, a live action version of the game and a really cool pinata. O was in heaven getting ready for the big event and I loved making crafts with the boys.

Alas, Saturday dawned dark and dreary so my hopes for an outside party were squashed. So ten rambunctious seven year-olds spent the morning experiencing a life-sized version of a very popular app - in my house. Luckily, my living room area is huge. So sling shots and knocking down boxes to get stuffed green pigs didn't do too much damage! Our little O was one happy kid. My favorite thing I noticed him doing as his guests left was to put his hand on their shoulder and look them in the eye to earnestly thank them for their gift. Super cute.

We observed at a recent school performance that we are entering into a different life phase. As we watched the performance, my future high schooler and my future middle schooler sat quietly to watch the performance. I looked over to see many of the other families who had children in O's class running around with their toddlers and little ones. Their oldest and my youngest just overlapping in age - it was kind of crazy for me to realize that they were just starting while I am wrapping up this parenting thing. Good thing because we're getting old.