First place we went to was HM's uncle's daycare/kindergarten. What a super experience! There are 4 floors of children. The very top floor is for babies - three aides in the room that was about 13X13. There were 4 hammocks, w/ one little one sleeping in one. The others were either crawling around or toddling. I would guess there were about 20 little ones in that room. The bottom floor is the administration, bikes, and the kitchen. The children (there are 200 of them) pay about $100/month for the smaller ones and $50/month for the older kids as they need less attention.
the kitchen serves 3 full meals plus two milk breaks per day. the food is measured for amount, nutrition and dietary needs of each child. The 'obese' children are put on special diets, but the principal said the parents do not follow the diet and like their kids obese. The children are given two physicals each year and an outside company does the weighing and measuring of the food for each child. The obese children are supposed to exercise more too.
the second floor has rooms on either side of the stair case. These are for the 12-24 month children. I would say there were about 20 kids in each room. One takes off your shoes before entering a classroom. There are tiny gates that keep the children from leaving the room. Each room had 3 teachers/aides.
The next level had 3-4 year olds on one side and kindergarten on the other side. Ha My and I went into each room. In one spot, two little girls were playing house, one was the mom. She had a bowl filled w/ strips of white paper, signifying rice noodles for the meal. Initially the children just stared at me - and then they would smile and look at me. In the 3-4 year old room, I asked if I could take a picture of them. They said yes and all sat orderly on the floor. When I showed them the picture, they clamored over one another, so excited to see the pictures. I tried to show each one of them by slowly moving the camera around but they continued to crowd and push everyone. When I was leaving they held up 2 fingers and waved to me.
The 5 year olds were playing as well as some doing academic work. Two students were copying letters in a workbook and another student was working on subtraction of numbers. Some were playing on the floor, just having fun. Two were painting in a workbook. The classrooms were well organized and well appointed.
After the tour, we sat in the first floor area and spoke w/ HM's uncle and the principal. The principal has been a principal for 30 years, the daycare/school has been in existence for 14 years. there were photos on the wall of the children w/ Santa! Very funny and cute.
The children were dear! The older ones have 2 hours of English during the afternoon. They have someone who comes to teach them English. Interesting as no one spoke English to us.
Then we walked toward the Market - stopped at a couple of stores - B and HM bought North Face winter jackets! B's has fleece insert etc and he paid $60 for it. the same store sold Crocs - am still trying to build that stock back up! There were several stores with a zillion different models. HM bought 2 pair and B bought a pair of Croc men's shoe-like sandals. I got a pair of yellow flip flops for about $10. Then we went into the market. Jam crammed full of everything you ever wanted to buy. Aisle size maybe one body width and every 'store' trying to sell you something. Izod shirts, Polo shirts, children's clothing, fabric, purses, linens, dresses, T shirts and that is just a few.
Walked back to hotel w/ B as HM diverted to go to her mom to tell her B would be along. Glad he walked me to hotel as I don't have much of a clue where I am. B has figured it all out and is quite good as a navigator.
We have paid for our rooms for another day since we leave so late. My hotel bill in Hanoi was $110 for 5 nights w/ breakfasts and cockroaches included. This hotel cost $215 for 5 nights plus b-fasts. I like this hotel and Saigon much better than Hanoi. Hanoi is very disorganized, dirty, and hard. I loved central VN best - and I like Saigon a lot.
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