Finally settled and almost leaving :(

Happy Valentine's Day! Life is still wonderful in Vietnam, but I'm starting to panic just a bit that my time here is more than half way done. It feels like the first few weeks were busy exploring and getting a schedule planned out, and I'm just now settling into a normal day-to-day routine. Speaking of routine, one of my favorite things here is the motorbikes, and I've finally gotten drivers established who know me, wait for me, and don't make me play games to get a good price! Every morning, after getting my Ca Fe Sua Da (delicious Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk) and Asian pear from his wife's hawker stall, I ride to the orphanage with Tien. Most drivers charge about 25,000 VND to get to Phu My because it's all the way across town, but I've worked out a deal with him that I'll ride with him every morning, and he'll only charge me 15,000 VND each day! Then, I usually take the bus to and from the market area for lunch because it only costs 3,000 dong each way(around 20 cents), and I really like Bus 46 that goes on that route (it looks like a trailer that would carry cattle or some type of animals, but I like it better than the other busses because it's open air!). Then, after going home to shower or change, I ride with Toan into Pham Ngu Lao for dinner. He's 47 and learning English, so I let him go the "long way" so we have more time to practice English. He asks pretty much the same questions every day, but he says he's just trying to practice his pronunciation and listening skills. He gave me his phone number and said if I'm ever stranded and can't find a driver I can call him to take me home, which was really nice, but there are almost always drivers every 5 feet saying “Moto m’am?”, so I don't imagine I'll ever take him up on the offer! At the end of the night, I always know Lem will be waiting outside the 999 store to take me home! It's great to have drivers I trust and can count on to take me to the right place without getting lost or ripping me off, and it makes me feel like a local or regular customer, which makes me feel cool J ha.
Speaking of the people here, I'm constantly overwhelmed by how genuinely kind and friendly the people are. There's no hostility towards Westerners, and while they may stare a bit too much, I've learned it's truthfully out of curiosity and interest. I was sitting at the bus stop the other afternoon, and I stuck out like a sore thumb. ONLY locals take the bus, and even Hang (my house mother) told me people would probably think I was lost if I got on a bus, but she still recommends it because it’s so much cheaper. Anyways, the lady next to me, probably around 70, said "where?" and I answered (in Vietnamese…yay me!) "Bus 14 to Rap Hat Hoa Binh." She smiled and nodded, and then went over to a hawker stall and bought a bag of these thing that I can't remember the name of (they look like giant peanuts but have a soft, sweet potato like center) to take home with her, but offered me one when she sat back down. I politely refused, as I didn't want to take what she had just bought. She insisted, so I took one, cracked open the shell, and tried it. I said "good, thank you" in Vietnamese because that's all I knew how to say, and she set a huge handful of them on my lap, motioning for me to put them in my bag. I again tried to refuse, but she insisted. While I was putting them in my purse, she saw my bus coming, flagged it down for me, helped me get on, and waved by. Maybe it was just me, but it stuck out to me as such a gracious and giving gesture by an absolute stranger; I expected her to ask for money or something in return, but it was truly just a random act of kindness.
Orphanage update for the week: I refuse to leave in 2 weeks, I’m adopting 25 kids, I’m sending the rest endless toys, clothes, and food, and I’m opening up on my own international orphanage for kids with disabilities. No but really, I’m obsessed with most of the kids, and I’m really not sure how I’ll be able to tear myself apart from them so soon. One of the guys who’s been volunteering (from Australia) for several weeks left today, and when he said bye to his “favorites,” he didn’t cry, but I did. Typical. I’ve gotten really settled into one of the rooms of toddlers, and it’s much more comfortable now that I know most of the kid’s names, the staff recognizes me, and I feel like I belong as opposed to being some random kid who steals their kids twice a day. There’s one little baby in the room that I’ve gotten extremely attached to and am protective of to an extreme. Little Mae just got brought to the orphanage a few weeks before I got there, so she’s really easily agitated and does NOT like to be put down or left alone. I assumed she was about 5 months old, but when one of the nuns who speaks some English came by today, I asked and found out she’s actually 18 months. She can’t hold her head up alone, none the less sit up, walk, or talk. Most of the kids get dinner at 2:30, but Mae gets a bottle after all the volunteers have left. I’m always SO afraid that the staff might forget to give it to her, so I try to say around and watch to make sure she gets it (although they’re pretty serious about kicking us out at 4). A few days ago my favorite nurse caught on to my concerns, so now she always grabs my arm when I go to leave and points to Mae. I think they should hire me full time…my new job is to give Mae her afternoon bottle from 4:30-5 (it takes a while because she doesn’t like to eat), and get her to sleep for the night shortly after that. Someone told me today that I looked ready to steal her away, and I think they were right!