At a glance, it looks and feels like a whole lot of dough! But alas, it's all small bills. We've heard that the US dollar is readily used in Saigon / HCMC, so we don't necessarily have to exchange our money to the Dong. And that's OK by me, because we'd actually loose a good amount through the exchange. So small bills it is !!

Update: So a family friend sent us a note to make sure we do in fact exchange a portion of our small bills to the Dong, because much of what we will purchase will actually have a value much less than a $1 bill. Being New Yorkers, that's kind of hard to believe! Just thought I'd share ;)

Our upcoming trip to Viet Nam is really taking shape in our minds, and the excitement is growing. We're currently working on all of the preparations. Beyond the documentation aspects of our trip, we will also be giving multiple presentations at a local business university and multiple English clubs which consist of students and young professionals. So, we're putting together Power Point presentations for these opportunities.

This week we also learned that we will be flying up to Da Nang, and will be visiting China Beach. The plan is that we will eat breakfast on the beach and spend the morning relaxing. Then we'll be heading to a CCC meeting ... Not sure what this will entail, but just like most things in life, we'll just "wing it." Another exciting development this week, we will be working at a local Saigon orphanage. We were told to be sure to bring clothes we can paint in. Now this is something I can handle! However, the children might serve as a great distraction. We're hoping to spend time with the children learning more about their lives and documenting their experience.

Less than three days ... We're off to Saigon!

In an effort to raise support for the NYC 2nd MISSION Team, we organized a not-so-silent auction that was held online for a week with a closing reception at the SALT art space at 1160 Broadway. Not only were our efforts to raise support successful, we threw a great party! The closing reception was a smash hit. And the performance of Red Flamboyant written by Don Nguyen topped out the evening.