We now have Kevin…. And about 10,000 uninvited little guests. Almost all of the babies here in the Vietnam orphanages have been infested with scabies. For those of you who are (hopefully) unfamiliar with scabies, they are little lice-type burrowing insects that get under the skin and eat their way through little tunnels, causing extreme itching, redness, and scabs throughout the body. Apparently they also like to move from person to person quickly. So, when we got home with Kevin, we had to cover Kevin, ourselves, and Brian with this prescription insecticide. We then had to take our clothes, bedding, etc. off and wash right away in hot water and then let them set for a while in the laundry room. We need to make sure and get these things killed here before they become unwanted passengers on the plane ride back to Florida!
Wednesday morning I got up early and took the taxi hell-ride over to the other hotel (where we all meet) and all the men (no women allowed) went to the Vietnam passport office to apply for the kids’ passports. That afternoon we were supposed to meet back at that hotel to go for the medical visits. Actually, this seemed like a great opportunity for our “facilitator” to take advantage of everyone one more time. She is the same one who tried to make us stay at the other hotel so that she could receive her kickback (which the others figured out only after checking in there). Well, this time, she lined up a van to take us to the Vietnamese hospital for our doctor appointments. Please keep in mind that the taxis in Saigon are plentiful, much like Manhattan. But unlike Manhattan, you can go anywhere in the city for $2 or less. So she calls this van to pick us up and then tells us it’s going to be $20 for the van. We all thought this was a rip-off because of the going rate for taxis. Then she told us it was $20 per couple! That was $80! You can hire a Chauffer driven limo here for the entire day for $80! I had finally had it and told her off right there in the hotel lobby. I told her that I was sick of her trying to make a buck off of us and nickel-and-diming us. She said that this included a tour of China Town and the Saigon river front. Yeh, that’s exactly what we want with four babies in tow….a tour of China Town during Saigon rush hour.
So, anyway, we got to the hospital (which was 10 minutes away and would have been $1.50 in a taxi) and waited in their dingy waiting room. We waited and waited for about 2 hours. I had not brought a bottle because I thought it would be in-and-out with the appointment. Well, Kevin got hungry and started to cry. All of the Vietnamese people in the waiting room all looked at me (holding the Vietnamese crying baby) and decided they all had the answer (in Vietnamese, of course). One woman was pointing at the baby and saying “Bing Bang Bang!” and then some man was pointing saying “Wing Wok Duc!” and someone else was saying “Quoc Son Bok!”. Meanwhile, I am telling them in English that I appreciate their advice but he is just hungry. Thank goodness I finally got called for the appointment and was rescued for the board of inquisition.
The medical exam lasted all of 5 mintues and the doctor declared “healthy baby”. That was good to hear but I also noticed that he didn’t speak any other English. I doubt that “your kid is covered with scabies bites” was part of his vocabulary. So, I took my certificate of good health and got out of there. No more appointments until Friday morning when I go back to the passport office to pick up Kevin’s passport.
Wednesday morning I got up early and took the taxi hell-ride over to the other hotel (where we all meet) and all the men (no women allowed) went to the Vietnam passport office to apply for the kids’ passports. That afternoon we were supposed to meet back at that hotel to go for the medical visits. Actually, this seemed like a great opportunity for our “facilitator” to take advantage of everyone one more time. She is the same one who tried to make us stay at the other hotel so that she could receive her kickback (which the others figured out only after checking in there). Well, this time, she lined up a van to take us to the Vietnamese hospital for our doctor appointments. Please keep in mind that the taxis in Saigon are plentiful, much like Manhattan. But unlike Manhattan, you can go anywhere in the city for $2 or less. So she calls this van to pick us up and then tells us it’s going to be $20 for the van. We all thought this was a rip-off because of the going rate for taxis. Then she told us it was $20 per couple! That was $80! You can hire a Chauffer driven limo here for the entire day for $80! I had finally had it and told her off right there in the hotel lobby. I told her that I was sick of her trying to make a buck off of us and nickel-and-diming us. She said that this included a tour of China Town and the Saigon river front. Yeh, that’s exactly what we want with four babies in tow….a tour of China Town during Saigon rush hour.
So, anyway, we got to the hospital (which was 10 minutes away and would have been $1.50 in a taxi) and waited in their dingy waiting room. We waited and waited for about 2 hours. I had not brought a bottle because I thought it would be in-and-out with the appointment. Well, Kevin got hungry and started to cry. All of the Vietnamese people in the waiting room all looked at me (holding the Vietnamese crying baby) and decided they all had the answer (in Vietnamese, of course). One woman was pointing at the baby and saying “Bing Bang Bang!” and then some man was pointing saying “Wing Wok Duc!” and someone else was saying “Quoc Son Bok!”. Meanwhile, I am telling them in English that I appreciate their advice but he is just hungry. Thank goodness I finally got called for the appointment and was rescued for the board of inquisition.
The medical exam lasted all of 5 mintues and the doctor declared “healthy baby”. That was good to hear but I also noticed that he didn’t speak any other English. I doubt that “your kid is covered with scabies bites” was part of his vocabulary. So, I took my certificate of good health and got out of there. No more appointments until Friday morning when I go back to the passport office to pick up Kevin’s passport.
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