Day 6 and 7: Connections in High Places, Five Star Hotels, and Warm as Poo

My previous post referred to an incident that prevented us from going to Nha Trang because of complications of paperwork. to put in shortly, I had to do even more paperwork to replace my missing paperwork because I'm one month away from being 16. Anyways, my backpack was stolen and I lost the following items:
-2 pairs of sunglasses I'm a lifeguard...I am going to die of blindness.
-Chapstick, hairbrush
-Sketchbook, journal, day planner
-THE SCARLET LETTER I ANNOTATED HALF OF IT ALREADY. OH. MAH. GAWDDDDDDDD.

However, my family is extremely cool and they have connections absolutely everywhere, and Cha Toai, the leader of our mission trip, also literally has connections in high places. By saying that, I mean he's really close to God and important people that could help me with my paperwork. Other than that, I got to stay with my uncle Truong and the rest of his family. Basically we ate and napped because his wife made us, and there was really nothing to complain about because it's the house I posted about before. I can't even count all the people that helped me, and if you happen to be reading this, THANK YOU again!

This morning we finally got to Da Nang and visited this amazing mountain called Ngu Hanh Son, which is actually five mountains that represent the different elements. There were lots of steps and caves and an amazing view.

We are staying in Hoi An, which I like a lot better than Sai Gon because it's much less crowded and more serene. We're right next to the beach, which was as warm as poo but that's okay because it's absolutely BEAUTIFUL here! 













It's Phuong!!!
We're staying at the Palm Garden Resort.  It's a pretty high-end resort.  We're making the most of it, because as anyone who knows us knows, this is the first high-end resort we've ever been to.  We usually take a shuttle bus or taxi right to the heart of town in Hoi An and it's pretty awesome.  A lot of it is so authentic and has such a quaint feel to it.  The architecture is really amazing and I really think a movie should be filmed here.

Tonight, we met some pretty interesting people.  3 in fact.  3 little girls that all have to sell little trinkets in order to get by.  They sell their wares every day until 11pm, when they then walk home together.  The group of people that we're here with are pretty awesome people, who instantly took a liking to these kids and took them out for some che.
Things are definitely a bit different here than in the States and I am intrigued in seeing how much of a difference we can make in Cambodia and Vietnam.  It looks like already 1000 people have signed up for the medical care that our group of 30 people have volunteered to administer.  It's going to be a very eye-opening adventure.