Ms. Money Bags

i don't think i've ever blogged about the currency here in vietnam but it is time people. the currency here is called vietnam dong (go ahead - laugh!) and it is worth approx. 19 000 VND for 1 USD right now.

so, this means that coming to vietnam makes you a MILLIONAIRE! literally! at any given time i have over a million in my wallet and it's nothing out of the ordinary to go to the bank and take out 2 or 3 million. it's pretty exciting actually!

the reason i bring this up is that with art for action taking place yesterday and teachers still purchasing "the goods" i am carrying around MILLIONS and MILLIONS of dong. it's kind of scary to think of it. "i'm pretty much the most important person i know" (please catch the napolean dynamite reference there lol).

a long time coming

I have been wanting to write this post and thinking about this post since Christa was here and we traveled to Hue for the weekend. I know, I know, I haven't even blogged about Hue yet but this is even more important. So, we were in Hue for all of an hour, and after breakfast we were off on our first walk of the day. In the elevator, I proclaim, "this is a NO SHOPPING weekend people!" Because after all, I had spent far too much the previous weekend in Hoi An. And my "friends" (yes that is right, the term is being used loosely here) are less than supportive in my attempt to save some money!

Anyway, we are walking along for about four minutes when we find it. The place that is sure to make me spend money! How convenient?! But when you hear about this place, you'll understand why I was quick to spend.

It's called "Healing the Wounded Heart Shop" - part of the SPIRAL foundation. And everything that is made at this shop is WONDERFUL. Why? You ask. Well let me tell you why:

1. Everything is made from recycled materials. We're talking chip bags, noodle packages, telephone wires, and more!
2. Everything is hand made in Hue, Vietnam or Nepal by disabled artisans. We met some of the Vietnamese artisans who are young adults who are mutes and are now able to be contributing members of society when ordinarily, their country would see them as a burden.
3. All proceeds go to fair salaries for the artisans, social and medical insurance for the artisans, and heart surgeries for poor children in Vietnam!

See?? Told you it was wonderful! So, here we are, learning about this wonderful organization and browsing the goods when the founder of the p0roject, Marichia, comes to tell us her story. She is Italian but lives in the U.S. and funded this project to give back after seeing the devastation of the was in Vietnam when she was a teenager. She was so passionate and wonderful that it made our shopping experience even more memorable. And needless to say, it was definitely not a NO SHOPPING weekend! I bought table runners, napkins and napkin rings, bags, bowls...all kinds of great things! And, all throughout the store there are pictures of famous actors, actresses, etc. that have also bought some of these wonderful goods. Even Johnny shops SPIRAL foundation ;) P.S. the bowl he is holding is made by this really cute Vietnamese guy, I would say early 20's who is a mute. He was very proud of his stuff! And it's made entirely of old telephone wires!


Anyway, if you want more information on this fantastic foundation, please check out their website: http://www.spiralfoundation.org

snow angels in vietnam?!

Every year (well for the last two years anyway), Curel (the mosturizer company) holds a fundraiser for the Children's Starlight Foundation (http://www.starlightfoundation.org/). The money from this fundraiser goes to seriously ill children and their families.

So, at CIS Vietnam, we wanted to help. All you have to do is take a picture of a snow angel and send it into curel. For every snow angel, one dollar is donated to the foundation. What an easy way to raise money for a great cause!

If you want to check out our pictures, go to http://www.curel.ca/, choose your language, click "learn more" and then "see all snow angels". When it asks for a keyword or email, type in Vietnam and all of the pics from CIS will appear! Voila!

Please enjoy! :)