One of our minstry opportunities this month was working wth the elderly to make jewelry. They bead necklaces and bracelets that are for sale in a local coffee shop, and the proceeds of these pieces of jewlery go back to the elderly home. The ladies look forward to beading every week and are very good at the work they do. And they are real cute. This is the lady I got to bead with the first week we went to the home.
In order to get to the elderly home, we rode on the back of motorbikes with students from local universities.
It was lots of fun.
Jen Leverett on her bike
Shanda riding around and taking pictures!
I think it is important you understand what the streets of Vietnam are like, because these pictures do not do them justice. Imagine a road, without any cars. Instead there are SWARMS of motorcycles, scooters and bikes. Some are in the correct lane (which is opposite of the lanes in America), some aren’t. Some are on the road, some on sidewalks. Some of them stop at stop lights, some don’t. At any given moment of your motorbike ride you can reach over and touch the person on the motorbike next to you. And why wait behind the bus, or slow moving car in front of you when you can just go around them?! Road rules here in Ho Chi Minh are really more like guidelines, suggestions of how one might think of driving.
Helmets and face masks are a whole new type of fashion here in Vietnam. Many Vietnamese wear face masks due to the large amount of pollution (I mean, 9 million people on the road, it is gonna get dirty). So many wear them so frequently that you can find them in just about any color and pattern you desire. Cartoon characters, plaid, polka dot, floral….the possibilites are endless.
The motorbike culture is one that has taken some getting used to here in Vietnam, but after riding on one, I can see why it is so appealing.
What is not appealing? Crossing the street…..
