Haze's CRBA Appointment Comes...and Goes

When we initially learned of our pregnancy back in September, we looked up all of the steps we’d have to take to have the baby’s birth registered abroad and to bring her back to the US with us in the summer. As I’ve posted before, all of the paperwork and timing involved seemed quite daunting and we began to prepare early.

According the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) webpage, all appointments must be made three months in advance and passports should be applied for at the same time, a second process which would take about 3 to 5 weeks to complete. Due to these constraints we made an appointment for May 20, 2010, giving us three days after what we were told was the last day the baby would be allowed to remain in gestation before being induced and a month before we hoped to leave Viet Nam, arguably a tight stretch on either end, but the best we could do given our constraints.

Hazel's Baby Shower

On Sunday, April 18th, our good friends Marjie and Katherine threw a baby shower for us at the Castle (their five story house in District 1). The invitation initially included our friends of the male persuasion, but after some subtle hints from Steven, and some not-so-subtle hints from other friends, that baby showers were just not events men attended, it was revised to a female only group.

Reflections on being Pregnant in Viet Nam

My most common response to the now frequently asked, "How are you feeling?" by well meaning friends and acquaintances alike is "HOT!" April and May in Viet Nam (and presumably, June, July, August, etc.) are hot. Not just hot, but the stifling, perspiration soaked, still hot after four daily showers, heat that pervades every moment spent outside of an air conditioned room or taxi-cab. I attribute this somewhat to pregnancy, but practically speaking, I realize that everyone else is suffering in this same heat, I just find it a bit less bearable in the confines of the few outfits I have left that actually fit my now 167 pound frame.

Either an Original Document or a Certified Copy and One Hysterical Pregnant Woman

Because we hope to leave Viet Nam sometime in late June and we have so much to do in terms of paperwork and documentation before we can leave, I started gathering documents early on, or rather Kevin did, as all of our documents are in his attic. So by December of last year, all of our necessary documents traveled from Kevin's attic, to our parent's home in Lake Worth, to our house here in Viet Nam, or so I thought...

Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon

Yesterday, April 30, 2010 was the 35th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, the day the North Vietnamese troops stormed the South Vietnamese headquarters and claimed control of the city, ultimately reunifying the country under the Communist government of the north. For the past week, we have watched as parade barricades have been erected, huge doves surrounded in lights, along with flowers, stars and other luminous decorations began to adorn the major streets in the central business district and traffic built up in anticipation of this momentous day. In initially I was intrigued and looking forward to being here on this historical day, but the more I thought about it and the more I talked about it with others, I realized that for many, this is not a day to be celebrated, but more a day to remember those that lost their lives, both American and Vietnamese, and the countless Vietnamese whose lives where forever altered that day in the midst of the chaos, pandemonium and terror of the ending of a war. So as the city celebrated with an early morning parade, I decided to steer clear of the jubilant crowds and wondered how many in Saigon, like myself, were doing more reflecting than celebrating on the anniversary 35 anniversary of the end of the war in Viet Nam.

(A Doctor in Atlanta remembers the Fall of Saigon)