Trip YAHOO Group posts

A very clever thing that was done for this trip was Caroline (the founder of Catalyst Founder and the trip organizer and leader) set up a yahoo group for all members of the team. If one person has a question, chances are the rest of us have been or should be thinking about it. All team members get all posts and replies..it has been VERY interesting and effective. I thought I would share some of my favorite posts....or should I say, share some things that make you go Hummmm......

Here are "snippets" from some of my favorite posts...

Re: [AE2008] Vaccinations
pre-rabies? I've never heard of this before! Ok let's be realistic here - you may see some stray dogs, a few roaming ducks, a water buffalo or two. The only thing that may bite you is a mosquito or those darn red fire ants. That's crazy...but hey my two cents...

Re:Cash
have cash available for you to exchange too. You definitely won't need much during your "work week" - as we've already paid for all your meals, water, etc., and there won't be anything really to purchase as far as souvenirs/postcards/etc. I think if you have about $100 in vn dong for the week you will have plenty left over for "333" and"Huda" :-)


What in the world is "333" and "Huda"...alcohol?

beer, apparently a favorite for some :) we'll have fried mice to go along with it too....

During "M's" adoption I would order 2 bottles of wine from room service each night. After the 4th night the room service lady finally said "each night you order 2 bottles of wine, do you ever want to eat your dinner too?" I was traveling with my best friend and the 2 of us just fell to the floor in laughter....
Bloggers note:
This poster has already developed a "following" from what I understand


Okay, you lost me there with the mice. I'm bringing peanut butter and jelly! :)

Just a little wasabi sauce and yummie!


I'm thinking she meant Fried Rice!!!! I'm turning VEG..again..

Bloggers note:
This was from Gina, another traveler from CT. Gina, denial is a wonderful thing....I hope I witness Gina discovering that indeed she meant MICE!)



RE: [AE2008] Deet question
I think that if you get the pump spray you should be able to get away with2.2ounces if you have a BMI under 25, or are under the age of 12, and 3 ounces if you are not.Now I came to this conclusion by a few things that I had to make assumptions for. If you are more likely to wear shorts/sandals/or short socks then you will need a little more, if you are more likely to wear capris and higher socks then you will need less. Now if you fear Dengue Fever you will need more because you will be wearing it all day, if malaria is your big concern you will only need it in the night. Now, if you are terrified of bed bugs, and not cancer, then you will probably sleep in DEET, so you may want 4-5 ounces. And don't forget if you are arriving in Viet Nam earlier or staying an extra day or so, you may need a little more. Tomorrow night I should be able to have some calculations on the amount of sunscreen you need, the number of Imodium pills, however amount of toothpaste is up to you though.Have a good night, and whatever you do...don't forget to enjoy the journey...life can be short.

As the "blogger" I ask myself only one question....... "We are not doing the standard spring in the Caribbean this year...WHY?????"

ALIVE Meeting & Fun Bags

ALIVE, otherwise known as "Vietnam School" is a program at Yale University run by a wonderful group of students from Vietnam to teach families about Vietnam, the language, the culture, the food, the fun! We have been going every other Sunday for a few month and have had a great time. After three months I can say "hello friend", "my name is Sandy" and "thank-you" in Vietnamese. Of course when I proudly walk into a local Vietnamese restaurant and with a big smile and say "hello friend" in Vietnamese, not one person has yet to comprehend what I am saying....Noah and Jesse on the other hand they understand completely.

The Alive group was nice enough to turn the meeting over to four of us from the group who are going on the expedition as well as another woman who actually went two years ago. Gina lead the discussion along with a catalyst video. Gina & I represented the medical team, Patty the home renovation/building team, and Martha the school/food distribution team.

The counselors took the kids into the next room where they got busy making "fun bags". We are asking groups of children's, kids classes etc.to put together a gallon size zip lock bag containing a tee-shirt, hand made drawing, tooth brush, child's toothpaste, a toy and a return envelope. We will be handing hundreds of these out in Vietnam and the children who receive them will hopefully draw pictures to send back to the children here. The kids too this very seriously and some great art work was produced.

All of the children were able to write in Vietnamese on their drawings ....

All work ended when the delicious plate of chocolate covered strawberry's appeared on the table....thanks Michael!

2 bags- 50lb limit - tons of donations, PACKING PARTY...

With less than four weeks to go, and so much to do,we have kicked into gear and weekends are filling up with trip preparations. Today's activity was to meet with Patty, Martha and Maya, (our friends from Connecticut who are joining us on this venture), and get all of our gathered and donated supplies packed. International flights now have a restriction of 50 lbs per traveler. We have collected medical supplies and infant clothing that we must somehow get to Vietnam. Singapore Airlines will not guarantee that we can pay for weight overages, they are stating that we can be made to just "dump" our belongings until we get down to 50 pounds...Noah, Jesse and Maya did a great job sorting and packing. We had to pack some boxes that we will ship to the head office of catalyst to be distributed among other participants who may have some extra pounds available to pack stuff.






Guess we should have known that if two of us have to drag the bag to the scale we are most likely over! Yup, this one weighed in at 68 pounds - the size of two of the kids together! Maybe we should check the kids through as luggage and put the bags in their seats.....okay, you can't fault a Mom for dreaming. Anybody who says they would not at least think about this when traveling on a 24 hour flight, with an 8 year old and two 9 year old kids, is lying! We removed 16 lbs. of ointments and made up bag number 2, weighing in at 42 lbs...



Don't panic, we WILL find 8 more pounds of supplies to fill the space! Watch out Singapore airlines, we will prevail and use every ounce of our poundage.....I am talking about the luggage people....not ourselves, that is another whole topic, not to be discussed on this blog! All in all it was a successful day. We have two completed bags of supplies and the kids on board travel bag
packed with many items to attempt to keep them occupied.

Our day ended with a visit to Trader Joe's for some comfort food to bring along and dinner at Red Robin.


Stay tuned for tomorrow's activity...making "fun bags" with the families from ALIVE (our Vietnamese school group at Yale). More details and descriptions tomorrow.


Bag number 2 - 42 lbs - 8 more pounds to go!!!!

The Dreaded Day - Feel the pain...

Today is the day that we have been dreading since our first visit to UCONN Travel and Immunization clinic .... THE SHOTS! Noah and Jesse have been stressing over today for a solid month, okay I can't say that I have actually been looking forward to it, but I suspect they have stressed a bit more than I have.

Waking up early to what has been called the biggest snow storm this season seemed appropriate I suppose. Our first appointment was supposed to be at Children's Eye Care, we made it but the staff did not. I missed the "cancel" call while in the shower. So, after we arrived and waited a half hour, we turned around and headed to UCONN for THE APPOINTMENT!

We brought numbing spray that a friend obtained for us to make the kids feel a little more at ease - that was just not happening! Everybody was fine until we were called into "the room". The tears began and continued until the end. Jesse bravely went first, two shots for both kids, Hep A and Typhoid. I was the lucky one going second and only needing Hep A, I am able to take oral pills for Typhoid protection. Noah ended the session and received his two. Being the meanest mother in the world, I photographed the process and Patty held the sobbing children. To make up for this, I must honor their request that I not post these pictures on the blog! Don't they know, it is ALL about the blog. Okay, it is about the kids but if you E-mail me off blog and for a nice donation to Catalyst foundation I might share :-)

As the session ended, the door opened and the thoughtful receptionist handed the kids Tootsi pops......excuse me, did she not realize that I also was stabbed with a HUGH painful 12" needle? Once again it appears that not only is it not about the blog, it is not about ME either.

Tomorrow and Sunday the calander is filled with more trip preparation activities, way more fun than today's event so please stay tuned. Less than four weeks and counting...Let the packing begin.

Meet our team members

Meet Our Amazing Team

Here's a quick look at our team (in no particular order) the biggest ever at 90 people - WOW!The breakdown:25 kids (youngest is 7 - oldest is 16)4 college students24 alumni (including kids)8 fluent in Vietnamese1 canadian

Caroline, Scott, Natalie & Cassidie and Anthony - MN

Natalie and Cassidie will be 10 years old for their 5th Aid Expedition. On this trip we're excited to bring our godson, Anthony who is 16.

Dana - MN

He's one of the very first supporter of Catalyst - and known us since college days! We're so excited he'll be coming to Vietnam for the first time with us!

Audrey & David and daughter Thuy - NJ

Their first AE, but veterans of the Vietnam Culture Camp on the East Coast. Thuy will be 9 years old soon.

Gina - CT

Mom to two great daughters from Vietnam and already fundraising!David - CACollege student at DeAnza College going to vietnam for the first time!

Sandy & Patty and their kids Noah & Jesse - CT

Noah & Jesse were born in Vietnam and will be ages 9 & 8 for their first trip back with their parents.

Dorothy & David and their children Liam & Maia (ages 9 & 7) - PA

The family have attended Vietnam Culture Camp (and Cambodia Culture Camp for Maia). Liam was born in Kien Giang where we'll start our Aid Expedition.

Jack & nephew Alex - CA

Jack is a professional Aid Expedition member! This will be his 4th one! Alex is brave enough to travel with him and will be almost 14 for the trip.

Dave & Kathy and daugther Clare (age 10) - MN

This adventurous family are also alumnus to the AE - this will be their 3rd one and we're always glad to have them!

Aileen & Blake and sons Josh & Tri (ages 9) - TX

Aileen went on AE 2004 and sang her entire way through Vietnam. Now we expect her boys to teach us new songs!

Brian, Maria and son Robert - MN

Robert just turned 10 and this will be his first trip back to Vietnam since he was adopted!

Amy - PA

Amy is a practicing attorney and will be going on this volunteer vacation without her husband and 3 children!

Mike & Jo and daughters Miriam & Naomi - NY

Mike & Jo have been taking Vietnamese lessons for some time now so maybe they can help all of you newbies! Miriam will be 14 and Naomi 10 when they travel. This will be Mike & Miriam's first trip to Vietnam ever and Jo & Naomi's first time back sine Naomi was adopted.

Henry - NY

An avid international traveler but this will be his first visit to Vietnam

Judy & Kai (age 9) - MN

Judy is our trusted dentist and this is her 3rd AE, and Kai's 2nd one! We're happy to have them back with us!

Kate & Matt - MN

Kate first came to AE when she was just a "teenager" - now we're thrilled to have her back with her friend Matt.

Laura & Harriet and their son David - MN

David is 9 years old and excited to return to Vietnam with his parents - it's everyone's first aid expedition!

Don - MN

Don's volunteered for us in Vietnam for a month last year and then an additional week on the August aid expedition.

Pete - NC

Talked into this crazy trip by the crazy family in Texas we're very excited to have a professional carpenter on our team!

Anna - MN

Anna is a long time Catalyst volunteer and just went to Vietnam on a much smaller Aid Expedition in August 2007 - she had to come back for more! (or just enjoys missing some more time away from her pharmaceutical studies).

Sue, her sister Delores & niece, Cynthia (age 13) - CA

This is Sue's 3rd Aid Expedition - and she's not tired of me yet :)! This trip she's bringing her sister and niece to join the fun!

Barb - ME

Barb will be joining her daughter (Dr. Jenn) and give us all the inside info during her first Expedition with us.

Krysty and son Benjamin - IA

Krystine went on the 2006 expedition and now bringing her 16 year old son to help carry all the medical and orphanage donations :).

Huong - MD

Huong is a traveling nurse and one of the fluent Vietnamese speaker on the team. We'll make sure we sign her up for some karaoke!

Jennifer - ME

This will be Dr. Jenn's 2nd AE and she joined Scott on the 2006 bike ride from HCMC to Dong Thap.

Catherine & Emily (age 9 ) - NJ

I always assume that Catherine will join us - this will be her fourth AE and Em's 2nd time.

Stacy & daughter Alicia - CT

Alicia is a college student at Southern Conneticut State. They're good friends of Gina Bonfietti and she talked them into this adventure!

Mary & Charlene and their children Sophie, Samuel (ages 9) and Noah (age 7) - MN

All three children are adopted from Vietnam and excited to go back with their parents!

Sue & daughter Brianna - WI

Brianna is 9 years old and also from Kien Giang. This will be their first time back since she was adopted

Charlene - CA

Charlene grew up in Vietnam and now living in the Bay Area. We're excited to have her join the expedition!

Deb & daughter Lan - NE

Lan will be 11 years old when she travels back to Vietnam with her mom since her adoption.

Brenda & son Zachary (age 8) - PA

Brenda & her family have been to many Culture Camps. It will be great to have them see Vietnam again!

Leslie & daughter Leah (age 10) - OH

This will be their second Aid Expedition and whirlwind shopping trip!

Elizabeth - ME

Liz works with Dr. Jenn and couldn't pass up this opportunity to help us! This will be her first trip to Vietnam.

Kathy - PA

Kathy and her husband have adopted 3 children from Vietnam. But they all stay home when she travels with us!

Chris - NJ

Chris has traveled the world - and now Vietnam for the first time!

Christine - MA

This will be Christine's 2nd Aid Expedition and we didn't scare her off - yet!

Carolyn - Canada

Carolyn emigrated to Canada when she was 10 years old, she continues to be fluent in the language and only back once before.

Michael - CA

Michael is fluent in Vietnamese joined us on the August Aid Expedition and made sure that we worked efficiently (and quickly!)

Kayla - SC

Kayla is a hard working nurse who found us by chance. We're lucky to have her join us!

Bruce - NJ

Bruce and his family have attended all of our Vietnam Culture Camps on the East Coast. His daughter has already raised over $1000 for bikes for the kids in Vietnam.

Sue - OH

Sue's twin boys are from Kien Giang. She's been waiting to go on expedition since she read our blog in 2006!

Kathleen - CA

Kathleen has been waiting for the "perfect time" to join us and we're excited tha it's right now!

Martha and daughter Maya - CT

Maya is 9 years old and excited to join the expedition with other good friends from CT!