Christmas, wedding and karaoke!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a good day.

Everyone in Saigon got very excited for Christmas, or rather the decorations.  Shops had huge, colourful, bright, flashing displays for Christmas, ones that rivalled Western decorations.  The Vietnamese took loads of pictures of themselves posing next to the displays, and trying to walk past some of the shops was practically impossible due to the crowds. There are market stalls that ONLY sell Santa outfits for all ages and sizes and lots of kids are running around wearing red dresses/jackets with white trim and even more in Santa hats.  It is very amusing and all good fun.

The staff Christmas party seemed like it was going to be the most organised party ever as a schedule was published the day before, with everything from toasts to games to eating was given a time.  In fact, the times were only loosely kept and, despite the “champagne” being fizzy grape juice, we had a really good time.  The Vietnamese staff were all very excited as celebrating Christmas is a relatively new thing for them, and they love celebrations in general.  We had a visit from Santa Claus and Mrs Claus who gave out our office Secret Santa presents.  It was the first time I had actually felt Christmassy, as it is too hot for it to feel like Christmas here.

When teaching, in each classroom there is an AC – someone who helps out and organises and deals with parents who phone in and don’t speak English.  The AC that I work with most got married just before Christmas and she invited me to her wedding party.  It is slightly different to other weddings I’ve been to but I had such a good time.  The wedding service is on a different day to the wedding party and so the bride gets dressed up twice.  I went with the other Vietnamese staff from the office and we had three tables in the hotel restaurant for all the EMG staff.  There were at least 200 people at the party and I was one of two white people there.  It started off with a dance on stage by three women and three men, and then the bride and groom walked down the aisle to pour champagne into a tower of glasses on stage.  The parents then came down the aisle and there were speeches and toasts.  The food then came out and kept coming out.  All the staff were so kind to me, making sure I was ok and had plenty to eat.  They were all so friendly, I see them in the office but everyone is always coming and going and are very busy, so I had never spent time with them in such a social atmosphere, especially when I was the only foreigner on the table.  I was so popular for photos, and combined with their love of celebrations, everyone was very excited!  In all the photos I look ghostly white and huge, as they are all tiny with lovely skin.  Sometimes it isn’t great being a Western woman here; walking through a market you hear the call ‘Extra large T-shirt for you, Miss?’ it should be insulting but it’s just amusing.  I’ll come back home and feel a normal size again!

After the wedding party had finished I went to karaoke with about 10 of the staff.  Wedding party’s finish relatively early as the guests leave as soon as the food has finished.  For karaoke we had our own smaller, private room.  They all wanted me to sing, and any one who has ever heard me sing knows that I can’t.  As a result, I chose songs that they knew: ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Last Christmas’.  Fortunately for me the Vietnamese love karaoke and were more than happy to join in with me and not force me to do all the songs.  It was fun and certainly an experience but not one I will repeat too often!

Christmas Eve was spent eating and drinking with people from work.  I had been to the gym in the morning, so I didn’t feel guilty about eating lots of Christmas food at an all-you-can-eat.  Christmas Day I went to a Catholic service at Notre-Dame Cathedral in the centre of the city.  It was amazing inside, and although I didn’t really understand what was going on (I stood up when they did and sat down when everyone did), it was a beautiful experience; the music and the inside of the Cathedral were amazing.  I then went for a meal at a friend’s house with lots of people and lots of food.  I had a very good weekend but now I’m back at work as the Vietnamese don’t technically celebrate Christmas, so there are no bank holidays. 

Happy New Year!

The past few weeks

Sorry about the lack of entries recently, I will now update you on all my doings from the past few weeks.

Weekdays are spent working, which leaves the weekends to sight see and relax.  I have seen the War Remnants Museum, the Palace of Independence and the Jade Emperor Pagoda.  The Museum was highly interesting but also very sad and disturbing.  It focused on the effects of the Vietnam War and how large parts of the country are still dealing with it.  A large part of it was the effects of Agent Orange, and how babies are still being born disfigured because of it.  It was a truly moving place and I hope to get involved in some charity work while I am here.  The Palace of Independence was also interesting, but for completely different reasons.  It was very bare, with minimal furniture and decoration, it was the place where the end of the Vietnam War took place and it is still in use for meetings today.  It was interesting to see how a large and historical place was so empty because it is kept by a different group of people.  It has been there since the French colonial times and it is famous for having a tank crash through its gates at the end of the war in 1975. 

The Jade Emperor Pagoda was a completely different tourist bit.  Religion instead of history.  It is a Buddhist temple and had so much detail in the carvings and paintings on the walls.  I wish I could understand the Chinese characters though, it would have made a bit more sense.  There were ladies selling baby turtles and fish to put in the pond for good luck, which seemed a bit strange to me.  Inside there were lots of candles and incense sticks burning giving a calming atmosphere.  It was very interesting to see, and I feel like I am filling up my tourist quota with all this sightseeing!

I can't believe I have been teaching here a month and had a month doing my first long term job.  I am still really enjoying the teaching and the kids are wonderful.  I have been doing a version of 'A Christmas Carol' with them, which they have found great.  I was very surprised that they all enjoyed it so much.  It is funny to think that Christmas is on its way, I don't feel like it is Christmas at all, probably because it is hot and normally I am wrapped up in scarfs and hats and gloves in the run up to Christmas.  There are lots of people to celebrate Christmas with here, so it should be good.  The Vietnamese are all very excited about Christmas, just because it is a celebration.  The Vietnamese staff decorated the Christmas tree in the office and it is one of the most decorated trees I have seen!  It was so much fun to watch them having such a good time doing it. 

I hope you are all enjoying the build up to Christmas.

Teachers Day

Teachers have their very own day in Vietnam.  I would love to go into a school in Britain and tell them that they had to celebrate their teachers every year.  I think I would be laughed out of the school.  But here, teachers are respected and celebrated.  Flowers are given and ceremonies are held, banners are put up around the streets and the whole country seems to go mad for it.

Every year Teachers Day is on 20th November, so this year ceremonies were held in schools on Friday as it falls on a Sunday this year.  We had a party at lunchtime in the office and it was decorated with huge arrangements of flowers, balloons and banners.  The Vietnamese staff were highly excited all day with numerous cameras going off.  It was fun but seemed a little weird to some of the Western staff, including myself, who has (obviously) never celebrated Teachers Day before.  We all got presents and had pizza for lunch (very exciting!) instead of the usual rice.  In my class I was given two bunches of flowers by some of the students.  It is very nice to feel appreciated.  Apparently teachers are respected as much as doctors here. 

My teaching has been going well, I am still really enjoying it, though found parts quite hard this week, as Vietnamese don't recognise any special learning needs like dyslexia.  I have some students who desperately need one to one help but it doesn't work like that here as then they would lose face, and keeping face is very important in the culture here.

Everyone here is very friendly and welcoming, from the students to the people in the office.  I am making lots of new friends and really enjoying my time here.  So far it has gone very quickly, and I can't believe I have already been here three weeks.  But in other ways I feel like I have been here ages because am getting to know the city and people far better.

I hope everyone back home is well and that you are enjoying the cold weather, I am enjoying the hot weather, though it was a bit too hot when the air conditioning broke in the office for a few days this week.  Shorts and t-shirts in November is very nice!

Teaching and Tunnels

My first week teaching has been very busy.  I have three different classes twice a week and each lesson is two hours 45 minutes (including a half hour break).  The students all concentrate really well which really impressed me.  The company that I am working for are paid by parents to teach their children extra, so we teach them on top of all their Vietnamese lessons, it is a lot of work for them but they want to learn and value their English lessons, so different from when I was at school, but it makes my life so much easier.  My lessons went well, including my observation lesson, so hopefully when my 45 day probation is finished I will still have a job.  I did drama with them on Friday and they loved it!  It was great to see them active and using their imaginations, however I'm not sure that the class next door liked the noise.  They were doing horror stories so there was lots of screaming and murdering and zombies, as I'm sure you can imagine.  I did try to keep the noise down, but 30 11 year olds, who were told they could act out killing each other, do make a lot of noise.  Worth it, though.  I love teaching, kids are great and it is so much fun.

Today, Mara and I did our first tourist bit.  We did a tour round the Cu Chi Tunnels, just outside Ho Chi Minh City.  They were fascinating.  I have studied the Vietnam War at school and uni but seeing the tunnels and how the Viet Cong guerrillas lived in order to fight the Americans is amazing and makes it so much more real.  The tunnels were tiny and we had to crawl through them.  They were very hot and the original was rather air less (we didn't go down that one).  It is amazing how many people lived in them for so long.  The one we went down was very dark, even with the odd light along the way, and I find it very difficult to imagine going down there in the pitch black.  Very scary, especially with all the bombing.  The VC were so inventive when it came to living, surviving and fighting back.  The traps were lethal; most had long, sharp spikes in them, to either injure or kill Americans.  They were all so well hidden that no one would have any idea they were there.  It was well worth the trip even if I was extremely hot and now have aching muscles from crouching and crawling through tiny tunnels! There is so much history and culture here that really appeals to the history geek in me.

First Week

It has been a very busy first week in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.  The city never sleeps and there is always loads going on.

I arrived last Sunday with Mara, who I will be working with.  We came through the same person so were able to meet at the airport and we are staying in the same hotel.  It is really nice to know someone out here who is in the same position as me.  The city seemed crazy at first; rules of the road appear non existent with hundreds of motorbikes going where they want on the roads, even sometimes on the pavements.  Cars constantly sound their horns creating a lot of noise and crossing the road is a constant hazard.  The Vietnamese just walk out, the theory being that the motorbikes go around you and as long as you avoid the cars you will be fine.  We have almost got the hang of it.  Some roads are easier than others.  Unfortunately there are very few traffic lights, but the traffic can turn on a red light, so even that is not easy.  The traffic does go relatively slowly though due to the amount of vehicles so it isn't too bad.  The City is filled with flashing coloured signs and noise and the street the hotel is on is blindingly bright at night.  Very different from home.

It is very hot here, and humid.  It is taking a bit of getting used to but all the buildings are air conditioned (except some of the schools) so it is ok inside.  The rainy season is coming to an end, but there are still showers.  Not English showers, but monsoon type showers.  The ones where you are soaked to the skin within two minutes.  Unfortunately Mara and I got caught in one on the way back from work the other day.  At least it is warm rain, and it did amuse the hotel staff.

Food is a bit of an issue, or rather using chopsticks.  It is taking a bit of practice but we are slowly getting there.  We do amuse people in restaurants a lot though.  We seem to amuse a lot of people here, one way or another.  They are very friendly and don't mean it in any horrible way so it is fine.

We arrived on Sunday and started work on Tuesday.  The hours are 8-5.30 Monday to Friday with the occasional Saturday morning.  Lessons are planned in the office and then we are taken out to the schools to teach the lessons.  Everyone in the office is very friendly and helpful.  I am teaching lower secondary English, so that is Years 6 and 7.  It is more literature than language as they have learnt English since the beginning of primary school.  In Year 11 the students take the international GCSE exam.  It is really easy to have a conversation with most of them, which is great and they all want to learn.  I haven't taken a proper class yet.  I've observed two lessons and with an hour and a half preparation time was given a cover lesson.  The lessons are 2 hours 30 minutes, with a short break.  It is a long time, both for the students and teacher, especially in hot classrooms with no A/C.  The students are used to the heat, so have no trouble with concentration.  The cover lesson went well, considering it is my first ever proper lesson.  Now I have to plan my lessons for next week.  I have three different classes, twice a week, but they are all doing the same thing, so I can use the same lesson plan.  It is a relief as it gives me more time to properly plan.  I am in no way confident enough to plan a lesson in 10 minutes.

The weekend was spent relaxing and going out with people from work, it is nice to get to know them outside work, especially as I know so few people here.  The city is going to take some getting used to, but so far I am really enjoying it.