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.