Thailand

Chuc Mung Nam Moi!  (Happy Lunar New Year)

It is a new year for the Vietnamese after their Tet holiday.  The schools had two weeks off, so that left a lot of bored teachers in the office all day everyday for a week.  It was tedious being in the same office doing a limited amount of work, but we were given Friday off which was nice, although we found out at very short notice – 2pm on Thursday.  That’s just how it works here.

We then had a week holiday and a friend and I went to Thailand!  It was fantastic, two nights in Bangkok, and then 4 nights at Ao Nang beach, near Krabi.  It was the relaxing holiday we both needed after a long and tiring three months settling into a new country, new way of life, and getting used to teaching. 

Bangkok felt different to Saigon, but that may have been because we were on holiday, not living and working their long term.  There are some obvious differences and one of the first things I noticed was the traffic – in Saigon it is crazy and at times is completely chaotic.  In Bangkok, people stop to let you cross the road, it may seem trivial, but after three months stepping out into the road and letting the motorbikes go round you, having cars and buses stop to wait for you was quite amazing!  It helps that it is mostly cars or buses on the road, there are very few motorbikes.  The other thing that amazed me were the cycle lanes around the city, I haven’t seen one for three months.  The people were so friendly, but I did feel that more of them were willing to rip us off than in Vietnam.  This is a sign outside the Grand Palace:

Despite that I really enjoyed my time in Bangkok; our first night we met up with some friends who took us to some of the bars around the Khao San Road, the major backpacking place with lots of Westerners.  The next day we decided to be proper tourists and go to the Grand Palace and Wat Po.  The buildings are stunning, there is an incredible amount of detail and everything is set with small coloured pieces which sparkle in the sun.  I wished I’d worn my sunglasses, but hindsight is a wonderful thing!  The buildings, both the Grand Palace and Wat Po, are amazing, the time and skill that must have gone into making them is incomprehensible.  Wat Po is a tourist attraction because of the reclining Buddha there.  We had a look at the buildings then went into the last part to see the Buddha.  I was not expecting anything near the size it was.  It was huge.  All around Bangkok there are temples and palaces of similar intricacy, it is such a change from Saigon, where they don’t have anything of that detail, or history.

 (One of my many photos of a section of the Grand Palace)

 (A section of the Reclining Buddha, from between two of the pillars)

From Bangkok we flew to Krabi, where we spent three days lying in the sun, and yes, I did manage to get a suntan!  Ao Nang beach was where we stayed, but on our last day we got a boat to Railey beach, a far quieter beach.  It was beautiful and there were far less people selling drinks, mats, bracelets and massages.  It was a much needed rest from the past three months settling into a new culture, workplace and nonstop work.

 (Railey beach)

It was back-to-work yesterday, and instead of my usual no teaching on Monday’s I was asked to cover two lessons, a grade 1 and a grade 2.  I stick to my previous view that primary school teachers are amazing for being able to deal with a class of 25-30 young children who aren’t able to communicate.  They are rather sweet when they are singing and dancing to the songs in the book.  Unfortunately that involves me leading them and doing the actions as well.  I’m glad to be back in my grades 6 and 7 today, even if it is poetry, which is complicated and not my strong point! 

Happy New Year

It’s a New Year and work has not changed much, I am still enjoying it, and will not be changing to primary teaching.  I covered two grade one classes on Monday and having had a day dealing with 6 year old's I will not be asking to swap from secondary to primary.  Yes, they were far sweeter and made me feel very popular walking through the playground getting swamped.  But it was a lot of crowd control and teaching them ‘that is ...’ and ‘what’s that?’ is fun but not as intellectually challenging, it is challenging in a different way.  I admire primary school teachers a lot and wonder how they can do it on a day to day basis, I couldn’t.  I am happy to do the odd cover, but not full time.


I can’t believe how quickly the time is going, and that it is 2012 already.  I celebrated New Year with a couple of friends with a meal and going into the centre for the countdown, it was so much fun, and the crowd was really friendly, the atmosphere amazing.  There are loads of lights up for the Vietnamese New Year and the city looks amazing.  I enjoyed my first three day weekend and I felt so relaxed that I felt like I was on holiday for the first time since I got here.    I had a couple of weeks teaching, then a week of tests, now I am in the office for a week preparing for the next term.  Their New Year is next week so the schools have a two week break.  The company I work for give us one week off, so me and my friend Mara are headed off to Thailand!  I can't wait.  It will be great to have a holiday and to get out of the city and relax on a beach and see Bangkok.

I am still living in a guest house, which is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to rent.  I have a room in a house and it is like living in uni halls again.  I don't mind, as I'm out most of the day, and often in the evenings as well.  The guest house owner is lovely, she doesn't speak any English so if I try to say something to her (either in sign language or phrasebook Vietnamese) she rings her son or daughter in Australia to translate.  Occasionally she will come up to my room with a bowl of food for me, or I will come in the door and she will give me food.  I have also come back from work to find a bowl of fruit on my fridge.  The Vietnamese are so kind and friendly.  Her daughter came home to get have a traditional Vietnamese wedding (held in the house), so the house was decorated spectacularly and everyone was VERY excited.  It was held on a Sunday, so I decided to leave the house early so I didn't interrupt the ceremony halfway through.  I left my room a bit before 9am and turned the corner on the stairs to find a procession making its way through the hall!  My timing couldn't have been worse.  Fortunately, I managed to creep out and not get in the way of the three photographers taking pictures.  Although I didn't see the bride, everyone else looked amazing, dressed in their best, the women in traditional costumes: long dress with splits all the way to the waist, over silk trousers.  No one seemed annoyed that I had interrupted a celebration, I was welcomed with smiles, another thing that amazes me about the culture here, they are so welcoming of everyone, especially Westerners.  I feel privileged to be here.

I now need to get back to work:  this term I am covering poetry and drama first, and English Literature students may love that, but I've just spent three years doing history!  I need to go and do some reading about it all.  Happy New Year!