Hong Kong

I don't get much chance for time off during term time, but I took two days and had a long weekend in Hong Kong.  It was fantastic.  The best part was seeing my friend; it was so nice to see someone from home, who I have known longer than a few months.   I was shown around Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and Lantau Island. 

My first experience of Hong Kong was the train from the airport, I couldn’t believe how nice it was; comfortable seats, leg room, music in your seat with adjustable volume.  Definitely a good first impression.  After navigating the subway (all of one stop) by myself and meeting my friend, we caught the tram to The Peak.  The view was incredible; all the buildings lit up on both sides of the river.  It was strange seeing a high rise city as HCMC has a few tall buildings but not many.

After the admiring the view from The Peak we went to have typical Hong Kong food – dim sum – steamed meat in pastry and different noodles.  It was delicious and I wish I could get it in Vietnam.  I ate a lot of typical Hong Kong food over the weekend and I’ve come to the conclusion I will have to return to have some more!

Saturday was spent sightseeing in Kowloon and on Lantau Island.  Kowloon felt less Western and developed compared to Hong Kong Island where the wealthier people live and major businesses are based.  There seemed to be more housing in Kowloon, and the pace of life was a little more relaxed.  We saw a Buddhist temple, which was similar to the ones in HCMC except it was more out in the open, and had more decoration outside.

After living and working in the centre of HCMC since November it was nice to get out of a city and see Lantau Island, and get some fresh sea air.  It is mainly a fishing community and the houses have been built so that they extend over the river on stilts, and for someone who doesn’t study architecture, it was quite amazing.  We walked through the market where lots of fish are sold, including dried fish, which is apparently beneficial to your health and expensive.  We then went to another part of the island and saw the big Buddha on top of the hill.  We walked down the path to get there, which is lined with 12 statues of angry looking men guarding the way.  They each represent a sign of the zodiac and 2 hours of the day.  We walked up to the Buddha and saw the statue up close and the spectacular view.  It was such a welcome change not being in a city.

We spent the next day and a half seeing markets, shopping centres, eating and going to the very interesting history museum.  We saw the daily light show that is put on every day at Victoria Harbour; the same flashing lights to the same music, for the tourist’s benefit.  I enjoyed it as well as finding it very amusing and touristy. 

Hong Kong seemed far closer to London than HCMC does and it was nice to be reminded of home.  There were far more Western shops and restaurants (I am ashamed to say I got rather excited over the M&S food department, where I got Easter eggs – which were kept until Easter day, the first time ever my Easter chocolate has been finished on Easter day).  The shopping is amazing, I plan to win the lottery and go on a shopping trip there, of course, playing the lottery first might help!  The public transport is more than a few old buses (HCMC), consisting of trams, the subway and loads of buses.  Not one taxi the whole weekend!  The strangest thing was crossing the road, pedestrian crossings and traffic lights actually had meaning, and there was not need to look around 360° for motorbikes when crossing the road.  Though waiting for the green man when there were no cars was bizarre.  My crossing the road habits are definitely becoming more Vietnamese. 

I really liked Hong Kong, it was very different to HCMC, I can see myself going there again on holiday, but I’m not sure I’d want to work there as there is far more pressure than there is here.

Not what I trained for

My TESOL course was very good, I enjoyed it (when I wasn't stressed with the amount of work) and, although I can't explain English grammar very well I passed.  I got a job, travelled to Ho Chi Minh City and started teaching.  English Literature.  Not English grammar which was what I trained for.  However it was not a problem as they use very similar teaching practises and I prefer the literature.

Now, I'm teaching Maths.  Yes, you did read that correctly, I am teaching Maths.  The company I work for - EMG - provide the Cambridge curriculum for English, Maths and Science as extra lessons for students.  For the first part of the year, students only study English, in order to get their language to a point where they can study the Maths and Science.  A month ago it was decided my school was going to switch for 2 English, to 1 English and 1 Maths a week.  In order to keep my students I volunteered to teach them Maths (as I actually studied it longer than English at school).  The managers agreed, and so I had a week to think about Maths for the first time in a long time.

After the first lesson I was wondering what I had let myself in for; it was a new class (as I had to pick up an extra Maths and drop one of my English) and I didn't know the students.  The students had all been asking for ages 'when are we going to start Maths?' and it didn't take them long to work out that Maths isn't all that interesting, especially as they have covered it all in their Vietnamese lessons and can do far more complicated stuff than what the syllabus says to cover.  It is their English that causes the most trouble and the word problems. 

I think after a month of teaching Maths 3 days a week, the lessons are improving, with more games (I love it when teachers put resources on the internet!) and more challenging word puzzles, which means the students are enjoying the lessons more and I am enjoying them more.  There is no better feeling than having students understand the lesson, and see them improving while having fun (and that goes for English lessons too).

Teaching Maths is certainly not what I trained for and not what I was expecting to do when I arrived here, but for the time being I'm enjoying it.  It's also great to keep the same students and really get to know them, as well as them being more comfortable with me.  One of my students, who at the beginning of the year was shy with me, not at all confident and had a very low level English, has improved in confidence a lot, so much that he asked for help the other day!  He never would have done that 5 months ago, and seeing his face when he gets a cartoon book to read is amazing; such a big grin.

I definitely want to become a teacher in England.  History though, not Maths or English!