Out for lunch twice in two days!!

FRIDAY 17th June

Well It's been head down tail up for weeks now, but this week I've been out twice!  On Wednesday I went with the Texas BBQ girls into the city centre to a lovely Thai Restaurant called BKK

Nice, eh?   Inside was lovely , too...

The young man is Andes, Helle's son.  

I had stir-fried black pepper beef which was delicious.

I only ate half, the rest I brought home for today's lunch (you can see Ann's green pawpaw salad on the right)

So that was a real treat on Wednesday. Several of those girls will be leaving next week so we'll be down to a few for the rest of summer. Next Monday morning Helle and Andes are going to pick me up and we're going to a crocodile farm with a visitor from Denmark... that will be good.

Then yesterday Linh picked me up and took me into the city centre to buy my ticket home at the Jetstar office. So I'm all booked for the return flight with Katie on 29th October. This is a photo of Linh all covered up to protect her from the sun. Most Vietnamese women cover themselves from head to toe so they don't get a tan.

Linh then took me to a restaurant run by people from Hue and we had Bánh Mì   Huế (bang mi hooay)... probably ranks in my top three dishes so far...

The food came to the table sizzling in a light, delicious clear sauce, and the bread was even better than it looks. We literally wiped our plates clean with it to sop up every last little bit!  This fabulous meal cost me $6.10 for both of us.

So now I have another lesson to prepare. My classes are so much fun. Last night in one of my beginner adults classes, they wanted to know what chateau meant. I asked my TA to translate it, so he wrote it on the board. Then when the students were doing some bookwork, I asked him to teach me how to say it ngyueh lâu đài (don't ask me now... I've already forgotten...). But anyway, While I figured everyone was busy, and no-one was listening, I attempted to say the Vietnamese words. I got it right at the second attempt and to my surprise, the whole class cheered and clapped!!!  I was so embarassed, I went bright red and I'm sure my glasses fogged up while we all laughed and I tried to get it together...

These gorgeous people are not that class, but from another one, where half the class have given themselves numbers as English nick-names... (this is half the class)

L to R back row: Pilot, Kevin, Alex, Five and No. 1 (he started it...). Front row: Alice, Six, Mandy, Eleven, Nine and Pink

Kit Kat anyone??

MONDAY 6th June

Yesterday on the way home from school after the morning classes, I stopped off at a supermarket to buy tea bags and other supplies. I was looking for a pack of 6 small Kit Kats, for a treat, but they didn't have any. I did find these, however:

They were there on the shelf alongside all the other packets of biscuits, and I figured they would be worth a try... if they didn't taste any good, I would only be throwing away $2. When I got home, I made a cup of tea and opened the packet for a 'Kit Kat'....

I could open a shop!  Should be enough there to last me for weeks. (They aren't as good as Kit Kats but I wont be throwing them away... :)

Rotisserie Duck

SUNDAY 5th June

I finished my last class for this week at 5pm and loaded up my backpack with books for lesson preparation for tomorrow and headed for home. It was very hot, but as I walked through the market, I stopped by the rotisserie duck stand.

It always smells so delicious, I decided to buy one. They weren't quite cooked, so I sat down (on a tiny little 15cm stool) and had an icy orange juice at the little stall behind me and waited for about ten minutes.

Before long my duck was ready... the cook's boyfriend added some flair to my photo...

She chopped up the duck and fitted it all neatly into two take-away food containers, and included a bag of soya sauce, and a generous handful of Vietnamese mint... and that's what I eventually had for my dinner (with plenty left over for lunches next week)... It cost 150,000D (about $6).

On the way home I also bought half a watermelon, a pomello and a bunch of fresh lychees. They cost $2.50 a kilo and are just delicious.

Since I had my camera handy, I took more photos on the way home... so here they are along with some I took the other day...

This very friendly old lady cleans, repairs and sells second-hand shoes

Every business has a security guard or two on duty outside it keeping and eye on the bikes parked on the footpath.

This is Texas BarBQ, where I have lunch with the ex-pat ladies on Wednesdays

At the moment, the streetscapes are really vibrant with flowering trees.

The red ones the locals call 'flamboyant' (they look like poincianas to me) and the purple ones look like they might be in the crepe myrtle family

The flowers are quite beautiful

This is the restuarant on the corner just near my house... I took this photo at around 1:30 on Wednesday, when most locals are having a snooze, so it wasn't busy then

They sell cold fresh beer for just 20 cents a glass (schooner size) which is very light and refreshing, and the family who run it are always very friendly

You can see Whang (?) the proprietress inside. She is very friendly and always waves and calls Hello, madame! when I walk past. I haven't eaten there for weeks because these days I usually get dinner at the school canteen, but today as I was walking past laden with back-pack, fruit and that duck (which was smelling delicious) she was sitting outside catching the breeze at a table with those little blue plastic chairs with arms that I have been avoiding since I got here for fear that (a) I wouldn't fit into one and (b) that it would break if I did!... Anyway, she waved me over to sit down and have a chat... and I am delighted to report that not only do I now fit into those little chairs, it didn't threaten to break after all.  Her son, Khien, asked me if I'd like a beer, but I had just bought myself a sugar cane juice at the stand next door...

I took this photo of the sugar cane stand the other night... you can see Whang's restaurant in the background. This was at about 10pm, so it was close to closing time. Earlier in the night the pavement would be crowded with diners.

Anyway, this evening I sat down for about half an hour and had a bit of a conversation with Khien doing his best with very limited English. A few other people sat down to listen and once again I wished I could just talk with them in Vietnamese instead of sit there smiling and speaking very slowly a few sentences of simple English hoping to be understood. I have looked at a couple of programs on-line for learning Vietnamese, but I have put it aside for the moment because I always seem to have lessons to prepare...

So there you have it. Hai Phong no longer looks like the drab dusty place it was when I arrived at the end of their winter. Spring has sprung and summer's beginning. I have been told to expect tropical downpours, ridiculously high humidity and extremely hot days and nights... can't wait for that. No denying it, already the classrooms that don't have functioning airconditioning end up like saunas after an hour with 20+ people in them because even though the fans are going flat out, there are no windows and the door is usually shut! It's always a shock to come out and find the outside air temperature (35 degrees at least...) is cooler than the classroom! These days I carry a face-washer with me to mop my face.

Then I get to my room and have the fan on and the aircon and it's just lovely. Right now it's time I left the cool of my room and venture out to the bathroom for a shower so I can go to bed clean... I can't put it off any longer, I'm tired!

Waste not, want not

One thing that living here has shown me is how very wasteful we are in the west. Nothing ever gets scrapped here before it's recycled many times over. If one person has finished with something, be it household waste, building waste, old clothes, broken electrical goods.... anything at all, it is left out on the footpath and by the next day someone has come by and taken it away... usually to be repaired or re-used. Each morning peddlers cycle by hawking for old clothes, cardboard, plastic bottles...each one collects a different thing. Then they take it to a collection point.

Cardboard recyclers

I shudder when I think of how much perfectly good / repairable stuff ends up at the dump at home simply because someone doesn't need it any more. That would never happen in a poor country. The old adage necessity is the mother of invention certainly applies here. When a repairman came to fix my air-conditioner, I was stunned to see into his toolbox... a few old tools, some rusty old bolts and screws and a few tired looking bits and pieces... but he fixed the air-con all the same!

Because so many of the buildings here are accessed via winding little lane-ways, building materials are rarely delivered by truck. It's usually delivered by someone on a motorbike pulling a trailer, or even on a modified pushbike:

imagine how strong his leg muscles must be!!

We also get these sturdy little pony carts. .. that's a heavy load of bricks...

but it's the only way to deliver building materials to sites down the back lanes and alleys

Dave left... but I scored his room!

TUESDAY 31st May

Dave left two weeks ago, but I have been too flat out to get to my blog so this post comes long after the event. It was sad to see him go... many of his students were in tears and everyone here hopes he'll return. He's headed back to England to catch up with family and teach in a summer camp for a couple of months, then he's off to teach in an orphanage in Tanzanier, right near Mt Kilamanjaro on the Serengetti Plain... how fabulous would that be??

(now you can see why I whinged about the tailoring on my pants.. aren't they awful!!)

Into the taxi and off to the airport... that'll be me one day...

It was a week before I found the time to shift from my little room into Dave's old room, and this morning I finally got around to taking some photos.

As you can see, it's twice as big - even a double bed - and it has a balcony!!

This is the view from my balcony, which faces east, with trees in the distance!

This window doesn't open, but there's plenty of room to spread - even the desk's bigger

And there's an ensuite, too

This room will cost me more. My rent on the small room was $15 a month. This one will cost me all of $40 a month. On top of that I pay for water, electricity and cable TV. All up I spend $100 a month on accommodation, and $250 on food, transport and entertainment (but them I don't go out much...)

After a long wait, here is where I work...

TUESDAY 17th May.... finished off on 30th May

This morning I finally had my camera out of my bag for the ride to work! First, let me introduce Mr Cuong, my faithful xe-om driver.

and his big bike...

He speaks very little English, and doesn't understand me when I try to speak Vietnamese, but we get by. He picks me up every day and takes me to school. On the weekends we go back and forth... pick up at 7.10 am, bring home at 11.45am, then back again in the afternoon, depending on which classes I have...

Anyway, here we are at the front of the school - even though the name's changed officially, nothing's changed, so I'll keep referring to it as VATC...

And here's the reception area

and on the left is the students' computer room where they can do online work (although they usually look like they're playing games...)

And in the staff room...

this is my work station

and this is Ann at her desk

This is Gene, our new 'part-time' teacher, who is working full time hours on top of her regular job as a primary school teacher at the local International School. She's American and lives in Hai Phong with her daughter, Becki, who is also a teacher. With her is a new trainee Teacher's Aide, Harvey.

I worked  for 26 days straight because since the three young Aussies did a runner, we've been critically understaffed. But today I have a day off!... A day to relax and catch up on my correspondence and my blog! I expect to keep on working very long hours till we get 3 more teachers... I hear there's one coming in June... I have at least 32 teaching hours a week, so add preparation time and I'm chalking up at least 50 hour weeks.  Saturday is the killer... my last class on Friday night finishes at 9:30pm, then the first class on Saturday starts at 7.30am! I have 4 x 2hour classes - 2 with little children, 1 with teenagers and 1 adults...  then I have to back up with 3 children's classes on Sunday, also beginning at 7:30am. I have no voice left by Sunday night.

My weekday routine is to wake up at about 8am, have breakfast and chat on Skype, check emails, and do whatever housework, shopping, washing etc needs to be done.  I prepare the 2 lessons for that evening, and at least one for the weekend, then Mr Coung comes and takes me to school at about 3ish, where I print off lesson plans, do photocopying etc etc. I usually have some dinner at the school canteen. This is Bich, our canteen lady... The canteen is tucked in under the stair well, but there are extra tables and chairs outside in the playing area which I forgot to photograph... will do so eventually. This is her Kitchen. She keeps everything spotless:

She does a roaring trade serving snacks and dinner to the evening students who usually come straight from school or work.

bánh đa cua from the canteen

Now for my students. What can I say? They are simply delightful. The adults in particular have a wonderful sense of humour and are a pleasure to teach.  The kids are like kids everywhere... some are angels, some are very naughty, but we have a lot of fun and many are learning quickly. Let me introduce you to a few:

L to R here's Flower, Apolo, Tom, Livi (in the red shirt), Antony, me, Sea, John and Dote.... from class 2E2oB

These are some of the kids from S1A2a - front row: Tom, Kevin, Jenny and Lisa; back row:  Batman, Kaka, Tiger (being silly) and Lily... gorgeous kids.

And these are some of the babies... on their second morning.

 John, Tim, Penny, Tommy and Benny

Liitle Mary (one of the teary ones), Tom, Sam and Tony (who has an incredibly musical ear... he sang all the songs perfectly as soon as he heard them, and parrots back everything I say with no trace of an accent!  Now say, good morning Tony... very good boy!

This was my first tiny tots class of brand new kids... only 3-4 years old and pretty teary at the start, wanting their parents...  but I had already prayed that God's peace and love would shine through me, and He came through so beautifully.  By the end of the class Mary, one of the littlest, who had been crying at the start called me Grandma in Vietnamese  :)  There were none of the dramas and hysterics I had been warned about. The littlest boy (who looks like he might be only 2),  was desperately clinging to his Mum and the start he was terrified of me, the big foreigner. But with God's grace, he settled right down and joined in and as he walked out the door, he said in a confident, loud voice Hello, I'm Superman!  ... that's his English nickname... and that was the goal of this class - for them all to be able to introduce themselves with their new name ( which they were given the morning before.....)  huge effort!  They joined in the singing, and the games, and laughed when I was silly, and coloured in beautifully... just a model class!  And in the staff room they said wasn't I lucky to get such a class.... lucky? no way... God was there with me... as he is in every class.  No wonder I'm enjoying the teaching so much.

These are some of the bold little boys who cheekily invade the staffroom on Saturday morning

And these two beautiful girls are in one of my classes

 Rachel and Tia

So there you are. That is where I teach...

Birthday blog

WEDNESDAY 25th May

Today I turned 60!  That sounds so very old... but it doesn't feel very old. It's only when I take a look in the mirror that reality kicks in!  I'm so glad we're only as old as we feel!

I woke up to skype and email birthday wishes from precious family and friends. The weather was quite mild, so the walk to join my ex-pat ladies for lunch was very pleasant (though I do get some funny looks when I wear my conical peasant's hat). Instead of the usual venue (Texas BarBQ) Helle had sent me a text saying that we were meeting at the restaurant at Sunflower, (the gated community for rich westerners) ... lovely grounds, swimming pool, tennis courts, golf driving range....  I'd been chatting to Andrew on skype and rocked up ten minutes late to find that they had gathered to wish me happy birthday!  They gave me a beautiful red bamboo salad bowl with silver handled lacquerware servers and a bunch of roses!... I got quite misty!

On top of that, Maritha shouted me lunch! Bless her!

 Here are the girls...

Dorothee, Maria, Ann, Pia, Helle, Bettina, Maritha, and Virag.

It was a lovely surprise, after which I walked home and prepared more lesson plans.  At work Ann said they would be celebrating my birthday with Oscar's and Ian's arrival (a new teacher) in a few weeks.

Here's what I had for my birthday lunch... chicken. The flowers were a happy birthday gift from the restaurant

At home, Katie took flowers up to Mum at Coffs Haven Nursing Home for me only to find her covered in bruises, with a cut on her forehead from when she fell out of bed last Saturday. She will be bed-ridden for a few days, but praise God, nothing was broken. As always she is in good spirits and her usual beautiful self. I had asked at Coffs Haven that Katie be advised if anything happened to Mum, but that message hadn't filtered through, so we didn't know about it till days later.... a situation that I hope is now rectified!

So there you go! Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me...... :)