My first class...

THURSDAY 10^th March

Today is Greg’s birthday and I’m so far away!...

I finally got to teach my first class last night. They were Level 3 adults aged 18 – 42 and it was great. They were all so keen and co-operative, loved the games especially. I will need to build up a repertoire of games so I always have something up my sleeve to keep things interesting. Fortunately, because they have classes with Vietnamese teachers also, our responsibility is mainly to get them talking and work on pronunciation and communication skills. Sweet! First up I got them to do role-plays for buying a train ticket (from their previous lesson), then my lesson was on breakfast foods. I’m so pleased to have that first class under my belt!  The class was 7:30 – 9:30, then I hoofed it home to get here just after the pizza arrived... yep, that’s right... home delivery pizza, 2 for 1 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays!

So for the first time Dave, Amie, Eathen and I sat down together at home over a meal (Sarah is in Hanoi). It was so much better than coming home and all disappearing into our various rooms. They are great company. Among other things we discussed Eathen’s robbing. The big issue is that even Vietnamese people avoid being on the streets alone after 10:30... so we need to be wise, (and holler if we’re accidently locked out!!)

By the time I did the dishes and had a shower, it was 11:30 (my new bed-time it seems...). I was so pleased to sleep through till after 7 this morning.

I bought fabric (cost about $30) the other day and washed it, then took it to the tailor today. It will cost me about $22 to get 4 pairs of slacks and 2 business shirts made to measure... if she does a good job I'll get more made while I'm here!

Spent the afternoon preparing lessons and looking up games and activities on the net and sent out an email to tell my F’s & R’s about this blog...  It’s really cold tonight! Am sitting here with a blanket around me...

FRIDAY 11^th March

WOO-OO! I woke up to emails from dear ones who have read this! So lovely to hear from you!...

I’ll spend a quiet morning at home preparing lessons for the weekend, maybe duck over to the supermarket, then go in to school to go over my lesson plans with Ann, the manager, and sign my contract (finally). Then I’ll rush home to get on skype and join in Greg’s birthday dinner at Katie’s... love the technology!