SOS Village and a day on the town

So it's been a few days. We still only have three computers, but there are now eight people, which means that computer time is at a premium. I had a couple of lovely, lovely days, and the time is going by so fast. I can't believe I only have one more week of teaching and then we're heading back to Ha Noi. Time has really flown. Granted, last night when we went to dinner I thought to myself, "How many more nights do I have to eat noodle soup of some kind?" Those of you who know me know I'm not a huge fan of soup in general and noodle soups in particular. Pho' is the exception to the rule, but I can even get tired of pho'. Last night we had bun, which is pho' with a different kind of noodle, but don't let the Vietnamese hear me say that.... Anyway, food and homesickness things aside, I can't believe that the time has gone by so fast, and I wish I had more time here.

Day before yesterday - that'd be Tuesday - we went to the SOS Village, which is the orphanage in town. It's a series of group homes, and we visited before, but this Tuesday, we were able to spend more time with the kids. We played cards and soccer for a bit while they warmed up. Eleisa, Aimee, and I even did the hokey pokey to much laughter. We played the game where you hold hands and get all tangled up and then have to untangle each other from the knot that our hands have formed. We weren't very good at that game, but it was fun anyway, and the girls just laughed and laughed.
The two girls in my class were hanging out in the group with me and Eleisa. Once they warmed up, the girls were so adorable. Those two girls, a pair of twins, and two other girls gathered around me and the girls in my class served as my main interpreters. We all kind of separated out into different groups with different kids, and I was with those girls. We took pictures, then I let one of the twins have my camera and she took tons of pictures for me. Her sister stuck by me and held my hand, which is what people do in Vietnam when they're friends. One of the girls wants to be an interpreter, and she speaks English very well, so she'd be great at it, in my opinion. The girls were fourteen and thirteen and their lives have been too hard for them to be anything but sweet and appreciative. I felt so - full - spending time with them. We talked, they laughed at my Vietnamese, and we hung out.
It was really great and reminded me how much I want to work with underprivileged children. I could totally imagine myself living and working in a group home like the SOS Village. The kids really are well taken care of. They are bright and beautiful and bubbly. The girls invited us to come back, and I think I will go on Saturday so I can have at least one more day there.
Classes that night went well, and I enjoyed them greatly, especially my Starter class. My students and I decided we would meet for breakfast the next day and then I'd have lunch at Linh's house. I was floating on cloud nine after that.
After that, we went out for pho' (Night 2 of pho') and then hit a kem shop for some sua chua. (Don't you love my Vinglish?) I had a deck of Uno cards, and there were six of us. We had six flavors of frozen yogurt, so we decided to play yogurt Uno. You draw a two, take two bites of your yogurt, switch yogurt, draw an eight, eat eight bites, draw a reverse, switch yogurt in the opposite direction... If you're being stared at, you might as well give people some entertainment, right? ;) Anyway, we sampled all the yogurt and it was a good time.
Yesterday, I met my students at the school at 7 am. I took Anna, one of the teachers on the Ha Noi team, with me.
Three of my students were there, and one brought a friend. We rode motorbikes to the restaurant where we had some great food: rice cake type things with herbs and fried onions which you dip in nuoc mam (fish sauce). There were two types of meat involved, one of which was delicious, the other was just okay. I don't know what kind of meat it was, but the rule of thumb in Vietnam is "DON'T ASK". They ordered coffee for Anna and me; it arrived in a glass in three perfect layers: condensed milk; thick, black coffee; and a layer of creamy froth served over ice. I prayed so much that the caffeine wouldn't make me jittery, and so did Anna. Fortunately, there were no jitters and the condensed milk sure made the coffee go down without any trouble.
After that, we went to the market. I got some souvenirs because Linh is a master bargainer, and I even got a pilón for my mom. We bought food at the market, and Anna and I were so excited to see bins of spices and baskets of fish and whole chickens sitting out on tables... It was almost sensory overload, but we loved it and got pictures of some of the saleswomen; they were so excited to see their faces on the camera screen.
We headed back to Linh's house where she and Ninh prepared the most delicious lunch I've had in Vietnam while Anna and I chatted with the professor (one my students) and Ninh's friend (who speaks excellent English). The professor left early, but we stayed and ate crosslegged on a wooden bed that also serves as a table. Seriously: delicious.
After lunch, we watched tv and talked, then headed back out because Linh wanted to buy us bracelets. She's sixteen and the only daughter - one of three children - in a family that is very well off, but she's not spoiled at all. I was astounded by her generosity. She's a sweet, sweet girl, as is Ninh (she's 23). Oh! They also made us fresh passion fruit juice, which was as good as my grandma's. :)
We made plans for che and karaoke on Saturday, so I'm excited. We had good conversation and they're great people to hang out with. Besides, who doesn't like karaoke?!

Anna and I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in Ho Chi Minh Square talking and taking pictures of Uncle Ho's statue - it's pretty awe inspiring, that giant statue in the square...

My classes went well, not wonderfully, but well enough. I had to give one class a mid term exam, and that kinda sucked, but it's over, so that's good.

I'm planning to head to the market again today to finish up my souvenir shopping. I can't believe I'll be back in the States so soon... I almost don't want to go, because things are falling into place; I'm settling in, I'm understanding more of the language and the culture and the food... But man, I would love some rice and beans PR style and a nice pizza... ;)

Karaoke, bicycles, the beach, and songs

So I think it's been three days since the last post. I didn't want to post on Friday because I'd just finished teaching the worst class of my life. Seriously. Worse than any class I have EVER taught in any teaching situation ANYWHERE. They couldn't say "My name is...", but they were supposed to be on lesson 5, talking about the things that they liked. Go figure... And they were totally checked out because they couldn't understand me. Or they were pretending that they couldn't understand.
So I taught them "i'm a Little Teapot" with the motions and if they were on their cellphones or sleeping, or talking while we were practicing, they had to stand up and sing the song with the motions, which is absolutely mortifiying for them.

At least it's only once a week...

Other than that, my last two classes on Friday went really well. I LOVE that Listening and Conversation class so much. They're a ton of fun and they work their little butts off trying to communicate in English.
Friday morning, San left with his dad. He's not back yet, and I'm kind of heartbroken that I haven't been able to see him, especially since I wasn't able to get any pics of him. :(. I hope he'll be back before we leave.

Saturday, we ventured out on our bikes. Thanh sat on the back of Andrea's bike, while Eleisa and I got our own bikes. We went out for brunch - Bun which is kind of like pho' but with thinner noodles - and then rode off to the market where we bought fabric for dresses. I got this gorgeous green silk, and a turquoise one with this crazy print which I'm hoping to make a sundress out of (forgive my bad sentence structure). I also got a super cute pair of shoes for Cristina, which I bargained down from 160000 Dong to 80000 Dong. I can't even TELL you how proud of myself I am for that. As foreigners, we pay higher prices , but bargaining is an essential skill, and while I can hold my own in Spanish, with my limited Vietnamese, it's a little bit more intimidating. Body language is a good thing. And you should also start at at least half the starting price; if you know you're being ripped off (like the shoes), start even lower.
I also bought some passion fruit and an avocado (I'm thinking I'll make a little guac) to remind me of home. That parcha was delicious.
OH! And we found sandwiches! REAL sandwiches! HERE! In Vietnam! We've missed them so much, and Thanh had told us that they only sell them for breakfast, but those are lies. Hideous lies that kept us seperated from sandwiches for entirely too long. They were wonderful and we savored them at home while extoling the virtues of fresh pickles and the nice rolls... Ah, sandwiches...

Saturday night, we went to karaoke with some of the teachers - it was girls' night out. I somehow got roped into singing "Isla Bonita" by Madonna with Nhuong, and someone misguidedly told me I could sing. Eleisa and I also sang "Macarena" - did you know that song had words in English? - and we had a flashback to 1996 as everyone danced in the front. We also sang "Amazing Grace" and one of the teachers sang along. Turns out one of her foreign friends had taught her the song. She's really nice, and we've talked whenever she's around because she really likes to spend time with foreigners.

The Hanoi team came in around 2 am from Sat. to Sun. We were so glad to see them. Yesterday, we all hung out - we had pho' for breakfast with Ms. Yen and Mr. Quy and then went to a cafe for our favorite fruit drinks. After that, we napped and hung out while Steven played the guitar and we sang along. It was great to just sit around and sing and laugh. Then Andrea, Steven, and I decided it would be a good idea if we went out to Cua Lo beach on our bikes. It's 30 km - about 13 miles - and we were feeling adventurous, so off we went with a pair of water bottles, a map, and a cell phone. The scenery was breathtaking, the ride was easy. It was the Vietnam I'd dreamed of: shops lining a narrow dusty streets, people standing outside shouting, "Hello! Hello!", cows lazing on the side of the road. The motorbikes zipped past us and the trucks forced us off the road, but it was a really nice ride. I felt happy and alive; I was just glad for the movement... We stopped for nuoc mia once, then rode on to a different beach where we walked and saw women clamming with the strangest equipment we'd ever seen. Andrea and I left Steven and struck up a conversation with one of the women in our limited Vietnamese. We didn't learn too much about the clamming, but it was nice to talk.

After that, we rode the remaining 6 km to Cua Lo and stopped for nuoc mia again before parking our bikes and joining Thanh, Eleisa, and Anna. They'd come by taxi. It was good to be on the beach with a group of foreigners. Andrea and I got drawn into a beach soccer game and played a bit before heading back to where Eleisa and Anna were lounging. We actually got to swim in our suits, and not suits covered up by an extra layer of clothing. It was nice, so nice... I got a sweet tan, and a bit of burn on my shoulders, but it was totally worth it. (I promised I covered myself with sunscreen before heading out... SPF 45!)
We thought it'd be a good idea for us to all ride back Vietnamese style: two people per bike, but one bike didn't have an extra seat, so Andrea went off on a xe om (motorbike taxi), and the rest of us set off. Eleisa rode with me on the back seat nursing a nasty bruise on my right knee. She made it a few kilometers before she switched for a seat behind Steven. I got a bike that was much too high for me, and we rode about 5 km before we stopped for a flat tire on Steven's bike. Then Eleisa got my bike, and I sat behind Steven. Again, another 5 km, and a flat tire.... By now, we'd run into one of Thanh's students who was riding with a friend. The friend said she knew of a place where we could get the bike fixed and we tried to find a xe om for Thanh and I. No luck with the xe om, so the girl's mother came. The girls let Steven borrow their bike (which was very pink and had a pink bell) and took our bike to get it fixed. The mother took Thanh and I back to the hotel. There are no coincidences, right? How amazing is that that just when the tire gave out, we ran into someone we knew?! That's the kind of thing that amazes me while I'm here. I've never been good at faith, but it's been so clear to me lately that if we just take our own hands off the situation, God steps in and provides just what we need.

We went out for dinner and dessert (more fruit juice, fried bananas, and some spicy green papaya salad that was what I actually wanted for dinner) and then came back to the hotel for some worship.

It was kind of surreal to be in that room, our voices filling the room, Steven's guitar leading, some lovely harmonies, and the other four people there with the same passion. Man, that room felt good. It was nothing deep: no long winded prayers, no one speaking, just some songs, most of which came out in jumbled pieces before they were fluid and lovely, but that room felt GOOD. God is faithful. He is good and just and FAITHFUL... I am so thankful for the grace He's poured out on us, for protection and provision, for family when I'm so far from mine...

And now another week. We're halfway through this adventure; more than halfway... Time flies, right? Maybe? LOL There have been days when it's dragged, but looking back, I can't believe it's almost over. But so much can happen in two weeks. So much...

Pics - finally!

So I'm hoping to post some pictures today to break up the long blocks of text. I wish I could package up a bit to Vietnam and transmit it via Internet to all of you. I'd throw in the scent of nuoc mam (fish sauce) and sweat and nuoc mia and bia hoi that pervades the streets. Then I'd add some dust, making it cling to your sweaty skin, and pouring it in your sandals. After that, I'd bottle up some sun, hot and intense. A trickle of sweat should snake down your back, right between your shoulderblades, pooling in the small of your back. Sweat should also bead up on your forehead, but it's not too bad, because you've swept up your hair on top of your head to mitigate the problem. There should be a chorus of horns blaring and motorbikes zooming by while the bicycles navigate their way on the edges of the streets. Horns, nuoc mam, sweat, and dust are unavoidable. Trash collects along the edges of the sidewalks and old women wash dishes in shallow plastic tubs on the sidewalks while streams of gray water find their way to the streets.


I wish you could see it: the beauty and the poverty of it.
I am not one of those people who longs for the majestic views of Europe - been there, done that. This, however, this hard life and the grace in every moment, that I can soak up. It is amazing. Breathtaking. I guess not everyone agrees with me, but I wish you could see it the way I do. With a mix of curiosity and wonder and weariness... I don't know if that makes sense...
So yeah, enough text, yes? Maybe some pictures?

Team Vietnam at training: Steven, Eleisa, Marsha, Aimee, Anna, Rick, and Heath. Front row: Me, Thanh, Mary, and Andrea.

There are more pics here, I think, but the computer is making me crazy. It's not showing the pics the way I'd like it to, so I'm giving up for now, but I'll definitely try to figure this thing out later... Blech technology!

Better days, American food, and more nuoc mia

Well, the swelling is down in my nose; of course, I have two nice shiners now. I took pictures today, and I have the cable for my camera, but no camera. Way to go, Franny. Oh well. LOL. Yesterday was a "blah" day. We were all tired, I was sore, and we had two classes to teach. Two classes that seemed to take forever. LOL
Here's the good news: Yesterday, Andrea, Eleisa, and I made the most delicious lunch ever! Egg noodles with cheese sauce. Real cheese sauce: cream cheese, cheddar cheese, gouda melted together with a bit of milk over some nice noodles.... Trust me, after weeks of rice and fish sauce and various strange things, cheesy noodles become the epitome of fine dining. We made one big plateful, grabbed forks (FORKS! Not chopsticks, FORKS!) and dug in from the same plate. We cleaned it out between the three of us. :) And for dessert, we had watermelon. Oh, we were some happy American girls last night... We still have a jar of spaghetti sauce that we have to use, and believe me, we'll be happy to use it.
My first class yesterday invited me out for nuoc mia. There is one Korean student in that class, and three Vietnamese, so we have to speak English, and they're really curious about one another, which is good. We went to a different nuoc mia stand and sat down to enjoy our drinks and chat. We were late after the break, but we were totally practicing our English, so I'm okay with that. :)
My second class was a bit rougher. There are way too many high school boys in there - this is the class where I had to give the hitting talk. Today there was no hitting, but seven of the boys in the back totally did not do their work. So I stood by them and watched while they worked to make sure that they actually did the partner work. I hate grading, but when kids don't learn for the sake of learning, it's the only real incentive they have to actually DO the work. Blech.... My students can be lazy, but 80% of the time they at least START their work. These boys did not even do that...
After class, we walked back to the hotel and sat around in my room eating bits of food - crackers, yogurt, cookies - until Thanh broke out the icecream. Then we ate icecream and talked about sandwiches... Mmmm... Delicious sandwiches.... We hooked up my ipod to Eleisa's speakers and listened to music and clowned around. It was fun and we needed that time to unwind and refresh.
This morning we had a Vietnamese lesson, and we learned a children's song. Fun stuff, huh? That's totally the way to learn a language: singing songs. LOL It's a song about kids going to school and not crying while their mothers tend to the fruit trees and their fathers work at the factory and the grandfather plows the field. I love that I can pick out the family words and put things together :).
Speaking of families, my dad called this morning. I was so happy to talk to my Stinky (which is what I affectionately call my dad) because I haven't spoken to him since I left California. I was missing my mother tongue so much... Speaking of the mother tongue, I get to teach the teachers Spanish today. I am beyond excited, but also nervous, because I've never taught a language from scratch. I don't know if that makes sense: they have NO knowledge of Spanish beyond "te amo", so I'm starting from the ground up. But I'm just excited to speak my language, so I'm looking forward to it.
Finally, this is our last weekend as a foursome. This weekend, the Hanoi team is coming down to Vinh to teach here with us at ASEM School. I'm looking forward to seeing them, but I'm sure that the transition will be a bit difficult. Now there will be eight foreign teachers at this school; that's a whole lot for a small city like Vinh, but it will make our Sunday meetings a bit more like home, especially since Steven will be bringing a guitar.
Well, we've got lunch with one of Andrea's classes today at twelve, and after that, we're going to MaxiMark to do more grocery shopping (that yogurt goes quickly) and see my supermarket boyfriend. Also, we will be picking up our Ao Dai, after which I hope to post a picture that I will call "Ao dais and black eyes". I thought of that this morning while talking ao dais with Eleisa and we were highly amused, first because it rhymes and second because it's true.
I'm serious, these are some nasty black eyes I've got going on. The good news is that my nose looks MUCH better. It's back down to a normal size, though it's still bruised and scratched. At least I don't have as much blood in there anymore. (gross)

Oh! My mission for today is to find more things to be thankful for, so here are a few things that I appreciate:
-My tan. Who cares if they don't think brown skin is beautiful? I love my brown skin!
-Spanish lessons. Es que me hace falta mi propio idioma...
-My teammates: Andrea because she is funny, Thanh because she speaks Vietnamese, Eleisa because she is a nursing student and can fix us up. I am eternally grateful for these three women here with me, and that's not even a stretch.
-Nuoc mia. I am thankful because it is delicious and sweet, but mostly because it is COLD.
-Bottled water. It's refreshing and cold.
-Yogurt (Sua Chua). It settles my stomach, it fills me up, and it's cold. (Are we noticing a trend yet?)
-Phone calls from my dad. Nuff said.
-Maximark. Because they sell peanut butter and spaghetti sauce and bread and all other foods that remind me of home.
-God's protection. Seriously, because even though I complain, this could be much worse. And He's been so good....
-

Everyday is an Adventure: A blog in two parts

PART 1: The foreign teachers interact with the locals

Yesterday was a really good day. I start with this because it's the truth, even if you walk away from this blog thinking, "Man, that SUCKS!", it was a really good day. It was.



We woke up feeling crappy (I promise, this gets better), sick to our stomachs, suffering from sinuses, covered with bugbites, and tired. But devotions were really good. We talked about Jesus' load for us being light and that we are called to help each other to carry our burdens, and it was just what we needed. It was good.

Vietnamese lessons went well. We learned what I like to call "taxi words": go straight, turn left, turn right, right here. We also learned a few other essentials (Toi muon mua chai nuoc - I would like to buy bottled water). Afterwards, I blogged - remember that confusing mess? - and then I played with the kids here at the school. We didn't have a ball, but they wanted to teach me Vietnamese. Apparently, this is entertaining enough that the nuoc mia woman's 24-year-old son and his buddy came over and sat down to laugh and ask questions. It was actually a lot of fun. The kids get such a kick out of knowing more than me, and they quizzed me hard. I had to pull out my notebook (otherwise known as my lifeline) a few times. I seriously carry that thing around with me EVERYWHERE. I don't always remember the words that I need, so I'm frantically flipping through pages trying to put sentences together. The good thing about Vietnamese is that once you learn a verb, you're set. You don't have to conjugate them, so it's easier to put sentences together. Of course, the bad thing about Vietnamese is that they have roughly 4000 pronouns (it seems like it to me) to denote pretty much any human relationship possible. I mean, there are different four different words for "aunt" that I know. Four. That is just ridiculous.



So after an hour of playing with the kids, I walked back to the hotel for lunch. Thanh's sister made lunch and it was a salty, spicy concotion over rice noodles. When I say salty, I mean it was like drinking straight soy sauce. Eleisa and I poured copious amounts of water over it, trying to take the edge off, but to no avail. This, added to my poor stomach, made me retreat to my room after drinking plenty of Pepto.



I took a short nap, then pulled it together and went to the orphanage to visit the kids. The SOS Village is a village of group homes with dorm parents. There are about 300 kids there, and we visited each house and handed out the Vietnamese equivelent of Little Debbie snacks. The kids were adorable. I met one girl who would be in my class later that evening. A few kids there get scholarships to ASEM school, which is pretty cool. Anyway, we'll be going back next week to teach English. The place should be heartbreaking, and in someways it is, but in other ways, they live like families and it's nice. I mean, the place is REALLY nice: the kids are well cared for, they take care of each other and there are no blank stares or vacant eyes. They are lively, bright children, and I can't wait to go back.

My classes yesterday went wonderfully, thank God. My first was a Listening and Conversation class, level 2, which means that they speak English. Let me tell you, after a week and a half of speaking. At. This. Speed. It was. Quite. A change. Yes? Yes. Okay.
One of the girls even told me I could talk faster, so I explained that they spoke more English than any other class that I taught, and we were able to have some conversations. It was fun. There are at least two girls in that class who live at the orphanage, and they stayed after to ask if we were going to come teach them at the SOS Village. They were so excited when I said yes. :)

My next class was a Starter class, mostly adults. They did not speak very much English, but the class went really well. I can't even tell you how intimidating starter classes are: you walk in, "Hello. My name is Frances.", you write it on the board, wait for recognition to wash over their faces. Then they introduce themselves: "My name is Phuong. I am twenty year old. I am student. I like listen to music." I repeat. Yes, that is what they said. We move on.
I had one guy in the class tell me that he was also 25. He likes football and badmitton (the Vietnamese LOVE them some badmitton!). He likes to listen to music. And he is alone. Everyone laughed. That, my friends, was his way of saying that he is single and available. The only way that he could say, "Hey, want to ride on my motorbike?" (totally a date here) with his limited English.
Like I said, the class went well. We studied the present continuous and I gave them postcards from Hawai'i and told them to tell me what they were doing in Hawai'i. I got answers ranging from the basic "I am swimming at the beach" to the more complex "I am picking coconuts". I was so impressed by their efforts and their overwhelming friendliness.

Oh! And on the subject of flirting, between the SOS Village and teacing, we stopped at Maximark, the local supermarket, to do our weekly grocery run. We go there quite often, and the workers there know Eleisa and me quite well by now, since we do most of the grocery shopping. There's this guy who works there who speaks English, and he's a real cutie, but a bit short. Anyway, we always take a shopping list and he takes it and tells us where to find things. So he was helping us yesterday and then he wandered over to the cash register when I was paying. He stood behind me as I paid and the cashier said to me, "He love you" in her limited English. I pretended not to understand. He smiled. She said it again, and then went on in Vietnamese. He translated: "She says you are very beautiful". I said, "Oh, thank you. Cam o'n (thanks in Vietnamese)." She said again, "He love you." I played dumb; he smiled. I ran out of Maximark with my two heavy bags of yogurt and icecream once I'd paid. Everyday it's something...

After our classes, one of Thanh's students took us out to eat. We went to this super cute restaurant about half a mile away. She took three of us on her motorbike, and I sat in the front because I had a skirt on. Four people on a motorbike is a common thing here in Vietnam, but it is by no means safe. However, the Vietnamese do not let you walk more than a couple blocks. Eleisa, Andrea, and I are content to walk miles and miles around town, but no one wants us to do so. So we gave in and let them drive us to the restaurant.
We had good food: fried rice cakes with shrimp inside, green papaya salad, fried bananas (amarillitos!), and this drink of mixed fruit and crushed ice in sweetened milk. It was wonderful. The place was cleaner than any restaurant we've visited in Vietnam until now.

We had a good time talking to Huong, the student, and eating, and then it was time to go home.


PART 2: "Toi bi tai nan xe may", or The Dangers of Motorbikes

Andrea and I decided we would walk back to the hotel. It was only half a mile back, and the night before, we had walked about a mile and a half. We like walking, we needed the exercise, especially after eating all those fried bananas and shrimp. So off we went. Walking back to the hotel, enjoying the cool air and the breeze and talking about our classes.
Suddenly Huong pulled up, she signalled her motorbike. Turn out Thanh had sent her back to pick us up. What do you saywhen someone comes back to pick you up? You shrug and nod, and get on the bike. So we headed toward the bike. Huong asked me to sit in the front, and I climbed on. As I was sitting in front of her, not quite seated, but in the process, the bike moved. We were all in shock, I think, and all of a sudden, we were careening towards the sidewalk. We bounced up on the sidewalk, under a tree. I thought, "Oh, we didn't hit it, we'll steer back to the street, it will be okay." And then there was another tree. We were heading straight at it, and I was in the front part of the seat. We were going to run into it, and I could see it, see it happening, and then we were there, and my face hit the tree, my forehead, my nose, my teeth rattled. I thought, "I broke my nose; I'm going to stain my yellow shirt!", and then my head rolled to the side, and I thought, "My nose isn't bleeding, maybe it's not broken." We got off the bike, and Huong was freaking out: "Are you okay?" I told her I was fine, even though I was dizzy, because I didn't want to worry her. We told her we'd help pay for the bike (it's mostly fine, she was able to drive it home) and people poured out of their homes to help us. They delivered some ice for the knot on my forehead and my swollen nose. We called Thanh and she came back. She ended up going to Huong's house with her to explain what had happened to Huong's mother. Meanwhile, Andrea and I walked back to the hotel; we really weren't very far. We did NOT want to get on another xe may (motorbike) in our skirts and with my swollen face. We didn't call a tazi, didn't go to the doctor, didn't call Ms. Yen and Mr. Quy - all I wanted to do was go home and get some ice on my boxer's face.

So off we went. Eleisa, who is a nursing student, hooked me up with some meds, more ice, and checked me out for a concussion. The girls prayed over me, which was good. And I'm looking a bit better today. Still swollen, still looking like a boxer, but not quite as bad. My lip is fat and swollen, and I've been calling it my Angelina Jolie lip. I suppose things could be worse.

Eleisa said, "You know, it's funny how Satan works." The stomach ache wasn't enough to keep me down, so he tried the tree instead. But we're here and we're fighting, and I'm nursing my beat up face and trying not to be as vain about my nose. (Dear GOD, please let me keep my nice nose... ;).) But like I said, it was a good day with a crappy ending.

Today in my Vietnamese lesson I learned to say I had a motorbike accident (Toi di thai nan xe may), which I already tried out with my little buddy, San. He was very concerned. Seriously, the kid is adorable!

I hope that my students today aren't too put off by the state of my face. We were joking that maybe now, Abbey, the Ghanaian soccer player in town won't be so in love with me if he could see me. Of course, I am still NOT planning to meet him anywhere. LOL...

Keep us in prayer though, because our health has been hit hard since we've been here. Allergic reactions to bug bites, ear infections, sinus infections, stomach woes, and now the motor bike accident... But we're fighting the good fight.

Rambling on the foreign and familiar

Well, it's Tuesday here, and we just finished our Vietnamese lesson. I was going to blog yesterday, but we had a series of power outages that lasted quite a while. Imagine 93 degrees, high humidity, and no fans; sounds like fun, right? ;) I guess it wasn't too bad, but it made us all pretty lazy. We didn't want to go out or explore much.

Yesterday we celebrated Thanh's nephew's birthday. We had entirely too much food. It's amazing how a table full of food can totally ruin your appetite; I was completely overwhelmed. We invited the hotel staff and Ms. Yen and Mr. Quy, so there were about eight of us. We ate rice noodles, shrimp, beef stir fry, some kind of broth, a salad (which I helped prepare), rambutan (like lychee, but spiky), and cake. And I'm sure there was more food on the table somewhere... It was all really good. I feel like I never stop eating here.... Amazingly enough, however, all of my clothes are too big on me.

We played soccer with some kids outside the school yesterday morning, which was a lot of fun. Andrea is in agreement about soccer being the universal language. We walked from school to the hotel with the ball, and had about three conversations across a block and a half. Everyone wants to be your friend when you have a soccer ball. It's such a great conversation starter.

Last night, after class, we had some nuoc mia. This is becoming a habit for us, and not a particularly healthy one, but the nuoc mia is so sweet and cold and refreshing, that we are craving it by the end of the night when we've exhausted our cold water supply. It's nice to sit at the little plastic table, balancing on little plastic chairs on the edge of the sidewalk and sipping cold sugar cane juice. It's a well deserved treat, I think. Plus, the opportunities for conversation over nuoc mia abound. There is no such thing as personal space in Vietnam, so the tables are pushed close to one another and everyone wants to practice their English or see how well we speak Vietnamese (the answer is not very), so we always talk to people. Yesterday, we talked to a couple of older men who laughed at our Vietnamese notebooks with our careful notes on pronunciation.

After that, Eleisa, Andrea, and I split a plate of chicken fried rice (co'm is rice, ga is chicken - that's what we want) and some pickled green papaya (I love that stuff) for 20,000 dong, just a little over a dollar for three people. We decided we should not let Thanh order anymore because we are infinitely more frugal. ;). Andrea and I walked around the city after that, in search of Kem and sua chua (ice cream and yogurt) and some cold bottled nuoc (water). We were unable to find the latter, but managed to find a little shop where we bought some frozen yogurt in little glass cups. One pink, one white, and like good Vietnamese, we ate from eachothers cups.

At dinner we were making a list: "You know you've been in Vietnam too long when..." Among my favorites, "someone gives you a fork and you look at them funny", "you share one water bottle among four people", "you think nothing of double dipping"....

This is a different world here. I can feel the difference, see it, smell it, taste it. Most of my food reminds me of my seventh grade bio class where we did a lot of dissections (shrimp, crab, even chickens with their heads on - I have managed to avoid the latter). But there's something so universal in this heat, the poverty. Something universal in dusty streets and bright smiles and sad eyes. It's amazing to draw these parallels in a place that is so deeply foreign to me. I have my moments. My days of wishing for a nice, fat sandwich; some music in Spanish, maybe a car with AC... But I guess no place is really home. I'm an army brat, I should know that much at least.

Somedays I feel like I'm at the ends of the earth. I felt that yesterday, as I washed veggies while squatting on a pair of bricks on the patio. Yeah, there's no sink in the kitchen.... But at the same time, there's that common thread of food and water, the sky above, and the dust in my sandals... I am amazed at every turn. Sometimes amazed and resentful, sometimes amazed and gracious... You could all pray for my attitude; it wouldn't hurt. ;)

I guess I'm babbling. And maybe I'm repeating myself a lot, but I can't view my blog, only write in it, so I don't know what's old news.

I think we've decided to go to Ha Long Bay for the weekend so we can meet up with the Ha Noi team before they come down to Vinh. I think I need it; need some beach, some natural wonders to shock me into appreciation. The classes can tire me out. It's hard when you aren't always understood, when you get a lot of blank stares and nervouse gazes.... But it gets better, yes? It always gets better...

I'm optimistic, really I am. Just tired, a little sick, and definitely sweaty. Ha, ha... Guess it's time for lunch and a nap. Now THAT I could get used to.

Lazy Sunday...

We have been beyond lazy today. It is hot, ridiculously hot, possibly hotter than it was yesterday, and I have not been too eager to head outside.

Last night we went out with Ms. Yen and Mr. Quy. It wasn't quite what we expected, but it ended up being a good time. Ms. Yen is a lot of fun, and I really like spending time with her. I think she had a good time with us. Oh, we met a Ghanaian soccer player last night, too. He plays for the team here in Vinh City, and he has a bit of a crush on me, which made me feel a little uncomfortable. Mr. Quy was teasing me about that this morning.... I guess this is my brush with celebrity while I'm here in Vietnam. The guy is pretty famous here in Vinh.

Yesterday we went shoe shopping and to the market nearby. We are usually teaching in the evenings and were quite surprised to see that the city comes alive at around 5:30. There were people walking in the square, the markets are bustling, and everyone is out. I bought a pommelo at the market, and it's sitting on my desk, waiting for me to eat it. The best thing is that it was a quarter of the price that I pay for it back home. :) Don't worry, Maggie, I'll think of you as I eat it. Andrea and I also bought a soccer ball so we can take the boys to the park and play (or set up a game in the school lobby). So far, Thanh's nephew has had a ball with it in the hotel lobby. He's quite a handful, and a real cutie. He has been wandering in and out of our rooms looking for things to play with, and so far, he likes the ball most.

We're getting to be regulars on the motorbike front, and it's actually not as nervewracking when you're on the bike as when you're walking and watching them dodge in and out of traffic. They're quite practical here, I think. The wide sidewalks are a perfect parking lot for bikes, and they stir up a nice breeze in the humid Vietnamese summers. I would love to get one back home and use my car only in the winter or on rainy days. How sweet would I look on a Vespa? ;) Not to mention the gas I'd be saving.... How much IS gas these days, anyway?

Well, we've got a karaoke appointment at five, and it's just about time, so I'll be off. I'll have to share my stories of Ho Chi Minh's homeland tomorrow. I'm sure you're all dying to know. ;)

Soccer is the universal language

Well, it's the end of our first week at ASEM School. We've made it through unscathed, though we did meet with some rough patches. I was going to blog yesterday, but I got distracted by an impromptu game of soccer.

But I guess I should start at the beginning. Yesterday morning, Eleisa and I went with one of the teachers to do aerobics. We were out of the house by five, and put in a little over an hour at the gym. We rolled up to the gym in workout gear: bermudas, t-shirt, tank, sports bra, sneakers and find ourselves in a roomfull of skinny little Vietnamese women in bathing suits. A few women were in leotards a la Jane Fonda circa 1986. They were doing step aerobics on little wooden steps and then we moved into some regular aerobics. Then Nhuong took us through the routine one more time so that we could learn the moves. It was fun and I worked up a good sweat. I do miss my usual workouts, so I hope to go more regularly. Oh! I took a xe om to the gym - a motorbike taxi, and we rode three to a bike on the way back with Nhuong's aunt. She told us we could get workout clothes like hers at the market: bikini top and a little swim skirt. We told her we'd keep it in mind. ;)

After that, we had breakfast at the hotel, all four of us together: Eleisa, Andrea, Thanh, and me, and then we came to the school to check our email, minus Thanh.

The three little boys who live here at the school were here hanging on us and being generally adorable, so we invented a game of soccer with a bottle cap. They ran off and searched out a small ball, and we turned into a full scale game in the school lobby (it was nap time, so we were the only ones here). We kicked the ball around until it broke in half, and then we kicked the half-ball around for a while until the oldest boy, San, came back triumphantly with a Christmas ornament he'd found somewhere. We tucked the ornament into the broken ball and played teams: Andrea and San vs. his two younger brothers and me. They won by one goal. It was a lot of fun, and I got the feeling that those boys hadn't had so much fun in a long time. They don't generally have a lot to time to act like kids because they are always fetching things and generally helping out around the school. But my gosh, they are beautiful kids, and they have so captured our hearts. We brought them jelly candies yesterday and a couple bags of nuoc mia to drink. They are so adorable.

We each taught two classes last night. I have a listening and conversation class which is a ton of fun. There are only five students, and one of them is Korean, so they are forced to speak in English. They are in level one, but they really want to learn, so teaching them is a pleasure. We did a lot of speaking yesterday which was good for all of us. There is one girl in the class. Her name is Anh, and she's adorable. She's also twenty-five, so we've been able to talk a bit. I hope we can hang out some time after class. I really do enjoy spending time with the whole group.

My other class was a General English class of twenty students, 11 guys, 9 girls, most between the ages of 13 and 15. Fifteen year old boys are fifteen year old boys everywhere. LOL... I had to give my talk about hitting: "You can. Hit (mime punching). Outside (point to door). In here (point to floor). No more (signal no with hands). Yes?" "Yes." There was no more hitting after that.

After class, my teammates and I went for karaoke. One blissful session of all-English karaoke where we made fools of ourselves and laughed until midnight. We got ripped off, but it was still a good time. Tonight we're going out with Ms. Yen and tomorrow, we're visiting Ho Chi Minh's homeland. I'm excited about both events.

Oh, and this morning, we were reading Psalm 62:1-2 about waiting in silence for God. How appropriate, I think, for this. He's been faithful when I've been worried about teaching certain classes, about keeping me safe on a motorbike, about giving us time on plastic stools with our students. And I am glad for that. While we are here, we are waiting silently for Him. This is a beautiful country, a place unlike any I've ever visited. Muggy, hot, dusty, and slightly schizophrenic. But there is beauty. So much beauty in people's smiles, in their resilience, in the broken sidewalks and plastic tables laden with rice and beef and pho'.... I miss home food: beans and cheese and bread, but I'm glad to experience all this love and loveliness. I can't wait to show pictures and share more stories.

Oh! Finally, the team from Hanoi is coming next weekend. They'll be teaching here at ASEM with us, and staying at the hotel with us. So keep that in mind, because it might be a rough transition for them.

Successful communication and face pats.

We've had a couple of laid back days here in Vinh. Yesterday, after my Vietnamese lesson (Toi ten la Frances. Toi hai lam tuoi...), I checked my email briefly and then I walked back to the hotel by myself.
The road to the school is lined with Bia Hoi shops (beer shops) and pool halls, which means lots of stares as we walk. Yesterday, however, I was walking and one of the women who works at one of the pool halls waved me over, then dragged me into a chair and started in with a barrage of Vietnamese. So I answered that I didn't understand (in Vietnamese no less!) and she laughed and continued talking. One of her friends came over and there was a whole lot of patting of my face, and me answering their questions with "I don't understand". I finally told them my name, and they laughed and patted my face somemore, while I sat bewildered between the two little Vietnamese women. Finally I said goodbye and walked off to the hotel.
Thanh made lunch for us yesterday - good stuff. So we ate well and then cleaned up, doing dishes while squatting on two bricks by the faucet on the patio. Let me tell you, doing dishes sucks, but it especially sucks when you don't have a sink. After that, Eleisa and I went off to the supermarket. We went downstairs and asked the women who work at the hotel to call us a taxi. This took a lot of English, responses in Vietnamese, and then eventually writing down "Taxi. Maximark." on a sheet of paper. That they understood. In a matter of minutes, there was a taxi out there and Tum told him where to take us. We did our shopping (bread, cheese, noodles, and spaghetti sauce - we're a li'l homesick), and then summoned another cab. We showed the driver the keys to our hotel rooms and he understood that we wanted to go there.
Successful communication is always a cause for celebration here.
After the groceries were put away, Eleisa and I went to buy shoes. The guy at the shoestore was a super cutie, but on the short side. He found shoes in my size - the man is a genius, he just looked at my feet and came out with size 36, which is exactly right. I bought a pair of cute black sandals which I needed because my black flip flops fell apart after the torrential rain in Hanoi the night we took the train to Vinh. Anyway, the shoes cost me 120,000 dong - don't be put off by all those zeros, that's about $10. I was really proud of myself because I was able to understand the guy when he said my size. (I have so mastered my Vietnamese numbers.)
We had two team teaching sessions last night, from 5:45 to 9:30 pm, which is tiring, but we also had three fifteen minute breaks in between all that. Oh, and I got my first motorbike ride on the back of Tum's motorbike (she works at the hotel). Afterwards, we were wiped, so we sat out at the nuoc mia stand out front and enjoyed some sugar cane juice while we chatted with the lady who owns the shop and her son.
I can't even tell you how happy it makes me to be able to sit with people and make conversation when we can only speak bits of eachother's languages. There's an art to that, a beauty in communication, in the repetition, the hand signals, the laughter as we make mistakes.... Language is a powerful thing.
Today we went to Vinh market and bought fabric for some ao dai (ow zai - zai rhymes with "guy"). I got this great green fabric with flowers down the front. We then went to the tailor so that we could be measured, and in two weeks I will have some traditional Vietnamese clothing. Ha, ha. :) The crazy thing is that it will only cost $20 to have it custom made for me. That is just unreal.

I've made friends with the little boy whose grandfather is in charge of building maintenence. He's fifteen but looks like he's about eleven. He saw me crying at the computer one day when I was crazy homesick, and since then, he's been all smiles with me. It breaks my heart because the other kids don't really talk to him, because he's poorer. He doesn't speak much English, but I'm seriously in love with this kid. He takes care of a couple of younger boys and sometimes sneaks into the office and plays ping pong online. Yesterday he gave me a piece of dried sweet potato because I asked him what he was eating.

Oh! And today we had lunch with Andrea's student, Thuy and Tum and her ex. It was fun, all of us trying out our new languages, Thanh doing a lot of interpreting. And the food was delicious, so that was a plus.

Anyway, I'm going to be teaching soon, so I'm off.

The importance of taxis, teaching, and fishheads

Yesterday we thought it'd be a great idea to go clothes shopping at about 1:00pm. We walked across Vinh City, got a little lost, and were drenched in sweat - when I say drenched I am NOT exagerating - by the time we got to Intimex. Thank God that Intimex has AC! We walked in thinking we'd made it to the promised land and did some shopping as we dried off. I realized for the umpteenth time that I am NOT built like a Vietnamese woman. The shirts fit funny, the pants came up too high on my waist, in short, I will rely on custom made clothing while I am here. My own clothes are too big on me after only two weeks. It's all that sweating and walking and the healthy Vietnamese food. I did come away with a silk coin purse for 6000 Dong - $1=16100 Dong, you do the math. It's crazy cheap. We also found a place where we can get ao dai made (traditional Vietnamese clothing), so we're excited about that.

I observed a class that I will soon be teaching. They are in their early to mid twenties, like me, and it's a small listening and conversation class. One of the students is from Korea, and he's here teaching Tae Kwan Do, but that language barrier forces the students to speak to each other in English because it's their only common language. It was fun because at break, the only girl in the class turned to me and immediately started peppering me with questions: "How old are you? Where are you from? What do you think of Vietnam? Do you speak Vietnamese?" She taught me a little Vietnamese, including how to tell the xe om driver that I want to go to the supermarket. Things that would've been good to know earlier... LOL

The guy from Korea asked me where I was born (because I'm not so "all-American"), so I explained, though I'm not sure if he understood. I will have to bring a map to class next time.

After class, we went to dinner with one of Andrea's students. She is about fourteen years old and adorable. We ate at a little restaurant with low steel tables and blue plastic chairs. There was entirely too much seafood on the table, and I am seefooded out. Especially because the fish I picked up from the cummunal dish had its little mouth open and was totally staring at me. I was not in the mood for fishheads. All I really wanted was a bowlful of rice and rau muong (water spinach). After dinner, Thuy took us to her house, where we met her cousins, her baby brother, her mom, and her grandmother. Her mom is a shopkeeper, so I think I'll be frequenting her shop instead of going all the way out to the supermarket for things like tissues and pens. (The shop is just down the street from our place.) Thuy gave us a tour of her room, and showed us her cd collection (Fergie, Avril Lavigne, Justin Timberlake....) and her photo album. She told us all about Ho Chi Minh's family and showed us her English homework, which she said was quite boring.

After we left her house, we stopped at an icecream shop and got Kem (Kem is ice cream, and that's an important Vietnamese word to learn). After that we headed home where Eleisa saved our lives by making the AC work.

Today we had our first Vietnamese lesson. We went over the alphabet and dipthongs - there are entirely too many to keep track of - and about 8 different ways to say "you". And I thought Spanish was complicated with tú, vos, usted, vosotros, and ustedes! I will never complain about that again! LOL

Alright, that's it for now. I'll be back tomorrow...

Vinh, the beach, and how I learned to like seafood

Well, we made it to Vinh. The train ride took about nine hours. I'm sure most of you have heard about my Nicaraguan ferry ride - you know, the one across Lake Nicaragua, when there were only three women on board and we woke up to a circle of men peering at us curiously, when it was palpably hot and humid... Yeah, multiply that by about fifty, throw in a lot of beer, a heavy dose of sweat and general BO and an Asian squatty potty sans TP, and you've got a good approximation of what the train ride was like. But you know, everything is an experience. I remember testing out my tentative Vietnamese asking where the vay sinh (restroom), and then opening that door, considering holding it for another five hours, and then taking a deep breath and going for it. If I wanted this to be home, I would've stayed home, right?

Yesterday we spent the day at Cua Lo beach - about twenty kilometers from Vinh. Lovely warm water - though a bit cloudy, gentle waves, nice breeze, fine sand... What can I say? I love the beach. I am however, the darkest girl in Vietnam. LOL Everyone is trying to cover up and stay nice and white, while I am loving the sweet golden tan I'm picking up. They all think I'm Indian, as in from India, because of my eyes and my "bright brown skin", which is fine because I think Indian women are knockouts. But let's just say that I am an anomaly here in Vietnam.

Anyway, the food is amazing here. I've had a few things I'm not too fond of, eggplant seeds and eel, but other than that, I've been eating it all. Calamari, shrimp which I get to dissect myself (did you know that shrimp have heads?), crab, clams, frog legs (taste just like chicken wings and I am not kidding)... I actually really like the calamari, clams, and frog legs, who knew? They do seafood RIGHT here. Yesterday at the beach, I sat in front of a whole plate of seafood and it did NOT smell like fish. Talk about fresh. And delicious.

Ah, and we also went to Karaoke. The famous Asian karaoke craze... It's quite different. You get a room for you and your friends, a big screen tv, food and drinks, and a couple of microphones. Before long, you are doing your version of Aretha Franklin's "Respect" with the other Americans and realizing that you don't actually know the words. There was also a whole lot of singing in Vietnamese, while I tried to read along and connect sounds with letters.

Vietnamese lessons begin on Wednesday and God knows I need them. :)

Eleisa and I walked a couple miles to the local grocery store yesterday during the siesta - now we know why people stay in. We were able to stop at a post office and ask for directions. I also bought mangosteen from a street vendor (seriously, best fruit ever). A mangosteen looks like an eggplant met a persimmon but it tastes like... I don't know, heaven, perhaps? Oh, and my new favorite drink (wonderfully nutritious, no doubt) is sugar cane juice. They basically press the sugar cane and mix it with lemon and I don't know what else. It's the perfect pick me up after afternoon classes.

We finish observations tomorrow, and then the team teaching begins. I did a little teaching today with a starter level class. We talked about the seasons and the weather before their regular teacher took over for the listening activities. Lots of fun. Cute kids. :)

Anyway, that's all for now.

Frances Joy is in Ha Noi

(I love that that rhymes)

I'm currently in Vietnam for five weeks, teaching English with Teach Overseas. We just got in yesterday, and here's the copy of the email I sent out. I will hopefully be posting some pictures later...

Xin Chau!

Well, we're in Vietnam. We're here in Hanoi, just got in yesterday, and luckily, no real sign of jetlag. So far, it's been amazing. We've had some wonderful food: pumpkin, ginger chicken, beef, rice, water spinach (my new favorite)... I'm one happy girl here. We stayed at a hotel last night here in Hanoi, and late tonight, we are going to take a train down to Vinh (pronounced Ving here in the North). We've been hanging out with Sandy Harrison, who's been here in Vietnam for seven years working with ELIC. She's been a great resource for us to get oriented. We went to the old quarter of Hanoi last night and crossed the street several times. Now let me back up and explain Hanoi traffic: it is a fluid mess of motorcycles, mopeds, cars, buses, bikes, and trucks. Traffic flows in all directions, and left hand turns make your heart leap into your throat. Everyone leans on the horn to let you know that they're coming through, and you're just expected to flow around them. It is seriously the most intimidating thing in the world. To cross the street, you're just supposed to make eye contact with the drivers and walk slowly across the street while the motorbikes flow around you. They kept whizzing behind me, but it was this moment of exuberant victory when I crossed that first street by myself, because it was my biggest fear. Today, we crossed streets left and right, and all was well. We tried to go Ho Chi MInh's Mausoleum today, but it was closed when we got there, so I'll have to come back to Hanoi for that. We also missed the museum, it was closing just in time for the siesta when we got there. However, we did get some more good food, and bought fresh coconut and sugar cane juice the former tasted like Puerto RIco, and the latter was absolutely delicious, this rush of cool sweetness in a plastic bag... The fruit here is amazing. We've only been here a day and a half and already I've had dragonfruit - pink and spiky outside, white with black seeds inside - it tastes kind of like kiwi, only sweeter, and really refreshing in the Vietnamese heat. I've also had lychee and rambutan (like lychee only spiky outside), and mangosteen - the most delicious thing ever... Last night I bought a donut from a street vendor; she was so sweet and it only cost me about 2000 dong, which is roughly fifteen cents. It was filled with a sweet bean paste, which sounds gross, but is actually delicious.

When people see us on the streets, they say Hello, then laugh and run away, which is really cute. I guess we do the same with our limited Vietnamese - people are really excited to here us using their language. It feels good so far. Anyway, we'll be getting to Vinh and meeting our school administrators today and tomorrow. I'm excited about that, but also nervous. It's an eight hour train ride down there, so you guys can keep that in mind. We hope that all goes well when we meet our administrators and see the school. I don't know much about the teaching situation yet, so keep that in mind also. I'm excited for what's coming, but also nervous.

Well, I guess that's it for now.