I guess teaching isn't thaaat bad...

Teaching is not nearly as scary as I expected it to be. I think it helps that this school is so lax. It doesn't seem as if anyone is really keeping tabs on my teaching abilities. I think the most annoying part of it is planning. I am now realizing the importance of planning, yet even when you plan sometimes things don't go the way you expect them to and you have to improvise while you are teaching. I'm sure if I had actually gone to school to be a teacher I would have known this and expected it. Instead, I planned my first day of school by the minute and then had one extra activity in case we had more time. Well, I should have known that my activities would have taken no time at all and next thing I knew I had 30minutes left and nothing to do. Luckily, it was just the first day of school so doing nothing was acceptable.

I think it is also helpful that even though these students can get a little loud, overall they are excellently behaved. They like to talk to their friends and joke around (unfortunately in Vietnamese, so I can't even enjoy it). However, they don't do anything bad or inappropriate (they could be saying inappropriate things but I wouldn't know). Like I said before, however, their English isn't that great and I am never positive what they already know or don't know. Part of me is nervous I am insulting them by assuming they don't know things like the word "ignore". But then they ask questions that make me realize they actually probably don't know that. It is also confusing because the high school students have poorer English than that cute little 11 year old I have...I probably would be insulting him to assume he doesn't know the world "ignore", but he is much younger!

Anyways, I am definitely enjoying being in this new environment and culture. It is interesting and exciting and different. I can confirm, however, that I am still not a city-person. I definitely miss being able to just go hiking or camping any day that I want. There are not lakes I can just drive to for the day or trails I can go running on here. I suppose if I had a vehicle of some sorts here I would be able to escape the city, but then again traveling into the Vietnam countryside alone wouldn't be that stellar of an idea anyway. I do love the weather here. I was worried it would be unbearably hot but surprisingly it's quite nice. I do show up to school kind of sweaty but once you settle down at a desk you cool off quickly. Most Vietnamese people try to avoid sun exposure at all costs, it's pretty nuts. It will be a beautiful 80 degree day and they will be riding their motorbikes in long pants, socks, zip-up hoodies, and a face-mask. Plus they have their helmet on so they have very little skin showing. At first I just figured they thought it was colder than I did but then a Vietnamese girl told me she hates the sun and would move quicker to find shade when walking around. I feel like the sun is blocked by a building everywhere I go so I am rarely in direct sunlight. When the sun is right above me at noon I don't typically go outside.

Anyway, my point is, Maine is amazing but I wish summer was longer! Just a little longer...I like winter too but just a little longer would be great!

So after work today I went to this sports stadium place where tons of people exercise. It's pretty packed. There is a giant field where people run around and then play other sports inside, an indoor stadium pool, basketball courts, soccer, a turf field, etc. The funniest part was the outdoor exercise equipment...I'll take pictures next time. Everything around here seems so primitive compared to our "state of the art" workout equipment at our gyms. Even everyone's bicycles look like they're from the 1950's. Scott's friend Tai took me to the "track" which is really just a pavement path that goes around the indoor stadium. I hadn't been running yet in Vietnam and I missed it! It is super hot here, however. We ran right around dusk so it wasn't too bad. Then, as we were cooling down from our run the full moon came out. Running around the stadium allows for some great people-watching. Going around we got to pass by a pretty hilarious dance (zumba?) class, people playing badminton, soccer, basketball, and using the equipment or doing pull-ups on bars. As you round one side of the track, the track coincides with an entrance where motorbikes pull in so yet again I have to dodge those a bit. Motorbikes are everywhere!

Here are some pictures from yesterday and today ... as per requests, more food pics!

 Bahn Mi ... to be honest, I don't even know what is on this. I just motioned for the girl to put everything on it. They're sooo good.

 Some random fried things. Again, I just point and the little old lady hooks it up. This was from a woman who just had a little cart on the street with hot oil. I think some of it was Vietnamese spring rolls.

 Notice: We walked up and they just threw this little metal table and plastic chairs together for us right in the street! It was a quiet street so it was pretty nice.

 We each order a beer and the next thing I know we're cheers-ing with the owner (I assume he was, at least), and they just put this bucket of beer down next to us...a bit presumptuous!

 I find it interesting that they put blocks of ice in your glass of beer. Then again, the beer is usually warm to begin with so the block of ice is welcome.

 Fresh shellfish!

 I haven't worked up the nerve to try these just yet ... chicken embryos. The back plate is also a chicken embryo but it is in the shell while the first plate is de-shelled.

 My dinner ... BBQed mussels.. so delicious! With peanuts and scallions and herbs.

 More of that embryo...

Then we had some snails, 10minutes prior to this they were inching around in a bowl on the table...now they're food. The flavor was delicious but I couldn't get down with the texture.

 This street-side stand across from the school makes drinks...this woman is squeezing me some green oranges, or cam sanh in Vietnamese. I didn't even know I was ordered a drink the first time the lady held up what appeared to be an over-sized lime. Next thing I know I had a cup of some sort of orange juice in a bag! It's so delicious...tastes like a clementine.

 This woman is whipping me up a banh mi, street-side. She just points to stuff and I nod, and voila, I have a delicious lunch.

 I thought it was so strange that the put everything in bags - including drinks. Then I realized, it's probably so people can hang them from their motorbike and take them to go. Motorbikes ain't got cup holders!

I finally put up my only room decoration! Compliments to Malindi Thompson! So cute :)