Saturday, July 31, 2010

Phew...

It's been one week since I've been here and this CELTA course definitely kicks butt. I was able to use my slightly off circadian rhythm to my advantage since I've been needing to wake up early to prepare for teaching practices (so waking up at 6AM hasn't been a bad thing at all). Teaching has been fun, but boy, it's definitely tons of work.

The students, and everyone in general, have been rather curious about me. The first day I taught was an introductory lesson where they got to guess some facts about me, e.g., nationality, number of siblings, etc. For nationality, they all guessed Korean or Japanese and it was a surprise for them to hear that I was a Vietnamese American. When I go out to the streets and speak [my broken] Vietnamese, I often get asked where I'm from as well. Some are especially nice and say that I speak Vietnamese well, but I know they are lying. =P

On my first day out, my cousin, Tam, took me around Saigon. Unfortunately, I didn't realize where to place my feet on the motorbike and I just put them wherever. I noticed them getting a little hot but thought nothing of it. When I got off the bike, however, I realized they had slightly melted one of my sandals because I had put it on the exhaust. It's OK though. I can still use them. In fact, I'm wearing them now.

To Janny, Anni, Varni and Shuk, I've yet to try squeezle. I don't know if they have it here and don't know how to translate. However, I will ask around to see. Plus (this might be because I haven't really been out all that much yet) I haven't seen the on the street karaoke. I know there are a lot of karaoke places though...maybe I'm in the wrong district?


Saturday, July 10, 2010

Preparations

Exactly two weeks from now I'll be on my way to Vietnam. It's rather bittersweet-- a lot to leave behind, a lot to look forward to, but overall, I'm glad to be starting something new.

Because I will be disappearing to the other side of the world shortly, I've decided to start a blog about my experiences, thoughts, and encounters during my time there in order to keep my friends and family updated. Hopefully I can regale you with my stories and photos and would be more than happy to hear what has been going on on your sides as well.

I'm starting to feel the crunch and really should get to packing. I've got a suitcase that's stuffed with random things, including 20 icy hots (not for me-- my aunt wants to send them to relatives in Vietnam and I am the convenient courier), but I should get a more concrete idea of what I'll be bringing...

Anything that I should be sure to bring? Let me know!