I met with Steve, my contact, for a 2-hour lunch. He filled me in on Vietnamese culture, history and it's corrupt government. Immediately I felt very comfortable with him. His humor and mannerisms remind me of Eddie Izzard, ha. Steve informed me that Language Link is building a new school, but it will not be finished by the time that they originally thought. The plan was for me to replace a teacher who will be moving to the new school, but since that has been pushed back I will not start teaching for another 2 weeks. In the meantime I will be shadowing the other teachers and becoming more familiar with lesson planning. This really works for me actually because it will help me ease into the position instead of being thrown directly into it.
Like I promised, I met up with Dung (pronounced: Doong) at the Hapro cafe by Hoan Kiem Lake at 2:30pm. We have formed quite the symbiotic relationship: he wants to practice his English and learn American culture, and I want to learn Vietnamese and how to get around Hanoi. So we were translating words and phrases from English to Vietnamese the whole time we walked to the Ho Chi Minh museum. Once we arrived we found out that it was almost closed, so we decided that we would just go back another day and instead walk around and learn more from each other. He wanted me to just talk in English and he would try to figure out what I was saying. I was like, "Well, what do you want me to say?" and he just told me to say anything. I decided I would whip out my camera and show him pictures of my bon voyage party pictures and use that to tell him a story. This worked out really well! I was able to explain relationships between people, about my friend's occupations, and I attempted to describe the game "Taboo", but I'm not quite sure that he got it. On our way back to my hotel we stopped to get some Pho, or noodle soup. It was the first real Vietnamese meal I've had since I have been here, and it was delicious! We sat on teeny plastic stools next to a teeny little table and huddled over our bowls with wooden chopsticks and a spoon. I'm not sure how sanitary everything was, but I just kept thinking about the advice Steve gave me earlier: "Don't pay attention to how everything is cooked or served...just eat it."
Dung is going to meet me Saturday morning and we will return to the Ho Chi Minh complex to go to his tomb and the museum! I think he's also going to help me get a cell phone, so I'm really relieved about that.
This morning, at 7:30am, I will depart from my hotel to go on an all day trip to the Perfume Pagoda a few hours outside of Hanoi. My hotel runs many tours and this one is only 20 bucks, so I figured it's a good deal.
Once I can get the internet on my laptop to work I will post up some pictures/video.
2 comments:
Good to see that everything is going smoothly so far. Just a friendly reminder to be cautious. I know a lot of pple who were conned or befriended for other motives. Not to say that your new friendship is going that way. But it doesn't hurt to have caution in the back of your head.
I'm glad you're having a good time so far as well and that everything is working out smoothly. I'm so excited for you! :-)
To quote Steve, "Don't pay attention to how everything is cooked or served...just eat it." He's totally right. I honestly think it's just America that's particular about sanitation. All those third world countries have questionable ways of cooking but the food is delicious so it's worth it. Uncle Ed actually told me to tell you that before you left. Opps.
'till your next blog! Luv you! Noelice
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