More About Teaching in Hue

Things I Often Say to My Students in Vietnam:

1) Please talk - say something!
2) Speak louder please.
3) That’s okay – you don’t all have to stand up when I enter the room.
4) Did I pronounce your name right?
5) How do you say your name?
6) Can you repeat your name?
7) Please don’t copy on your writing homework.
8) Look at the board. Don’t look at your books yet.
9) Work together on this activity.
10) What did you say?

This is my fourth week at Hue University College of Foreign Languages and all my classes have started – I’m teaching Speaking, Writing, and Pronunciation for undergraduates, and a seminar series on academic research and writing for MA students. In general, the undergraduate students are good – they certainly pay attention and listen better than most of my students in the U.S. I’m amazed at how well they do on grammar and vocabulary exercises from the book, but they don’t really like to speak or answer questions in class. Also, when they do speak, they tend to answer quietly in few words, so I’m always having to make them repeat their answers. The MA students, on the other hand, are excellent – all teachers, they will do any group or partner discussion, pay attention in class, answer VOLUNTARILY, take notes, and even take pictures of PPT slides they like!

Thoughts on Vietnam:

I suppose I’m in a list mood today, so here’s two more:

Things You Would Complain About in the US that you just Accept in Vietnam
1) The Power Going Out (Again)
2) Cooking on a Portable Stove in the Bathroom
3) No Air conditioning (anywhere!)
4) Large Cockroaches in the Bathroom
5) Ants Finding your Food
6) Always Having to Put Your Bag in a Locker
7) Shared Refrigerator in an Office that Closes Randomly (especially during lunch or dinner time)
8) No Dishwasher, Microwave, Dryer, or Oven

My Typical Breakfast - Sandwich, Mango, and Tea

Things You Would Rave About in the US that are Normal Here
1) Parking Costs 3-5 cents
2) Tropical Fruit! (jackfruit, mango, guava, Rambutan, etc.)
3) A Breakfast Sandwich Costs around 30 cents
4) No Makeup! Really, nobody wears it.
5) You can wear the same thing 3, 4, even 5 days in a row – nobody cares!
6) It’s okay to wear jeans to work, and not just on Fridays.
7) Free Tour Guides!
8) Random Kids Coming Up to Say Hi to You

Autumn Festival:

Last week was the end of the Autumn Festival. Kids dress up in dragon costumes, play on drums and metal instruments, and dance around in front of stores to get some extra money. Some of the dances were amazing – especially one I saw where a kid climbed up a 20-foot pole in a dragon costume. Another tradition are moon cakes – either white or brown, these rice cakes are filled with a sugary mixture of nuts and fruit. They’re usually given to friends or family at this time of year, but I bought two for myself because I wanted to try both kinds. I later found out that you also usually split them into four or more pieces to share with others since they’re so large – I just ate the whole thing myself!