Back in Hue

After returning from Hanoi, I have to make up a week’s worth of classes, as well as all the classes that were canceled because of the two storms. So, I’ve been pretty busy! So far, I’ve only made up 4 out of 12 classes. It’s depressing because I feel like as soon as I make up some of the classes, there will be another storm, and more classes will be canceled and need to be made up. Sigh.

Conversation Club

So, in case I wasn’t busy enough, I also volunteered to start a conversation club at the university. I posted flyers around the school, told my classes about the club, and suggested that students who were too late or ineligible to sign up for my metaphor class could join the club on Monday nights instead. Needless to say, I was rather bummed when only four students showed up for the first meeting. It was the night before a big storm, and the security guard didn’t even want to open the classroom for me. After about fifty minutes, the parking attendant came and asked one of the students to take his motorcycle and go home so he could leave as well. Obviously, we just called it a night.

This week, however, about 25-30 students showed up, and it went really well. We did a couple of icebreaker activities, and the students were talking a lot. I also asked the students to bring a snack or drink to share, which not everyone did, but we had enough to go around. Overall, it was a nice, casual, friendly environment for speaking, and a fairly successful night.

Let’s see how next week goes!  

Metaphor Class

Last week, I started a metaphor class as part of my PHD research. The Tuesday class got rained out, but the Wednesday class was able to start last week, and I was able to teach both classes this week. I’m relieved to have started because I was worried about the constant delays – first for my last-minute trip to Hanoi, and then for the storm last week.

During the first class, I had to give the students participant information sheets and have them sign consent forms to participate in the research. Then, we took a pre-test to get the baseline for the class. I felt a little like I was crushing their spirits asking them to sign forms and take a test on the first day. Ten fewer students came back to the Wednesday class this week, so maybe it was a bit discouraging for them . . . For the students that came, though, the class went pretty well.

At any rate, this semester’s class is more of a pilot, so it doesn’t really matter. Still, I’m happy to have the class started and underway. Again, let’s just see how next week goes . . .

fried mung bean rice cakes - I helped make these!

Rice Cakes

On Sunday, one of my students invited me over to her rented room to make rice cakes. Originally, she wanted me to visit her hometown, but the weather wasn’t good (do you notice a theme here?), so we stayed in Hue instead. The rice cakes were made with cassava flour, which she bought at the market. You roll the flour into a little ball, flatten it out into a small pancake shape, fill it with mung beans, and seal it shut. Mine were always too big, but they were still quite tasty. My student fried half of them and steamed the other half with some spices and green onions – I preferred the steamed rice cakes. They were nice and chewy!

steamed mung bean rice cakes - nice and chewy!

After eating, the student and her friend taught me a Vietnamese card game. I’d seen old women playing the game at the market, and younger people playing in cafes, so I asked them to teach me. It was a pretty simple game, but I guess it’s exciting if you play for money. I taught them how to play “BS” and “Egyptian Rat Screw.” Definitely a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Cooking

So, I’m still doing a lot of cooking, but it’s definitely more of a challenge here. I cook on a portable stove in the bathroom, and I have a very limited supply of kitchen equipment. No toaster, no oven, no microwave, no blender – just the stove. I also am limited by ingredients – sometimes, I have no real idea what I bought and what I’m cooking. For example, random herbs, or green, leafy stuff, or some kind of red bean. I’m also still eating all vegetarian food – it hasn’t been too hard, but I might be missing out on some stuff. At any rate, I feel like random herbs, green leafy stuff, and some kind of red bean is a pretty good combination!

Week in Hanoi

posing with LMI seminar students

Lower Mekong Initiative Seminar

So, this week I was unexpectedly asked to teach a seminar for another fellow who suddenly resigned. I got the call from the embassy last Tuesday, and flew to Hanoi on Sunday to start a 6-day seminar. The seminar was for government officials and academics in the area of water resources and the environment, and the aim was to help them to be able to communicate in English for conferences, meetings, etc. There were 16 participants, and it was really nice to be able to work with such a small group after teaching up to 45 students at a time in Hue. Also, their English was great, they participated really well (especially the university lecturers – I love teaching teachers!), and usually did all the homework on time. Other than constantly checking their phones and making calls, they were excellent students, and the seminar turned out to be pretty interesting. Plus, I got to learn a lot about environmental issues and water resources management, especially here in Vietnam. All in all, a successful week in the capital!

Do I need to go on a diet?

Accommodations

I stayed in the university’s guesthouse, which was basically like a dorm for teachers. I was very excited to have my own fridge in my room – quite the upgrade from Hue! There was also a microwave downstairs – luxury! The third night I was there, though, I went to sit down on the bed and it broke. That’s right – I broke the bed! It was a little late, so I just took the mattress, slept on the floor, and texted someone to come fix it in the morning. Maybe I need to go on a diet . . .

near the one pillar padoga

Sightseeing

I took the extra time in Hanoi to do a little sightseeing that I hadn’t gotten around to during the orientation. I was also brave enough to take the motorcycle taxis this time – much cheaper than a regular taxis, but I’m not really sure how good of a deal I got. I wasn’t really good at bargaining with the drivers, and had no real idea how much they should be charging me. Still, hopping on a stranger’s motorcycle and trusting that you’ll end up in the right place somehow worked out.

Ho Chi Minh Museum and Complex

giant statue of the great Ho Chi Minh

My first sightseeing destination was the Ho Chi Minh Museum and Complex. The museum was a little eclectic – besides pictures and relics from Ho Chi Minh’s life, it included a lot of weird art. There was a giant table with fruit, a reproduction of Picasso’s Guernica, and a car coming out of the wall. I also felt like I would have been brainwashed a little better if I knew Vietnamese – the museum was full of propaganda about socialism and Ho Chi Minh’s life.

or this? I don't see the connection . . .

What does this have to do with Ho Chi Minh?

Outside the museum is Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum. It’s only open to visitors in the morning, which is when I was teaching, so I didn’t go inside. There’s also a one-pillar pagoda, the president’s house, and Ho Chi Minh’s house. The president’s house is quite grand, but Ho Chi Minh wanted to live in something more modest. He was famous for his modest lifestyle, and you can really tell when you see his house, which consisted of only three rooms (no kitchen and no private bathroom), although he did have some pretty stellar cars given to him by Russia and France (bullet proof, with heavy duty tires for the mountains).

one pillar pagoda

A short walk took me to West Lake, which was relaxing after the noise and traffic of Hanoi. Seriously, it’s 

never quiet there!

Museum of Ethnology and Show

Another day, I visited the museum of Ethnology. Here, you can see various costumes, artwork, pictures, housing, traditions, and ceremonies from different ethnic groups in Vietnam. I especially liked seeing different styles of clothing, and outside the museum there are different houses to explore from various regions of the country.

Can you guess why this is called a "long house?"

In the evening, I went to see the National Truong Theatre perform. There was hardly anyone in the audience, and I sat up front in the first row. The show included plays, dances, and traditional music. The costumes were quite interesting, and the music was quite unique as well – there was even an instrument that reminded me of a primitive oboe!

Wondering around the street after the show, I found a restaurant that served vegetable pho. It was my first pho in Vietnam, and boy was it delicious!

Thai Nguyen

On Friday, instead of teaching, I took a trip to Thai Nguyen with someone from the embassy. At first, I wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to go. We had planned to take a car from the embassy, but with the government shutdown, that wasn’t allowed. However, we ended up being able to bum a ride with someone from Pearson who was going there for a meeting, so it all worked out.

Thai Nguyen is another city a little north of Hanoi, and there is a regional language center at Thai Nguyen University. We went to the regional center for a brief tour and a meeting. It definitely gave me some good ideas about what to do with the regional center here in Hue . . .

sightseeing!

A Crazy Week!

The last week has been so eventful, I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve decided just to go in chronological order, starting last with last Friday.

Research for PHD

I started a distance PHD in applied linguistics at the University of Birmingham in June. My focus is on applying cognitive linguistics principles and research to teaching English classes, and I’ve been working with a brilliant professor named Jeannette Littlemore. She is so positive and encouraging. For the first 12,000 word paper, I’ve developed two 8-week courses on Metaphor and Idioms. So, all I was missing was the students, which I figured would be easy to find here.

And boy, was I right. I asked the other English teachers to let their students know about the class and posted flyers at the university, but at the beginning of the week, I only had three or four students signed up. Since I needed around 50 students total for two groups, I was worried. Then, on Thursday I told my writing students about the class and one of the students posted the details on Facebook. I received hundreds of emails, and by Friday evening both classes were full. The class is for 3^rd or 4^th year students at Hue College of Foreign Languages, but I got emails from freshmen, sophomores, students from HUE College of Medicine, Hue College of Economics, high school students, teachers at other colleges, and so on. The good news is, I have the students to test my materials on, even if I had to spend hours replying to all the emails!

Birthday Party

Last Saturday I went to a friend’s friend’s birthday party. There were a lot of couch surfers there, and I ate so much birthday cake! Everybody was supposed to bring a snack or drink, so I brought my favorite new Vietnamese snack, jackfruit chips. I think I ate almost all of them myself though. It was a lot of fun, but I was glad that I had ridden my bike there myself when I saw everyone riding their motorcycles after drinking – one girl even fell over on the motorcycle while waiting for everyone to get ready to leave. Definitely safer on the bike . . .

When I returned to the dormitory late (at 11:30), the security guard proceeded to lecture me about staying out late in Vietnamese, even though I had arranged beforehand with the receptionist to return between 11 and 12. It was my first time staying out past curfew in a month! I felt like a child . . .

Government Shut-Down

So, I'm here on a fellowship with the US state department, but I'm paid through a grant with Georgetown, so the shut-down doesn't affect me. However, I think about my former colleagues back in Texas and know that if I were still there, I would be staying home this week. I hope for everyone's sake that Congress can get its act together soon!

News

The university informed me that the local news station would come to film me and my class on Monday. There are other foreign teachers here, but they are from other countries in Asia – I was told the university wanted someone who “looked foreign” – a.k.a. someone white. When classes were canceled because of the monsoon, I felt relieved that I wouldn’t have to do the filming. Of course, it was only a short reprieve – they rescheduled for Thursday. They also interviewed one of my students - I told him not to say anything bad about me, but it's all in Vietnamese, so how should I know? The translator told me, though, that the student said when he found out I was going to be his teacher, he was so excited he couldn't sleep! How cute is that?

It’s supposed to air on the local news station next week – if I get a link for the video online, I will certainly post it here.

"Che" - It doesn't always look this pretty,
especially when you mix it up,
but it always tastes delicious!

Vietnamese Sweets

Anyone who knows me at all knows I have a HUGE sweet tooth. This week I discovered an ice cream place about ten minutes from where I live – I had seen it before, but I think I was afraid to go because I couldn’t read the menu. (I only know the word for ice cream – “kem” – which I learned very soon after my arrival in Vietnam!) This place may be my downfall, because for about $.35, you can get either three small scoops of ice cream topped with dried coconut, peanuts, and sauce, or something called “kem bo,” which I believe contains icecream, ice, dried coconuts, peanuts, and sauce in a glass and is mixed together with a spoon. Delicious!

Another favorite treat is called “che” and it’s basically fruit mixed with some kind of sugary liquid (I believe it contains coconut juice, but I’m not sure) and ice. It’s also served in a glass and mixed up with a spoon before eating. Yum!

Trip to Hanoi

Next week, I’ll be visiting Hanoi. One of the other fellows had to resign suddenly, and I’ve been asked to cover his seminar for government officials. They called me Tuesday, and I got permission to miss classes for the next week at the university. Of course, I have to make-up all the classes when I return, so it’s actually a lot of extra work for me. But, I heard my Vietnamese co-teachers in Hanoi are really nice and professional, and I think it will be a good change of pace. More on that in a later post . . .

Monsoon Season!

So, the university planned a nice tour for all the foreign teachers on Sunday to a nearby cave. We were supposed to leave at 6am, take the 3-4 hour bus ride to the cave, explore, have lunch, and return around 8pm. Then, somebody from the international relations office called to cancel Saturday night, saying that a storm was coming. They were right - it started raining Sunday night and hasn't stopped since then.

As I write, all the classes at the university have been canceled and my power is out indefinitely. Actually, the power goes out quite frequently, so I'm starting to get used to it. No air conditioning and no lights are not so bad, but once the power runs out on my computer, I will have nothing to do, except go to sleep. Everything is on my computer - books, articles, facebook . . .

It's not all bad news, though - A news crew was supposed to come film me and my class today, so I'm glad to delay that for a little while, at least. They picked me because they want some who, "looks foreign." I guess the Vietnamese are not so impressed by the Korean, Taiwanese, or Japanese teachers . . .

Tour of Hue

One of my students is in a free tour guide club, so she arranged for her and some of her friends to pick me up and give me a tour of some sites around Hue. Sunday afternoon she showed up with her friends to give me a lift on the motorcycle, and off we went.

My tour guides standing in front of the bridge

The famous bridge we came to see . . .

After riding away from the city and past tons of rice fields for about 15-20 minutes, the first stop was a bridge - I would have never known it was famous, but apparently it was donated to the town by a rich woman. Lots of people were sleeping on the bridge, and we took some nice pictures. They also had an agricultural "museum," which turned out to be a little room with some traditional Vietnamese tools. I learned about cultivating and preparing rice and fishing from an old woman who walked around and demonstrated all the tools. On the way out of the village, an old lady peeling fruit stopped us and wanted to know if I'd like to try the fruit. It was very sour, but crunchy and refreshing - not my favorite, but good nonetheless. The old lady was surprised that I ate it all - apparently it's not very popular with foreigners (or Vietnamese either - one of the tour guides wouldn't eat any at all).

Old Lady Selling Fruit - She's in her 80's and has tons of children and grandchildren

Next stop, a really famous pagoda in the city. We saw monks during their afternoon prayers and took lots of pictures of the temple and the pagoda. There was also a turtle - my guides explained that rubbing its head would bring you good luck on your next examination, so of course I took their picture with it. I don't have any tests coming up, but I also rubbed the head for good luck - it certainly can't hurt! One of the tour guides said I wasn't what she thought of for a "typical" American - I'm too skinny and reserved. I'm not sure how I feel about that . . .

rubbing the turtle for good luck

famous pagoda

After the pagoda, we stopped for dinner at a vegetarian restaurant. We shared a big serving of vegetarian hot pot - a soup with lots of noodles, tofu, and veggies. Refueled, we were off to the night market, which was full of different souvenirs and trinkets (it was rather touristy . . .) I didn't buy anything, but did enjoy looking at all the bracelets, t-shirts, pictures, shoes, purses, etc. on sale.

Tired, we said goodnight, and my student escorted me back home. I was glad to get a chance to see a bit of the city and be shown around by locals.

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!

Starting My New Job

Hue College of Foreign Languages

I've been living in Hue and teaching at Hue University College of Foreign Languages for about two weeks now. So far, only two of my classes (Writing for Third Year Students) have started, but they're going well. My classes usually have 35-40 students, mostly women, and even though there's a text book and some basic class requirements, I am basically free to do any activities I want in class. It's nice to have that kind of flexibility again . . .

"Building C"

Everybody at the college has been very friendly, but it's a little hard to adjust to different concepts of time - Students come in to class quite late, and none of the teachers follow the time on the class schedule. Offices close and open at random times of the day, and you're never sure if the person you need to talk to will be there or not. Also, I don't get to see the other English teachers that much since everybody has different schedules, and I'm the only American here, so I'm feeling a little isolated too.

Next week, I start teaching my other six classes (4 speaking classes and 2 pronunciation classes) as well as a series of seminars for MA students. I'm also thinking about starting up an English Conversation Club at the college, so I should be pretty busy.

Hospital:

So far, I've been to the hospital in Vietnam for two reasons - to get vaccinations and to get a health check for my work permit. The vaccinations were incredibly cheap - about $9 for each rabies shot and $3.50 for the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine. The doctor, however, seemed quite suspicious of my desire to get inoculated, and I had to bring a letter from the college, a witness from the college, and sign a paper. Still, considering that the Japanese Encephalitis shot would have cost $355 in the US, putting up with a suspicious doctor isn't so bad.

Even though I brought a health check from the US, the work permit requires tons and tons of tests, so I had to just start over here. I had a blood test, TB test, eye test, ENT consultation, mental health check, chest x-ray, dental visit, and so on. This is even after someone from the college bargained with the hospital to skip some of the requirements and reduce the fee (which meant I didn't have to see the gynecologist, thank goodness!). I have to go back on Sunday to get the TB test checked and then go back sometime next week to get the final paper signed. Do we make foreigners go through all this just to work in the US too?

my desk

Living Arrangements: 


So I'm back to living in a dorm, which isn't so bad, considering that it's free, has air conditioning (which is not common in Vietnam), and is right across the street from work. I manage to keep most of the bugs and lizards out of my bedroom, but there are these tiny, microscopic ants that can get through any crack. Have to make sure to hide anything edible and leave the garbage can in the bathroom so they'll go there. The bathroom doesn't have class, so it's open to the outside. This means that mosquitoes, lizards, ants, grasshoppers, and giant cockroaches can get in whenever they want. The lizards are actually pretty cute, except for the pervert ones that watch me take a shower, but the cockroaches are at least as big as the ones in Georgia and give me the creeps!

my bathroom - a western-style toilet, thank goodness!

The biggest problem with the dorm is the internet - it doesn't work well, and is always kicking me off. Last Saturday around 8am, the power randomly went out as well. The manager said they were repairing a power line and there would be no electricity until 5pm. Apparently, this type of thing happens quite frequently - the power also went out during the English department's freshman orientation on the same day.

my bed and other furniture