I'm still pondering whether to work in Saigon, or to go someplace less hectic in Vietnam. I'm also still considering Phnom Penh. Much to think about.
Last week one of the girls in my class celebrated her birthday. Hope turned 21. I was certainly happy for her, but I couldn't help but dwell for just a moment on the fact that she's half my age. Sigh... And she's not even the youngest one in the class!
The school was nice enough to buy her a birthday cake. Here she is cutting it as Diem, the primary course instructor, looks on. Diem is wearing the traditional Vietnamese áo dài.
Rosie is the girl taking the photo. Alice is in white behind her. They're both British. They're also the two best teachers in the class. It's a pleasure watching them teach lessons. Sitting next to Rosie is Thu, a Vietnamese woman from Hanoi who already works as a teacher.
One of the odd quirks of teaching abroad is that locals have a harder time landing jobs than foreigners. Schools and students expect a white person to teach English. Thu is going to teach English and then move to Australia to earn a doctorate degree. Smart cookie.
In the corner are Nhi and Nghiem (in black), the two course administrators. Nghiem goes by Nina because her name is so difficult for English speakers to pronounce. She has her own business helping foreigners arrange paperwork like visas, work permits, and the like. She is also working towards a degree in finance at an international school.
She has two jobs where she speaks English and goes to a school where English is the primary language. She said in all seriousness that she speaks English now better than she speaks Vietnamese! A Vietnamese woman living in Vietnam! She also said she dreams in English.
Store-bought birthday cakes in the US taste like styrofoam. This cake was delicious. We demolished it.
(I have no idea of why this photo insists on getting uploaded at a 90 degree angle.)
I usually go to lunch with two guys from class to a food stall in a local market. There we get rice, veg, soup, one meat (fish, pork, chicken, etc.) and iced green tea for 21,000 dong, or about $1.17. I love Vietnam.
A bunch of my classmates have made habit of going to a British-themed restaurant around the corner for lunch. I usually avoid such places, in any country. They're always expensive and the local interpretations of foreign fare can be quite ... creative. I generally eat local food. If I crave Western food I'll get a pizza. I've been able to find edible pizza just about everywhere I've been.
I was pleasantly surprised by this place. It was packed at lunch but, much to my surprise, we were the only foreigners there.
At the suggestion of one of my classmates I took a chance and ordered a bacon cheeseburger with fries. It was awesome, the first really good burger I've had outside the US. Not only was it good, it was reasonably priced: 50,000 dong, or about $2.75. We're all drinking the ubiquitous iced green tea, trà đá.
Our classroom is close to the famous Ben Thanh Market. It's a real market for real Vietnamese people, but because of it's proximity to the tourist district you have to walk through a lot of stalls selling, well, crap before you get to the good stuff.
In the shade you can see a xích lô driver sleeping on the job. (It's usually written cyclo in English.)
It's a hell of a way to make a living, riding a clunky old bicycle contraption around in the tropical heat all day. Late at night they'll be lined up along the streets with tarps over them, the drivers asleep inside.
Posts
