Accommodation and first lessons!

First thing's first: Be prepared for extremely thin mattresses. You have been warned!

Originally, I had the bunk-bed as my main bed, but the Chairman of the school decided we deserved double beds - I'm definitely not complaining! My room is nice and big, and situated on the 3rd floor of an accommodation block on the school's campus. My placement buddy, Rasmus, is on the floor above me, and the rest of the rooms are occupied by students and people who work at the school (cleaners, cooks, maids, etc). It can be a little noisy in the evenings, as the students are pretty excitable, but it's a great room.

As for lesson planning, I've had to get organised. There's a supermarket near the school, so I've been lucky enough to score some great supplies, like box files, trays, and loads of stationary, for cheap, cheap prices. I'd definitely recommend getting some trays to keep separate class' work in, and to separate grades too.

In my first lesson, I got the class to make name cards. I was prepared, and bought in pieces of card and felt-tips for them. They really enjoyed making them, and also found it hilarious when I tried to say their names (getting my mouth around the name Nguyen is still hard, but I'd better get used to it, because it's the most common name here!)

I was really nervous going into the class for the first time, but a solid lesson plan, a few deep breaths, and a big smile really helped. I managed to get a class of 30 15-16 year olds having a fun time learning English by the end of the lesson, so I think I did something right. There were a few hairy moments, where I had a lot of blank stares, but it was bound to happen - after all, this is my first time teaching, and this was their first time with a foreign teacher! This morning, I woke up at 5:15am (as usual, because breakfast is at 6am, and school starts at 7am) to see the sun rising over the rooftops of Saigon.

It reminded me how stupidly lucky I am to be in this fantastic country, with this wonderful opportunity. I think these 5 months will be some of the best of my life!