Being ill, schedule mix-ups, language barrier.

I've been feeling quite ill for the past two days. Nothing really serious, just a temperature, body aches, and extreme lethargy. Queue everyone at the school absolutely freaking out about it! The Vietnamese are caring to the extreme. I had a string of different people come to my room to place a hand to my forehead, and fuss around me; I was given a fistful of pills, and told to take them after eating. The nurse had to mime what each one would do for me, "Yellow!" - she held her head, "White!" - she rubbed her neck, and back, "Green!" - she stroked her throat. I had a visit from the Chairman - who, if you remember, demanded we had better beds last week - who was very concerned about me. "You must eat." He said, "You tell me what you like, we'll make it."
One thing I haven't mentioned in detail in this blog so far, is the fact that I am pescetarian, meaning I don't eat any meat but fish (it's not a moral thing, or religious choice, my parents were just kinda hippy-ish in the 80s & 90s, and raised me this way). This has been an issue in Vietnam so far. Not a major one, but an issue all the same. The canteen at the school is small, and I am the only non-meat eater, which has confused the cooks terribly. I've visibly lost weight in the past 2 weeks (not unusual - other meat-loving interns have too) and I think it may be due to my diet of rice and vegetables, rice and vegetables.
Don't let this put you off, though! I've had plenty of food in Vietnam that's been incredibly delicious. Just think to yourself: were school dinners really the same as a meal at a restaurant? No. Definitely not in my case! So I make sure I treat myself to something extra tasty and vegetarian at the weekends.

This week, we've had a schedule mix-up, through no fault of our own! Our teacher-liaison isn't actually at the school as much as we'd hope, so trying to communicate with teachers who speak very little English is sometimes hard and often frustrating. We were originally told that our schedule for last week stayed the same for this week - 2 lessons on Thursday, 4 on Friday - but apparently, this is not the case. As I've been ill, my placement buddy has had to pull two lesson plans out of a hat, and teach two classes this afternoon.
I don't know if this kinda thing is common here. I suppose being prepared is the only way around it. Always have a few lesson ideas you can use at the last minute, especially in the first few weeks, while you settle into things.

Sorry for the lack of photos in this entry. What with being ill, and pretty much bedridden, there hasn't been much of an opportunity to take any. But I'll leave you with this guy, who was hidden behind a marble column at the Reunification Palace: