Eating unusual foods...

Yesterday, I hurried to the office before the lunch break to print out my lesson plan for that afternoon - yes, I know, short notice! On my way there, I noticed all the students' motorbikes were gone. It's not unusual for half to disappear for the lunch break, as they live close enough. But all of them? Something was amiss.
When I arrived at the office, I was informed that due to the students doing exams in the morning, there was no school in the afternoon. In fact, there would be no lessons until next week. I was flabbergasted. Kinda wish I'd been told about that before the frantic lesson planning!
The principal, Mr Tung, decided that he wanted to take Rasmus and I out for lunch with him and a few friends. Seeing as we now had all this free time, we agreed we'd go.
He took us to a really great restaurant, which specialised in seafood. There were huge plates of mussels, salads, peanuts, and I had a special dish of oysters in a sort of rice-soup. It was amazing!
There were a few more 'exotic' dishes going around, and being pescetarian, I couldn't try them for fear of hidden meat. And so it fell to Rasmus to try instead. Here's a video of the victim *ahem* I mean, willing volunteer, eating bees and pig knuckles...
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New school, new schedule, karaoke, painting.

It's been a week since my last update. Sorry, avid readers (if there even are any).

This week I started classes at a second school, and I've been settling into a new timetable. At the moment my schedule is this:
Monday - day off
Tuesday - One-to-one tutoring (the school Chairman's son, Ky-Danh)
Wednesday - 10A1 and 12A1 at Chu Văn An High School
Thursday - 4 10th Grade classes at Lý Tự Trọng High School
Friday - 10A2 at Chu Văn An High School
Saturday - 5 11th Grade classes at Lý Tự Trọng High School
Sunday - Young Learners class at Chu Văn An High School

It's not looking too bad, especially considering some interns are teaching 29 different classes a week! Schedules seem to vary from school to school, much the same with class sizes and quality of equipment.

Here are a few differences between my two schools (CVA & LTT):
- At CVA, the classes are air-conditioned, with great lighting, and are a nice, bright space. At LTT, the classes are more dingy, and only have fans.
- At LTT, you can use a microphone to teach, which is great because in some of my classes, I have up to 50 students. At CVA, classes are much smaller, so this isn't a problem.
- At CVA, the students took a while to come out of their shells and really open up in class. Of course, some students were always super confident, but now most of them speak up in lessons. At LTT, even in my first lessons with them, students were extremely confident and spoke up in class a lot, making me laugh and telling me they love me!
- I definitely felt like more of a celebrity at LTT, because the students went wild when they saw me, some of them actually screaming as I walked into the classroom. At CVA, it was a lot more subdued.

Overall, I love both the schools, and the students are really quite wonderful!

In order to keep my sanity, I must have a social life! And so, a few Vietnamese friends took me and Rasmus to karaoke last night. The only English song was We Wish You A Merry Christmas, which we had to sing not once, but twice. And we did attempt a few Vietnamese songs - kids ones, of course, so that it would be easy. We actually managed to get 100% on one of them, so I feel that was a definite achievement.

As you can see, there was a lot of bia 333 going around, as well as huge platters of fruit, and snacks.

The walk back to the school in the rain was pretty hilarious. I think one of my friends took pictures, so if I deem them appropriate they'll be up on the blog soon! Haha.

**EDIT** Some photos of us in the rain, and me singing karaoke, courtesy of my friend =)

Today, Rasmus didn't make it to the Young Learners' class. But I went along, because I love those stupidly adorable, badly behaved children. And I didn't want to leave my friend Binh - the main teacher - alone with them for another lesson (since our schedule changed, we can't attend the Saturday afternoon lessons anymore).
After that, I met some of my students for coffee, but sadly the cafe was closed. So we went to the supermarket, and painted some little statues... As you do!

The finished products:

Mine is the fish with chickenpox.

Birthdays & Mid-Autumn Festival

Oh, what a weekend!

It was Rasmus' 20th birthday on Friday (as well as two of the students' birthdays - 15th and 17th) and Mid-Autumn Festival too. And so the school threw a party for all the boarding students, any teachers that wanted to attend, and the birthday boys. They had the most fantastic hats made for them:

As well as a lovely cake:

The lovely cake didn't last long, though. Ooops!

There were also lanterns, and sparklers:

There were loads of party games, and some amazing fruit and sweets, too. As well as karaoke. Sadly, I didn't get many pictures of that, due to the amount of cake being thrown around - I didn't want to risk my phone!
It was so much fun, and I can't wait to celebrate my own birthday here!

This was a pretty photo-heavy post, and I will hopefully update again tomorrow or Tuesday with more details, but for now I'm signing off after an extremely busy weekend! Until next time! =)

Weather, gifts, food, bugs!

Oh my god, it's so rainy! But it's rainy season, surely you knew? I hear you cry. Yeah, yeah. I knew, alright. I just didn't know it would be so insane!

Last summer, I went to South Korea on holiday. It was rainy season then, and we got caught in a monsoon. I've never been so soaked in my life. I looked as if I'd jumped, fully clothed, into a swimming pool. But it didn't go on for that long.

But Vietnam. Boy, Vietnam's got some real rain. So intense, in fact, that my window started leaking yesterday:

It even left a little puddle on my floor, right by my bed:

Thankfully, I found the whole episode really quite hilarious, and happily got down on my hands and knees to soak up the flood that threatened to claim my electrical wires. Quick thinking saved the day, and sacrificed my bath towel.

Other than the crazy weather - and really, you think you know thunderstorms? You know nothing yet - this week has mostly been gearing up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, or the Moon Festival this weekend. WIKIPEDIA (a link if you want to know more).
This has been described to me as 'Tet for children', and I know that we will be lighting lanterns, and eating lots of mooncake. Which is great, because that stuff is full-on amazing. In fact, my friend bought me one today:

(for some reason, I just can't get this picture to go sideways. So the wrong way around, it shall remain!)

She also got me these, (which are already almost gone, because they're so delicious):

Have you noticed yet that I love food? =/

Another lovely gift I received this week - seriously, when will this wonderful generosity end?! - was this beautiful purse from Ben Thanh market, from the principal's wife:

I think I've been very spoiled this week!

But of course, something sour must always happen to outweigh the sweet. I found this guy lurking in my bathroom. He was huge, and ugly, and when he fell onto his back, I left him there to die. I know it seems callous, but these things give me the heebie jeebies!

Beware the cockroaches! You have been warned!

Warning: Extremely cute pictures in this post...

Hey y'all,
Sorry for the lack of updates recently, I've actually had quite a busy few days, what with having an allergic reaction to washing powder and sporting a nasty looking rash on my hands, and then teaching all weekend (no time for socialising, boo).

My 10th Grade classes are going really well. The last two lessons I taught them were all about 'Making plans for the weekend', which prompted a lot of my students to add me on Facebook, and ask me in messages, "Teacher, what are your plans for the weekend? Drinks with 10A1? Yes!"

And then there's the Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning primary classes. Get ready for all-round adorable-ness (pretty sure that's not a word, but nothing else could describe these kids).

These two are absolute monsters. The one on the right managed to split his lip open on Saturday, and I had to sit there trying to stem the flow of blood. He chatted away at me in Vietnamese, patting my arm in a comforting way and saying "No problem - Không sao." I could hardly stand the cuteness.

And here are a few of the older kids with my placement buddy Rasmus:

Now, try telling me these photos don't make you want to hop on a plane right now, and get here? That is, of course, if you're not here already (hey fellow August interns! Thanks for stopping by).

Last night, our principal took us for dinner with him and his wife, to a lovely Vietnamese restaurant specialising in food from the middle region of Vietnam, specifically Huế. It was like a taste explosion in my mouth, so many fragrant spices; so much perfectly cooked shellfish. I was definitely in heaven.
Next time, he wants to take us for karaoke. I am so up for that, you wouldn't believe!
I also told him that after the 5 month internship, I want to stay in Vietnam. Probably forever. I made this decision almost as soon as I got here, and I'm sticking by it. Yes, sometimes I will be frustrated by things here - I got frustrated by things back home, too - and the language barrier will be difficult for a while. But I fully intend on learning Vietnamese, and making a life for myself in this wonderful country, which has already given me so many more opportunities and experiences than I ever had in England.
The principal and his wife said they were pleased I love their country so much, and want to help me in my efforts to stay here. Yet another example of the generosity and kindness of the Vietnamese people.

Until next time, xin chào!

Quick picture update 3

Rasmus really wanted to go swimming. So our friend, and fellow teacher, Hồng, took him on her motorbike:

The second one is by far my favourite!

FOOD (and drinks, too).

If there's anything I love more than food, it's... Well, actually I don't think I do love anything more than food!
As I've mentioned before, I'm a pescetarian (like a vegetarian, but I eat fish) and this has been a struggle for me in Vietnam. I want any other vegetarians thinking of coming here to know how difficult it has been, but not to be put off! There are ways around the lack of veggie food in schools!

This is an example if a standard lunchtime or dinner time meal at my school:

It consists of rice, cucumber, and fried fish. Once they knew I liked fish, they began serving it every day. One can grow tired of it, to be honest. The lack of communication between me and the kitchen staff (they speak no English, I speak no Vietnamese) has made it hard to say to them, "Hey, I like fish, but could I have tofu tomorrow?". I have made a list of the foods I can - and like to - eat, and this has made things a little easier. The past few days, we've been given really delicious homemade soup. There's been tomato, carrot, sweet potato - I've been in heaven! A couple of evenings, I even came down to the canteen to find chips. Sweet, sweet, potato, how I miss you!
I guess what I'm trying to say here is that communication is key. If you are vegetarian, or pescetarian, or even just a fussy eater, write a list for the kitchen staff at your school. They'll really appreciate it. After all, they just want to please you, and make sure you're happy.

You may find yourself craving Western food. I didn't think I would, but I really have. Amazingly, we found a fantastic little Italian place in the heart of District 1, slap bang in the middle of the Backpacker's area (Bui Vien and De Tham). It was love at first sight when I saw the extensive vegetarian section.

Vegetable Lasagna:

But of course, the meat-eaters weren't left out either, with these delicious dishes:

Chilli Con Carne:

Minestrone Soup:

I don't know about you, but my mouth is watering just looking at them!

Now that I'm done salivating, let me introduce to you another love of mine: cà phê sữa đá (Vietnamese iced coffee, with condensed milk.

It may not look like much, but boy is this drink delicious. The idea of condensed milk in coffee set my teeth on edge at first, but from the first time I tried it, I was hooked. It's super-tasty, strong enough to give you a good boost in the morning, and nice and cold for a hot afternoon in a coffee-shop.
I think the best cà phê sữa đá I've had in Vietnam so far was at the house of the school Chairman, but for a very close second, there's Pressio, a coffee shop literally around the corner from TTV's office in Saigon.
Here are directions:
- Walk out of the campus and turn left at the Security booth
- Walk along the road, and turn left again at Lotteria
- Continue down this street until you see a bright green coffee shop on your left
- Stop, buy, enjoy.

Another great place to get a drink is a chain called Highlands Coffee. There's a big one right near Ben Thanh Market in District 1, and you can get gorgeous drinks like these:

They're not horrendously pricey (from about 40.000VND) and are a wonderful treat, especially if you've been traipsing around the market, looking for bargains.

So there we have it. Some food, some drink. All delicious. =)

PS. Look out for these things:

They're highly addictive, and I cannot be held responsible if you find yourself binging on a whole box now and again (I know that I did)!