Hey guys,
Hope everyone is well. I’ve been thinking about what I’ve written up here about my times so far. I’ve made such a big deal of how busy I am and how it can get lonely and I’ve spoke about how I miss people too. All of it was true, and still is, it’s just that I’ve held back from talking about the more positive side of things here. I guess because I’m thinking about all the people I’ve left behind and I want them to know that I’m thinking of them. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I really want to express here, now, just how much I love it here.
So I’ve decided to do a top five (in no particular order) of why I’m really starting to like the way things are working our here.
1. My Vietnamese Family and Home
Its crazy to think back to how I ended up in this house. I litteraly got a bus to an erea out of town near the airport because I heard it wasn’t as rich as central Saigon and was pretty wild. I got off the bus when I felt that I must have got into the Go Vap district (where I live now) and sat down at the nearest drink stall. That’s where I met Kim, who subsequently spent days looking for a place for me when I said I wanted to live away from town.
Now, like I said, I’m pretty settled in the house. I still wish I could interact with the people who live there more but the language barrier is huge, and will just take time to get over. One of my favorite times of the day is when I’m up early enough for breakfast. The mother of the house has a long table she sets out in the alley way in front of the house and sells Pho a kind of noodle soup eaten religiously here. There’s such a cool atmosphere, people coming and going the chattering of families eating at the table motorbikes squeezing past, babies, children, old people.
2. Ba Kim
It seems appropriate to move on to a lady who seems to have become my Vietnamese mother. Just like my real mother she constantly reminds me not to do too much. Tells me I look tired, tells me I should get lots of sleep and tells me I’m crazy when I sleep in. It really is the oddest relationship I have with her, but she really looks after me and I remind myself that I wouldn’t be living where I am if it wasn’t for her.
She’s probably the closest to a Vietnamese friend that I have. She’s got some amazing stories to tell about her love affair with an American soldier, the times she would sing to them and they would applaud her, the days around the defeat of the Americans and the painful transition to communist rule. She’s a classic character.
She’s obsessed with the Buddha statue I have, she’s always horrified about something or other concerning it. Fist my feet faced the Buddha, so I had to change my bed around, then she turned up with a bag full of regalia to construct a shrine. Now my Buddha statue hides behind a mass of fruit, a bunch of flowers, a glass of water, a stand for my incense and a candle holder. She even went as far as to suggest because I live in a house with Catholics I must open the window when I meditate (the assumption being the Buddha can’t walk up the steps as he would in a Buddhist household.)
3. Voluntary Work
My work at the Green Bamboo shelter (a place for boys to live and eat if their parents are hard up or they are on the streets) has been going really well. I started off with just a few boys then I had a lesson when things just fell apart. After about 5 weeks of going now I have the children sat down and they all go crazy at the opportunity of writing on the board or answering a question. They are dead violent one boy had a bloody nose when I went a couple of weeks ago. I love it when on of them falls out with me because I tell them off and by the end of the class they have come round. They are really affectionate and always want to hug and/or beat me up.
I’ve established second class teaching children in a really poor district about 15 minutes from my house and a third teaching their social workers. The social workers are really sweet and appreciative and the children are pretty disciplined but some are in a pretty rough state.
4. Paid work
My paid work is going well too. I’m enjoying all my classes really have some super sweet children. I couldn’t explain how cute some of these kids are. They are very different to the children I teach in my voluntary capacity. They are super bright and it’s really a matter of doing them justice, having fun and pushing them to learn more and use more language. After the weekend (I teach 16 Saturday and Sunday) I feel like an English language machine and the quality of lesson is not the best but I don’t find it too difficult.
5. Friends
Through my work I’ve met some really great people. I’m very lucky that I’m in a small branch of my school (It has about 5, one of which has over 100 teachers) that only has about 15 teachers. I’m going to the island nation of the Philippines in January for some drunken madness with Rob and just came back form a 2 day relax at the beach with 8 female colleagues. We had such a good time!
Well I’m going to go now. I have my Vietnamese class in about 50 minutes and I’ve got to revise some of the words and phrases I learnt last lesson.
I do miss you all and Its not all easy here. Please come and visit me, I’d love to show you the madness that is my life in Asia!!
James.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Finally a new post.
Finally a new post.
Hi guys last night, I cleaned my room. Sat down and called my parents briefly and felt I had yet another moment to catch my breath. Just like the last time I had this rare opportunity I thought… I must tell people how things are going with me.
The answer is mixed to be honest. As I’ve just implied I’ve been really busy since I last updated. Or at least that’s how it feels. I guess a better way of putting it is that I’ve just been tired. Somehow when you feel tired you just can’t seem to tidy your room, email people, read books, and learn a language… It’s just much harder to be motivated.
Last night I finished at twenty past seven in the evening for the first time since I’ve worked at I.L.A. (I used to work 3 nights a week until ten o’clock.). This is going to be the new norm for the time being and I’m so happy I’m going to be teaching less. I feel that a new era is coming here for me. The first month was spent staying afloat my second I’ve just worked way too much and now I’m so set on making me third all about getting regular Vietnamese teaching and teaching less fortunate children…
I’ve been in touch with various organizations trying to make this happen. I’ve heard back from one that wants to me to teach the staff of one organization. I just need to stay focused. That means having to turn down opportunities to meet people and have fun. Which is tough, but what can you expect… it really only the most minor inconvenience if it means you have more energy and concentration to help someone who sleeps in a dorm with lots of other kids and sees his parents rarely if at all. I’ve really got to put my money where my mouth is, I’m starting to get sick of the sound of me talking about this side of my teaching. I just need to make it happen. Keep emailing and visiting orphanages and other organizations functioning in this city. There are plenty of them.
I’ve settled in with my family well. I can’t wait to get snapping on my camera and uploading some pictures of them. They are just so cool when they hand out with each other. There’s something so fascination about being in the middle o a culture where family and community are intertwined and central to people’s lives. It reminds me lots of the big shared house which I lived in just prior to coming out here. They way that they lie on each other, play fight with each other, massage each other etc… It’s really special spending time in their lounge. It just seems with the Vietnamese that there’s a strong reserved current to their personality… probably forged by a history of oppression, both moderate and violent and a sense of control that seems to be highly respected here. This all basically translates into a lot of really hard work for someone like me who wants to penetrate and learn about the culture here. It’s obvious that the spectrum of Vietnamese humanity is reserved for the home and the family. The home is a place where they can express themselves in a trusting and safe environment. Even though I’m there in the home, there are still so many barriers.
The main barrier being the language. I really must start to really get on with learning it. The payoff is immediate. I’ve been bargaining in Vietnamese and saving so much money.
My teaching at work had been going well. I love all my classes, Its just a matter of getting the balance of doing them justice and being a good teacher and still having time to live your life outside of school. I don’t want it to be my life; I’d prefer to keep it to a minimum to be honest.
Well, I’m going to leave it there. I’m going to make a photo diary for my next post soon… I’ll post again soon.
Hi guys last night, I cleaned my room. Sat down and called my parents briefly and felt I had yet another moment to catch my breath. Just like the last time I had this rare opportunity I thought… I must tell people how things are going with me.
The answer is mixed to be honest. As I’ve just implied I’ve been really busy since I last updated. Or at least that’s how it feels. I guess a better way of putting it is that I’ve just been tired. Somehow when you feel tired you just can’t seem to tidy your room, email people, read books, and learn a language… It’s just much harder to be motivated.
Last night I finished at twenty past seven in the evening for the first time since I’ve worked at I.L.A. (I used to work 3 nights a week until ten o’clock.). This is going to be the new norm for the time being and I’m so happy I’m going to be teaching less. I feel that a new era is coming here for me. The first month was spent staying afloat my second I’ve just worked way too much and now I’m so set on making me third all about getting regular Vietnamese teaching and teaching less fortunate children…
I’ve been in touch with various organizations trying to make this happen. I’ve heard back from one that wants to me to teach the staff of one organization. I just need to stay focused. That means having to turn down opportunities to meet people and have fun. Which is tough, but what can you expect… it really only the most minor inconvenience if it means you have more energy and concentration to help someone who sleeps in a dorm with lots of other kids and sees his parents rarely if at all. I’ve really got to put my money where my mouth is, I’m starting to get sick of the sound of me talking about this side of my teaching. I just need to make it happen. Keep emailing and visiting orphanages and other organizations functioning in this city. There are plenty of them.
I’ve settled in with my family well. I can’t wait to get snapping on my camera and uploading some pictures of them. They are just so cool when they hand out with each other. There’s something so fascination about being in the middle o a culture where family and community are intertwined and central to people’s lives. It reminds me lots of the big shared house which I lived in just prior to coming out here. They way that they lie on each other, play fight with each other, massage each other etc… It’s really special spending time in their lounge. It just seems with the Vietnamese that there’s a strong reserved current to their personality… probably forged by a history of oppression, both moderate and violent and a sense of control that seems to be highly respected here. This all basically translates into a lot of really hard work for someone like me who wants to penetrate and learn about the culture here. It’s obvious that the spectrum of Vietnamese humanity is reserved for the home and the family. The home is a place where they can express themselves in a trusting and safe environment. Even though I’m there in the home, there are still so many barriers.
The main barrier being the language. I really must start to really get on with learning it. The payoff is immediate. I’ve been bargaining in Vietnamese and saving so much money.
My teaching at work had been going well. I love all my classes, Its just a matter of getting the balance of doing them justice and being a good teacher and still having time to live your life outside of school. I don’t want it to be my life; I’d prefer to keep it to a minimum to be honest.
Well, I’m going to leave it there. I’m going to make a photo diary for my next post soon… I’ll post again soon.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Hello all
Wow,
I really cannot believe how much has happened since I last posted. It’s been amazing to hear that people are reading this; it means so much to me when you email to give me your support. Thank you. It also gives me a chance to email back individually. So please do!!
It’s hard for me to remember exactly where I left off. I think it was maybe the end of my second week. I had found it quite tough but I think I was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as school work was going. I really had felt that I wasn't going to see the outside of my hotel room or work.
After a week at the hotel, I packed my bags and went in search of a cheaper alternative. I found this in the form of a guest house packed into an alleyway so narrow you could shake hands with the person stood on the balcony opposite. They elderly couple lived in the room downstairs and I lived upstairs. It was really great actually with a balcony and on suite toilet and mini shower (it came up to about my shoulders...) for a whopping 3 pounds a night, I know, I know rip off.
It was also slap bang in the middle of the backpacking area with loads of bars just a hop away. It was really quite a cool place to live.
I was there for about 2 weeks, during which time I really started to get my head around the teaching thing. The weekends are still killer, I’m in at 6:45 and out around 7:00 in the evening. I plan the morning in the first hour and the afternoon at dinner time. That’s every Saturday and Sunday. By the end of the second day it’s a real challenge to give any teaching of much quality... Though I'm going to have a weekend soon when I do a full weekend of lessons I’m happy with.
I've also struggled a little with my adult class, I can't work them out and there's not much of a connection with us. I think they're not particularly happy with my teaching. I have had to teach myself a lot of things I knew in theory from my teacher training. So I think things will improve as far as that is concerned. My last class was tighter and more focused which was nice. I've also taken on an exam preparation class which is a real challenge and means about 11 hours less free time mid week. Which is a bit of a downer though, I’ll be earning lots more money and, again, its good experience.
The people I work with are great. I'm really lucky, I’ve come to realize, because I’ve been placed in a small school. It means things are much more personal and it’s a lot easier to make friends with people. After work we'll often go for food together which is cool. The teachers have been to some cool places and there's a really nice mix of personalities. So if I want to get drunk in a bar I can hang out with those guys, or if I want to go dancing in a nightclub, there are the ones that like to do that, if I want a quiet coffee there's people to do that with too. It’s nice and I'm glad, like I said, to be in the school I am.
I finally got teaching in the shelter for boys too. It’s called the Green Bamboo Shelter and it takes in boys who have lived on the street or whose parents can't provide for. I went at three o'clock on Tuesday as planned. I thought they would be expecting me, and I think they may have been but there were two other western volunteers and a third Canadian lady who is based there at the moment. I was surprised to see them and a little disappointed feeling that there really was enough help for the boys. I decided to teach the lesson anyway, and as I went up stairs I started singing songs with the few boys who were there.
"Ten tall gentlemen... standing in a row..."
You get the idea, anyway more and more of the boys turned up and one of the other volunteers to. By the time I was doing 6 little monkeys there was about 12 or thirteen boys sat watching. I really put my all in and I was exhausted from lack of sleep. I had been a little hung-over on Monday and struggled to sleep more than 3 hours ever since. I did about half an hour and I had 6 boys who were still participating. I gave them colors and we spent the next half an hour coloring and labeling the body. I hung out with 2 or 3 of them for about an hour after that too. All in all it was a nice day. I'm hoping I can develop the attention span of the boys and hopefully make it a regular thing in their week.
.... O.k. last bit of news here. I have moved in with a Vietnamese family. Much to the shock of Vietnamese and western people. I had come to the realization that I wasn't going to get invited into a Vietnamese persons home (there just isn't really a culture of doing so) so I made the plunge and went to my favorite all Vietnamese area Go Vap and asked around. I had made a couple of contact there the last time I was there... I had jumped on a bus and just got off and started talking with people at the market.
Go Vap is great. It’s truly working class Vietnamese area it does feel like part of a big city it’s got a real town vibe and there is a crazy energy about the place. I really love it. Partly because I feel in some ways its mine. There are no other westerners in the area. I have wanted to live there since I randomly got a bus up there to check it out. I told a lady called Kim who lives there selling lottery tickets about the fact I was looking for a place and she spent days searching for me.
She is quite a character, she learnt English so she could sing English songs when she was younger she is nearly 60 now but in her day she would sing to the American soldiers during the war, how she tells it she was very popular and with them!!
So she found me a place living with a young friendly and lively family. They are great there's lots of young people about listening to music and watching terrible Asian acting on TV. The house is really open and As long as I’m back for 12 there's no problem.
The only issue really is the local police. I have to bear in mind that I am living in a single party police state and the communist party still have a firm grip on the freedom and movements of its citizens (prior permission from the police is needed to stay at a friend’s house after 12 ... and in theory there's a midnight curfew). They want to check my papers and see my contract before I can fully move in. So despite the fact I've spent 2 nights there already I have to stay in a hotel for the next week until I get the all clear from the police. I really recent their meddling in the lives of these people and I'm looking forward to learning more about the state of affairs that lies beneath the surface of things here - something that’s more likely to happen now I’ve left the tourist bubble the government create.
Peace, peace and more peace for you all.
Keep me updated.
James.
I really cannot believe how much has happened since I last posted. It’s been amazing to hear that people are reading this; it means so much to me when you email to give me your support. Thank you. It also gives me a chance to email back individually. So please do!!
It’s hard for me to remember exactly where I left off. I think it was maybe the end of my second week. I had found it quite tough but I think I was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as school work was going. I really had felt that I wasn't going to see the outside of my hotel room or work.
After a week at the hotel, I packed my bags and went in search of a cheaper alternative. I found this in the form of a guest house packed into an alleyway so narrow you could shake hands with the person stood on the balcony opposite. They elderly couple lived in the room downstairs and I lived upstairs. It was really great actually with a balcony and on suite toilet and mini shower (it came up to about my shoulders...) for a whopping 3 pounds a night, I know, I know rip off.
It was also slap bang in the middle of the backpacking area with loads of bars just a hop away. It was really quite a cool place to live.
I was there for about 2 weeks, during which time I really started to get my head around the teaching thing. The weekends are still killer, I’m in at 6:45 and out around 7:00 in the evening. I plan the morning in the first hour and the afternoon at dinner time. That’s every Saturday and Sunday. By the end of the second day it’s a real challenge to give any teaching of much quality... Though I'm going to have a weekend soon when I do a full weekend of lessons I’m happy with.
I've also struggled a little with my adult class, I can't work them out and there's not much of a connection with us. I think they're not particularly happy with my teaching. I have had to teach myself a lot of things I knew in theory from my teacher training. So I think things will improve as far as that is concerned. My last class was tighter and more focused which was nice. I've also taken on an exam preparation class which is a real challenge and means about 11 hours less free time mid week. Which is a bit of a downer though, I’ll be earning lots more money and, again, its good experience.
The people I work with are great. I'm really lucky, I’ve come to realize, because I’ve been placed in a small school. It means things are much more personal and it’s a lot easier to make friends with people. After work we'll often go for food together which is cool. The teachers have been to some cool places and there's a really nice mix of personalities. So if I want to get drunk in a bar I can hang out with those guys, or if I want to go dancing in a nightclub, there are the ones that like to do that, if I want a quiet coffee there's people to do that with too. It’s nice and I'm glad, like I said, to be in the school I am.
I finally got teaching in the shelter for boys too. It’s called the Green Bamboo Shelter and it takes in boys who have lived on the street or whose parents can't provide for. I went at three o'clock on Tuesday as planned. I thought they would be expecting me, and I think they may have been but there were two other western volunteers and a third Canadian lady who is based there at the moment. I was surprised to see them and a little disappointed feeling that there really was enough help for the boys. I decided to teach the lesson anyway, and as I went up stairs I started singing songs with the few boys who were there.
"Ten tall gentlemen... standing in a row..."
You get the idea, anyway more and more of the boys turned up and one of the other volunteers to. By the time I was doing 6 little monkeys there was about 12 or thirteen boys sat watching. I really put my all in and I was exhausted from lack of sleep. I had been a little hung-over on Monday and struggled to sleep more than 3 hours ever since. I did about half an hour and I had 6 boys who were still participating. I gave them colors and we spent the next half an hour coloring and labeling the body. I hung out with 2 or 3 of them for about an hour after that too. All in all it was a nice day. I'm hoping I can develop the attention span of the boys and hopefully make it a regular thing in their week.
.... O.k. last bit of news here. I have moved in with a Vietnamese family. Much to the shock of Vietnamese and western people. I had come to the realization that I wasn't going to get invited into a Vietnamese persons home (there just isn't really a culture of doing so) so I made the plunge and went to my favorite all Vietnamese area Go Vap and asked around. I had made a couple of contact there the last time I was there... I had jumped on a bus and just got off and started talking with people at the market.
Go Vap is great. It’s truly working class Vietnamese area it does feel like part of a big city it’s got a real town vibe and there is a crazy energy about the place. I really love it. Partly because I feel in some ways its mine. There are no other westerners in the area. I have wanted to live there since I randomly got a bus up there to check it out. I told a lady called Kim who lives there selling lottery tickets about the fact I was looking for a place and she spent days searching for me.
She is quite a character, she learnt English so she could sing English songs when she was younger she is nearly 60 now but in her day she would sing to the American soldiers during the war, how she tells it she was very popular and with them!!
So she found me a place living with a young friendly and lively family. They are great there's lots of young people about listening to music and watching terrible Asian acting on TV. The house is really open and As long as I’m back for 12 there's no problem.
The only issue really is the local police. I have to bear in mind that I am living in a single party police state and the communist party still have a firm grip on the freedom and movements of its citizens (prior permission from the police is needed to stay at a friend’s house after 12 ... and in theory there's a midnight curfew). They want to check my papers and see my contract before I can fully move in. So despite the fact I've spent 2 nights there already I have to stay in a hotel for the next week until I get the all clear from the police. I really recent their meddling in the lives of these people and I'm looking forward to learning more about the state of affairs that lies beneath the surface of things here - something that’s more likely to happen now I’ve left the tourist bubble the government create.
Peace, peace and more peace for you all.
Keep me updated.
James.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Alright...
.... o.k.
I'm going to do my best to make this comprehensive. Though I'm absolutely exhausted and I'm going to have to go to bed really soon.
I last posted when I had only just arrived, I can't believe it was just about a week ago. I feel like so much has happened since then. I spent Sunday night at the hotel and Monday just making short trips out of the hotel and then quickly back again when things got too much for me. then I realized I was down to go to the school I'm going to be working at. So I quickly got a taxi over there and the rest has been a bit of a blur.
I had to do quite a few workshops, observe lessons and start to plan my own lessons (something I'd never done for real before). My first lesson was on Thursday. So from Thursday onwards I was at the school nearly 12 hours a day, including more workshops, looking at all of the resources and teaching my classes. On Sunday I had 8 hours contact time let alone the frantic planning during dinner (followed by some of the poorest lessons I've ever done). Luckily the age I teach at weekends is from 7 - 9 years old. They didn't have a clue (especially the younger ones) ... Though when I was trying to juggle writing on the board and learning/singing a new song to the kids (my most perceptive and energetic class) were in fits of giggles!!
Life here seems cool. It could be very easy to get into the kind of routine you could have in England, work drink, socalise, work, drink.... I'm keen to move beyond that and have some really good connections with local people.
The city is wild and I've seen some really mad things... People with fridges on the passenger seat of their motorbikes, goldfish bowls full of turtles and cages full of cats and dogs in the side of the road... whilst having dinner last night I was most impressed to see two elderly disabled men display a courageous example of team work. One was blind, the other had one leg. The one legged old man led the blind man from food stall to food stall and told him when to start playing guitar as the one legged fellow sold lottery tickets to the customers..
Its been really tough though, adjusting to a new city and having to start from scratch with a new set of people. I think they think I'm a real square because I've been to too tired to go out drinking and I'm too focused on my work... I've missed home lots and when things settle down I think I'll have to face up to what I've left behind... I think I have more difficult times ahead.
What will make them easier is if what I came here to do takes off in the next few weeks. I'm going to meet with Chris and hopefully start teaching at the boys shelter. Sponser some of the children for their school fees and generally connect with some of the more marginalized members of society... maybe the boys shelter wont be the place for me to do that long term but I'm sure it will keep on track with what I want from this trip, however it appears to the other teachers :-)
O.k... I'm going to go now...
James
p.s.
I found out to my expense (literally) that calling home is really expensive... I hope this will do for the next week or so for family and close ones...
p.p.s.
Sorry if i haven't got back to emails either... I'll be on it soon.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
I'm here finally!!!
Hi guys!!
Its taken over 30 hours and a day in a Doha hotel to get here and i'm exhausted.
But I am here and settling in really quick. I have my hotel room all sorted and have some money changed.
I'm going to make this a really quick one. My flight from Hethrow was cancelled after we had all sat on the plane for two hours. Apparently there was a fuel leakege on one of the wings. Reluctently people picked themselves up out of the plane and across the airport to another one which was waiting.
Me and a few other people missed our connecting flight to Vietnam and were rasurred that we would get there as soon as possible. I spent a long day in the hotel, took advantage of the free buffet and met two really cool people. One of them (Dan) is teaching with my organisation and another is a local lady... propper good contacts especially as Dan will be on the south coast just an hour away from the city.
We finally (after going through Bangcok) got here just hours ago. Luke the teaching welfare officer met us and took us to our hotel...
First impressions:
Its seems really exciting, teaming with life and noise. Almost like Delhi in a calmer mood.
This is just to let people know i'm here safe and sound and watch this space.
Comment or answer the pole so I klnow you've visited.
James.
Its taken over 30 hours and a day in a Doha hotel to get here and i'm exhausted.
But I am here and settling in really quick. I have my hotel room all sorted and have some money changed.
I'm going to make this a really quick one. My flight from Hethrow was cancelled after we had all sat on the plane for two hours. Apparently there was a fuel leakege on one of the wings. Reluctently people picked themselves up out of the plane and across the airport to another one which was waiting.
Me and a few other people missed our connecting flight to Vietnam and were rasurred that we would get there as soon as possible. I spent a long day in the hotel, took advantage of the free buffet and met two really cool people. One of them (Dan) is teaching with my organisation and another is a local lady... propper good contacts especially as Dan will be on the south coast just an hour away from the city.
We finally (after going through Bangcok) got here just hours ago. Luke the teaching welfare officer met us and took us to our hotel...
First impressions:
Its seems really exciting, teaming with life and noise. Almost like Delhi in a calmer mood.
This is just to let people know i'm here safe and sound and watch this space.
Comment or answer the pole so I klnow you've visited.
James.
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