just a quick ending for Monday....i managed to buy some second hand pants (yes i caved with the price, not as cheap as i thought but it's all in fun) to use for my Arts and Crafts project with the Deaf & Mute School...we bought up supplies and i went by myself to the second hand clothing place and managed to use my limited Vietnamese to get what i wanted....the staff were so impressed with me that i knew a few words...although they also just keep speaking to you in Vietnamese like you know what they are saying...all very confusing....but hey, it was fun....will be teaching the class how to make toy monsters....just have to figure out how to do it myself before i go in and make an arse of myself....
Tuesday i had the fishing village class and i ended up in a class of about 27 kids by myself...they are about 3-4 years old and it's stress time.....I am so not prepared for this....the kids at Little School are just one year older but they have better attention and they are in a routine...this group is way beyond my capabilities....we sing to start the class and then we start learning our ABC's...doesn't sound bad but i have 27 kids yelling out the letter...which doesn't really sound like anything except for AAAAHHHHHHHHH for every letter!!!
27 kids times 25 times (actually more as you get them to repeat it in the hopes that you can understand them!!)...it's a lot of yelling first off in the morning....we then follow the ABC with numbers...and you guessed it...more yelling of the sound of AAAAHHHHHH...lucky it's only up to 10!!!...then it's colours....yep, repeat of the last yelling......I'm so exhausted from yelling over the top of them along with still not being well and my voice is cracking so i have to speak louder than normal which takes up so much friggin energy!!...by the end of the hour (yes it's only an hour!!) i am ready for a lay down and 4 panadol!!!...my head is killing me and my voice is no longer audible...Chan (who had a smaller and older group) laughs when she hears my voice....any way, we leave there and we have the rest of the morning free....we have to go and try on our Ao Dai for a final fitting before the wedding tonight....we are all so excited.
We bike to the dressmakers and we each take turns trying on the dress and pants.....i am amazed and impressed at the accuracy of these ladies and the fitting...it fits like a glove and we are all even more excited about tonight. The dressmakers make us take a photo outside of their store with the name showing...they think we all look amazing and i have to admit, i totally agree!!!
We take off home for lunch and after we've finished we have the Special Needs school to attend...i am surprisingly happy to be returning there so i can see my little boys...Duoc (2 month baby with cleft pallet )and Tro (cerebral palsy and locked up in extension throughout his limbs, back and neck)....Eva has also decided to join us for this session which is great as we could use the extra hands...there is only two of us and 6 of them!!!...I say hello to little mr Duoc and then start to work on Tro again....this is the second time and i am with him and today i know it's just all about the loving touch...i can not make any real lasting difference with his limbs as that would need to be done 3 times a day at minimum...all i can do is my best to relieve some of the over extension in his limbs and massage his thin little limbs with love and care....i chat to him (not that he chats back or even shows acknowlegement but he deserves the respect of speach every now and then!!)
We do our best in the 2 hours we have there and we head back to get ready for our wedding....it's so hard leaving there...i wish i could stay longer....i start to feel like i am abandoning them instead of saying 'see you later'....funny how the heart reacts...
back at home we get ready and eventually we each emerge in our Ao Dai...they are stunning to wear and you feel so elegant (i've had three made and plan to wear them every chance i get..probably my new work uniform!!)...We pose for some photos and head off to the wedding feeling very much like a local now...
We get ushered in by the mother of the bride who directs us to a table right at the front...actually just next to the bridal table...we are seriously front row seats for this!!!
The reception starts with a quick word from the M.C. who is female and wearing red (you should never wear red to a wedding in Vietnam as that is the brides colour!!)...and a split right up her left leg that stopped just sort of her...well...you get the picture!!...then the entertainment and food start.....
The bridesmaids and groomsmen are now up on stage and performing a choreographed dance routine complete with cheesey poses, a fake basket of flowers, smoke machine and more cheesey poses...then they stand to the side and gesture towards the back of the room for the bride and groom to make their entrance....cheers, photo's and lot of Mot Hai Ba go!! (one two three go)..which is a sign to skull your drink...lucky i was on water!!!....We then endure the speaches of which we can not understand anything and as the happy couple take a drink of Red champagne the jet sparklers are set off with a bag and everyone cheers...more photos' and of course a lot more Mot Hai Ba go!!!....
the food seems neverending and it's all amazing...some even cooked on the table infront of you....we certainly wouldn't go hungry!!!...as we eat there is also improptu karaoke..some great, others clearly had been playing too much Mot Hai Ba go.....i did spot a really good looking Vietnamese guy though....but then again it's been a while....I was happy to know that the other girls also thought he was quite good looking....also good to know that i haven't lost my taste in men...well the looks side anyway as we all know i'm not good at the 'picking the right guy'....:)
anyway 2 hours later and no more food the place clears out.....literally within 10 minutes....apparently this the norm for Vietnamese weddings...everyone just comes for the free food and drink and then they disappear....
We walk outside and try to make a quiet exit past the bride and groom who are getting photo's done...we are called back so we can stand with them and have a photo taken...it's good luck to have foreigners at your wedding but even better if you have them in your wedding photos....we were happy to accommodated!!!
So 2 hours in our traditional dress and we are back at home...it's only 7.15pm!!!!....we get changed and sit around laughing and talking about the wedding....i am so lucky i get to spend my time with these people...they are wonderful company and we all get along so well....i still have to remind myself every now and again that this is only for a short time...i've settled in and it feels like my life...not just a snippet...
Oh, forgot to mention, i was told at the wedding that i will no longer be teaching the 27 young kids at the Fishing Village school....how embarassing...i teach one class and they take the whole 27 kids off me!!!...again this proves i am just not cut out for teaching!!!!
anyway with the night still young i decide to make a move on my toy monster as i have to teach this tomorrow and still have no real idea how to do it.....it take me about an hour to make a mini version of what i will be teaching and i so impressed with how cute this little guy is.....meet my monster toy....Sylvester!!!
Wednesday - we have two classes for Little School today, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Our Class with the Deaf School has been cancelled for today (they probably got wind of the monster making and how hopeless i am at teaching!!!)...so today i have lots of 5 years olds and lots of songs ABC's, numbers, songs, colours, songs, reading, drinking milk and more songs.....i love this!!!...i could do this for a living...must look into doing a Tesol course...you can get a basic certificate in just two days....can't imagine you'd need more than that for 5 year olds!!!
anyway...in our break between morning and afternoon classes (did i mention anywhere before that the Vietnamese have a two our nap time from midday to 2pm everyday!!)...Chan and I decide on going to the hairdressers for a trim...it's only $2.50 so it's worth getting it done here. we arrive at the Cendeluxe (which is the 5 star hotel with a spa and hairdressers) and we go all out and ask for a wash, cut and blow dry...i also ask for my hair to be straightened...i quickly point out not permanently as all the ladies get it done for real..not fake like me.....they take through to the back for the hair wash which we enjoy in a lay down chair and they scrub my hair...seriously they scrub it and your scalp over and over again...it was nice the first washj but through the second wash it was getting too much and i had to ask Chan to explain to the girl that she was giving me dandruff because my scalp was actually being ripped apart from her nails!!!...
the hairdresser start to cut my hair and is talking to Chan and letting her know that i have grey hairs that should be dyed and that i should get my hair permanently straightened....he was shocked when i said i was happy with my grey curly hair....he finishes the cut and two girls attend to drying my hair one standing on either side of me....now this is service!!!...they finish drying and start to straighten, by that time the hairdresser is finished and he comes over to straighten my hair..they do an amazing job and i am told again that i should do it permanently as i look so much younger....oh and don't forget about the greys!!!...i do like it, it's easy, i can run my fingers through my hair...i can wear it out and it not develope into and afro...looks like i could be considering the permanent straight./..or not...or maybe...or not....
my evening class with the Home of Affection (8-24 year olds) is planned...we are revising our plural words and i have planned to teach them 'ing' words....i get there and the class is ready and waiting for me but i have no interpreter....i get nervous as this is so much harder when i have to try and explain it!!!....i ask my class to wait a moment and take a quick look through the halls to see if i can see someone hanging about to help me out...no such luck....guess it's improvise time.....i manage to explain in hand language and props that we will revise and i start to use the blackboard again (oh the power that big board and little chalk brings...:))...we revise and i am happy to note that most of my students (including the teacher) have remembered and also understand the concept and rules for plurals.....yeh for me..mini success!!!...My interpreter finally arrives as i am trying to figure out in my head how to explain adding 'ing' and the rules for this....yeh...stress has now left and i can breathe......we start and it takes a while for them to grasp the concept but eventually one girl gets up (when i requested someone to write on the board and show me) and adds the letters ING to my word...i clap and then the whole class claps and we all have a laugh...they get it...now everyone wants time at the big blackboard!!!...we go through a lot of words and then i challenge them on both the plurals and the 'ing' and they all get it right....did i mention that from the start of the class the teacher has moved himself from the back up to the front and is joining in on the lesson, so much so that the kids don't get a chance to answer...i have to ask him politely to be quiet....i think we should have a seperate class for the teachers to learn english by themselves....it is really cool that i seem to have both students and teacher being involved in the class now instead of it being a class where everyone just talks or turns their backs on you....maybe i'm not so bad at this after all....the class ends and the students come and place their school packs in my bag and something funny starts to happen...they start to say thank you teacher and touch my arm, smile at me and make real eye contact...one little girl even holds my cheeks, smiles so big and says Thank you teacher with a little squish of my cheeks to end....can i tell you truthfully, in that moment i wanted to cry.....it was so heart warming...two of the boys carry my bag downstairs and one of the other boys yells out see you on Monday teacher...i turn and smile and call out 'and Tuesday and Wednesday'...he was thrilled and said 'yes mam, Tuesday and Wednesday, good'.....wow...i leave the school on a high and if that's as good as it gets i am happy i reached this part just once in my life.....i feel like i am doing something....that my day has not been wasted...that my stress about what to teach and how to teach has given some of these kids a new spark for learning....i'm excited about next Monday..the evening is again spent with laughs and chats about our students and our own teaching practices...especially the pronunciation and how we over exagerate...it's funny to see yourself do those actions in front of a mirror...actually it's hysterical!!!!
Today - thursday was fishing village school in the morning and as my 27 students were taken away from me i was given a much smaller group (15) of 4 year olds....again..these kids are super cute and you just want to pack each of them up and take them home....i can't help but smile through my whole class...we do the same routine as the Little School but they are not as advanced so we take it a bit slow...we concentrate on pronunciation at one point for the letter F...Vietnamese language does not have the letter F...and i try everything to teach the sound...teeth over the lip usually works...somehow it always comes back to P or B...strange but they manage to do it over and over and over and over and over again...(actually more than that)...two of the boys are convinced that every letter requires your tongue to be outside of your mouth so it takes everything in my not to laugh...not in a bad way but in that 'cute as a button and i want to squish your cheeks' way....one of the other boys has these huge fish lips and the way he uses his mouth is the best... his lips are constantly fish like and it's the cutest thing i've ever seen...there are so many other gorgeous quirky things that they do but i won't bore you with it as i understand it's a visual and moment thing....lets just say i love my new class and at the end we read books and sing songs...they are so delighted with the songs that they are laughing and smiling...again..i love this part of the job!!!!
we break for our lunch and nap time, we go material shopping and then head off to the special needs school again...guess i dont have to describe this again....but again i feel at the end of it that i am abondoning them....we don't go back now until Tuesday afternoon so it's quite some time between visits.....
we get back home and have the tailor come and visit us to take some measurments for some dresses we want made with our newly purchased material....not sure how it's all going to work out but fingers are crossed they work out!!!
the rest of the evening after dinner is spent updating you and now it's time for me to go to bed...everyone has just come back from their night out with one of the previous volunteers and as i was typing before they left i guess it's a bit sad that i'm still typing now that they are back....
guess this one has been a very very long update....
i'd apologise but i don't think too many people will read the whole post...at least not in one go and if you have....i am seriously impressed and thankful that i'm not just speaking to thin air and a screen!!!
love, light and did i mention love....
P.s....can't believe it's nearly over and i have to come back.....
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