Lots of English

Yes, I have been teaching A LOT this week. I taught almost every morning and night. This weekend, I taught my usual Saturday and Sunday mornings. In addition, as of this upcoming Friday I have a new class in the evening. Needless to say, I've been keeping busy. It was kind of a homesick week, however. Andy and I had our five year anniversary and I really wanted to be back in the states. I was also in a meeting in a coffee shop and someone said the word "blurb," which brought me to tears. The homesickness comes and goes. Next week should be better. In other news, Kristen sent me MAIL! It was AWESOME and was indeed filled with amazingness, as promised. :)



I'm currently substitute teaching during the week and I have a couple classes of fifth graders. They're very entertaining and always have me laughing. This week they were told to write about going to the beach and most boys wrote about going to see girls playing volleyball in bikinis. Some girls made up stories about taking a vacation with their classmates and seeing some of them kissing. The students mentioned in those stories would playfully yell "I hate you!" when those stories were read out loud. In addition, the class clown of one class is Tom. Last week his class was completing a workbook page where they had to pretend to write a postcard home from summer camp. He wrote that he slept next to his girlfriend and signed it "Tom Handsome." I guess some things are universal. :) I'm really enjoying working with them.

When I wasn't working, I saw movies ("Two Lovers" was awful. Don't bother) and went out with friends. On Tuesday I had a free morning and found my way to the military market, Dan Sinh, across the city. It's a giant market that is basically a hardware store as well as a place for uniforms and some old war stuff. I saw everything from security guard uniforms and nightsticks to American Army leftovers--gas masks, helmets, flack jackets, even old dog tags. Most of the dog tags are fake, but I still didn't want to buy any. Everyone wanted me to buy dog tags but I wanted nothing to do with it. It's weird to own someone else's name tag, especially if they died over here. I spent quite some time in this market and got lost intentionally. It's more fun that way.











After work one day I went a couple blocks over to the river. I found a couple Vietnamese guys sitting next to this older bridge and began to talk to them. Before long I smelled smoke, which no longer alarms me. The men then pointed out that the old bridge (next to the new one) was burning. No one knew if this fire was intentional (maybe to get rid of the old bridge) but everyone just watched it burn on its own. Who knows. I then made friends with some babies on the way back to my apartment. They were really cute twins. Actually, they look like old men already.



















While the flood was building last weekend, I was stuck in the market. I ended up buying a mask to wear while riding on motorbikes. The air here is horrible and most people wear masks while driving. This is because the gas in Viet Nam is still leaded and unrefined (thanks for your leftovers, China). I also like wearing the mask while on the bike because less people stare at me-- I'm incognito Caucasian. :)




The first photo is a bit scary so I decided to take one with flowers. Everyone loves flowers.

This morning my friend Abbie had a soft launch for her company, Sai Gon Movement, of which I am a part. It was a giant fundraiser/soccer tournament and we had a few of our usual games under a tent. We achieved our goal of telling people about the company and had some parents sign their kids up for classes. Hopefully this will expand nicely. The party had a DJ, a caterer, and a field full of children. It was very much like being back in the United States, which was odd. After the party ended, however, I jumped on a motorbike and was instantly transported back to Viet Nam. Funny how that works.

In other news, my family has decided that Seadale family vacation will be the second week of August. Soon I will book my flight for the beginning of August. :)
That's all the news for now. Here are some other photos from this week:


This father was having his child drink beer, which the small child seemed to enjoy. Who knew? Wait, can we get some parenting books in here for a quick consult?






















Miss you all...