Thanksgiving and conference in Mui Ne

Hey all! I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. I know I enjoyed mine! Quick summary of Thanksgiving...plans got messed up and our group couldn't travel to our conference location, Mui Ne, until 8:30 pm. Therefore, Carolyn and I decided to make Thanksgiving dinner for everyone. Preparation began the day before Thanksgiving but Thanksgiving day was still filled with chopping and cooking. We made a nice meal consisting of salad, sweet potatoes, stuffing (personally made by me), rolls and duck! We could not find chicken which was our first option so Carolyn walked the streets and found a man pushing a cart with duck on it. When she ordered he apparently chopped off the head and feet and handed it over. Luckily he had already plucked the feathers!

Our delicious meal!

During the meal we reenacted the first Thanksgiving by assigning people roles of Indians or pilgrims. Carolyn and I had made hats the night before and were happy to find that people actually wore them. After our meal we headed out for District 1. We had a stressful bus expereince or lack there of. The bus we take to District 1 never came so we had to hail two taxis which usually are frequent but for some reason were not as regular when we needed them.



We eventually made it to the bus station and took our own personal bus to Mui Ne. We were delayed a bit due to the rain but we eventually made it.

At conference we studied the word, sang, lounged by the pool and ate American food. It was a great time spent catching up with the rest of the gang. I even enjoyed rooming with a teammate who got a little loopy at bed time. Example....(at midnight some of the staff was playing pool outside our room) Me: "I am going to hurt someone." Suz:"Who the man taking your picture?"

We had a gift exchange! I got a cute Santa ornament

We got to enjoy the most beautiful sunsets

All in all it was a good weekend. I am glad I got to reconnect with my team and have some time away from school to relax. However, by the last day I was getting anxious to be home. Now that I am back, I cannot be happier. I have missed our routine and my classes...I am just waiting now to actually have more than 5!

The gang enjoying a meal together

Aside from having four people throwing up all around me on the bus to and from fellowship yesterday, my month has started off well. I have started a new class, ridden on the back of a motorbike (which was a long time due) and I have received an encouraging email from a student.

Although I still deeply miss my level 9 class, my new level 6 class definitely has potential to take away my sadness. I don't know if they could ever replace them because each class has it's unique personality but these new students are very sweet, quiet, but sweet. I don't know if they don't understand my instruction sometimes but they have the "stare at your book when a teacher asks a question", down pat. And I hated when my teachers did this but I have resorted to calling out names. Turns out...they usually know the answer or can read the passage well! They just need some confidence instilled in them and that is my plan for these next few months. Please lift me up. I know with His help I can transform this class and get them out of their quiet bubbles.

Sorry mom and dad, I know you don't like the motorbikes but really it was the only option. On Wednesday Carolyn and I discovered one of our staff members was a soccer coach and that he had a game the following day. After sending our friend Andrea to the airport, we came back to the apartment and planned to head out the door when we were stopped by a foreign woman in or building who wanted to do laundry....unfortunately we don't have a quick cycle. To make up for lost time Carolyn and I hopped on motorbikes and headed towards the stadium. Luckily for me, I was the first to arrive at the random stadium, in a random district, without cell minutes. Fortunately, Carolyn called me 15 minutes later and she had been dropped off right up the street from me! She had met up with a girl from or school who had invited us to coffee with the team. After coffee, which had been the pre-party, we all took a ride into our district to get lunch. As we were leaving the coffee shop, I figured I would ride with the girl who I rode there with....now I have to admit, she wasn't the most confident driver but I trusted that she could get us there. I don't know if she felt this way too or if she was trying to set me up with a guy from the team, but I ended up riding on the back of a random guy's motorbike. Whenever we would pull up to another teammate they would always look at me, say something and laugh. I really wish I knew Vietnamese to know if I had just made him the most popular guy on the team or the joke.

Hitching a ride with Phuong

The guys celebrating their win

When we got to lunch the real celebration began and beer flowed around us everywhere. Assuming that we are like every other American, they poured us half a beer and stuck it in front of us. One girl saw that I wasn't drinking mine and ordered me another drink. Being the only foreigners and blond foreigners at that, we are constantly reminded that people are always watching us. Showing them that multiple bottles of Sting (a syrupy caffeinated drink) and half a beer was sufficient proves that we are not like the Americans they see on TV. They, on the other hand, consumed more beer than I have ever seen in my life.

The next day was Teacher's Day! A day that we had heard about, at least a month before. This day is not like Teacher Appreciation week in the states. Yes students bring in presents for their teachers but instead of the school putting a potluck together, all of VATC put a production together. Night classes were canceled so teachers could attend the celebration in District 1. I was a little surprised by the whole night. They had singers and dancers which were fun but everything was in Vietnamese! Yes, I know what country I am in but I assumed that at least some of it would be in English since they were celebrating the teachers working at Vietnamese AMERICAN Training College where we teach the students to speak English. It sounds like I am bitter and I am really not. It was a nice event, it was just tough to follow. Luckily Carolyn had the bright idea to ditch out cushioned teacher's seats to sit back with the rest of our staff. This made it more entertaining and easier to follow since one of the guys was translating everything for me.

The pink is made up of greeting cards "from our students". Some students must have written a lot because out of two they were supposed to write, my students maybe filled out one.

Taking a picture with another Phuong from our school

Teacher's Day for me didn't come with presents from the students but I did get a ceremony and a nice letter from one of my students. Remember how I gave out my email address to my precious level 9 class? Well one of my students had taken down my email and written me a sweet note for Teacher's Day. She also sent me her blog link that she has written in English! I was so excited to read it but as I was reading it began to tear me up. This girl is such a beautiful and kind girl who always had a sweet smile. I just figured she was a quiet but happy girl. Her blog however, showed that she was having a tough time in high school with friends. If her blog didn't make me cry then her response to my email definitely did. I wanted to let her know I took the time to read her blog so I wrote to her, trying to send her some encouragement. When she wrote back she told me that I was unlike any teacher she had had before. She said that usually teachers keep their distance from students but that I was different, that I was "special". As I write it now I am starting to cry. That is why we are here. To show everyone we are different because of the transformation He has made in us.

Days before I had received this email I had cried out to Him, asking Him to change hearts and to open my eyes to His will. If her email doesn’t confirm why I am over here, I don’t know what will. Right now we are writing to each other every day but hopefully that can turn into hanging to as well. Please lift our relationship up. All I want her to see is Him working in me!

The weekend ended with fellowship and an amazing Thanksgiving lunch!

Come Monday

So I am a little skeptical to see my new schedule tomorrow. I have ended four of my classes and I don't know what classes I will be taking over. All I have to say though is that at least one of my classes needs to be amazing to make up for the loss of two great classes.

My Level 9 class

The girls, minus a few

The boys minus a few as well + Tran

Example of the awesomeness and the bond I had with my level 9 class (Upper-intermediate)....When class ended I told them they could go and that I hoped to see them again. No one moved. I didn't know if they had heard me so I said again, "You may leave". The response I got from them actually made me stop in my tracks. Some actually said "no". None of them got up. I was in awe! It was the biggest compliment I have ever gotten from a class! I wrote my email down for them and told them they better stay in contact. Once they had that, they seemed satisfied with and they finally began to leave. I have to brag that by the time I got down to the office, every other teacher was gone.

Alex and Tracy. Alex was one of the students who said no

Tracy, Christine and Kate

Jessica, Jenny 2, Jenny 1 and Tina

Chris (the class clown), Tom (who always talked about relationships), Sunny, Alex

Please pr*y with me that I can get a class that is half as awesome as theirs because it will be a tough few weeks if I don't. This class seriously sustained me. Whenever I had a frustrating first shift, I knew everything would be ok because I ended my night with them. Needless to say, next week is going to be an interesting week.

All of the students made me happy but this little group definitely made the smile slightly bigger
Tran, Mike, Tom and Andy

Just a Quick Picture Update on the Past Week

Sunday and Monday Adventures

Janell and Aletta had us over to their house for lunch after fellowship. We had delicious pesto pasta! Monday we went back to District 1 to have lunch with Janell. I decided to be a tourist and take a picture of Vietnam's version of Notre Dame

Getting a haircuts is a lot more interesting and frightening when you have to play charades to communicate what you want...but they turned out well

Tuesday through Thursday

Around town...and my new bedsheets!
I am determined to by a floppy hat but 150,000VND seems a little pricey
It still amazes me how they carry things on their motorbikes...like 100 chairs! The wording also stills gets me...who wants to take a trip to the Beayuty Salon?

Bonding with the locals. Carolyn played with the little boy in the binky as we had coffee at one of our usual spots. We also showed we live here by going on a shopping spree at the Metro where we bought 20 rolls or toilet paper and cereal!

We came back last night from class to find one of our security guards in the tree. They were picking fruit which, to me, tasted like floral soap....ick. But they insisted we have more. Even though we walk pass them every night and attempt to talk to them, I have never felt like we really bonded until last night. We had a fun time laughing as they took their turns in the tree and taught us how to eat the fruit...don't eat the pit though because apparently you will poop it out whole....or at least that's what it looked like from the charades one of them acted out

Sad Goodbyes

This month is the start of saying goodbye to my classes. For me, goodbyes are usually always difficult, like saying goodbye to family or friends....or my classes!

I have said goodbye to many a class and be it a whole year or a few weeks, I always tear up. Even when I don't like a class like one I just finished. I mean they weren't tears of sadness but there were tears....ok maybe that's a lie but they definitely had me singing Hallelujah as they walked out the door. However, it seeing them leave left me thinking...."this is going to be the trend for the next few weeks, classes ending, and hey, I actually like my other classes a whole lot".

So tonight marked my first night of tears or at least being choked up. I had my students doing a speaking activity with partners until two or so minutes left so I think that saved me from the waterworks. If I would have gone into a speech about how much I was going to miss them, I definitely would have started crying. Plus, I have a feeling I will see some of the again...or at least hear from them. Some have invited me to Karaoke this Sunday and it is still up in the air whether I will go or not but we shall see. I also gave my email address out at the end of class, in hopes that maybe one person would want to stay in touch. I told them I was being cheesy and they totally didn't have to write it down...but if they wanted to that would be great! When I turned around after writing my email on the board, I saw everyone with a pen and piece of paper out! Yay! And now come the tears.

To explain my relationship with this class...I have loved them since day one. I never really knew where I stood with them though because they always looked so tired in class and sometimes it was like pulling teeth to get them to answer. I was a little offended at first but after talking to them more, I realized that they were so exhausted. If I am tired teaching a class from 7:30-9:30, they are probably just as tired or more. I mean, they have been at school all day and then they have to come to more class....yeah I don't blame them for being tired. I did really try everything to get them energized though. But like I said, I never knew how they felt about me until tonight. Even though the bell had rung, they stayed behind to finish writing down my email and talk a little while longer....as opposed to the class the night before which bolted out of the classroom without the slightest acknowledgment that this was our last class.

From left to right: Sella, Jacky, Susan, Tom, me, Vicky, Andy, poor Allence didn't get much in the picture, Amy and Kanza who seems thrilled!

Having a class like theirs was definitely hard to let go, but I am excited to have the opportunity to meet new students and hopefully have some impact on their lives too! I just hope my new classes are all like them....but maybe with a little more energy!

What a Difference a Year Makes

A year ago today, I was playing intramural softball with a group of friends. The season was going well, we had won all of our games and we were winning this game as well. Not being the best player, I felt confident sticking to right field, while occasionally switching positions with my friend at second base. Well this night a year ago, was rainy and we were playing at a different time, making it darker than when we normally played which should have been a warning sign. When my friend asked me if I wanted to switch positions, something in my stomach told me no but I had not had any action in right field and I was getting restless, so I agreed. Maybe one or two innings, I thought.

I cannot tell you how long I had been playing second this inning but before I knew it, my inning and my last opportunity to play intramural sports was shot by one throw to second base. The batter had just hit the ball into left field and a runner was coming into second. With my foot on the bag, I reached my glove out to receive the incoming catch from left. Instead of catching it with my glove, which my whole team had thought I had done since there was a sound indicating I had, I caught the ball with my face. Yup, I got a heater thrown at my left eye. It knocked me down and out for a few seconds but seeing everyone around me made me so uncomfortable that I told someone I just wanted to sit down in the dugout. Despite everyone telling me to regroup, I got up and walked back to the dugout with blood dripping down my face, onto my favorite T-shirt. After my protests against being taken to the hospital and once my team realized I was going to stay conscious, the game resumed. I spent the rest of the game being cleaned up by the medic and filling out forms saying I wasn’t going to sue the league as I held ice to my face. Once we had finished the game, with another win of course, my friend took me home and I finally got to see the damage. Picture Quasimodo and you have my face! My left eye was swollen shut and my nose was a faucet, constantly dripping blood.

The next morning I woke up, hoping the past night’s drama was all a bad dream but when I looked in the mirror that morning, washed my face and ate my breakfast, I realized this was not going away. I called school telling them I would not be in (since I was in the middle of student teaching) and decided that it would be best to go to the doctors since my nose hadn’t stopped bleeding. My roommate so graciously gave up her day to take me to the doctor’s office where I was examined and x-rays were taken. This was the day that I discovered that my face was not just swollen but broken….completely broken, from my nose, to the optic bone surrounding my eye (the terms my doctor would use later for my broken bones was “cornflakes”) My parents, who had thought I was “just swollen” as well, came up and took me home a few days later.

Beginning on the car ride home, miracles happened left and right. With a few calls to my dad’s high school friend I got an appointment with SHARP hospitals best END. When I was able to meet with him the next day, I knew I was not only in His hands but I was in the best medical hands I could be in.

After a 4 and half hour surgery and months of healing, my face started to heal and resort back to normal. However, this whole process was not just about experiencing healing physically but emotionally as well. The months waiting for the swelling to go down were the most painful months I have ever gone through. My face, from the moment of impact to post surgery, never hurt once (which is another miracle) but looking in the mirror and not seeing the face I had lived with for twenty two years was excruciating. I did not know how or if my face would ever be normal again. I was literally experiencing an identity crisis. Every day I questioned who this person was in the mirror? It was then that I could only rely on Him. No one else could sympathize with what I was going through, I felt completely alone. I realized I could no longer place my identity in what I looked like on the outside but who He has made me on the inside.

Even though a year has passed, I still have not gotten to the point where I am completely confident in my identity, both physically and spiritually but I believe this whole experience is what brought me here to Vietnam. He has changed my heart to be completely dependent on Him and living in a foreign country, it is the only way I can survive.

Yes I could have done without the screw in my face and a soreness that comes and goes but I would never want to do without the transformation that was made in my heart. Where would my faith be without it?

A month after my accident. Notice the left eye a little bit bruised.

At the end of student teaching...still swollen

Today...back to my old self!

Parents Leaving and Friendships Beginning

Catching fish outside of a restaurant in Danang

After our trip to Danang and two more days in Ho Chi Minh City, my parents headed back home to the states. I had a blast with them though, seeing the ancient site of My Son and getting clothes tailored in Hoi An. It was definitely a refreshing and much needed time spent with my parents. I was so fortunate that they were able to come see the amazingness of where I live.

One of the temples the Chamba people built in the earlier centuries

Our beautiful hotel in Danang

Yesterday was Halloween and it was definitely a new experience celebrating in a different country. I had talked with my two children’s classes before the actual holiday and asked if they did anything special. One girl out of around 20 students said she will be going to her grandma’s house while the rest of the students said they didn’t celebrate. I even got a shocker ….they don’t even like candy! However, they sure had fun the morning of Halloween when our school staff dressed up as ghosts and came into the classroom passing out candy. My first class was crazier than my second and hardly any learning took place…thanks goodness for spontaneous Halloween games!

A student from my second class was waiting outside when my first class was trying to sneak out to visit the haunted house, he commented, “Miss Erica, I don’t think there will be much learning today.” How cute! I agreed though. My second class was much better at staying focused until someone came in with an announcement saying that we would be visiting the haunted house created upstairs. That’s when all heck broke loose with cheering and some screaming…I guess they were practicing their horror screams. When the big moment finally came my students flew upstairs to a darkened room with the ghosts wandering about. The students got masks and ran around the room until they were told to sit and watch a slide show with scary pictures. Too bad the bell rang before they finished because the kids were no longer focused on the Halloween party. It was definitely an interesting day to say the least and I normally would not have chosen to spend my Halloween that way but knowing the kids had a blast was satisfying enough. The day continued with a 3 hour long meeting in another district and a night class!

Some of my students. So cute!

Today Carolyn and I attended fellowship and had a delicious lunch with some of the girls. When we got back we met with a girl Carolyn had met at a coffee shop. She had told us she wanted to take us to her house so we agreed, thinking it couldn’t be that far…right? We ended up taking an hour bus ride outside of our district into another district that you could tell was definitely worse off but oh how it was beautiful. It was a small little village where families live on the next plot of land. The path to our friends house was a small, pebbly road with rice growing in the water on both sides. Trees with every type of fruit also grew along the banks.

Men working in the fields

When we got to her house, we were treated like we were celebrities. They served us soda and an endless amount of pears, watermelon, bananas and oranges. We then were taken on a tour around the house. On this tour, more fruit was picked and consumed. We also got to experience fishing in a whole new way with a bamboo poll and net. Although we did not have any success, we enjoyed trying. Once back at their house, we were presented with more gifts! We received a cactus and a water plant to take back to our apartment!

They put this poll out in the water with a net below to scoop up fish

Apart from the hospitability we have seen from others in our district, I have never seen such giving people. How many people would pick the only fruit on their trees to give to people they have just met? Even though many people would considered them “poor”, this family lived in a beautiful village and had, what it seemed like, a very loving family. If they were willing to give us, strangers, everything from their land, what would they not do for their own family? Continue to lift up our friendship with this girl…she already has a servants heart, why not pr*y that it can be use to serve Him?

Our new friend, Oanh!

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