Fostering Friendships and Concluding Classes

So the month of January is almost over....what? But it has been a fun month. I have enjoyed getting to know our staff members a little more. Last weekend, our third time hanging out with the group, we went shopping. It was a little awkward since I was the one in need of clothing and everyone's attention was on me, but it was still fun. The unfortunate part of the day was that I ripped my favorite pair of capris.






The rest of the weekend was fun seeing Avatar and watching So You Think You can Dance with our friend Janell. Because of a fun weekend, I was not looking forward to beginning the week. Tuesday nights are always my worst nights but I went into it celebrating that it was my second to last night with one of my classes. As fate would have it though, I actually enjoyed that class! That happened last time too so I guess it's no surprise but it still stinks.

My level six class...I did like them

The rest of the week went so quickly but not without some good times like hanging out in the office, waiting for Carolyn to finish a shift and visiting the night market across from school, trying on ridiculously worded jackets.

She works at the pastry place and we talked while Carolyn was grabbing dinner next door

Tonight would have been a blah kinda night if it weren't for one of my students. My students from first shift are taking their final next class which meant I had to administer a practice test tonight. The test was a two part test and I wanted them to get up to stretch a little bit so I left the second part on my desk. When I looked at one of my students I saw he had his head down. Now, this boy never writes in his book so I was ready to go up to him and ask "seriously?" thinking he had not done the test. When I saw that he had, I handed him part 2 and he rolled his eyes. When I told him not to hate me he responded, "Teacher, I don't hate you. I like you." The way he said it was just so precious. Yes he is 16 or so, so maybe precious isn't the right word but it really was and it made my night.

Kevin (the kid who made the comment)

Oh! And we got fitted for our ao dais

Weekend Fun

I will have been in Vietnam for five months this coming Tuesday. I cannot believe how time has flown by. I feel like every week goes by faster than the week before and because of this I feel like I have to take every opportunity He provides me before I wake up and realize it's May.

One opportunity Carolyn and I have been blessed with is the chance to meet with a group of coworkers on Saturdays. We just had our second hang out sesh this weekend and it made me a little bummed that we hadn't done this before.

Now let me give some background...the idea of meeting to practice English was presented to me in the office when I was waiting for Carolyn to finish her shift. One of the guys in the office said something about his friends "webbing". Hmm? I thought, is he trying to say wedding? After some questioning, he began to spell it out. When he realized his mistake he laughed it off then asked if maybe we could practice English on Saturdays. I was a little skeptical because I didn't know if he meant just us but I said yes anyway. Saturday rolled around and it turned out he could not meet. This left me anxious for the next Saturday though because I still didn't know if it was just the two of us meeting. Saturday rolled around and nothing was mentioned until Carolyn asked me while we were walking home if there was anything I wanted to tell her. When I looked confused she told me that one of the girls in the office said, "Ok so we will see your at your place at 2 today." We were both left confused. There was definitely a miscommunication somewhere and when 2 o'clock came around and there THEY were. A group of three coworkers and a former student of mine were standing at our door.


Our first meeting was a little shaky. No one really knew what we should talk about but we still had a lot of laughs, thanks to Carolyn's sentence story game. This past Saturday we went out to coffee and discussed the Seven Wonders of the world (since that was the name of the restaurant), the meaning behind our names and much more. Next Saturday we are set to hang out again and I am really looking forward to it!

Another opportunity we took was karaoke. I had been wanting to go since we were informed at training that we would be going all the time. Well last night on our walk over, my stomach began turning in knots. This was our first time and I did not know what to expect! I was definitely second guessing this commitment I had made. It took some time to warm up to the concept of sitting in a room with my former and Carolyn's current students, singing into a microphone with my horrid voice and after a failed attempt at singing ABC by Jackson 5, I was even less encouraged to try again. But after watching our students sing a few songs, I started singing along too...even though I required a partner for every song. Carolyn and I redeemed ourselves later with "I like it, I love it" by Tim Mcgraw The night ended with one of my students and I singing "Beat It" by Michael Jackson. I am pretty sure his songs were the majority of what was sung. Although I was terrified by my voice the whole night, I did enjoy myself. And hey, it just prepares me for next time.

They all got really into it. Too bad he was never this passionate about class.

Jacky and Tom

Jacky, Tom, Sella and her sister

Yes Carolyn and I were there too

Disclaimer: I know pretty much ever word of ABC...ask anyone who has ever driven in the car with me when that song has come on. I blame the failure on the speed of the song in the karaoke club. It was definitely not the same!

3 More Days!

Maybe I shouldn't be writing this. Maybe I should be letting off some steam but oh heaven's to Betsy I am so over one of my classes! I admit some of my lessons haven't been the most exciting (I blame the book) but I am trying to make it fun for them. Tonight I had a song close where students are supposed to fill in the blanks of a song. We were working on prepositions so I chose "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." But that didn't last long...for one, my speakers were horrible so they could hardly hear it and two...they were horrible! So I packed up my books and my Ipod and told them to take out their workbooks. They worked in them for the rest of the class as I just sat there.

I don't know what to do. I feel bad for the students that are good but the majority really don't deserve it. I send kids out when individually they are being bad but tonight it was all of them. One girl was running her mouth in Vietnamese while ALL of the boys shouted out "OOOOOHHHH." Oh my gosh!

So as my status states....3 more days! I only have three more Tuesdays with them....praise the Lord! I guess it's partially my fault though, I have really high expectations of classes after my level 9 but still...I think I could go in with no expectations and still be let down by this class! Carolyn says my obsession is a little scary but I really do love them and I am drawn to them more and more after having classes like this one. I think He knew that this class was going to stress me out so He made the courses at the same time so during break, when I want a stress relief, I can go up to see them. I never know what they think when I go up there but if they are annoyed, they are good actors. They always smile and are so welcoming. Those 15 minutes with my favorites almost make up for the crazy four hours I teach that night.

On a good note, I do have classes I like. I am still finding them difficult to teach because they are all so low. I think when I get worked up about a lesson I start talking quickly and leave them in the dust. Once I can find how to teach to their level, I will really enjoy my other classes.

2010

Quick update on the past few days: Before New Year’s Eve, I was in a slump. I felt like I had no friends here other than my roommate. Obviously, people who spend every waking moment together need time apart and during that time I felt a little lonely. So one day, after talking to my parents over Skype, I decided I had to call out to Him. In His faithfulness, He provided me with friends right away. All I had to do was ask.

When I was at coffee the next day the owner came over to me with a photo album and showed me pictures of her daughter’s wedding. The next day I went shopping and out to lunch with our old neighbor. I have also been visited by our landlady’s daughter, Rita, who has become one of our good friends! And today, I went to a woman’s house (Mrs. Le), who Carolyn and I teach English to. She is really low but it is nice to know I have friends that I can somewhat communicate with.

Rita's daughter

As for New Year’s Eve, Carolyn and I celebrated with our landlady’s daughters. We went up to our roof and lit sparklers and toasted with apple juice. Although we were not on the roof to ring in the New Year, we had a fun time celebrating with friends. This year has already been off to a good start and I hope it continues. I also ask you to continue lifting us up. We still have quite a bit of time left here but I know that it is going to fly by. I want to make every opportunity count with our friends and in the classrooms. Please lift me up that I can continue to share His light with these people.